Brian Ingram's Salt & Flour opens next week across from Target Field

Pasta has played a large role in the life of chef and restaurateur Brian Ingram.

"Growing up, when I cooked pasta dinner, that was the only time I knew I'd see my mom. That was how I communicated with her," Ingram recalled while standing next to the semi-assembled kitchen for his newest restaurant, Salt & Flour, which opens Oct. 15 in the North Loop.

Raised by a single working mother, Ingram recalled jumping in to help out and making those important weeknight dinners for the family. "She'd come home from work and I'd say, 'Yeah, I made you dinner and it's ready.' She loved it. That was love. It was awesome."

His mother's love of pasta stayed with him as he worked his way up through kitchens, and eventually he found himself working for Phil Romano in the kitchen of the first Macaroni Grill. What started as one man's love of Italian cooking became a massive chain, and Ingram was working with the company as it grew. "The idea was Phil's little family restaurant and then I opened 200 of them," said Ingram. "But it came from humble beginnings."

Salt & Flour is both an attempt in part to reconnect with that kid showing up for his mom and that young chef working to be noticed. But it's Ingram, who has famously given the Twin Cities metro area a burgeoning chain of Hope Breakfast Bars known for menus stacked with frosted decadence. Similarly with this project, he'd come up with ideas in the middle of the night and immediately phone the team with propositions that start with, "What if we ..."

The man on the other end of those phone calls — and running Salt & Flour's kitchen — is chef Gary Sherwood. Part of the crew at Boomin' Barbecue and the chef who opened Public Domain, his way with char and long-stewed flavors will be packed into the oxtail osso buco and charred cauliflower with roasted anchovies and fusilli.

The restaurant is part of the new North Loop Green hub. The main-floor entrance of the building that houses Salt & Flour and a just-opened Hope Breakfast Bar faces Target Field's light rail entrance. The complex also includes a hotel, office building and plenty of apartments stacked up right outside the door, and the business is built to serve the needs of those different types of diners.

For those who want a nice meal before a Twins game, there's the full-service dining experience. For those on the go, there are ready-made meals and ingredients to throw something together at home. For gameday crowds or casual lunchers, there are grinders, fried mortadella and pizzas with focaccia crusts.

For those who want to linger, the dining area starts with outdoor patio space, then a large bar area with hidden TVs that will turn on during Vikings and Twins games and another space at the back of the restaurant designed to be more intimate.

Cocktails will include classics and some out-of-the-box ideas that feel like only a Brian Ingram restaurant would offer. That includes a sweetened condensed milk and wine beverage he said he first had in Spain, where apparently they'll put just about anything in a glass of wine. Skeptical? "I'm telling you, it's game-changing," he assures.

There will also be housemade gelato and wine cocktails with gelato.

"But it is an Italian restaurant," he said. "There will be beautiful bottles of wine, too." And a do-it-yourself wine pour of a house red and white that's $5 for 5 ounces.

Among the cocktail collection are a stack of NA beverages. "People want to have a great craft drink and that experience, even if you're not drinking alcohol."

Getting to the restaurant might look a little tricky. There's zero on-street parking outside the building, but there's a ramp that's open to the public right next to the building and there will be valet. "We're offsetting the valet cost with drink coupons that can be used for alcoholic or NA beverages," Ingram said.

As we were leaving, workers were heading in to finalize installation of art and a neon sign behind the host stand. Starting Tuesday at 11 a.m., Salt & Flour will welcome the general public with hours expected to extend to 11 p.m. most nights. Reservations are available now on Tock.

But first, Ingram was expecting one special VIP this weekend. Once Salt & Flour is all put together, he said he'll be walking his mom through for one more pasta dinner — just for her.

Salt & Flour, 350 N. 5th St., Mpls., saltandflourkitchen.com