Look for fresh ideas, familiar faces on the Twin Cities restaurant scene in 2023

After years of seeing menus leaning into hearty, familiar comfort dishes, the new year is set to be a space for chefs to reassert their abilities and creativity, filling our plates and souls with fresh ideas.

There's much to look forward to, including a creative new food hall, a development boom in the already restaurant-dense North Loop of Minneapolis and exciting makers ready to burst onto the scene. We're also carrying the hope and Phoenix-like fire of an industry that was almost put asunder by the pandemic rising.

Certainly times have changed, but that's also something the restaurant industry is adept at dealing with. These are the folks who always show up, and this year, they're showing up with fire in their bellies and a bunch of tasty ideas they are ready to share. We can't wait.

Here's what we're excited about this year.

We don't know where it's going to be or when it will open, but the Diane Moua's talent and drive has her first restaurant at the top of our list of can't-wait-to-get-into places. Moua began her career at the lauded La Belle Vie. Her pastry department consistently led the local industry standards of what a beautiful meal capper could be, often dancing on the edge of salty and savory atop ethereal sweetness. From there she joined the opening team at Spoon and Stable, again creating gorgeous desserts, but also building new challenges for herself, like a world-class bread program. Then she conquered laminated dough at Bellecour. Now, she's building something entirely new: savory cooking beyond pastry. Her new restaurant will incorporate some of the things she loves to cook at home, or with her family when she visits her parent's Wisconsin farm.

The new year brings major investments in bold names, luring even more diners to the North Loop of Minneapolis. On one single stretch there are plans for a tequila-centric restaurant from Josh Thoma and Kevin Fitzgerald, the owners of the Lexington, Smack Shack and Burger Dive. James Beard Award-winner Tim McKee will helm the food program for the forthcoming West Hotel, where he'll explore the Spanish flavors he loves via a restaurant, three bars and a bakery. David Fhima just announced the name for his new complex that will go into the former Ribnick Furs location: Maison Margaux will house a French restaurant, an underground bar and an event center. Plus, Daniel del Prado has partnered with Ryan Burnet to breathe new life into the old Bachelor Farmer space. So, odds are good we're going to be spending a lot of our dollars and time on N. 1st Street next year. The only question that remains is where is everybody going to park?

Eat Street Crossing is opening very soon in a cool old building at the end of Eat Street in Minneapolis. The project is being led by power couples/restaurateurs Lina Goh and John Ng of Zen Box Izakaya and Bebe Zito's Gabriella Grant-Spangler and Ben Spangler. Inside there will be fried chicken dipped in sweet-hot butter, giant bowls of ramen and an impressive bar program overseen by Trish Gavin.

Hope was dwindling that we'd ever eat at Zelo again. Tim McKee's break from the restaurant business was much too long. Vincent Francoual was toiling away at a country club years after closing his landmark Vincent A Restaurant. And Butcher & the Boar seemed lost forever. But 2023 is the year of the comeback. Francoual just opened the casual French restaurant Chloe by Vincent in downtown Minneapolis and there's more to come. McKee, as mentioned above, is on board for a whole new restaurant complex. Butcher & the Boar is taking its beloved recipes to the North Loop, thanks to Jester Concepts, and has its sights set on a late January opening. And Zelo? The downtown Minneapolis restaurant is finally reopening in March.

After a wave of bummer news for Minneapolis' talented barbecue makers that, thanks to the enforcement of a city ordinance, mobile businesses could no longer operate their smokers (after years of doing just that), we're leaning on optimism that places like Boomin Barbecue and Fare Game will once again set out their smokers and give us a good reason to nab a clutch of napkins for a rib feast. In the meantime, one major player has decided to move on from weather-dependent food truck life and put down roots. Animales Barbeque Co. will open a full-service restaurant with a full bar, thanks to chef/owner Jon Wipfli and his new business partner, Billy Tserenbat of Billy Sushi.

Chef/owner Ann Ahmed has proved time and time again that she creates transformative restaurant experiences. While this is the year we will bid a fond farewell to her first restaurant, Lemon Grass, it's also the year that she and husband/partner Tarique Ahmed will embark on their most ambitious project yet: remaking the former 4 Bells in Loring Park. For those who remember, it has one of the prettiest rooftop patios around and a massive restaurant and event space. If Lat 14 and Khâluna are any indicators, this is going to be a stunner. The project is in the earliest of stages and there's currently no timeline for opening.

Sometimes we come across new makers and are so excited about their stories and ideas that we want a front-row seat to whatever comes next. That's the way we feel about these five:

The Salsa Collaborative/Roll'd Up Catering: Part hot sauce company, part burger pop-up, part fancy hot-pocket makers and full-time tasty dreamers Nikki and Brian Podgorski have no shortage of great ideas. The two have invented the "brissant" (a sort of bun/croissant hybrid) and have proved to be one of the hottest pop-up tickets in town — and we haven't even mentioned the catered dinner where we sampled a game-changing dish Nikki prepared leaning into the flavors of her Cambodian heritage. Look for them next at a weekend residency at Lowertown's Barrel Theory Brewery that kicks off Jan. 6.

Dahlia: A daytime cafe from three former Travail staffers will inject a full-service, fine-dining flair into breakfast and lunch. Alex Althoff, Sarah Julson and Nat Moser plan to open Dahlia in 2023 or 2024, possibly in northeast Minneapolis — but have already been selling out their dessert-centric pop-ups.

Soul Lao: The popular Soul Lao is upgrading from food truck to brick and mortar at Sibley Plaza in St. Paul. The truck is where Sabrina Boualaphanh and Eric Phothisanh serve their take on Lao cuisine, including wings and the crispy/juicy/cravable pork belly, all cooked with plenty of soul. The restaurant, aiming for an April opening, will allow them to expand the menu to be "a mix of traditional and innovative Lao cuisine against a backdrop of Lao vintage design."

Bakehouse: Honey and Rye Bakehouse, the 10-year-old St. Louis Park bakery that highlights premium local ingredients, is growing. Launching down the street from the bakery's original location, Anne Andrus will open bakehouse this spring to support the bakery's growing wholesale orders. But that's not all. The freshly-painted pink building — a former clothing store — will have room for a small storefront with an entirely new line of sweet treats.

An unstoppable purpose: For many restaurateurs, opening a giant bar/event space/restaurant in a downtown metro area would be a pinnacle of sorts, but for Sarah and Brian Ingram, it's just a stop along the way. The duo, who oversee Purpose Restaurants, have struck a chord with eaters with their feel-good commitment of giving 3% of all sales to their charity. Apostle Supper Club opened this winter across from the Xcel Energy Center, after opening another one in Duluth. Those restaurants join two Hope Breakfast Bars and the Gnome in their restaurant roster, with more Hope Breakfast Bars coming soon. The duo are already embarking on their next adventure — Spring Break, set to open near Xcel this spring.

Will the Twin Cities restaurant scene fit in with what is happening on a national level? In many ways we're already there: