Just had lunch at the new Minato on North Charles Street. It's well worth a visit, with a fun, funky vibe that somehow works with the formerly elegant townhouse that's its new home.

I'll be telling you more about it later, but I also wanted to mention what's going into the subterranean space that Minato vacated a couple of blocks south at 800 N. Charles St. Apparently the new owners are doing extensive renovations, and plan to open in mid-July as the Mai Thai Cafe, a Thai restaurant.

This is mostly third-hand information that I overheard Minato's owner tell another customer. But I already knew about the Thai part because Good Eater Steve Marcus, who works here but has nothing better to do than scout out restaurants for me, told me earlier this week that there's a sign on the door announcing its opening.