First Look: Bernie's serves up Molly Yeh's Minnesotan recipes all day long

Over the summer, author and Food Network host Molly Yeh confirmed the worst-held secret in East Grand Forks: She and husband Nick Hagen were opening a restaurant. The location was the former Whitey's Wonderbar, an Art Deco-style building that now sports a light blue neon sign heralding Bernie's.

Whitey's has deep ties to the Minnesota border town. Founded by Edwin "Whitey" Larson in 1925, the midst of Prohibition, it was a drinking haven, gambling den and eventually a restaurant. When it opened on Demers Avenue in the 1930s, it boasted the country's first metal horseshoe bar, the Wonderbar. Whitey's stayed in the same location until the devastating flood of 1997, which wiped out the downtowns of both Grand Forks, N.D., and East Grand Forks.

The building, like many others, wasn't salvageable, but the metal horseshoe bar was. Whitey's moved a half-block east, where the iconic bar remained a centerpiece. The Wonderbar is now at the heart of Bernie's, which opened in early October, and is one of several nods to the past. Another is the blinking light blue neon sign, fashioned from letters that once spelled Whitey's Wonderbar.

Location: 121 Demers Av., East Grand Forks, Minn., bernieseastgrandforks.com. Open 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Sun.

The vibe: The room has been taken back to its bare bones and given a good coat of white paint. From the concrete floors to the tin ceiling squares, the aesthetic is vigilant in its simplicity and stands in contrast to the homey background of Yeh's TV show kitchen.

There's a small retail space filled with spices, sprinkles, artisan goods and cookbooks, and two dining spaces separated by a lounge area. The front has a few booths along the main street side of the building, and the back has additional tables and a gazebo adorned with bistro lights.

It's counter service for breakfast and lunch, when visitors line up from the bar into the back dining room to order. For "linner," a combination of lunch and dinner, the restaurant adds full service.

The food: The breakfast, lunch and linner menus use recipes from Yeh's show and food blog.

Breakfast dishes skew away from diner fare and into the charming dishes Yeh would prepare on her show for a small gathering of friends. A smorgasbord ($11) arrives picture-perfect with components of seed bread, boiled egg, smoked salmon, Havarti, butter and pickles ready for assembly. The breakfast sandwich ($10) is an egg bake square topped with cheese on house-made bread.

Sandwiches come with a choice of bread, including a thick focaccia that transformed the Bernie ($14) — ham or turkey, Brie and giardiniera — into a Dagwood-sized monster bite of a meal. There are toasts, soups and salads, too.

At linner, cheese curds ($10) from Cows and Co. Creamery are given a thick panko breadcrumb coating. Popcorn topped with dill pickle-infused butter and poppy seeds makes an easy snack to pair with the alcoholic drinks for a linner happy hour. A burger ($11) with lettuce, tomato and side of ripple chips is the heartiest linner entree.

Treats: Yeh's "My Name Is Yeh" blog features plenty of baked goods, but the availability of them at Bernie's was unpredictable during our visit as the restaurant was settling in. We were advised not to be too early for weekend brunch because the case wasn't stocked until a little later in the morning, but were also warned that if we arrived too late, some items might be sold out. Yeh makes great use of adorable sprinkles on her show, and in the bakery case they graced the iced doughnuts and a sugar cookie bar ($5). Unfortunately, the gluten-free loaf cake ($5) was undercooked and the worker decided not to serve it. Cardamom buns ($4.50) were available one day, but not the next. It's best to approach the counter with spontaneous ambitions.

Cocktails: There are a few affordable cocktails, including a $7 Bloody Mary (the house-made Caesar mix wasn't available, but Clamato was a good stand-in). The Bernie's Temple ($8) mixes whiskey, cardamom-cherry syrup, Sprite and Luxardo cherries for an adult answer to the classic Shirley Temple.