After a few weeks in beautiful Scandinavia, it’s back to work for me!

This week’s Dining Diary is all about pre- and post-event dining.

I visited one of my favorite quick spots for dinner before a concert at the Palace Theatre, had dinner on a super cute patio before trivia with friends and had a few excellent brunches in Duluth while there for Trampled by Turtles’ annual Bayfront Festival Park show.

Amsterdam Bar & Hall

There is absolutely nothing fancy about this bar/music venue around the corner from the Palace, but sometimes that’s exactly what I want. It also tends to be less busy than other popular, pre-event dining destinations downtown, so if we are running late (which is often the case), it’s the perfect choice.

You order at the bar and pick up your own food (remember, I said not fancy), but the sandwiches hit the spot, especially when you pair them with the restaurant’s excellent, hand-cut, deep-golden fries. My favorite is the ham and Gouda sandwich, but my husband’s shawarma burger, coated with Middle Eastern spices, was also delicious.

The sandwiches here are not humongous, but they’re also priced right at less than $10 apiece.

They also have a great gin selection, so when I’m missing Europe’s fancy gin and tonics, this is where I’m going. (Try the Nolet’s gin with soda, a splash of tonic and a lemon wedge. You’re welcome.)

Amsterdam Bar & Hall >> 6 W. Sixth St., St. Paul; amsterdambarandhall.com

Em Que Viet

It was hot outside, and I was craving a Vietnamese noodle salad, so we hit the cute patio behind this Grand Avenue restaurant for a few cocktails and some tasty Asian fare.

I got my bun salad with tender mock duck, and my husband opted for the restaurant’s excellent lo mein with chicken. Our friend ordered the Vietnamese curry chicken without realizing it was a soup, but I reminded her that soup is definitely a thing in tropical locations, so she went with it and found the spice cooling in the end.

We also split some of the restaurant’s excellent, super crisp egg rolls (they’re the family behind the eggroll-on-a-stick stand at the Minnesota State Fair).

Our cocktails ended up being a very Minnesotan purple (and gold), much to the chagrin of this Packer fan, but they were delicious, especially mine, a spicy (and gold) mezcal number.

Em Que Viet >> 1332 Grand Ave., St. Paul; 651-330-4363; emqueviet.com

New Scenic Cafe

A friend of mine who grew up in the area told me this was his favorite restaurant in Duluth, which confused me!

I had always assumed it was farther up the North Shore, but it turns out it is a quick 15-minute drive from the city center. So we decided to get some lunch before checking into our hotel.

Having just been in Scandinavia on a reader trip, I was excited to check out the very Swedish menu at this gorgeous restaurant with an excellent view of Lake Superior.

We started with some strong French-press coffee and the restaurant’s version of a bloody Mary, which is more beet juice than tomato, and spiked with aquavit. I was the only beet lover at our table, so the rest of the party eschewed it, but I loved the sweet, earthy, caraway flavor.

And because I had a hard time finding fresh lefse in Norway (I did pick up a packaged version at a grocery store), I had to order the lefse here so my daughter could taste the snack my grandmother used to make for me. It was just as I remembered it, even down to the cinnamon-sugar butter it was served with. My daughter loved it, too.

One of the first meals we had in Stockholm started with Skagen toast, so I was excited to see a version of it at the New Scenic. Their snack-sized, creamy, light skagenrora salad is served atop buttery brioche toast, and I’m happy to report that it was as delicious (if a bit smaller) than the version I had in Sweden.

We also shared a plate of burrata, served with thinly sliced prosciutto and compressed melon. It was good, but a bit unimaginative and probably my least favorite of what we tried.

My husband and I both ordered smorrebrod, traditional Danish open-faced sandwiches. Though they were not quite as big as the ones I was served in Copenhagen, they were the perfect size after all the snacks we started with. Mine, topped with a sweet-salty rutabaga puree and a filet of flaky cooked salmon, was light, flavorful and filling all at the same time. My husband’s smoked pork loin and potato was more hearty and robust. Both were worth returning for, and since my daughter goes to college in Duluth, I’m sure I’ll be back frequently.

My daughter ordered a BLT on an airy, buttery croissant that was bigger than her head, and it was so good she almost finished it. Her boyfriend got a crispy grouper sandwich that he declared the best fish sandwich he’d ever eaten.

Because my daughter is a baker and had been obsessed with the chocolate cake from the TV show “The Bear,” we had to order the restaurant’s version. The cake consists of dense, rich, chocolatey layers with a chocolate mousse filling and a ganache frosting, and not a morsel remained. The slice was huge, so perfect for sharing among the four of us.

New Scenic Cafe >> 5461 North Shore Drive, Duluth; 218-525-6274; newsceniccafe.com

Duluth Grill

No trip to Duluth is complete without stopping at this excellent brunch spot on the way out of town.

Pro tip: There’s always a huge wait, but you can put your name on the list online before you ever leave the house. We were seated shortly after we arrived, but when we signed up there were 53 parties ahead of us.

It’s popular for a reason. I can never decide what to order, because every single thing on the menu sounds amazing. This time, I settled on an egg sandwich, playfully named C.U. Tamago, after the Japanese pan used to cook custardy square omelettes. The egg was light and silky, and some crisp bacon and tart pickled onions provided contrast, with crushed-up potato chips adding some extra salty crunch. As if the sandwich wasn’t enough on its own (it was), the sandwich comes with a side, and the Korean Brussels sprouts did not disappoint. They are given a long bath in a deep fryer, rendering them deep brown and crisp, yet somehow light, and the super-umami Korean flavor on them is positively addictive.

My husband ordered the hash-brown version of huevos rancheros, which was loaded with house-made chorizo, grilled corn, black beans, pico de gallo and eggs with some Tajin-spiked potato chips for texture.

My daughter was delighted to learn that she could combine her savory Brekkie-dilla (a quesadilla with chorizo-seasoned pork belly and eggs) with a sweet side (fluffy French toast) and her more adventurous boyfriend cleaned his plate of lamb eggs Benedict, which was slathered in a dilly tzatziki sauce.

Because there are about 20 other dishes I want to try here, I’m sure we’ll stop again on our way out of town.

Duluth Grill >> 118 S. 27th Ave. W., Duluth, Minn.; 218-726-1150; duluthgrill.com