Lissa Maki, Author at Perfect Duluth Day

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

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

Homegrown Kickball Classic 2016

May 07, 2016 2 Comments

The 2016 Homegrown Kickball Classic at Chester Bowl Park was ushered in by shockingly perfect weather conditions. The sun shone, some random dude played sitar, dogs pranced, beer flowed. And musicians in their seventh day of an eight-day Homegrown bender attempted to rally and act like athletes.

News and Current Affairs Homegrown Music Festival, Kickball

Duluth-area Coffee Roasters in 2015

May 05, 2016 6 Comments

The coffee industry has undergone significant changes in the past couple of decades, as an increasing number of specialty roasters enter the market. The Duluth area is now experiencing what some call the “third wave” of coffee. The first wave of coffee was about convenience and mass production (think instant coffee, like Folgers). The second wave of coffee involved the rise of chains like Starbucks, where consumers were introduced to fresher and better quality beans and the experience of drinking in coffee shops.

Random Coffee Roasters, Guides and Lists

Thirsty Pagan opens new beer garden

Apr 30, 2016 No Comments

Kelsey Picek and Allyson Rolph at the Thirsty Pagan beer garden

Kelsey Picek and Allyson Rolph in the Thirsty Pagan beer garden

Beginning this weekend, Twin Ports beer lovers have another option for outdoor imbibing. Thirsty Pagan Brewing’s new beer garden held its soft opening on Friday. The brewpub at 1623 Broadway in Superior is known for its tasty brews and delectable deep-dish pizzas.

The beer garden occupies a space behind the building that is fully fenced and can be accessed via the parking lot. It features several oversized picnic tables and can seat about 25 people with standing room for about 25 more.

Events, Music, News and Current Affairs Beer and Breweries, Superior, Thirsty Pagan Brewing

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

Historic Androy hotel bar gets makeover as Steel Toe Pub

Apr 09, 2016 1 Comment

Ben and Margie Regner

Steel Toe Pub quietly opened in February in the historic Androy Hotel’s lobby at 1213 Tower Avenue in Superior. Patrons of the former Androy Lounge might find the pub unrecognizable as the space has been extensively renovated in the past year.

Owners Margie and Dave Regner have also been proprietors of the hotel since 1986. Margie said her husband and sons did much of the work on the bar themselves, ripping out layers of false ceilings and taking down several walls to reveal exposed brick. “We totally gutted the whole place,” she says.

News and Current Affairs Androy Hotel, Bars / Drinking Establishments, Steel Toe Pub

New Alakef CEO launches City Girl Coffee

Apr 04, 2016 2 Comments

Alyza Bohbot poses in front of Alakef's original roaster with City Girl Coffee swag

Alyza Bohbot poses in front of Alakef’s original roaster with City Girl Coffee schwag

Alyza Bohbot never intended to take over Alakef Coffee Roasters, her family’s wholesale coffee roasting business. She was living on the East Coast and had just finished a master’s degree in school counseling when her parents, Nessim and Deborah, told Alyza, their only child, of their retirement plans.

Alyza says she had a “gut check moment.” She realized she didn’t want to see the business her parents worked so hard to build leave the family. She agreed to move back to Minnesota for a six-month trial period to determine if it was a good fit. Three years later, with her parents’ guidance and the help of veteran Alakef staff, Alyza is running the company and taking it in an interesting new direction.

News and Current Affairs Alakef Coffee, City Girl Coffee, Coffee Roasters

Craft brewers rolling out variety of vessels

Mar 22, 2016 No Comments

Duluth beer drinkers have more choices than ever — not just in terms of brands and styles, but also in packaging. A variety of new bottle and can styles have entered the local market, and more are on the way.

Two prominent examples are the 750ml bottles Fitger’s Brewhouse used to package its late-winter series, and the 16 oz. cans Castle Danger Brewery will soon release for its seasonal offerings.

News and Current Affairs Bars / Drinking Establishments, Beer and Breweries, Made in Duluth

Whole Foods Co-op – Denfeld set to open March 16

Mar 10, 2016 No Comments

Duluth’s second Whole Foods Co-op store will open March 16 at 4426 Grand Ave., a few hundred feet from Denfeld High School on the site of the former Jefferson Lines bus station.

Those familiar with shopping at the co-op’s Hillside location at 610 E. Fourth St. can expect similar whole, organic, local and regional food offerings at the West Duluth store, plus an expanded deli area with hot and cold grab-and-go foods.

News and Current Affairs Grocery Stores, West Duluth, Whole Foods Co-op

2016 Duluth-area Beer Festival Primer

Feb 25, 2016 No Comments

As craft beer continues to explode in popularity in the Twin Ports and beyond, local beer tastings and beer-centered festivals proliferate. Below are some highlights of beery upcoming events in the region. The name of each event links to the PDD Calendar entry for that event; the links in the event descriptions link to the official event webpages.

February 27 – Grand Minnesota Taste-Together
Grand Casino, Hinckley

The sixth annual Grand Minnesota Taste-Together features over 160 different craft beers from local, regional and national breweries. The event culminates with a concert featuring The Voice’s Madi Davis and English folk-punk group Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls. Twin Ports Nightlife organizes the festival.

March 10-12 – Bockfest
Fitger’s Courtyard, Duluth

Bockfest is an annual German celebration of spring that has been taking place at the Fitger’s Complex since 1995. This family-friendly, outdoor event runs from Thursday evening through Saturday night and includes fun games and traditions like the black forest torte-eating contest and the big dip into Lake Superior. There will be music, food, a campfire and Split Rock Bock, a seasonal beer made by Lake Superior Brewing.

April 16 – Gitchee Gumee Brewfest
Wessman Arena, Superior

Sample over 100 beers from 25 different breweries from the Midwest and beyond at the area’s longest running beer-tasting event, the Gitchee Gumee Brewfest. VIP and regular admission tickets are available. The event is in its 19th year and typically sells out.

News and Current Affairs Beer and Breweries, Bent Paddle Brewing, Festivals, Guides and Lists

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

Northern Waters restaurant open on Woodland Avenue

Feb 10, 2016 5 Comments

Fans of all things cured and smoked will rejoice in knowing Northern Waters Smokehaus has opened its much-anticipated Woodland Avenue location in the Chester Park – UMD neighborhood. While the new restaurant offers some familiar lunch items from the Smokehaus, the menu is more expansive and includes alcoholic beverages.

News and Current Affairs, Restaurants Northern Waters Smokehaus

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