The Suburbs Step It Up

For the past few weeks, the "Modern Love" column in the New York Times has been running the winning stories from its college essay contest. After reading a few essays on the state of modern relationships, I'm less worried that text messaging has stunted millennials' ability to write than that it has eroded their ability to think.

Even if you live in the suburbs, there's no excuse for such lack of imagination. Independent gems have long been tucked among the Buffalo Wild Wings and Boston Markets, and with more of them cropping up every day, they're no longer hard to find. So if you happen to be courting a gal in Maple Grove, St. Louis Park, or Waconia, here are three newcomers to help you make a classier impression than a Chili's Awesome Blossom or Bottomless Express Lunch ever could.

MAPLE GROVE'S SPRAWLING commercial district is starting to look as though the Shoppes at Arbor Lakes were reflected in an infinity mirror; the endless rows of neatly manicured Pottery Barns, Caribou Coffees, and Williams Sonomas could pass for a Desperate Housewives set. The new 3 Squares is the fifth and most franchisable restaurant launched by the Blue Plate group, which also owns the Edina, Highland, and Longfellow Grills, and the Groveland Tap. Three Squares most closely resembles the Edina Grill: Our waitress told us that Edina was Squares' "sister" and Highland its "mother." Squares and Edina have identical menus, and they both have a separate bar (the other restaurants just serve wine and beer). While Squares' decor is pleasantly inoffensive—rust-colored paint and carpet—it's certainly the homelier of the siblings, the dowdy wallflower compared to Edina's popular girl, which is decorated like a contemporary art gallery.

The Blue Plate restaurants specialize in home cooking with a twist: The turkey burger is seasoned with peanuts, jalapeños, and curry, though the flavors are mild; green beans are fried in a light tempura batter and served with a cloying plum sauce; mac and cheese is made with Asiago, Parmesan, and two kinds of cheddar; and breakfast is served all day and includes a killer banana waffle. When I've dined at Squares and some of the Grills, I can't say I've ever had a bad meal, though I've never found much to get excited about, either.

It's less the food and more the ability to connect with customers that sets Blue Plate restaurants apart from their competition (Olive Garden, Houlihan's, etc.). I know a family who signed up for the Blue Plate mailing list and raved for weeks about being invited to Edina Grill's soft opening, where free food was exchanged for feedback. When I visited Squares, its managers averted a potential crisis caused by an unexpected rush of diners by giving out appetizers and calling in extra staff. Our server, a cheery reserve, had the same characteristic chattiness I've found in other Blue Plate employees: telling us about her favorite dishes, and even revealing which co-worker she had a crush on (we were being a little nosy, admittedly). Rather than a case of Too Much Information, though, it made the place feel less like a generic mall restaurant and more like a small-town cafe.

LAREDO'S TEX-WEST GRILL is the third tenant to occupy its Excelsior and Grand space in about as many years, and this time I think they've figured out what the others missed. The first, a Brazilian steakhouse, was too foreign; the second, an Italian place, too familiar. In this incarnation, the management (they owned the Italian place, and also run McCoy's Public House) hung a stuffed bison head on the wall and served up tacos and tequila cocktails—a concept different enough to feel like a thrill, but one that's still recognizable and affordable.

Laredo's shines in nice weather, with plenty of umbrella-topped outdoor seating and an adjacent park that's a pleasant enough place to kill time until the vibrating buzzer signals that your table is ready. Stopping in the bar to sample something from the lengthy mixed-drink list—margaritas, "tex-tails," and "mexi-tinis"—can also make the wait go faster.