She gave us the most exciting weekday brunch of 2024. Now Diane Moua is finally ready for dinner.

Diane Moua is used to fielding questions about when the James Beard nominated chef would add a dinner menu to her popular daytime restaurant, Diane's Place (117 14th Av. NE., Mpls.). "I'd say at least 70 to 80 percent of tables ask," she said.

The answer is finally here. Starting Nov. 9, the restaurant that serves a blend of French pastries, cafe classics and the chef's take on Hmong comfort foods will add a whole new lineup of savory dishes served at night. Reservations will be available starting Oct. 28.

In addition to favorites like the custom-made Hmong sausage with sticky rice and fiery, flavorful chili sauce, Moua will offer dishes that were formative to the young chef. She remembers clamoring for bites of braised pork with ginger alongside all of her cousins when they were kids. The grownups would cook down fatty, good bits of pork for hours, until the braised meat reabsorbed all the juices. She can't wait to share her version of the dish.

Other tidbits: mini green scallion croissants as the bread service, braised bamboo and bok choy, duck stew and seafood studded red curry.

"This isn't just Hmong food, but it's my Hmong world and my pastry world together," said Moua.

Diane's Place has already been a buzzy stop for pastries, breakfast and lunch since opening in April.

On a recent Monday afternoon, would-be diners were being gently informed of the wait time for a table at 1 p.m. because the restaurant was already full on a day and time when that rarely happens.

Even without being open for dinner, the food and Moua's story have been garnering national attention, even landing on the New York Times Best New Restaurants list as a mention in another restaurant's write-up.

The cafe was a lifelong dream for Moua, who rose to prominence first as the pastry chef for the lauded and lost La Belle Vie restaurant. She then opened the pastry department for Gavin Kaysen's Spoon and Stable when he arrived in Minneapolis before adding the Bellecour dessert and bakery program to the mix.

Diane's Place is her first foray into ownership, and cooking savory food. She always knew she wanted an all-day restaurant, but that later part of the day took a minute. She said the decision was intentional to start with their events space, weekday brunch and the pastry program.

"You know, someday I want to be able to retire with my arms and legs still attached," she joked. "But really, we have to make certain that we're taking care of ourselves. And we had to make sure that we — the whole team — didn't burn ourselves out." In part, that's why the restaurant will begin closing Wednesdays starting this week and the dinner hours will be limited to Thursday through Sundays.

"On the days we're open for dinner, we will stay open all day, but from 2:30 to 5 p.m. there will be a limited bar menu," Moua said.

Speaking of the bar, dinner cocktails will also be done by her friends from the James Beard-nominated Meteor Bar, Robb Jones and Tyler Kleinow. "Tyler created this one that's really spirit-forward with taro — I could drink that thing all day long," said Moua.

Most of all, Moua is excited to continue to share her culinary story with her community. "On days when the Hmong elders are here, they look at the food and say, 'This doesn't look like Hmong food.' But then they eat it and I can see the happiness. They tell me it tastes like home," said Moua. "And then to take something I grew up eating and see it in a setting like this, and to see people who haven't had these dishes before and love it — that's comfort. That's the comfort food we make."

That's why she can't wait to see all the tables fill up with people: date nights, old friends, extended family — all the reasons people love to go out to eat and share a table piled high with food. "That's the whole thing about having dinner ... seeing it all come together."