2024 was a weird year for restaurants in St. Paul. Fallout from the pandemic finally claimed a few victims, which seems odd almost four years later, but my favorite story has been restaurants coming back to life after being closed for months, or sometimes years. Some have moved. Others have new digs in the same exact spot. One has been fully renovated and reimagined. In any case, we’d like to welcome all six of these restaurants back to the scene. St. Paul missed you. Forepaugh’s Beef Wellington at Forepaugh’s. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press) This historic mansion is our favorite comeback of 2024. Owner Bruce Taher put a ton of love (and money) into restoring and renovating the place, and it now looks like the absolute neighborhood gem it has always been. As if that weren’t enough, Taher wisely brought in chef Tim McKee to consult on the opening menu, which features small plates, house-made pastas and crowd-pleasing meaty entrees. We have enjoyed every morsel so far — perhaps none more than the classic, elegant, juicy beef Wellington. If you’ve never had one, Forepaugh’s is doing it right. And on Tuesday-Thursday, the restaurant is doing “tableside” (really, only if you’re eating on the third floor, where the action takes place) cheese-wheel pasta, in which piping hot house-made spaghetti is added to the center of a hollowed out wheel of parmesan cheese and tossed until they are coated. One of my dining companions called it buttered noodles for grownups, which is spot-on. Forepaugh’s: 276 S. Exchange St., St. Paul; 651-666-3636; forepaughs.com Ruam Mit Thai Pad keow waan (green curry) at Ruam Mit Thai in downtown St. Paul. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press) The number of curries and pad Thai orders I’ve devoured from Ruam Mit is bordering on obscene, so when the downtown restaurant closed to relocate, I was honestly worried it wouldn’t come back. But come back it did! And in a much brighter, more modern space on the corner of Wabasha and Fifth streets. The menu features all my old favorites, including pad prig khing (spicy red curry with green beans) vegetable-rich pad pak and one of my favorite pad thais in the cities. I’ve also discovered a new love: the vegetable-packed pad keow waan (green curry). Before, I was mostly a takeout person, but the new location has already lured me in for a few business lunches and I think it’ll be a great pre-event dinner spot, too. Ruam Mit Thai: 367 N. Wabasha St., St. Paul; 651-222-7871; ruammitmn.com Emmett’s Corned beef and cabbage at Emmett’s on St. Paul’s Grand Avenue. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press) I love the concept behind Emmett’s — a classic Irish pub, but a little upscale. Irish food can be heavy and greasy, but as this restaurant shows, it can also be hearty and nutritious. (Adding cabbage to mashed potatoes is just one delicious example.) When the building that housed Emmett’s, Saji Ya and Dixie’s (RIP) was torn down to make way for a new building that features housing as well as first-floor restaurant space, neighbors definitely missed these restaurants. The new spaces are more open, bright and comfortable, and I especially love the cozy fireplace and stained-glass touches at Emmett’s. My favorite dish here, hands-down, is the corned beef and cabbage, which features tender beef, colcannon (the cabbage-spiked mashed potatoes referred to above), Brussels sprouts, cabbage in wedge form and a rich, red-wine-infused gravy. But my kids loved the burgers and the reuben is no slouch, either. Emmett’s Public House: 701 Grand Ave., St. Paul; 651-225-8248; emmettspublichouse.com Saji Ya A sashimi platter and rolls from Saji Ya on St. Paul’s Grand Avenue. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press) Although some regulars are missing the teppanyaki tables at this Japanese mainstay, I love the new open concept and focus on sushi and sashimi. The new decor features a long sushi bar for bellying up, lots of greenery, a bamboo wall and some really fun light fixtures. The old space was feeling a little tired after 42 years — yes, 42 years! We enjoyed our sashimi platter and a selection of sushi rolls, and a friend who won’t eat anything that swims loved her bento box, which featured a combo of crispy chicken katsu and tender ribeye steak. They’ve got a nice selection of cocktails, mocktails and saké, too. Saji Ya: 695 Grand Ave., St. Paul; 651-292-0444; sajiya.com Mickey’s Pancakes, beef bacon and scrambled eggs — a classic diner breakfast — at Mickey’s Dining Car in downtown St. Paul. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press) I think the restaurant people asked me about the most since the pandemic waned has been Mickey’s, the iconic dining car on West Seventh Street in downtown St. Paul. I was beginning to think there was no hope of it reopening when, out of the blue, the doors swung open one day in October. The seats quickly filled with downtown workers and residents who had missed the no-fuss diner menu and free-flowing coffee pours. The new owners, who are as no-fuss as the food and don’t want to be named, have converted the menu to kosher, which means no more pork. But with the quality of the beef bacon here, you’ll never miss it. They serve fancy coffee and some Middle Eastern pastries now too, but otherwise, you’ll find the same staple egg dishes, burgers and excellent fluffy pancakes Mickey’s has always been known for — often with a side of conversation with a stranger when you belly up to the counter. Mickey’s Dining Car: 36 W. Seventh St., St. Paul; 651-222-5633 Alary’s A meat platter, including Texas hot links (foreground) at Alary’s in downtown St. Paul. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press) Downtown’s most popular sports bar is finally back and fully in action, renting out its kitchen to Petey’s BBQ, a food truck run by former border officer Mike Peterson. It appears to be the perfect match for the famously cop-friendly bar, which opened for drinks in spring 2024 before hooking up with Peterson this fall to provide the food menu. As it was after an extensive remodel a few years before the pandemic, the space is open and clean, with plenty of televisions for sports viewing. It’s wise to bring a crowd of friends and tackle a barbecue platter, because all of the meats, sausages, lightly smoked burgers and sides are pretty fabulous. We especially loved the smoked turkey and crisp-edged Texas hot links, but the brisket was perfectly tender, the pulled pork nice and juicy and the ribs just approaching fall-off-the-bone. Peterson also offers a ridiculous number of house-made sauces, ranging from Alabama white to Buffalo to funky flavors like dill pickle, fireball peach and strawberry jalapeno. While they’re all delicious, the meat is so good it honestly doesn’t need any sauce at all. Alary’s: 139 E. 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