[wine] Pinot at Emma's

Emma's Restaurant and Lounge A low-key neighborhood sweetheart with fine-dining aspirations, Emma's is where you'll find young chef and owner Emily Streeter cooking her likable French-touched classics. For dinner you'll find carefully made bistro classics as well as more ambitious showpieces. Streeter works particularly well with flavors along a single theme: One wintertime special of goose fat-braised duck crusted with fines herbes and served in a smoked tomato duck stock with potatoes, leeks, and fresh baby fava beans was unforgettable. During weekend brunch, unpretentious dishes like fried-egg cutouts and French toast as fluffy as bed pillows brighten every table--and cost the same as at nearby style-less diners. Emma's back lounge is a hidden oasis, and the wine, cocktails, and privacy are a welcome after-dinner treat for those who want a drink, but not a bar. American Posh. $$-$$$, Breakfast / Brunch, Great Bar. View Map 2817 Lyndale Ave S, Mpls.; 612.879.5800 While we're at it. Looks to be a bigger group next week. Proven Pinots at Emmas. 2817 Lyndale (was 3 Muses?). Bob Lori Betsy Bill and Linda? Warren/Ruth/Steve Jim Annette S Roger and ? Karin/Nicolai Jeff G. Cheers, Jim