The highly anticipated Cafe Yoto from chef Yo Hasegawa opens at 548 Washington Av. N. in Minneapolis on March 4. On social media, Hasegawa said, “I’m so excited to share with you the Japanese soul cooking that I grew up eating.”
On the menu are housemade udon, donburi (rice bowls), temaki (cone-shaped hand rolls), kozara (small plates) and more. There’s also beer, wine and sake, plus, if early reports are to be believed, some special Marc Heu Pâtisserie desserts. The casual setting is counter service and situated just below street level inside the historic Duffey Building.
Cafe Yoto began as a Monday night pop-up inside Kado No Mise, where Hasegawa worked for the past decade for his mentor, Shigeyuki Furukawa.
Initial hours are 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
The nutrition-packed Omega bowl at Fitchn in Minneapolis includes spinach, chickpeas, watermelon radishes, edamame and a bright orange-yellow turmeric dressing. (Nancy Ngo/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Just shy of its one-year anniversary, Fitchn will close on March 7. The fast-casual restaurant with a health-focused menu from Hailie Hoschka and Joe Clark opened at 1024 Washington Av. S. near the end of March last year.
In an Instagram announcement, Fitchn wrote in part, “We have had so much fun bringing this dream to life. This isn’t the outcome we wanted, but we feel proud of what we built and are hopeful for what’s to come.”