Chris Her, Eve Wu, and Eddie Wu have transformed Cook St. Paul into Juche, an intimate Korean lounge and restaurant. On the menu are galbi (grilled Peterson Farms short ribs with daikon slaw), a bulgogi burger, and “mac n’ chi,” which pairs creamy mac and cheese with zippy butter-fried kimchi, among other dishes. Juche also serves makgeolli, an effervescent Korean rice wine that’s hard to find in the Midwest, let alone the Twin Cities.

Pastry chef Marc Heu trained at a 300-year-old Parisian patisserie before eventually leaving France for St. Paul. He and his wife and patisserie COO Gaosong Heu set up shop in Frogtown, serving towering croquembouche, creamy Basque cheesecake, and vanilla Saint Honoré. This May, the patisserie relocated to the former Dale Street Garage in St. Paul’s Selby and Dale neighborhood, where it’s serving the same elegant pastries — a larger bistro menu is in the works, too.

Chef Justin Sutherland’s egg sandwich shop Big E, named for rapper Biggie Smalls, has nine hefty egg sandwiches on its menu — everything from a reliable shaved ham and dijon to a surprising combination of steak, American cheese, and Welch’s grape jelly, layered with a fried egg and served on an Oyatsupan milk bun. All of the sandwich names reference Sutherland’s favorite musicians — the “When Doves Cry” sandwich is an edible homage to Prince. Their price tag (around $15) has caused a bit of a local stir.

Angie and Jörg Pierach’s new St. Paul restaurant, Herbst, sources many of its ingredients from an Amish farm stand in Wisconsin’s Driftless Area. The menu is hyper seasonal, with dishes like smashed radish in chili vinaigrette, lumache with lamb sausage in spicy pesto, and rhubarb clementine sorbet featured for spring. Jams, homemade pastas, maple syrup, and fresh eggs and vegetables are available at the “farm stand” section of the restaurant.

Dutch Bar is a cozy new Central Avenue spot by former Modern Cafe owner Patty Grell. A simple menu of cold cuts, cheese, small plates (think mushroom lentil duxelles with grilled toast) and entrees (jambon and beurre sandwiches; Spanish tortillas with eggs and potatoes) complements the wine list and cocktails. The warm, pared-back interior feels like a hybrid wine bar/cafe — it’s well-suited for a casual date night or an evening spent alone with a book. Happy hour runs 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Chef David Fhima’s new North Loop restaurant has a Moulin Rouge theme, yes — but what it really alludes to is a moment in time, less than the cabaret itself. The restaurant is styled as a traditional French brasserie, and it aims to capture the spirit of La Belle Époque, an era when culture and the arts flourished in Paris. On the menu are French onion soup, steak au poivre, and racks of lamb served with Dijon cognac beurre blanc; the basement bar, cloaked in red velvet, serves burgers and lobster deviled eggs. Wine is the focus here, with more than 860 selections in house.

Chef Ann Ahmed’s newest restaurant, Gai Noi, is now open on the edge of Minneapolis’s Loring Park. The menu spans from a stellar snacks section (crispy basil wings; tempura green beans; watermelon salad) to grilled salmon skewers and creamy khao soi. Certain dishes carry extra narrative weight: Ahmed has said her biggest inspiration for Gai Noi was Luang Prabang, a northern city in Laos. There are three kinds of larb, the national dish of Laos, on the menu, as well as shaved Luang Prabang-style papaya salad, mok paa (fish steamed in banana leaves), and four kinds of jeow, a spicy, salsa-like Lao dipping sauce. (Take a closer look at the menu here.)

Indigenous Food Labs is now open in Midtown Global Market. Launched by the nonprofit North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems and chef Sean Sherman, the market features hot bar options (think tacos and grain bowls with bison, turkey, and whitefish, and Dakota čhoǧíŋyapi sandwiches), and a tea bar with chaga lattes, cacao drinks, and specialized herbal teas. The market section has Indigenous staple foods like wild rice, tepary beans, and maple syrup, plus frozen meats.

Mee-Ka is the second pop-up, after Slurp, that chef Yia Vang has launched in his Hilltribe space on Lake Street. Devoted to what Vang (and others) call “third culture” cuisine — in this case, food that combines both Hmong and American ingredients and themes to create a distinct third cuisine — Mee-Ka’s menu features a smash burger with fermented radishes and a hot ranch sauce, spaghetti and Hmong sausage meatballs, and pork katsu sandwich, among other dishes. It’ll be open for the next few months, before a new pop-up rotates into the space.

La Bodega Taco Bar has expanded from its St. Louis Park home base to Hennepin Avenue in Uptown. Tacos, of course, are the backbone of the menu — the birria (and quesabirria) are stuffed with ample shredded beef and cheese, a perfect, salty complement to La Bodega’s sweet mangonadas and paletas. But one of La Bodega’s most popular dishes is actually its birria ramen, which pairs fiery beef birria broth with springy ramen noodles, all topped with diced onions and cilantro and served in a noodle cup.

Uptown Collab (formerly Arts and Rec) has reopened in the Seven Points shopping center. This time around, chef Kamal Mohamed has crafted the menu, dishing up tantalizing duck fat fries, berbere-spice wings, pasta, a smash burger, and ceviche.