Paul Lundgren
Duluth 2013 General Election Sample Ballot
Click to see it larger. Keep in mind some races will not appear on your ballot, depending on which part of town you reside in.
Perfect Italian Restaurant: Va Bene Caffé
Mary Kay and Jim Berarducci run a tiny Italian restaurant overlooking a massive lake. The combination of cozy atmosphere, magnificent view and delicious cuisine is no accident; “va bene” is Italian for “it goes well.” Readers of Perfect Duluth Day agree it does, indeed, go well. In a poll they chose Va Bene Caffé as Duluth’s best Italian restaurant.
The menu includes antipasta appetizers, pizza, panini, gnocchi, pasta, fish, steak, soups and salads. Many items, such as the sauces, dressings and breads, are made from scratch with imported Italian products.
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Stone-Arch Bridge and Haines Road open
The Stewart Creek Stone-Arch Bridge at Magney-Snively Natural Area (State Bridge Number L6007; built circa 1925) has been repaired from damage sustained during the Hideous Solstice Flood Calamity of 2012. The bridge had sustained significant flood damage and deterioration to the abutment walls, stone-arch underside, headwalls, wing walls, railing and guard stones. (We’re not sure when that sign was damaged or when it will be pulled upright.) (more…)
Pascal Dupuis pulls out two teeth
Former Minnesota Wild forward Pascal Dupuis, now with the Pittsburgh Penguins, catches a high stick from his teammate Kris Letang, then pulls out two teeth on the bench without missing a shift.
Duck’s feet and bird’s nest soup in Duluth
Duluth News Tribune — Oct. 16, 1916:
Duluth monkeys on ABC’s World News Now
Lake Superior Zoo has named its baby Angolan colobus monkeys. “Kermit” has been chosen for the male monkey (born June 26). He likes to hop around like a frog. “Kaya” has been chosen for the female monkey (born July 16). She is named after a city in central Africa.
The zoo asked for the community’s help in naming the monkeys and guests attending Boo at the Zoo were given the opportunity to cast votes for their favorite names and make a cash donation toward wild colobus conservation efforts. A contribution of $500 from the baby-naming voting process and other visitor donations received at Boo at the Zoo will be sent to Colobus Conservation, located in Kenya.
Duluth Demon Demonized?
Four weeks ago a post on Perfect Duluth Day introduced the “Duluth Demon,” a masked character who apparently jumps out from behind trees in the Bagley Nature Area and scares the dickens out of UMD students. Whether it was a publicity stunt, all in good fun or a dangerous individual threatening public safety, the topic didn’t generate a lot of attention here.
Now that Halloween is upon us, however, we should have seen a twist in the story coming.
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Hello, my name is October 2003
A search through the PDD Archives for October 2003 reveals a wild month. Rick Boo closed the NorShor Theatre (causing much reminiscing on PDD), Bone Appetit was supposed to open for Ratt at the Third Rock Bar until Ratt cancelled at the last minute, people on PDD started posting short introductions about themselves and telling ghost stories, Starfire got his jaw jacked, Jamie Ness was voted Hottest Ness Brother, a cake/fist fight broke out at Slim Goodbuzz’s book-release party, Elliot Smith died and Shaky Ray Records hosted some kind of party.
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Vote for the best pizza, burger, Asian, vegetarian, Mexican and Italian restaurants
In the top four categories below, an elimination round was held to determine the finalists. In the last two, the number of nominees was short enough to skip an elimination round.
[poll id=”53″]
This poll is closed. The results were:
Thirsty Pagan Brewing — 45.9 percent
Pizza Lucé — 24.7 percent
Sammy”s Pizza — 17.6 percent
Vintage Italian Pizza — 11.8 percent
[poll id=”54″]
This poll is closed. The results were:
Anchor Bar — 61.3 percent
Fitger’s Brewhouse — 38.7 percent
[poll id=”55″]
This poll is closed. The results were:
Hanabi Japanese Cuisine — 36.6 percent
Pak’s Green Corner — 25.4 percent
Taste of Saigon — 22.5 percent
Sala Thai Restaurant — 15.5 percent
[poll id=”56″]
This poll is closed. The results were:
Duluth Grill — 64.3 percent
At Sara’s Table / Chester Creek Café — 35.7 percent
[poll id=”57″]
This poll is closed. The results were:
Mexico Lindo — 29.5 percent
None are worthy — 25.6 percent
Azteca’s Mexican Grill — 19.2 percent
Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant — 14.1 percent
Little Angie’s Cantina and Grill — 6.4 percent
Maya Family Mexican Restaurant — 5.1 percent
[poll id=”58″]
This poll is closed. The results were:
Va Bene Caffé — 40 percent
Bellisio’s Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar — 18.8 percent
Valentini’s Vicino Lago — 18.8 percent
Gannucci’s Italian Market — 17.6 percent
Green Mill — 4.7 percent
Probably the last Superior Hiking Trail post of 2013 … but we’ll see
I’m not sure if this is called Fox Farm Pond or Paisley Pond or both, but it’s funky as hell.
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R.I.P. Lou Reed
His death is locally relevant, since he wrote Perfect Duluth Day’s unofficial theme song.
