We’ll soon be eating Italian at 9th and Hennepin.

When D’Amico & Partners and the Chambers Hotel announced their partnership last month (a move to replace Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s restaurant and catering operation, which opened the hotel in 2006), few details were in place. Now the news is out.

First: John Occhiato, the talented chef who directed D’Amico Cucina, the company’s flagship downtown Minneapolis restaurant, will be the guy in charge at the Chambers. This is good news. When Richard and Larry D’Amico closed the Cucina in June after a 22-year run, one of the most depressing aspects of the closure was losing a platform for Occhiato’s particular gifts.

Second: The new restaurant will be called D’Amico Kitchen.

Third: The lower-level dining room? It’s toast. Post-renovations, diners will skip the stairway and remain on the hotel’s street level in a reconfigured restaurant and lounge, with seating for 110.

Fourth: The Chambers Kitchen is history; farewells were said on Sunday. A “very limited” (so says the press release) Continental/American interim menu in being served in the hotel’s courtyard (check out the bar menu here), and hotel guests have access to in-room dining 24/7.

Fifth: Not a lot of menu details have been released, but the D’Amico machine is describing their latest toy as “a casual, contemporary Italian concept” that will feature several dozen small plates in the $8 to $12 range, as well as pizzas and a variety of entrees. Like the Chambers Kitchen before it, the restaurant will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner daily.

Sixth: No firm opening date has been announced, other than a squishy “late August.”

Size matters. Ask Steve Horton, co-owner of Rustica. The four-star source for exceptional breads and pastries has been busting out of its cramped quarters for some time, squeezing every square inch of space possible out of the building it shares with Java Jack’s Coffee Shack. “We’re on top of one another here,” he said.

Horton has just announced that his 5-year-old artisan concern is relocating, and the address is going to be a disappointment to those within walking distance of 46th and Bryant who have grown accustomed to strolling in for a slice of almond-studded bostok, a bittersweet chocolate cookie or one of the city’s best baguettes. The new shop is going to be several miles to the northwest (Google-map it: 3220 W. Lake St.) in a high-traffic spot in between a Punch Neapolitan Pizza outlet and a Barnes & Noble store in the Calhoun Village shopping center. Sound familiar? It’s the same strip mall that is now home to the insanely popular Burger Jones. First one to get a parking spot wins.

The reason for the relocation? Space. Lots more of it. “In theory we’ll be able to do three times more volume than we’re doing now,” Horton said. “Right now our space is just too small, and we’re limited by that. We run out of bread, and it frustrates people.”

Along with increased capacity for commercial customers - restaurants, natural foods co-ops - the roomier digs should improve the drop-in dining experience. For starters, it’s going to allow the bakery to partner with St. Louis Park’s Bull Run Roasting Co. (supplier of Lunds and Byerly’s private label coffees) to offer single-cup coffees brewed with small estates beans. “It’ll be along the lines of Kopplin’s,” said Horton, referring to the perfection-obsessed St. Paul coffeehouse, which also features Rustica goodies.

Horton also said he and Corner Table chef/owner Scott Pampuch are working out a way to continue their fruitful sandwich-salad alliance. “Right now we’re settling on the idea that he would supply us with ingredients and help us with sourcing and prepping and we would put everything together at our place,” Horton said.

Demolition at the new space (it was last home to the Calhoun Grill before the restaurant relocated to downtown Minneapolis) is underway, and Horton had hoped to open by the end of the summer. One glitch, though; a fancy Italian oven won’t arrive until probably early October. As soon as it arrives and is installed, Rustica 2.0 will be open for business.

Meanwhile, Horton is also in negotiations to keep a retail presence in their current — and devoted — southwest Minneapolis neighborhood. “The best part of our business has been the neighborhood support and the feedback we get from our regular customers,” said Horton. “We’re not moving far, but we’ve also established that base of customers.” Nothing firm is in the works, but Horton expects some kind of deal will work itself out before he turns in his keys at 46th and Bryant.

