You know, I don’t think lunch gets enough love as an important meal. And lunch-dessert, itself a vital part of any worthwhile dining day, gets even less.

So let’s change that.

This week, in search of mouthwatering midday meals, I visited a newly opened restaurant, a longtime staple under new ownership and a place that’s been in business for a bit but new to our side of the river.

Jamaican lunch in South St. Paul

The brick building housing D&G Jamaican Restaurant in South St. Paul — which, as of its opening earlier this year, is the first Jamaican spot in the southeast metro — is a full split-level, so you head up a few stairs to reach the dining room. It almost feels like you’re on an island.

For the most part, the menu is Jamaican classics: braised oxtails, curry goat, jerk chicken. The jerk seasoning on the bone-in chicken is great; the meat is tender and tangy and warms you up without setting your mouth on fire (unless you’re into that, in which case several sauces, both housemade and bottled, are available). Meals come with rice and beans, a crisp sauteed slaw and plantains that are sweet enough to cut the spice but, pleasantly, more starchy than syrupy. And D&G is taking its jerk chicken in creative twists and turns, too, with dishes like jerk chicken tacos and “Rasta pasta’ in a rich cream sauce.

Oh, and the ginger beer is serious business, folks. Juicy and plenty spicy from good ginger, it’ll knock you back on your seat. If you have to take small sips, that’s OK: The portions here are pretty big, so you can pace yourself.

D&G Jamaican Restaurant: 1025 Southview Blvd., South St. Paul; 651-666-3346

The Greek gyro salad (foreground) and grilled cheese with tomato soup (background) are among the menu items offered at The Main Cafe in Stillwater on March 31. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)

Homestyle lunch in downtown Stillwater

As you might expect given this restaurant’s name (The Main Cafe) and its location (Main Street), it’s been a mainstay in downtown Stillwater for decades. In November, after 35 years running the Main Cafe, Samy and Fifi Youssef retired and sold the place to former employee Casie Beltran. And while Beltran may have some creative daily specials up her sleeve for the future, delightfully, the no-frills diner continues to chug along just as it always has.

The cafe is best known for its breakfast, but don’t forget about the lunch menu. The soup of the day on a recent Monday was tomato, a hearty and nicely peppered soup that naturally called out for a buttery grilled cheese. We obliged, of course. I also ordered the Greek gyro salad; the meat was perhaps over-crisped but the warm pita alongside the salad was a thoughtful touch. And with fair prices for these days (just over $30 for two), it’s hard not to be happy here.

The Main Cafe: 108 S. Main St., Stillwater; 651-430-2319; themaincafemn.com

Cookies on Grand Avenue

From left to right, the buckeye cookie, a goat cheese and raspberry jam cookie, a s’mores cookie and a Nutella and sea salt cookie are among the varieties sold April 4 at Baking Betty’s, which relocated to Grand Avenue late last year. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)

You might recognize Baking Betty’s from the Mall of America, the home of the cookie bakery from 2019 until early last year. But just before the holiday season, Baking Betty’s moved over to Grand Avenue, by Macalester College. Founder Emily Osterberg makes a variety of clever cookies, from sprinkled “circus animal” to goat cheese and raspberry jam. Classic Midwestern peanut butter buckeyes are elevated by being attached to a good chocolate cookie (or so I hear, from my trusty non-peanut-allergic girlfriend), and I can personally vouch for the Nutella-filled cookie topped with sea salt. But go early: Some favorite flavors (like chocolate chip, on a recent Friday afternoon) sell out.

Baking Betty’s: 1700 Grand Ave.; 612-900-5587; bakingbettys.com

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Whether you need advice on tree care, are looking for closet solutions or on the hunt for your next home improvement project, odds are you’ll find inspiration in Apple Valley this weekend.

Hosted by the Apple Valley Chamber of Commerce, the city’s 24th Home & Garden Expo takes place Saturday and admission is free, according to an advisory from the chamber.

The event will feature more than 120 vendor booths, grilled food from the Boy Scouts, Culver’s custard, face-painting, inflatables and 10 booths with city officials who will answer questions and hear concerns, according to the chamber.

Bobby Jensen, a local gardening expert and co-host of KARE 11’s “Grow with KARE,” will host a free seminar titled, “These Aren’t Your Grandma’s Hydrangeas,” at noon.

“Apple Valley does it right. A spectacular show and something about their show’s size and timing that everyone is buying,” Jensen said in the release.

