Il Gatto

Primebar closed

Around 11:00 p.m. on Sunday night, word started getting around that Primebar in Calhoun Square was abruptly closing its doors for good. The chain, which is owned by Restaurants America, opened its Minneapolis outpost in the ill-fated space at the corner of Hennepin and Lake last summer. After a fals ... More >>

Jim Christiansen of Union: Chef Chat, part 1

We almost lost him. A local boy, born and raised, chef Jim Christiansen garnered great reviews as a chef and a member of Tim McKee's team. However, when Il Gatto, where he was chef, went under, he followed a former coworker to work for a while in Denmark, at the famed Noma.  Hungry diners need ... More >>

New restaurant in Shinders space has a chef and a name

After months of folks trying to get a glimpse of what was going inside the old Shinders space at Hennepin and Eighth Street, plans have finally been announced. It will be an ambitious space, with year-round dining under the stars, a talented chef, and a stellar bar program. Everybody hold onto your ... More >>

Figlio makes a comeback

See also:Primebar opens in Il Gatto spaceIl Gatto ClosedIl Gatto replaces FiglioJust a week after the old space was reopened as PrimeBar, the phoenix of Figlio rises from its original Uptown location and heads for the suburbs. Yesterday it was announced that Parasole sold the brand to the owners of ... More >>

Primebar opens in former Il Gatto space in Uptown

Primebar, the chain moving into the former Il Gatto (and Figlio before it) location in Calhoun Square, is now open for business. After a soft opening over the past weekend, it is ready for the public to check out its 60 taps and gastropub-inspired fare.

Primebar has an opening date

The Restaurants America mini-chain moving into the ill-fated Il Gatto space announced today that it has scheduled an opening date. Primebar has locations in Chicago, Dallas, and Wesley Chapel, Florida. They describe their concept as an upscale gastropub. The interior will feature recycled wood, salv ... More >>

Replacement for ill-fated Il Gatto space announced

​That kind of prime real estate couldn't sit vacant for long. After the public stumble for the Parasole Group, when It closed Il Gatto, whispers quickly began that a chain restaurant would take over the space.  Today on her blog for MSP Magazine, Stephanie March revealed who will be moving in ... More >>

Month in Review: Open, Closed, Coming Soon January 2012

​NOW OPENColossal Cafe(2315 Como Ave, St. Paul)Rosa Mexicano (City Pages Review)(609 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis)Little Szechuan (City Pages Review)(5377 West 16th St., St. Louis Park)West Bank Diner(324 Cedar Ave S. Minneapolis)Five Guys Burgers and Fries(8360 3rd St N., Oakdale)Eat Street Pi ... More >>

Il Gatto: CLOSED

The kitty is no more​Il Gatto, the Parasole-owned restaurant anchor in Calhoun Square at the corner of Lake Street and Hennepin Avenue, served its last diner Saturday night.The restaurant had struggled to find it's footing after the parent company had transformed it about two years ago from its pr ... More >>

Parasole dips into tips

The local restaurant company takes 2 percent of servers' credit card gratuities

Parasole restaurants dipping into tip jar, taking 2% of wait staff's credit card tips

​Servers at Parasole restaurants received word last Tuesday that they'll have to give up 2% of their credit card tips to the house. A server at Good Earth Roseville tells City Pages that higher-ups explained the move as being necessary due to rising credit card use amongst customers and higher fe ... More >>

Il Gatto: happy hour of the week

http://www.facebook.com/#!/ilgattominneapolisIl Gatto: an upscale urban happy hour ​Has enough time finally passed that we can mention Il Gatto without referring to it as the restaurant that replaced Figlio? It certainly has its own identity by now, under the firm direction of local rainmaker and ... More >>

5 is the magic number in Best of Hot Dish: July 18-22, 2011

5 is it!​Schoolhouse Rock and De La Soul taught us that 3 was the most mystical of numbers. However, today, Hot Dish revises those assessments and declares 5 the most magic of integers, at least in terms of the many fine posts seen here this week, covering everything from cocktails to cheapness.&n ... More >>

Il Gatto chef Jim Christiansen suggests 5 ways to eat beets

Minnesota beets on Minnesota soil​These aren't the sad pickled beets of your Sizzler salad bar, circa 1985. The fresh, area beets from farmers markets, roadside stands, and your nearby co-op are full of flavor and can be used in a variety of ways. Il Gatto, the Italian darling at Calhoun Square ha ... More >>

Festa Mangalitsa at Il Gatto serves the pig, from snout to tail

Loved for its lard​Parasole calls the Mangalitsa "the fattest pig breed in production," which is a fine reason to have chefs Tim McKee and Jim Christiansen hold a Festa Mangalitsa at Il Gatto on May 17 at 7 p.m. It's an evening unsuitable for those who get timid at the thought of some unusual part ... More >>