The new 40-seat cafe will take on an evening component as well. “Punch doesn’t do a lot of dessert, and dessert is fairly limited at Burger Jones,” observed Horton. “So will that create a dessert business for us? It’s an unknown, and an opportunity.”

Here’s what I think: Horton & Co. are going to be moving a ton of those bittersweet chocolate cookies.

Rick Newman of U.S. News & World Report considers a group of mid-priced casual dining chains he sees as vulnerable in the economic downturn. To Newman, “vulnerable” doesn’t equate bankruptcy or closure; he’s talking about downgraded credit ratings and other negative financial factors.

Topping his list? Perkins Restaurant & Bakery. The 51-year-old chain operates nearly 50 locations in and around the Twin Cities. The company’s Marie Callender’s Restaurant and Bakery division made Newman’s list as well, which also includes Sbarro and Krispy Kreme. No surprise on that last one for local carbs lovers; the doughnut chain closed its last Twin Cities outlet in 2008 after a rapid expansion that began six years earlier.

I just met an unforgettable burger. Nevermind that burgers are everywhere. This one stands out and is available in only two spots – Golden Valley and St. Anthony (later in the year, Smashburgers move into Roseville and Plymouth). Made of Angus beef, it’s definitely “smashed” – that is, flatter rather than rounded. And it’s definitely flavorful and filling. (How filling? Though the burgers come in 1/3 and 1/2 pounds, even the smaller size seems too big for a single diner because it’s topped with a lot and spills over the egg bun). Reasonable prices at $4.99 for a classic 1/3 pound. But I’m going back for more than the burger. It’s the smash fries, thinly cut and tossed with rosemary, olive oil and garlic. Wow! (You only need to order a single portion to feed several with these.)

 Two locations: 509 Winnetka Av., Golden Valley, and  3900 Silver Lake Road, St. Anthony

If you’ve tried them, tell us what you think.

Jean-Georges Vongerichten is checking out of the Chambers Hotel.

The star chef, whom Newsweek hailed “the Madonna of the kitchen,” landed in downtown Minneapolis in 2006, running the hotel’s Chambers Kitchen as well as the building’s food and beverage operations. Vongerichten’s company, Culinary Concepts by Jean-Georges, is being replaced by D’Amico & Partners, the local culinary force behind Cafe Lurcat and Bar Lurcat, Campiello, Masa, D’Amico & Sons and an enormous catering operation. The company’s high-end flagship restaurant, D’Amico Cucina, closed on Saturday evening after a 22-year run.

“I’m a huge fan of both Jean-Georges and his food,” said Chambers owner Ralph Burnet in a statement. “We’ve had a nice run, and I think Jean-Georges has made an indelible impact on the Twin Cities restaurant scene.” Both Vongerichten and Burnet describe the severing of their relationship as amicable.

“We are thrilled to be working with Ralph and the Chambers,” said Richard D’Amico in a statement. “We are confident that we can develop restaurant, bar and catering concepts that complement the quality and creativity of the Chambers Hotel.”

They’re going to have to work fast, because Vongerichten and his crew are pulling out on July 20th. This isn’t exactly a down time for the globetrotting chef; Vongerichten’s company, which operates 18 restaurant properties around the world, is launching a steakhouse in Washington, D.C. this month and debuting a hotel restaurant in Park City, Utah in August. He’s also a partner in Co. (with Sullivan St. Bakery whiz Jim Leahy), a hugely popular new pizzeria in New York City.

No other details on the Vongerichten-D’Amico switch have been released, but the Chambers Kitchen name will disappear. Burnet’s other downtown Minneapolis hotel, the W in the landmark Foshay Tower, features its own locally-managed restaurant, Manny’s Steakhouse, owned by Minneapolis-based Parasole Restaurant Holdings.

Calling all fans of the Times Bar & Cafe (and its lower-level sibling, Jitters Cafe), as well as lovers of estate sales: the Northeast Minneapolis music-making haunts, which have been dark for several months, are putting the whole shebang up for sale on Saturday, fondue pots and all.