I’m looking to spend a weekend in Ashland. This is what I know to do so far:

1. Stare at the beautiful bay.

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There’s only 5 performances left of Renegade Theater Company’s production of REASONS TO BE PRETTY. The show has been dubbed “A high-impact drama with a superb cast” by the Duluth News Tribune, “A must-see performance” by Oeuvre Magazine and “Better than a kick in the junk” by Jody Kujawa. That’s some serious high-praise, guys.

So if you haven’t seen it yet, what are you waiting for? That’s not rhetorical. Seriously, what are you waiting for? There’s only five shows left! Well, how about if we give you one more reason to see it?

When you either call the box office (218-336-1414) or show up to purchase tickets, use the codeword and get your tickets for ONLY $5!   Yeah, you heard us right. This offer is good for ANY of the remaining performances. It doesn’t matter if there are 2 people in your party or 20, the tickets are $5 EACH. But only if you use the codeword.

What is the codeword? It’s the url of THIS WEBSITE.

And from now until June 18th at the Zeitgeist Arts Cafe you can get a “Pretty Cosmo” for only $5 and receive 10% off your food bill if you show them your program from the production.

Hope to see you there!

This is the final week to have lunch at the View Restaurant in Duluth’s Secondary Technical Center. The photo above is the view from my table last week. The View has kind of been one of Duluth’s little semi-secret treasures — the food is great, the prices are very affordable and the view is similar to the old Buena Vista Restaurant … but slightly to the west.

The restaurant is run by culinary arts instructor Glenn D’Amour, former chef at Grandma’s and Kamloops. Table service and food preparation is provided by Duluth high-school students in the culinary arts program.

Because the STC/Central campus will be closing as part of the Duluth School District’s Long-range Facilities Plan, the program and restaurant will be moving to East High School in the Fall. No more view.

If you want to check it out, you need to call for a reservation, pre-order your food and be ready to be seated in the thin window of noon to 12:05 p.m. Reservations are taken at (218) 336-8975 ext. 4054. The restaurant is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday — then it’s done for the semester; and done completely at this location.

View website | Spring 2011 Newsletter and Menu

Has anyone tried the new food truck on Central Entrance serving oriental food?

19 years ago today there was a fire…. The rest is history!

The season opens Memorial Weekend Sunday, May 29th with JFT Party Band bringing down the house!

www.tomsburneddowncafe.com (view this website at your own risk it is WICKED GOOD)

Fire at Tom's 5/19/1992

I’ve heard the Maya Mexican Restaurant at 220 W. Superior St. has been closed for a few weeks. It was indeed locked up today during the lunch hours.

One block up and one block over, the former Chef Yee’s location has a sign promising a new Oriental restaurant.

Andrew Zimmern’s Favorite Midwestern Hamburgers

#8 – Anchor Bar, Superior, Wisconsin
A superb bar burger, ground fresh from Angus chuck, and it’s the only place I have ever seen a full griddle of burgers manned at the lunch rush by a cook with a full cigarette of ash hanging out of his mouth and he never missed a beat. The clientele could care less as long as the burgers stay this good and the beer is cold.
413 Tower Ave, Superior, WI 54880-1048. (715) 394-9747

By popular demand, we chose Big Daddy’s Burgers as the next location in our “Breakfast in Duluth” series. Because it’s located next to Arthur’s Formal Wear in the Piedmont Plaza, we considered renting tuxedos so we’d look good while scarfing down our omelets, but unfortunately that wasn’t in the budget, so we kept our regular clothes on and, as usual, looked like a couple of fools.
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Annual Asian Cultural Show: ImaginAsian Hosted by UMD’s Asian Pacific American Student Association. Join us in a night of Asian arts, cultural performance, and delicious Asian cuisine. Admission: $10 (admission includes dinner and a show). For more information, please contact Hli Vang at 218-726-6335 or at vangh@d.umn.edu

UMD Kirby Ballroom
Saturday, April 30th
6:00 p.m.

Charley’s Subs is opened in the Mall. I always appreciate a new business, even if it’s a franchise. Where is the best sub sandwich in town?

There are many great places to have breakfast in Duluth, but only a handful fall into the true breakfast diner category. Barrett Chase and Paul Lundgren set out to compare them all and report their findings on Perfect Duluth Day, so readers can admire their astute observations and compliment them publicly, without the briefest passing thought of contradicting any of the information presented.
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In light of the awesome weather we had last night my better half and I decided to go for an evening bike ride.  We ended up down on that first beach on Park Point and sat there for awhile.  When it got pretty dark we headed back and decided to stop at Lake Ave Café.  
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People of Earth (and Duluth, too),

I know where you can find a supply of cleanish used restaurant grease to brew up some Earth-friendly biofuel. Contact Paige at Pizza Luce: 727-7400. She needs to get it out of her garage before Exxon shows up and pours it in Chester Creek.

I always feel odd enjoying the Fitger’s Brewhouse. Nearly everyone under 30 I’ve ever known in Duluth, and some older, has worked for the Brewhouse empire. And empire is not a carelessly chosen word; the success of the Brewhouse, Red Star, Burrito Union and the new expansion into City Hall may be local in origin, but functions in much the same way Wal-Mart does: by grinding through an ample supply of tourism-economy low-wage no-benefit employees. I feel good about eating local; I wish that I felt better about the economic impact of that particular local choice.

That said, there’s a newspaper circulating in the free racks around town talking about how the Brewhouse supports local agriculture, and so I thought I’d give them a chance, again, in prix fixe, as part of the Greater Downtown Council’s Eat Downtown event. I was not disappointed.

The burger was hearty and filling, the fries and onion rings are almost a meal to themselves, and the German chocolate stout cupcake will bring Kate and me back in the future.

Really, really awesome. Whoever designed this Prix Fixe (and gave me a window into the local agriculure connection at the Brewhouse in that newspaper) has brought me back to their table.

Now, if I could buy that cake to bring to work …

Le Bistro restaurant in the former City/County Complex in Superior will close April 16, a victim of the sluggish economy.

Duluth News Tribune story

From lebistrosuperior.com:

Does anyone know of some authentic Korean cuisine around town? As much as I enjoy the standard Chinese options that are standard in every joint around, I’m hinkerin for a change. I’ll even expand the range to Northern Minnesota if need be. Come on folks, help me out!

Lets keep the ‘grilled-fido’ comments to a minimum, Thanks in advance.

You have one more week to enjoy Eat Downtown! The Greater Downtown Council-sponsored event, with 19 participating restaurants, is back this year.

The DNT describes the program here.

Kate and I at ate J J Astor — an amazing dinner, including blackberry salad, for me a pressed chicken, for her walleye with grapefruit and bleu cheese salad, for me a chocolate pudding for dessert, for her an orange olive oil cake. Amazing. Also of note: the happy-hour specials at the Astor are at least competitive with other local happy hours. We had never seen the bar added in the remodel before; it (and the whole space) is awesome.

Bellisio’s was awesome both for the company (M., S., and L.) as for the very filling mix of a caprese salad (the highlight of my meal), various pasta dishes, and tasty gelato.

Being a tourist in your own town is sometimes one of the best ways to rediscover your love for it. Try a local restaurant today. And note: some of the restaurants with more modest aims have a “two for twenty” menu in the evenings.

A good time was had by all at Saigon Cafe for Vietnamese New Year!

The dinner was served at long tables (a break from the norm), creating a long space in the middle of the restaurant and creating the opportunity to meet new people. And people had come from as far away as Hibbing and Grand Rapids for the feast. Dinner consisted of a wonderful shrimp dish made with fruit, a mixed seafood dish, a beef in a curry sauce, and one of the staples of Vietnamese food, a seasoned meatball (often made of shrimp and pork). Two tasty soups and a salad and a fruit rounded out an excellent buffet-style dinner.

Youngsters played Vietnamese games in the back, and a dragon dance in that newly created space in the middle of the restaurant.

I can’t imagine more fun, and I have a newfound respect for what this small, locally owned business does for our community.

Saigon Cafe Vietnamese Restaurant
114 W. First St.
Duluth, MN 55802
(218) 727-3987

Anyone know of a restaurant that sells wild rice pizza?  Looking for something like the ones at  Sven & Ole’s pizza in Grand Marais. (Wild rice, Canadian bacon, mushrooms, olives, peppers onions).  Simple, yet different.

The Giant Panda restaurant at 215 N. Central Avenue in West Duluth has closed.

No, Amsoil isn’t moving its corporate headquarters into the Spirit Valley Shopping Center. A woman unloading the truck said a new Chinese restaurant, under different ownership, is moving in. She said it will be called China King Buffet and be open in a few days.

This Friday, Lake Avenue Café plays host to Minneapolis band the Bombay Sweets as part of its First Fridays series.

The duo recently released its debut 7″ with printing and artwork by former Low bass player Zak Sally. The Bombay Sweets’ lo-fi brand of surfy No Wave and 1950s garage rock may be best summed up in their video “I Don’t Wanna Be Your Soldier Anymore.”