The event, which starts at 9 a.m. at Eastview High School, is expected to bring in 6,000 visitors. The expo is the city’s second-largest event, just behind the Fourth of July parade.

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By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and LOLITA C. BALDOR

WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Kash Patel was quietly removed weeks ago as the acting chief of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and has been replaced with the Army secretary, three people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

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It was not immediately clear why Patel was replaced by Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll to lead the Justice Department agency that’s responsible for enforcing the nation’s gun laws. One person familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel move, said Patel was removed at the end of February, just days after he was sworn in.

But that was never publicly announced. Patel remains on the agency’s website and was identified as the acting director in an April 7 press release. Senior ATF leaders were only informed Wednesday of the change, according to another person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the move.

Driscoll will remain secretary of the Army, according to a defense official. Driscoll, 38, of North Carolina, had served as an adviser to Vice President JD Vance, whom he met when both were attending Yale Law School. He served in the Army for less than four years and left at the rank of first lieutenant.

He ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for a North Carolina congressional seat in 2020, getting about 8% of the vote in a crowded field of candidates.

Patel was named acting ATF director in an unusual arrangement in February just days after he was sworn in to lead the FBI, putting him in charge of two separate and sprawling Justice Department agencies.

Justice Department officials have been considering a plan to combine the ATF and the Drug Enforcement Administration into a single agency. The two agencies often work together, along with the FBI, but are both led by separate directors and are tasked with distinctly different missions.

The plan is designed to “achieve efficiencies in resources, case deconfliction, and regulatory efforts,” according to a recent memo from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

The ATF investigates things like violent crime, gun trafficking, arson and bombings. It also provides technical expertise in tracing guns used in crimes and analyzing intelligence in shooting investigations. The DEA, meanwhile, is in charge of enforcing the nation’s laws around drugs. Its agents are focused on combating criminal drug networks and stemming the illicit flow of fentanyl and other street drugs.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch and his players were measured in their response to Tuesday’s collapse in Milwaukee, during which Minnesota squandered a 24-point, fourth quarter advantage to drop a critical bout versus the Bucks.

The message, in essence: That stunk, move on, get ready for Thursday.

“Everyone in here is (ticked) off,” Wolves guard Donte DiVincenzo told reporters. “But just regroup and come back, because we know we have a huge game on Thursday.”

There’s rarely a choice to approach things in any other way in the midst of a regular season that never seems to stop. Players will tell you it’s the beauty of the season — there is always another game.

But, in this instance, the next game is the game.

Minnesota is in Memphis on Thursday in a game that will likely determine the Wolves’ path to the Western Conference playoffs. Minnesota figures to be a 14-plus point favorite in each of its home games over the weekend against Brooklyn and Utah. This is the final result that remains relatively unknown.

As of Wednesday morning, Basketball Reference cited Minnesota’s chances to finish with a top-six seed at 55%, and 45% to finish in the No. 7 or No. 8 spot, so it’s nearly a coin flip. Those odds will have shifted dramatically by late Thursday evening.

A win over the Grizzlies, and Minnesota — assuming no major bungling of the two ensuing layups at Target Center — figures to finish in the top six in the West, thus avoiding the play-in tournament.

But a loss to Memphis, and Minnesota, eighth in the West as of Wednesday afternoon, would suddenly need a heap of help from its surrounding competitors to sneak inside the top six.

The same is largely true for Memphis, who entered Wednesday’s NBA slate in a four-way tie for fourth. But the Grizzlies aren’t in a favorable spot regarding tiebreakers, so they were seeded seventh.

Memphis, now down two rotation players after rookie standout wing Jaylen Wells broke his wrist in a scary fall Tuesday, likely can’t lose Thursday and still finish in the top six.

So, Thursday is for, well, a lot. Minnesota has grown accustomed to high-stake duels in the final week of the regular season. In Game 82 of the 2022-23 campaign, the Wolves beat New Orleans in a game that was the difference between Minnesota being the No. 7 seed and the No. 9.

Last year, Minnesota fell to Denver in a game that went a long way toward determining the No. 1 seed.

And now this.

Not only will Thursday’s bout have cataclysmic ramifications in the West standings, it’s also important for Minnesota to prove itself. While the Wolves are 14-4 over their past 18 games, they’re just 3-3 in that span against teams who are above .500 on the season.

Can they bounce back? Can they again rise to a big occasion? Can they punch against a similar caliber foe? Can they avoid playing in their third play-in tournament in the last four seasons?

The answers to those questions will largely be answered in Memphis.

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