Nominees for Perfect North Shore Restaurant Poll
Warm weather and wanderlust have Duluthians dreaming of a North Shore vacation. In this spirit, we’ve decided to conduct a poll to determine the best place to eat up the shore.
Before voting, we have to establish a list of nominees. What are the criteria for determining a North Shore Restaurant? After some debate, we’ve decided to include eateries on the shore located in Lake and Cook counties, from Knife River in the south to Grand Portage in the north.
While it might seem counterintuitive to some, this means the New Scenic Café is not included in the poll, since it is located in Duluth Township. It’s abundantly clear the Scenic is a favored restaurant; the café won PDD’s Perfect Restaurant Poll and has drawn accolades from foodies farther afield. For the purposes of this poll, we’re looking for restaurants that require a little more of an excursion from Duluth.
What’s the perfect North Shore restaurant (besides the New Scenic Café)? You tell us. We’ll round up the nominees and produce a poll in the coming days.

Gunflint Tavern in Grand Marais is an obvious one. I could go for an Asian Bowl right about now.
Angry Trout in Grand Marais
My Sister’s Place and Harbor House Grille in Grand Marais
Vanilla Bean and Carmody 61 in Two Harbors
Moguls in Lutsen
If for nothing else but ambiance, Naniboujou Lodge should be on the ballot.
Earthwood for herring and burgers.
RIP Dixie, which also had great burgers.
Udarnik when did Dixie go under? I was there right before New Year’s Eve and it was still going strong.
My nominations:
Crooked Spoon Cafe, Grand Marais
Dockside Market, Grand Marais
Coho Café, Tofte
Lutsen Resort has fine high-end dining
I think that Betty’s Pies and Rustic Inn ought to be on the ballot! They have provincial charm and PIE.
Funkenschutz, it burned down last week.
Nokomis RIP
Crooked Spoon in Grand Marais
The Lemon Wolf in Beaver Bay is another consistently great spot!
The Rustic Inn ftw!
Vanilla Bean in Two Harbors.
(Too bad the Lighthouse at Emily’s closed last year.)
Though I’ve never eaten there, Sven & Ole’s in Grand Marais seems popular, but I would defer to people who have actually been there to see if it’s truly worthy of nomination.