Queen of Sweets, Sovereign of Savory

Ever experience buyer’s remorse? That’s what I’m suffering after my dinner at Diane’s Place. My big regret is that I failed to hide under the table and simply reappear for brunch.

Foodies have long worshiped pastry chef Diane Moua, who helped put Spoon & Stable on the culinary map with her sublime desserts. She launched her own café as a breakfast/lunch magnet back in 2023. And now, dinner, too.

The Queen of Tarts has created a menu showcasing her savory skills in a menu that illuminates her Hmong heritage, which includes her now-legendary Hmong sausage, served with sticky rice and sauces ($19), in her slice of this Northeast food hall (which includes a neighboring site where the sausage is fabricated). Seven dishes later, we realized we’d missed it. Next time (and There. Will. Be. A. Next. Time).

The dining area itself offers a choice of atmospheres — a crowded, gregarious canteen plus a more serene alcove simply paved in white plaster below a ceiling sporting husky beams. Added bonus: Diane herself often patrols the rooms during the dinner hours, stopping to chat and (in our case, lucky us) send over an order of her already-legendary scallion mini-croissants, served with garlic butter and sea salt ($15). These beyond-flaky, butter-based marvels could put those made in Paris out of business.

But time to order more, more, more. The menu provides 14 additional temptations ($16-$32). We began with an order of sauteed eggplant, a celebration of the veggie’s near-lascivious, jelly-like texture, here brightened with cilantro, Thai pepper and garlic. Perfect way to start.

Next, a sharing plate of sour pork short ribs — satisfyingly muscular, rich and meaty — livened, sparingly but fittingly, with lime leaf (that’s the “sour”) and garlic. We followed up with a saucer of bamboo and cabbage sliced into soldiers, laced with a simpatico coconut curry broth, mainly on our server’s recommendation — but I’d skip this in the future, purely because other options proved more enticing.

Such as the Hmong pulled pork — solidly savory, even more robust and salt-kissed than those short ribs. Ginger, sour bamboo and scallions abetted the arrangement, served with sticky rice. We skipped the beef laab carpaccio, highly recommended by our server, in favor of the duck stew — a hearty leg quarter of the tasty bird partnered with Thai eggplant, a breeze of lemongrass and hearty scent of garlic, also served with rice. No regrets, indeed.

Next time: the papaya noodle salad laced with a tamarind vinaigrette and/or the glass noodle salad, wherein shrimp and bok choy star, or the eggroll-stuffed chicken. Also, dessert!

On that final list, we spotted a corn waffle ($14). What?? Who cares what, just order it. Two waffle-ettes appear, which eases sharing. They do indeed bear a sweet, corn-y flavor, which pairs nicely with their Diane-only topping of squash ice cream (mildly savory) and candied sorghum. For traditionalists, there’s also chocolate custard, Thai tea affogato or ice cream.

From Diane’s list of cocktails, I chose the Shady D ($14), melding bourbon, tamarind and Averna, which carried me through multiple courses — not too sweet nor aggressive, yet intriguing. Or choose wine BTG from a short but well-curated list, $11 up. Beer too, natch.

Excellent, well-trained and patient servers who are willing to course the meal add to the pleasure of discovering the savory side of Diane’s many talents. BTW, she’s nominated (again) for a James Beard award. Here’s hoping!

Diane’s Place
117 14th Ave. NE
(612) 489-8012
dianesplacemn.com