A sure sign of spring? New brunch offerings popping up at Twin Cities restaurants

Extended daylight hours and the approach of Mother's Day bring fresh brunch menus across the metro area.

Macanda, Daniel del Prado's Wayzata restaurant with the sprawling patio launches its brunch menu on April 29 (294 Grove Lane E., macandawayzata.com). His downtown Minneapolis restaurant at the Rand Tower, Blondette, follows suit on May 5. (On Mother's Day, Blondette — 527 Marquette Av. S., blondettempls.com — is doing a special Brunch and Bloom that includes making floral arrangements between mimosas. Tickets are available for that now.)

Ann Kim's Young Joni (164 13th Av. NE., Mpls., youngjoni.com) will launch a weekend brunch service on May 27; reservations will be available May 1. Kim's Sooki & Mimi (1432 W. 31st St., Mpls., sookiandmimi.com) is expected to add brunch this summer. We're already imagining brunch on that greenery-flanked sidewalk patio.

And the North Loop's new Butcher & the Boar (901 N. 3rd St., Mpls., butcherandtheboarmpls.com) will add its weekend brunch service May 6, with reservations now available.

Opening soon is Mito, the new Latin restaurant and bar that's taken over the former Grumpy's in Roseville (2801 N. Snelling Av., mitolatincuisine.com). Reservations are live now for dinner, which begins May 1.

There's plenty of ambition in the setting — a tropical paradise — and on the menu. Dishes range from wagyu birria, juge de carne with bone marrow, Peruvian ceviche and 24-hour-marinated octopus to an entire high-roller menu section, where big spenders can lavish the table with Tomahawk steaks, rock clams garnished with 24-karat gold and more.

Mito will be open from 4 p.m.-midnight Sun., Mon., Wed., Thu., and from 4 p.m.-2 a.m. Fri.-Sat.

Even more signs of life are springing up near Loring Park in Minneapolis. The alleyway behind Lurcat and the forthcoming Gai Noi will soon be home to Fawkes Alley Coffee Shop.

In addition to coffee, the shop (1621 Harmon Place, Suite 150, Mpls., fawkesalleycoffee.com) will offer grab-and-go sandwiches and pastries. Operating as a nonprofit, Fawkes will channel all profits into the Futsal Society, an organization that provides access to futsal (basically indoor soccer) to kids who can't pay to play. Conrado Badilla, of nearby Sonora Grill, is designing a lunch menu and the pastries will come from chef Amber Curry. The coffee shop expects to open before summer.

Tomo Mojo Grill, the quick-service restaurant from Tilia veterans Paul Backer and Michael Knox, is opening a location inside the retail complex at 66th Street and Cedar Avenue (near Target) in Richfield. This is the second outpost of the restaurant, which specializes in Spanish- and Portuguese-style slow-cooked meats and veggies with incredible sauces.

While you're waiting, visit the original location near Ridgedale (12977 Ridgedale Drive, Minnetonka, tomamojogrill.com).

Last call for lettuce wraps has come and gone in Edina. The outpost of P.F. Chang's inside the mall has permanently closed. That leaves one metro-area location standing, in Maple Grove (12071 Elm Creek Blvd.).

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is destination dining as Food & Wine Magazine recently named it one of the 10 Best U.S. Airports for Food as part of its inaugural Global Tastemakers awards. MSP ranked third — behind San Francisco and Atlanta — with the magazine calling out Terminal 1's ties to local food options, including Smack Shack, Hi-Lo Diner and Stone Arch (Mill City Tavern and Crisp & Green recently joined the local lineup). Readers also lauded the airport's food delivery system, MSP ASAP, which allows travelers to order food from airport restaurants and have it delivered to their terminal. Rounding out Food & Wine's Top 10 airports were New Orleans, Portland, Tampa, Seattle-Tacoma, Nashville, Austin-Bergstrom and Detroit.

What can be better than helping out by eating at our favorite restaurants? You'll have the chance on April 27 for Dining Out for Life, the annual fundraiser for the Twin Cities Aliveness project, which helps local residents living with HIV/AIDS. The Nicollet Diner, Mason Jar Kitchen & Bar, Wise Acre Eatery, Creekside Supper Club, Brasa and Apostle Supper Club are among the nearly 100 restaurants participating. Get the full list at diningoutforlifemn.org.

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