Smack Shack's lobster roll: 100 Favorite Dishes, No. 25

Emily UtneIt's finally food truck season!​Early this week, we're told, Smack Shack should be rolling its big white truck into its downtown Minneapolis parking spot at First Avenue and Fourth Street North to kick off its outdoor season. (Don't worry, Northeasters, it'll still be at the 1029 Bar ... More >>

The Happy Gnome's MN game burger: 100 Favorite Dishes, No. 27

Mo PerryEating locally sourced food never tasted so indulgent​Eating locally sourced food has been all the rage for quite some time now, but maybe you've eschewed the whole idea, thinking it meant stuffy, sparse plates of morally superior greens sprinkled with a few smug flax seeds. Allow me ... More >>

Patisserie Margo's Zuppa Englese Torte: 100 Favorite Dishes, No. 28

A perfect 10 in taste and looks...​The Zuppa Englese torte at Patisserie Margo has a gorgeous multilayered construction that amazes the eyes and seems more precise and perfect than the original Italian treat. When translated, it means English soup, which one theory says came about when Italian che ... More >>

Dolsot Bibimbap at Dong Yang Oriental Food: 100 Favorite Dishes, No. 31

Kei TerauchiDolsot bibimbop: the food pyramid in a stone pot​It may be true that fast food provides you the most calories per dollar. But you are paying for processed fat and starch flavored to taste acceptable to the tolerant palate. If you are looking to fill up on healthy and full-flavored ... More >>

Meritage's pommes frites: 100 Favorite Dishes, No. 33

Joy SummersHold the ketchup, pass the Bearnaise ​Everything tastes better in French. Admit it. Would you rather eat mayo or aioli? A loaf of bread or a baguette? Velveeta or a little fromage? French fries or pommes frites? I rest my case. For French cuisine in the Twin Cities, it's hard to ... More >>

Piccolo's scrambled eggs with pigs' feet: 100 Favorite Dishes, No. 32

The elegance of eggs​Doug Flicker has a reputation as one of the best, if not the best, chefs in town. Those who know food, like other chefs and serious food followers, watch his every move. He's earned that respect by cooking his food his way, even if it might not appear to be what's popular with ... More >>

Travail's fried chicken: 100 Favorite Dishes, No. 34

​Even those who have lived in New Orleans for decades, where fried chicken is an art form, might find themselves losing years of their lives trying to prepare the dish at home, always feeling some sort of disappointment at the results. It's not always easy to pinpoint what is wrong. Was the batter ... More >>

Isles Bun & Coffee's Puppy Dog Tail: 100 Favorite Dishes, No. 38

Kei TerauchiFollow the finger for yummy tails​The morning commute is a struggle. With my hair still damp and stomach empty, I head out to catch the bus at Uptown Transit Station. As I sleepily walk down on Hennepin, a sweet and inviting aroma takes hold of all my senses. I look up and see a ... More >>

Szechuan Spice's Chicken with Double Chili Pepper: 100 Favorite Dishes, No. 41

Mo PerryFiery goodness to make your tongue tingle​There is something other-worldly about Szechuan Spice's chicken with double chili pepper--a haunting quality that hovers on the periphery of your memory and manifests in periodic, sudden, urgent cravings. Maybe it's the chicken, lightly crisp ... More >>

Dancing Ganesha's Chicken 65: 100 Favorite Dishes, No. 42

Colorful and tasty too​Good smells waft down Harmon Place when you open the doors to Dancing Ganesha and grab a seat at the bar, it only gets better. Pass by the elephant and settle in to watch the dual TV's -- one showing a Bollywood musical and the other reprising a cricket match with the West I ... More >>

Il Gatto's ravanelli: 100 Favorite Dishes, No. 53

In the plain white dish​Despite it's vibrant magenta coat, the radish usually plays the role of supporting garnish or salad accoutrement. Not so at Il Gatto, where the ravanelli makes the taproot of the Raphanus sativus a star, putting it front and center in this simple, yet addicting dish. Served ... More >>

Most underappreciated foods--and where to sample 'em

www.wikipedia.comKnow what this is? The right chef will make you want you to eat it!​You're an adult now and your tastes have come a long way since the days of pureed peaches and mushy peas. You've learned to love the earthiness of beets--though maybe you're not quite ready to chew on chicken ... More >>

