Perhaps you've heard the critics raving about the evolution of this cozy neighborhood restaurant. It's understandable if you don't live in the area and haven't gotten around to dining there yet, but now is the opportunity to task what all the raves are about. The food comes out like plates of art with hearty, comforting flavors including a cassoulet that's second to none in the cities - a bowl of creamy beans stuffed with a myriad of meat treasure waiting to be unearthed.

Settling into the dining room in the Warehouse District's Saffron feels like an exotic vacation from real life. Inside here the cocktails are top notch and servers deliver plate after plate of bewitching aromas and savory flavors. The restaurant week menu seems particularly well suited for vegetarians, or those looking to cut back on meat without being relegated to a side salad. Roasted sweet potatoes with lentils, poached black figs, tahini and pomegranate sounds particularly intriguing. However, the chicken tagine is difficult to resist as is the ceremony of the cooking vessel being presented, brimming with chickpeas, piquillo peppers, green olives and a tart and zesty chermoula.

Vincent might just be the best place to lunch like a big shot in downtown Minneapolis. The open room captures every bit of the midday sun and the service always makes you feel like the most important person in the room. For lunch during restaurant week the three courses are served at a perfectly timed pace to get you back before the boss notices you're gone, plus the end includes chewy madeline cookies, vanilla bean-flecked ice cream and a warm pitcher of pouring chocolate.

This is also the first time the sexy cheese and meat bar inside the Soo Line building will be participating in restaurant week. Overseen by the very busy chef Russell Klein (who also runs next door Brasserie Zentral and St. Paul's Meritage) the menu boasts turkey terrine, duck rillettes and an assortment of fine cheeses. Between that and their gorgeous wine list, this smells like an ideal excuse for happy hour.

If you leave Haute Dish hungry, you've done something horribly wrong. This is the season for bulking up for cold nights ahead and the pork and beans (not in a can) will do that in the most satisfying manner. Or dive into the deliciously decadent mac and cheese studded with king crab and laced with pungent, creamy Taleggio cheese.

Since opening this adorable farm to table spot on Nicollet's Eat Street stretch, neighborhood fans have been happily tucking into home made comfort foods and just-sweet-enough cupcakes. The apple cider braised pork is served with a sweet potato souffle with everybody's favorite meat candy: bacon.