The bucatini at ie - Italian Eatery by Travail in Minneapolis, with guanciale, oregano and pecorino romano. (Renée Jones Schneider/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

There’s been a huge, meatball-shaped hole in south Minneapolis ever since ie Italian Eatery closed last summer. After a 10-year run, owners Eric and Vanessa Carrara decided to go out on top, and for eight months, the sprawling Italian restaurant kitty-corner from Lake Nokomis remained dark.

But then came the kind of good news neighbors dream of, and so rarely get, when a beloved gathering place shuts its doors: Travail Collective announced it was bringing ie back. Newly rebranded as ie — Italian Eatery by Travail, the place has been up and running for a couple of weeks, and many original ie dishes are back.

But the new version is no museum, either. The menu is familiar but evolving. The music is just a little bit louder. And the restaurant is as popular as ever.

Elements in the cozy dining room at ie - Italian Eatery by Travail were kept from the original restaurant, but used in different ways. (Renée Jones Schneider/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Location and hours: 4724 Cedar Av. S., Mpls., 612-200-8397, italianeaterymsp.com. Open daily from 4 to 10 p.m.

The food: Several cult-favorite dishes have made a grand return. Something the original ie had done best were the basics: Roman-style meatballs and spaghetti pomodoro, simple Italian classics executed with precision. They still are, under new ownership. The tomato-based sauces in particular, under a sprinkle of grated grana padano, are still cozy, yet taste brighter and fresher than we remember, a balm for this northern freeze.

Tuna crudo from the starter menu at ie - Italian Eatery by Travail in Minneapolis. (Renée Jones Schneider/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The menu is broken down into “shares,” or appetizers ($12-$21), soup and salads ($9-$15), fresh pastas ($15-$23), mains ($25-$34) and sides ($11-$12). If you’re going to eat your own big bowl of pasta and nothing more, it’ll feel like a steal. But most of the dishes are made for sharing, and our party of three easily ran up a big bill with three apps, two pastas, an entrée, a salad and a side. All of that fed us comfortably, leaving only a few bites of leftovers.

The Roman meatballs ($16) were the right way to start, but we also enjoyed the tuna crudo ($17), each pink strip of fish bobbing in a pond of tomato water. The spaghetti ($15) in a straightforward pomodoro sauce with basil and grated cheese might sound simplistic, but it can be easy to get in the way of those pure ingredients. Not here, where we scraped the plate to get every dollop of that tangy sauce. Lumache ($21), a shell-like pasta, came with a few plump shrimp and enrobed in a Madeira cream sauce that tasted like the sea.

You'll want to ask for bread to help sop up the chimichurri sauce on the half chicken at ie - Italian Eatery by Travail. (Renée Jones Schneider/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

All the proteins sounded promising, but we smartly chose the grilled half chicken ($25). You’ll want to ask for some bread to lap up every last bit of the chimichurri-like herb sauce. And on the side, the Calabrian cauliflower ($11), with a hit of lemon, was one more demonstration that here, simple is the most exciting.

The drinks: There are two distinct things about the drinks offered at the new ie. First, the wine is all Italian. It was an important sticking point for the Carraras, and now it is for the Travail team, too. Sommelier Dave Brown will walk you through the selections, from light to full body, and his unusual decanting process is a talking point.

There's a long list of negronis — including this Negroni batti — at ie - Italian Eatery by Travail in Minneapolis. (Renée Jones Schneider/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The other thing you’ll notice is the Negroni list. It dominates the cocktail menu, and spans from classic to pepperoni-washed (really). There are lighter spritzes, too, including the nonalcoholic hibiscus punch from the old ie days. Cocktails range from $8 to $14.

After dinner, choose from more than a dozen amari ($7 and up) to accompany ie’s blast-from-the-past tiramisu in a coupe glass ($12).

Classic tiramisu is served in a coupe glass at ie - Italian Eatery by Travail in Minneapolis. (Renée Jones Schneider/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The vibe: Plants, baskets, lights were all repurposed from the original, but used in new locations in the space, bringing continuity to the changeover. The rustic, vaguely Tuscan main dining room faces an open kitchen, lined on one side by a long, dark wood bar. On the other side of the host stand, a more intimate room features a wall of wine bottle corks. Depending on your date(s), your time in the space can give off boisterous social energy or romantic heart-eyes.

One of the dining areas at ie - Italian Eatery by Travail features a cork wall and wine cabinet. It's the more intimate of the dining spaces. (Renée Jones Schneider/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Noise level: In the cork room, my party had no problem conversing comfortably, even when the playlist changed from a sleepy mix to ‘90s R&B and our fellow customers got excitably chatty. But with patrons picking up right where ie left off, expect the energetic pulse of a full house.