Jean-Georges Vongerichten in Minneapolis

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Since I began writing Super Chef, I have watched the move to smaller cities by empire-building celebrity chefs such as Lidia Bastianich to Pittsburgh and Larry Forgione to St. Louis. Now Jean-Georges Vongerichten is following that trend. He already has restaurants in many of the world's capital cities (though not Washington DC -- yet), and now he is set to open a restaurant in Minneapolis. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that Vongerichten will open an as-yet-unnamed restaurant in spring 2006. It will be part of the 53-room Chambers Hotel now under construction. The Star Tribune says that, unlike the Minneapolis offshoot of New York's Aquavit that closed last year, Jean-Georges' restaurant will be affordable like his Spice Market in New York City. Is Jean-Georges over-expanding? His restaurants include the original Vong, Mercer Kitchen, Jean Georges, Jo-Jo, Spice Market, 66, Lipstick Cafe, and V Steakhouse in New York City; Vong Chicago; Prime Steakhouse in Las Vegas; Bank in Houston; Dune near Nassau, Bahamas; Vong Hong Kong and Vong London; and Market in Paris. The answer is, probably not. He has presence in eight cities, which is quite a lot, but he has an unusually strong team, led by his business partner Phil Suarez. Why open in Minneapolis? Well, it's a major American city in the MidWest. It is also a hub for Northwest Airlines, which makes travel there fairly easy and affordable as one traverses the States -- not just super chefs but guests, too. So, Marcus Samuelsson caught the bug, even if his restaurant did not work out there. One good litmus test is the presence of another super chef, Wolfgang Puck, who operates a full-service restaurant in the Walker Art Center. If Wolfgang opens and stays in a spot, any super chef should consider the same -- Las Vegas is the perfect example. Lastly, both Wolfgang and Jean-Georges have restaurants already in "nearby" Chicago. I'm just wondering what the new restaurant's name should be... "V-Minnie"? "Market Minneapolis"? Please post your own suggestions as comments to this article, and I will forward them to Jean-Georges by January 1, 2005. What might the prize be, should Jean-Georges pick a name from among these comments? Well, I'll have to leave that Jean-Georges and Phil, but certainly there a dinner should be in the mix -- and that's some fine cooking we're talking about. Previous articles: Designer Water: Super Chefs Promote Next Wave? After the Hurricane, Norman Van Aken Breezes Gently In Larry Forgione: "An American Place" For American Cities And Now Puck Paints, Two!