Farmer’s skillet at Joseph’s
There’s a reason why Joseph’s restaurant in Stillwater has been attracting regulars for more than 40 years — the scratch pies and homestyle breakfasts, with eggs cooked just right, among them. On a recent trip home to the St. Croix River Valley, “Joe’s” was top of mind when looking for brunch options.
The crowd favorite was the farmer’s skillet ($17), a savory dish with onions, green peppers, tomatoes and ham that comes with a heaping bed of hash browns and two eggs made your way. We ordered our eggs scrambled, and the glistening curds were a sign that they had been taken off the stove at exactly the right time. Just when we thought we couldn’t ask for more, a creamy, buttery, decadent hollandaise sauce ladled over the top let us know we could dream bigger.
For an extra $1, you can substitute the accompanying toast with buttermilk pancakes. That’s a bargain, considering it’s two generous hot cakes the size of a dinner plate, and they proved to be a tasteful delight, thanks to a hint of sweetness from the buttermilk. (Nancy Ngo)
14608 N. 60th St., Stillwater, josephsmn.com

Very Demure at WildChld
Sometimes, Minneapolis’ constantly shifting road construction bestows a small gift. For me, that gift was a line of orange cones on University Avenue that cordoned off some very handy meter parking outside the new cocktail bar WildChld.
Restaurateur and entrepreneur Kamal Mohamed tapped Dampfwerk’s Bridgit Loeffelholz to create a new drinking den with low lights, an open room, a few pieces of art and sophisticated beverages.
Loeffelholz’s cocktail list toes the line between reinvention and redefined classics. Drink sophisticates might recognize cocktail styles, but the ingredients are either new or seldom seen. The Very Demure ($15) is a Negroni riff, but the base gin is a Japanese variety made with rice. It’s augmented with a little banana liqueur that tastes faintly of toasted banana bread and a little injection of coffee bitters that rounds out the bitterness from the amaro. It’s smooth and supple, a tidy sip for the end of the day or the beginning of a very nice night. (Joy Summers)
24 University Av. NE., Mpls., wildchld.co