Capsule review: When co-owners Brock and Natalie Obee called it quits in June 2007 after 11 great years, server Jill Wilson stepped in and bought the place lock, stock and recipe. Cafe 128, version 2.0, is still a swell just-under-the-radar charmer. Chef Ian Pierce is a master of the restaurant's signature dish, slowly braised pork baby back ribs. Other highlights: fork-tender beef tenderloin in an exceptional red wine demi-glace; pan-roasted chicken served with creamy polenta and a robust bacon-rosemary pan sauce; tender cod cakes with energetic Thai flavors, and zesty harissa-glazed shrimp.

Capsule review: Downtown restaurant and bar, serving an all-American menu of sandwiches, burgers and more. During the warm-weather months, the restaurant operates a large, shaded and very popular patio.

Capsule review: At this laid-back coffeehouse, expect to find an ambitious live-music schedule (performed in an adjacent music room), a nicely retro setting and inexpensive fare that effortlessly swings from breakfast (burritos, oatmeal, waffles) to dinner (black-bean burger, smoked trout salad, aoili/three-cheese grilled sandwich). Beyond coffee, there's an impressive beer selection (including 24 tap choices, from Bell's Oberon Ale to Frostop root beer) and more than a dozen affordable wines by the glass.

Capsule review: Daron Close and chef Chris Whalen, formerly of Campiello and other D'Amico properties, have struck out on their own to open a small suburban restaurant. Acqua features a non-trendy menu of specials and entrees that unlocks the flavors lurking deep inside ingredients, whether it's a succulent, slow-braised pork shank or oven-roasted cauliflower. While I quibbled with a perfunctory thin-crust pizza and a few over-salted dishes, this place does a great job balancing the unexpected with the standard.

Capsule review: A genuine neighborhood bar and grill offering a long menu of burgers, from basics (cheeseburgers, California burgers) to exotic (black bean with lettuce and salsa, cheese with sauerkraut, turkey with tomatoes and mayo), grilled chicken, fish and chips and a dozen deep-fried bar snacks.

Capsule review: An Italian cafe/neighborhood bistro with simple but authentic Southern Italian fare, moderate prices and minimal decor. The level of cuisine is many notches above the typical "red sauce" restaurant, where everything tastes the same because everything is smothered in the same heavy-handed tomato sauce. Working with skill and finesse, chef-owner Jonathan Hunt changes his menu daily, but usually prepares house-made pastas, several bruschettas, small pizzas, braised meats, grilled fish and simple, satisfying desserts. One of the Star Tribune's 2004 best restaurants of the year. Wine list: Interesting, mostly Italian selection. All bottles half-price on Monday evenings.

Capsule review: Definitely Italian-American rather than "authentic" Italian, but it offers more variety and better quality than the usual red sauce restaurant. The restaurant does have deep-fried mozzarella sticks on its menu, and chicken wings, lasagna, manicotti and spaghetti and meatballs. But its more sophisticated offerings range from a lively, garlicky bruschetta with tomatoes; gnocchi with pistachios and Gorgonzola; a chicken breast Gradiola with spinach leaves, pine nuts, walnuts and pecans, and lobster-filled ravioli topped with caviar. Portion sizes are definitely Italian-American: They are enormous. The weekend brunch menu, served a la carte, includes frittata, omelets and a tasty dish of eggs scrambled with pesto and pasta. Wine list: Good selection of inexpensive California and Italian wines by the bottle or glass, plus a few more expensive prestige labels.