Duluth MN Restaurants: News and Information from Perfect Duluth Day

Moose Lake brewery opening soon

Jul 02, 2016 No Comments

MooseLakeBrewery4

According to the Brewers Association, Minnesota had 105 craft breweries in 2015. This number continues to rise, but the majority of breweries are still heavily concentrated in bigger cities, and particularly around the Twin Cities. But the founders of Moose Lake Brewing Company are bucking this trend; they believe every small town deserves its own brewery.

The opening of Moose Lake Brewing at 244 Lakeshore Drive in Moose Lake is planned for the end of July. Moose Lake has a population of 2,787. It supports a handful of restaurants and a municipal liquor store/bar.

Restaurants Beer and Breweries, Moose Lake

Getting “juiced” at the Red Herring takes on new meaning

Jun 25, 2016 No Comments

Giselle Hernandez

Most Americans fail miserably at consuming the USDA’s recommended 2 cups of fruit and 2.5-3 cups of vegetables per day. Beginning June 27, Twin Ports residents striving to meet this goal can opt for fruit and veggies in liquid form from the Juice Pharm.

Giselle Hernandez is the certified nutritionist behind the juicery, which will operate out of the Red Herring Lounge at 208 E. First St. Hernandez became interested in nutrition and eating whole foods during a hospital stay after a bad car accident. She soon tired of unhealthy, bland hospital fare and was thankful when a friend’s mother brought her supplements like coconut water and green drinks. She says these healthy options improved her energy and credits them with speeding her healing process.

When Hernandez recovered, she decided to study nutrition. She got her certification from the Natural Healing Institute in California. When she moved to Duluth three years ago, she was surprised the juice bar trend hadn’t reached the city. She says drinking juice has many benefits, one of the primary being illness prevention. She advocates juicing as a way to “get people to eat better and nourish the body with whole foods.”

Restaurants Health, Juice

New sweet shop in Hermantown

Jun 21, 2016 1 Comment

HarborCitySweets5

Those with a penchant for pretty fondant will be pleased to know there’s a new boutique-style bakery in Hermantown. Heather Melzark and her fiancé Al Gutierrez opened Harbor City Sweets Bakery and Cakery in late February.

Restaurants Bakeries, Harbor City Sweets Bakery and Cakery

Carts, Pop ups, Trailers, Trucks & Tricycles: Duluth Mobile Food Guide for 2016

Jun 02, 2016 1 Comment

Let’s face it: there’s nothing quite like dining al fresco on a perfect Duluth day. But area patio dining options are limited. Plus, they can be crowded and expensive. Those looking for a quick, reasonably-priced bite while relaxing outside can embrace the local food truck phenomenon. Several mobile eatery options have popped up to fill new niches since last year’s rundown. Find out more about these restaurants on wheels, when they’re around and what they have to offer in our 2016 guide.

Restaurants Food Trucks, Guides and Lists

Perfect New Restaurant: Northern Waters Restaurant

May 26, 2016 No Comments

It’s no surprise Northern Waters Restaurant crushed Perfect Duluth Day’s best new restaurant poll. The eagerly anticipated eatery just opened in February, but has swiftly won the admiration and bellies of Twin Ports residents, as evidenced by garnering 67 percent of the vote.

Manager Greg Conley with staff at Northern Waters

Polls, Restaurants Northern Waters, Northern Waters Smokehaus, PDD Awards

Poll: Best New Restaurant in Duluth Area (2016 Version)

May 23, 2016 No Comments

What local restaurant will be the Spirit Room’s successor as Best New Restaurant? You tell us. Last week we compiled a list of nominees. Vote now for your favorite new eatery. We’ll post results later this week.

As usual, it’s a runoff ballot, so the list of options will shrink as favorites emerge. If the restaurant you vote for gets dropped from the ballot, you can vote again, so check back later. We started with 16 restaurants in the poll; it’s now down to the top four: Beijing Restaurant, Lake Superior Bakehouse, Northern Waters Restaurant
and Sala Thai.

