Margaritas, chips and salsa at Bucktales – Photo by Lissa Maki
The Twin Ports of Duluth and Superior have never been known for Mexican food, but options for taco lovers have been expanding and improving in recent years. It’s been a long time since Hacienda del Sol, Zona Rosa and Chi-Chi’s were the hot spots.
Maggie Gustafson and Eric Faust – Photo by Lissa Maki
A trio of craft beverage purveyors will be sharing space in Canal Park starting Saturday. Duluth Coffee Company is opening a satellite coffee shop in the Ripple Bar on Lake Superior, which is adjacent to Hoops Brewing in the Waterfront Plaza at 325 S. Lake Ave.
Photo by Lissa Maki
Thirsty Pagan Brewing entered its 14th year of business on May 1. There was no fanfare, simply because owner Steve Knauss was so busy he forgot. Knauss and his staff have been working around the clock to ready the brewpub’s new spot at 1615 Winter St. for opening.
Jeff Petcoff, Mike Atkinson (pinball mechanic/manager) and Tom Hanson – Photo by Lissa Maki
A new establishment opening Sunday in the Lincoln Park Craft District will cater to adults who like to eat and play. Taco Arcada features an array of classic pinball and video games and will serve up Mexican-style street tacos.
A bevy of craft breweries and brewpubs have found the Arrowhead region of northeastern Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin to be fertile ground for growth. Five years ago, area craft breweries produced almost 20,000 barrels of beer. By 2018 that number nearly tripled to roughly 57,000 barrels.
Andrew Price and Adam Ruhland – Photo by Lissa Maki
Cider seekers will soon have another Duluth option to swoon over. Owners of Wild State Cider say opening day will be April 16. A grand opening event is planned for the weekend of April 26-27.
Competition to name the Perfect Duluth fish fry was fierce but the The Breeze Inn managed to angle ahead of the others to claim the title with 36 percent of the vote among the final three.
Do country-bar fish fries fare better? It’s notable that the three top-ranked fish fries are all just outside of Duluth city limits. Breeze Inn is in Rice Lake Township while Billy’s in Lakewood Township was the runner up with 33 percent of the vote. Wabegon in Superior Township came in third with a respectable 31 percent. Among establishments within Duluth city limits, Bridgeman’s had the most votes.
Eduardo Sandoval – Photo by Lissa Maki
Everyday options for authentic Mexican food in the Twin Ports have vastly improved. Earlier this month, El Oasis Del Norte food truck started serving up items like tacos, burritos and tortas at Average Joe’s Pub in Superior.
Who is serving up the Perfect Duluth-area fish fry? In our latest poll, we’re counting on our readers to help suss out the answer to this important question.
It’s Lent, the official season to dine on fried fish and chips with a side of slaw, which leads us to Perfect Duluth Day’s latest poll. What local eatery has the best fish fry?
Photo by Lissa Maki
New Scenic Café will mark its 20-year anniversary on April 1. Although Chef Scott Graden has carefully refined his approach over the years, the acclaimed destination eatery on Lake Superior’s North Shore continues to emphasize quality and culinary artisanship.
A Lincoln Park sandwich shop emerged as the hero in Perfect Duluth Day’s 2019 poll to discern the area’s best new restaurant. Corktown Deli & Brews won 43 percent of the runoff vote in a pool of three finalists that was narrowed down from a list of 25 nominees. Pak’s Green Corner and Martha’s Daughter were runners up with 33 percent and 24 percent of the votes, respectively.
Corktown Deli & Brews opened in June. Jeff Petcoff, the fast-casual restaurant’s general manager, was thrilled to hear the poll results. “That’s one of the biggest compliments you can get,” he says, “because readers and people vote on it; it’s a vote of confidence from everyone. It’s humbling and will help keep us going.”
A new complimentary shuttle service will provide a link between Duluth’s craft beverage purveyors. Starting Feb. 8 the Hopper, a 15-passenger van, will run between Canal Park, Lincoln Park and Downtown every Friday and Saturday night.
In 2017 OMC Smokehouse was voted “Perfect New Restaurant” in our Perfect Duluth Day poll. The popular Lincoln Park establishment will soon be two years old. Since then, an array of eateries have opened and it’s time to name a new champ.
With help from our readers, we amassed a list of 25 recently opened eating establishments. It’s a runoff ballot, so options with the fewest votes slowly dropped off the list. The final three were: Corktown Deli & Brews, Martha’s Daughter and Pak’s Green Corner.
What’s the latest restaurant to win over hearts and bellies?
This poll is now closed. The results were:
Corktown Deli & Brews – 43 percent
Pak’s Green Corner – 33 percent
Martha’s Daughter – 24 percent
OMC Smokehouse has enjoyed the “Perfect New Restaurant” title since winning Perfect Duluth Day’s poll in July of 2017 with an impressive 82 percent of the vote.
Since a flurry of restaurant activity has happened in the Twin Ports over the past year and a half, it’s time to launch another poll and give new establishments a chance to prove their worth.
