We have a white board in our office where we keep track of all the new restaurant openings planned for the coming months. The list is down to nearly nothing, alas. Now, January and February are not ideal times to open restaurants under any circumstances, but the paucity of planned openings is probably the first evidence that the economic slowdown has stopped the flow of capital and risk-taking in the local food biz. (I should allow for the odd restaurateur who fails to give any advance notice of his venture, strangely common in this biz.)

Speaking of puzzlements, Harvey McLain's (Turtle Bread Co.) Tosca (3421 W. 44th St., Mpls., 612-924-6013) has finally opened next to the original TBC on 44th St. This restaurant has literally been years in the making; the fits and starts and unrequited promises became so pervasive that I'm not sure anyone really expected Harvey to ever open, and surely not on the cusp of the most massive economic downturn since the Depression.

There was no advance announcement, nor has the TBC website been updated to reflect Tosca's existence, nor has a menu been circulated. We can tell you that Landon Schoenfeld, the peripatetic chef made prominent for his mustard fight at Bulldog Northeast, is in the kitchen. Tosca is currently only open for counter-service breakfast and lunch--what sounds like a modestly elaborated version of Turtle Bread--salads, sandwiches, etc. Dinner, with table service, is to come in January (for now, food is ordered at the Turtle Bread counter and brought to a table in the bakery, so don't expect a lot of flourishes). But based on McLain's high standards and Schoenfeld's obvious talent, it should be a winning addition to a neighborhood that will support good food.

The other major opening of the winter is likely to be Bradstreet Craftshouse at the Graves 601 Hotel, planned for late January. This upscale eatery and lounge will be one of the most innovative entrants of 2009, focused on upmarket small plates and artisanal mixology. The restaurant carries a cumbersome concept--it's an homage to John Bradstreet, once the William Morris of Minneapolis, who designed furnishings and interiors (including those of the Minneapolis Grain Exchange), had a storefront gallery/workshop/salon downtown, and is regarded as one of the great innovators of the Arts & Crafts movement.

Graves' President Ben Graves has long been enamored with Bradstreet's work and is attempting to meld Bradstreet's ethos in a modern design environment and trendy restaurant/lounge concept that is so multi-layered it's impossible to explain concisely. Given the culinary pedigree at the Graves and Cosmos, it's hard not to expect great things, no matter how complex the undertaking.

And speaking of the economy, Ben Graves told me that Cosmos, the best restaurant in town that I thought nobody went to, is having the best year in its history and that 80 percent of its dinner clientele is local. So there.