Last week, dining out was a hodgepodge of family time, work meetings and checking out a refreshed space on Lake Minnetonka for next year’s patio guide.

I also ate a quick meal at Surly before a concert, and I’m loving their new streamlined menu. I forgot to take photos, but the mole pork bowl is great, as is the falafel. The best part about eating in the taproom before a show is that the food and beer are served lightning fast, and unlike inside the concert grounds, there are no lines and you can sit and enjoy your meal.

Cafe Astoria

I love this spot for a lunch or brunch meeting. The morning beverages are great, there are plenty of tables so you don’t feel bad lingering, and the menu has plenty of everyday brunch and lunch items.

I started with a Leah’s Happy Place — an excellent, creamy matcha infused with lavender and pistachio. It’s sweet, but not too sweet, and full of flavor.

And for lunch, I ordered the bacon, mushroom and egg toast. The dish, which sounds like it might not be enough for a full meal, was so big that I couldn’t quite finish it. It starts with a large slice of springy sourdough, toasted just enough to hold up, but not so much to make taking a bite difficult, then adds plenty of mushrooms, bits of bacon and soft scrambled eggs. It’s something I plan to replicate at home, but also something I’d return for.

My dining partner had some lovely chilaquiles in a verde sauce, featuring house-fried tortilla chips and two eggs. For $14, he got two full meals out of it, as he took home half.Cafe Astoria >> 180 Grand Ave., St. Paul; 651-340-9471; cafeastoria-stpaul.com

Macanda

I had never been to this chic Wayzata- spot on Lake Minnetonka before, but the newly remodeled inside, with plush blue banquettes and a large bar to accommodate happy-hour-loving lake dwellers, is a great place to spend a night.

The menu here, which had been Mexican-leaning when chef Daniel del Prado was part of the operation, has switched to Japanese with a hint of Mexican sprinkled in. The restaurant is owned by Innerbloom Hospitality, which owns Yumi Sushi, Altera, Layline and Josefina, and the current chef is Alejandro Castillon, formerly of Sonora Grill, so both cuisines are in their wheelhouse.

We stuck to the Japanese section of the menu, starting with some crispy rice topped with spicy tuna and a crispy shiitake sesame salad, spiked with peppery daikon and tossed with an umami-rich miso vinaigrette. Also sampled: Sirloin robata skewers (which were fine, if a little flavorless), sushi tacos stuffed with salmon (better), and a super spicy yellowtail jalapeno sashimi. We ended things with a few fusion-y rolls — Macanda, the house roll, which is stuffed with shrimp tempura and topped with a rich peanut macha salsa, which is a clever way to bring Mexican flare, and the Mexican roll, which combines salmon, tuna and hamachi with ponzu, yuzu and jalapeno.

Overall, it was an excellent dinner, and bonus: We got seated in the 150-seat indoor-outdoor patio overlooking the lake. Not a bad way to spend a Thursday night.

Macanda >> 294 Grove Lane E., Wayzata; macandawayzata.com

Iron Ranger

After a busy week, the last thing I wanted to do was cook dinner for the family, so we headed to Grand Avenue for a quick dinner on Iron Ranger’s beautiful patio.

There’s something for everyone on this affordable menu. We started with the restaurant’s excellent dry rub chicken wings and some garlic cheese curds, all of which disappeared in record time.

The young adults enjoyed a juicy burger, a mammoth chicken pesto sandwich and the porketta sandwich topped with spicy giardinera, which is one of my favorite sandwiches in the Twin Cities.

I had overindulged the night before (see Macanda) so ordered a Buffalo chicken salad, which was enormous and just spicy enough.

My newly minted 21-year-old was a fan of her not-too-sweet Grapefruit Range Water, and I enjoyed the spicy pineapple version of the same drink.

I love that there are big tables outside to accommodate groups, and the outdoor bar was hopping on this Friday night, with locals crowded around it, enjoying cocktails and beer.

It’s great to see this cute spot still thriving after seven years on the avenue.

Iron Ranger >> 1085 Grand Ave., St. Paul; 651-203-7096; ironrangermn.com