Poll: Best Restaurant for Vegetarians
There are no strictly vegetarian restaurants in the Duluth area, but there are a few that go out of their way to provide good vegetarian options on their menus. Which ones are the best? That’s for you to decide. So we ask …
[poll id=”52″]
This poll is now closed. The restaurants advancing to the final round are At Sara’s Table / Chester Creek Café and Duluth Grill.
Facebook and Twitter Login on PDD
There were problems this week with the WordPress plugin that allows PDD users to log in via Facebook. In geek speak: “Facebook changed its API login procedures, which broke the plugin.”
We have a new plugin running now, so, if you are the sort to log in via Facebook instead of creating a PDD account the old fashioned way, please give it a try and let us know if you have problems. The new plugin also allows logins through Twitter. (If you are not logged in you can click either social icon below to launch. If you are logged in, you won’t see icons below.)
A few polls opened this week that those of you who log in with Facebook had been excluded from until now. They are still open, so there’s still time for that.
Note: Logging in will not allow you to purchase health insurance from Perfect Duluth Day.
A little early with his Halloween jokes
Duluth News Tribune cartoon by R. D. Handy from 100 years ago — Oct. 23, 1913.
Poll: Best Asian Food in the Duluth Area
The nominations are in; now it’s time to pick the finalists.
[poll id=”50″]
This poll is now closed. The restaurants advancing to the final round are Hanabi Japanese Cuisine, Pak’s Green Corner, Taste of Saigon and Sala Thai.
Poll: Best Burgers in the Duluth Area
Let the elimination round begin.
[poll id=”49″]
This poll is now closed. The restaurants advancing to the final round are the Anchor Bar and Fitger’s Brewhouse.
Poll: Best Pizza in the Duluth Area
The nominations are in, and it’s time to whittle down the options. So we ask …
[poll id=”48″]
This poll is now closed. The restaurants advancing to the final round are Pizza Lucé, Sammy’s Pizza, Thirsty Pagan Brewing and Vintage Italian Pizza.
Perfect Lunch Restaurant: Northern Waters Smokehaus
When it comes to lunch in Duluth, the sandwich is king. Not one pizza place, burger joint or Asian restaurant managed to crack the top four in Perfect Duluth Day’s poll to determine the best lunch restaurants. Furthermore, the place with the best sandwiches in town, Northern Waters Smokehaus, smoked the competition. A solid majority of 55.4 percent of voters agreed Northern Waters is the best mid-day meal around.
Clearly the deliciousness is no secret — there’s almost always a noon-hour line at Northern Waters.
Southwire picked to click
City Pages selected Duluth band Southwire as one of the groups “picked to click” in 2013. Minneapolis hip-hop artist Lizzo was picked #1. Southwire came in at #8.
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PDD Awards: The Next Six
We’re going to accelerate the process of the PDD Awards IndexPDD Awards and conclude the Food & Drink category before the end of the month, then take a break so you can focus on political voting.
The next six categories to be voted on will be:
- Best Pizza Restaurant
- Best Burger Restaurant
- Best Asian Restaurant
- Best Italian Restaurant
- Best Mexican Restaurant
- Best Vegetarian Restaurant
So spout out your nominees for all six categories in the comments here, and we’ll start the voting when it seems like you’re about done.
Duluth Little Free Library Guide
It’s been more than a year since the first post on Perfect Duluth Day about Little Free Libraries, and the trend seems to be growing. So now it’s time to update the list and include some photos to show what’s out there.
Little Free Libraries, of course, are boxes full of books where anyone may stop by and pick some up or drop some off.
(As usual, click on these photos to see them larger.)
997 84th Ave. W. (Morgan Park neighborhood)
Steve & Janelle Schoenbauer, Stewards #2336
16 E. Seventh St. (Central Hillside neighborhood)
Colin Engstrom, Steward #8416
1612 E. Skyline Parkway (East Hillside neighborhood)
John Pastor, Steward #2278 (more…)
Best Lunch in the Duluth Area
Our previous poll tells us the top four lunch restaurants in Duluth are: How Sweet it is Cakes Deli, Northern Waters Smokehaus, Red Mug Coffeehouse and Bake Shop and Sir Benedict’s Tavern on the Lake. Now it’s time to pick a winner, so again we ask …
[poll id=”47″]
This poll is now closed. The results are:
Northern Waters Smokehaus — 55.4 percent
How Sweet it is Cakes Deli — 21.5 percent
Sir Benedict’s Tavern on the Lake — 13.9 percent
Red Mug Coffeehouse and Bake Shop — 9.2 percent
Mitch’s & Grill
Is there a more slapped together billboard in Duluth?
R.I.P. Joe Gomer
Joe Gomer, Minnesota’s last surviving member of the Tuskegee Airmen, has died at 93.
Statement from Mayor Ness:
Duluth lost a national hero with the passing of Joe Gomer, one of the few remaining Tuskegee Airmen who served in WWII. Joe and his family moved to Duluth in 1963 and have been an integral part of our community ever since. While we mourn, we can also take comfort in knowing that he received the recognition he rightly deserved. Joe was able to witness the unveiling of a life-sized statue at the Duluth International Airport. The Joe Gomer Monument will forever serve as a reminder of Joe’s vast contributions to our community and country.
Duluth News Tribune: Legendary Tuskegee Airman Joe Gomer of Duluth dies