What is the best new restaurant in the Duluth area?

Loading ...

This poll is now closed. The results were:

Northern Waters Restaurant – 67 percent
Lake Superior Bakehouse – 13 percent
Beijing Restaurant – 10 percent
Sala Thai – 10 percent

Polls, Restaurants

Nominees for Best New Restaurant Poll – 2016

May 18, 2016 2 Comments

It’s been a year and a half since Perfect Duluth Day last ran a “best new restaurant” poll. The reigning champion, the Spirit Room, is on its way to becoming a seasoned area eatery, as is the runner up, Tavern on the Hill. What’s new in Duluth-area food since then? Reopenings, additional locations and restaurant moves seem to be a trend.

Before we vote, we have to establish a list of nominees. To qualify, an establishment must: have recently opened, serve food and be located within 10 miles of Duluth (including Superior, Hermantown, Proctor or other area townships). Two Harbors and Cloquet, for example, are too far afield to be contenders in this poll.

Here’s a rundown of the recently opened restaurants we compiled. Is there one we missed? We trust you’ll let us know in the comments before we launch our poll next week.

Beijing Restaurant (April 2016)
Charley’s Grilled Subs inside Central Avenue Minit Mart (April 2016)
Dickey’s Barbecue Pit (Oct. 2014)
Grand World Coffee (Jan. 2016)
Izzy’s BBQ Lounge & Grill (Aug. 2014)
Jimmy John’s at Miller Hill Mall (Dec. 2015)
KBQ Ribs food truck (Aug. 2015)
The King of Creams (March 2015)
Lake Superior Bakehouse (June 2015)
Lark o’ the Lake (Nov. 2015)
Northern Waters Restaurant (Feb. 2016)
El Oasis del Norte Mexican food truck (July 2015)
Sala Thai (April 2015)
Toasty’s Grilled Cheese Shop – Downtown (Dec. 2015)
Vintage Kitchen (Feb. 2015)
VN Coffee House (June 2015)

Polls, Restaurants

Johnson Appliance and TV Center Ghost Sign

May 17, 2016 2 Comments

Remodeling for the future home of Boreal, a coffee shop, farm-to-table cafe and smoothie and juice bar with intentions of opening in Spring 2017, has revealed the old sign for Johnson Appliance and TV Center.

History, Restaurants Lincoln Park Neighborhood / The Friendly West End

Kounty Quarthouse in South Range under new ownership

May 15, 2016 4 Comments

Kounty Quarthouse

One might not expect the food served at a nondescript roadhouse six miles south of Superior to be anything special, but the Kounty Quarthouse, off County Road K in South Range, is a hidden gem that shatters stereotypes.

Beth Cherny, founder of Savories Catering in Duluth, took over the modest wayside tavern in 2006. She played up the legal theme and overhauled the menu. Her creative culinary concoctions were an instant hit with regulars and foodies from further afield. In 2014, the Food Network’s Guy Fieri shot a segment there for “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives,” his popular show that uses public input to discover and highlight some of the best “greasy spoons” in the nation.

Cherny’s decade-long run with the Kounty Quarthouse ended in March when she sold the business to Kandice and Bill Szewcik. Fans of the eatery will be relieved to know the recipes were sold along with the restaurant and the new owners intend to maintain the same quality customers have come to expect.

Restaurants Kounty Quarthouse

Epic Restaurant & Lounge opening soon in Superior

Apr 21, 2016 2 Comments

Superior will have a new fine-dining establishment with the opening of Epic Restaurant & Lounge, tentatively planned for sometime in May.

The restaurant, lounge and event venue will be located in the old Joe’s Pagoda Chinese Restaurant location at 3223 Tower Ave., between Campbell Lumber & Supply and Grizzly’s Food-Fired Grill. Joe’s Pagoda owners, Joe and Sue Hear, retired in 2015 after 16 years in business.

