La Belle Vie revived: Get a taste of Minneapolis’ fine-dining past at P.S. Steak

Former La Belle Vie chef de cuisine Mike DeCamp is dusting off the menus from the Minneapolis fine-dining jewel for a special throwback menu at P.S. Steak — his restaurant that now occupies the storied 510 Groveland address.

DeCamp shared the news via social media with an image of the menu and a little reminiscing: “La Belle Vie was one of the best times of my life and I hope you have as many memories as I do.”

Through March 28, dishes and a few cocktails will be pulled from La Belle Vie’s Lounge menu, which served foie gras with toast and bitter orange marmalade, pappardelle with rabbit Bolognese and iconic lamb burgers.

La Belle Vie was the celebrated restaurant from chef/owner Tim McKee, DeCamp’s mentor. Opened in Stillwater in 1998, it moved to the historic Minneapolis location in 2005. During its tenure, McKee would be awarded a James Beard Award and the restaurant would become known as the pinnacle of fine dining, where visiting dignitaries and celebrities would dine. In 2015, McKee decided to close the restaurant, citing the financial challenges of being a destination restaurant saved for special occasions. DeCamp and his Jester Concepts group opened P.S. Steak in 2018 after fully remodeling the back dining room.

Reservations for the La Belle Vie menu in the P.S. Lounge are available now at psmpls.com/reservations.

There’s a little more pink on Mainstreet in Hopkins with the just-opened Pink Ivy. The restaurant is the work of Viorica and Michael Shaughnessy, serving modern-American cuisine with a seasonal focus and a full bar menu. Dishes include a grilled Caesar salad, mussels with lobster butter, a signature burger with soy-braised onions, shareable veggie side dishes and a kids’ menu with simple dishes like buttered noodles.

The restaurant (712 Mainstreet, Hopkins, pinkivymn.com) will be open lunch through dinner Tuesdays through Sundays. The couple owned the now-closed Advellum inside Market at Malcolm Yards food hall.

The new South Lyndale Liquors & Market (with the incredible sandwich menu) hit another milestone last week as it launched a new wine bar in the front of the store. Chef Matt Bickford created the food menu, which has dishes like bruschetta and lasagna, with wines selected by South Lyndale’s experts. It’s a casual spot for a bite and sip, with 24 self-pour wines at the ready. Open Thursday through Saturday at 3 p.m., the liquor store (5516 Lyndale Av. S., Mpls., southlyndale.com) touts happy hour prices all day, every day.

Coming to the former Mort’s Deli in Golden Valley is a deli of another sort. Baia, from the Hemisphere Restaurants group (The Tavern Grill, Taza), is inspired by a cruise around the Mediterranean. Executive chef Ryan Dodge is behind the menu, which promises an upscale dining experience on one side, and a lunch-friendly deli on the other. Look for influences from Italy, Greece, Turkey and more, with proteins like lamb and fresh fish, flavors of roasted grapes and figs, rosewater and tahini desserts, and scratch-made dips like hummus and tzatziki. Khachapuri, the Georgian bread with the cheese pull to end all cheese pulls, is poised to go viral. While some signage has already gone up on the building at 525 Winnetka Av. N., we’re told an opening is slated for summer.

Treats, the boba and cereal ice cream shop, is opening its third location on March 16 in the North Loop. The spot at 314 N. 2nd St. in Minneapolis will host a grand opening event, and the first 50 customers get a free treat. Other Treats locations are in Blaine and on Grand Avenue in St. Paul. A fourth outpost, at the Mall of America, is also in the works.

The NA beverage world continues to expand. For those who can’t make it to Marigold, the area’s first nonalcoholic bottle shops, there’s a new option. Marigold is holding a launch party for its new monthly subscription boxes on Friday from noon-6 p.m. at the Minneapolis location (3506 Nicollet Av. S., Mpls., shop.honeycombmpls.com). There will be three kits available, standard, deluxe and cannabis; more details and signup information are coming soon.

In case you missed those impressive lines of hungry sports fans eager to support Minnesota’s first bar dedicated to women’s sports: A Bar of Their Own is now open and the first few days were doozies. The restaurant in Minneapolis’ Seward neighborhood kicked off its highly anticipated grand opening with a menu that includes bar food favorites with fun names. There are chicken dunks, freestyle fried pickles, a double smash burger and more food to fuel you while cheering on your favorite team on one of the many TVs mounted around the space at 2207 E. Franklin Av. A Bar of Their Own is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Long live the puffy pancakes: Pannekoeken Huis in St. Louis Park has closed after 25 years. And Coconut Whisk, the gluten-free and vegan bake shop, is closing its cafe in downtown Minneapolis, but the brand’s baking mixes will live on.

Star Tribune staff writer Sharyn Jackson contributed to this story.