Twin Cities best new restaurants of 2010

Piccolo, Travail, and more

New Year's Eve dining

Where will you ring in the New Year? ​Made your New Year's Eve plans yet, or are you procrastinating? If you caught yesterday's Week in Food post, you already heard about a couple of options: Tour de Farm hosts its final meal of 2010 in a heated, hundred-year-old barn at Star Thrower Farm in G ... More >>

Biggest Food Stories of 2010: a local take on the Atlantic list

Bacon--pictured here, chicken fried--is as big as ever this year!​When The Atlantic published its list of the Top 10 Biggest Food Stories of 2010, the Hot Dish couldn't help but chime in with our local take on each topic: 10. The Meat Trend From charcuterie plates to dry-aged steaks, both bee ... More >>

Experts predict 2011 food and restaurant trends

Pie tops the list of food trends to expect in 2011​Restaurant consulting firm Andrew Freeman of San Francisco has released its predictions for trends to watch for in food and restaurants in the coming year, as reported in the Detroit Free Press and elsewhere in the blogosphere. The company w ... More >>

Tim McKee revamps Il Gatto's menu

It's a restaurant intervention

Best of Hot Dish: October 11-15, 2010

Fall, we can't quit you.​It's been a stellar week at the Hot Dish, where food and drink are foremost in our hearts. Check out a few of the week's top posts:~In the great big world of food blogs, which are the deemed the foodiest? Let Mo Perry help you find the best recipes, food porn, and more wit ... More >>

Top 5 restaurants for foodies

Four TC restaurants made the Fit for Foodies list. ​I'm often disappointed when national magazines and whatnot make their picks for the best this-and-that in various cities across the country without doing very thorough--if any--on-the-ground research. But I recently found myself impressed b ... More >>

Uptown Cafeteria is tray chic, but can it keep up the pace?

Hennepin and Lake gets another Parasole joint

Top 10 ways to save money while eating out

If you're paying full price, you're paying too much.Paying too much?​ In tough economic times, one of the first budgetary cuts is often eating out. But with so many restaurants embracing social media and finding new ways to get customers, there's never been a better time to eat out. Here are 10 ... More >>

Which restaurant dishes will never come off the menu?

Eric HansonThese dishes aren't going anywhere...​While talking with several restaurant folks for this week's Dish column about menus, I came across several stories about dishes that staff would never dare remove from the menu. For example, Richard D'Amico, a partner in the D'Amico restaurant ... More >>

Parasole "passport" offers free cocktails at Uptown eateries

Parasole Passport to Uptown from Cities 97 Radio on Vimeo. Parasole really has its promo-mojo going in this video--you might want to hit the mute button--but it is worth watching if you've ever wanted to catch a glimpse of Parasole CEO Phil Roberts or B.T. from Cities 97 (uh, B.T. are those pinup ... More >>

Daily Happy Hours

Now Open: Uptown Cafeteria and Support Group

​Today's the big day for Uptown Cafeteria and Support Group to make its debut. The space has a retro-mod vibe, and the rooftop Sky Bar should be one of the hottest seats in Uptown, save the Benjamin-sucking onesacross the street at Stella's. (If you can't get a spot on Cafeteria's top level, t ... More >>

Uptown Cafeteria & Support Group gets ready to open

​ The new Parasole (Il Gatto, Chino, Manny's, Salut, etc.) concept at Lake Street and Girard, Uptown Cafeteria & Support Group--strangely named, as it's not actually a cafeteria--is getting ready to launch with a rooftop sky bar to compete with Stella's across the street. I drove past the othe ... More >>

Il Gatto wins Best Happy Hour: Watch the video

In keeping with this year's interactive theme of our Best of the Twin Cities issue, MPLS.TV produced some hot videos on several of our winners. (Did you catch the one on Best Bartender, Dan Oskey of the Strip Club, Best Neighborhood Bar (St. Paul), the Blue Door Pub, or Best Neighborhood Bar (Minn ... More >>

Alexis McKinnis

The Strib sex columnist on where not to put your food.

Food & Wine Experience this weekend

Scarf samples from hundreds of restaurants, wineries, and breweries in the foodie extravaganza at Minneapolis Convention Center

Il Gatto replaces Figlio in Uptown

It's a slick operation, but too many dishes disappoint

Foodservice News Names Top Corporate Chefs

FoodService news sings the praises of some often-unsung heros

Sneak Peek: Il Gatto

Modern Italian fare and a Uptown-swank makeover for this member of the Parasole family: tour the newly renovated Il Gatto in Calhoun Square in our newest slideshow.

Gift card bonuses @ Parasole, Joe's Garage, HomeMade Pizza

More great deals on gift cards this holiday season...

Now Open: Il Gatto

Cat's outta the bag: Parasole replaces Figlio with Il Gatto tonight!