News and Current Affairs, Restaurants Bars / Drinking Establishments, Superior

Seasonal restaurants reopening in and around Duluth for 2016

Apr 14, 2016 No Comments

Nothing signifies the emergence of spring quite like the reappearance of malts on the Duluth Lakewalk and the wafting scent of fried fare from seasonal burger joints. For those ready to indulge, here’s a rundown on seasonal restaurant re-openings.

Gordy’s Hi-Hat in Cloquet reopened on March 20, the first day of spring. The classic hamburger stand is a favorite among locals and a popular stop for Twin Cities travelers headed to cabins up north. The restaurant, now in it’s 56th season, is known for its hand-pattied burgers and onion rings, and was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

A & Dubs, another nostalgic burger joint in Duluth’s West End, will reopen on Mother’s Day, May 8. The seasonal, family-run business at 3131 W. Third St. was founded in 1948 as Duluth’s first drive-in restaurant. A & Dubs holds a special place in the hearts of residents of western Duluth. It’s a remarkable relic; nowhere else in Duluth has ice-cold root beer and burger baskets delivered by carhops for in-vehicle consumption.

Ice cream aficionados will be pleased to know the Denfeld Dairy Queen and the PortLand Malt Shoppe are already serving up decadent desserts.

News and Current Affairs, Restaurants Bars / Drinking Establishments, Beer and Breweries

Canal Park Timber Lodge Steakhouse won’t reopen

Apr 13, 2016 4 Comments

After 20 years in business, the Timber Lodge Steakhouse in Canal Park is calling it quits. Bruce Taher, CEO of Timber Lodge’s parent company, Taher Inc., says he regrets having to make the decision. He hoped to close the restaurant for the winter and reopen it this spring, but a number of challenges precipitated the restaurant’s demise.

News and Current Affairs, R.I.P., Restaurants Canal Park

Perfect Duluth Easter Brunch?

Mar 24, 2016 2 Comments

So, being of a mindset that doesn’t lean particularly religious, the wife and I tend to sleep in on Easter Sunday. I had always been under the impression that Easter brunch was sort of a big thing, so a few years back we ventured out seeking a leisurely breakfast/lunch combo with bloodies and mimosas, only to discover all the usual downtown brunch suspects were closed!

We probably gave up a bit too early in our search since we ended up at the bar at Tycoons, but there were surprisingly few open places. To save me from that situation again, what does PDD suggest as the best place in the area to get a proper Easter brunch?

Recommendations, Restaurants Queries

Not your typical cookbook review

Mar 22, 2016 No Comments

Once upon a time we stopped caring about where our food came from, and had no knowledge of the people who grew it. We stopped cooking, ate out of boxes, and tore cellophane wrappers off microwaved “TV dinners.” We even ate fast food meals in our cars without stepping foot outside. Sounds crazy, but it’s actually true! Americans across the socioeconomic spectrum came to rely solely upon international corporations to feed us, even though they’ve proven time and again that their only care is for profits.

Slowly, surely, relentlessly, we are waking up. There is another way. The Duluth Grill Cook Book II is the latest contribution toward our community’s drive to create a sustainable local food system. I lingered over a scratch-made pie and perused the book for a couple hours while taking in the atmosphere. Read my thoughts on Ed’s Big Adventure.

Recommendations, Restaurants Books, Duluth Grill Family of Restaurants

The Vintage Kitchen serves up cheap eats and antiques

Feb 17, 2016 3 Comments

Ron Garatz and Wally Berg, owners of the Vintage Kitchen

A charming little diner in Duluth’s Endion neighborhood is serving up homestyle food on colorful, classic Formica tables. But what truly makes the Vintage Kitchen distinctive is that antique furnishings and décor are also on the menu.

Restaurants Endion, Vintage Kitchen

Restaurants Posts