Restaurants
NE BBQ & Smokehouse now open in Cloquet
The Cloquet community gained a Southern-style restaurant last week. NE BBQ & Smokehouse, which specializes in smoked meats and barbecue, opened on July 27. (more…)
Perfect New Restaurant: OMC Smokehouse
OMC Smokehouse is the winner of Perfect Duluth Day’s best new restaurant poll. The popular barbecue joint smoked the competition, garnering 82 percent of the vote among the two finalists. The Boat Club Restaurant and Bar was runner up with 18 percent; 14 other nominees were eliminated in early voting.
OMC (which stands for oink, moo, cluck) opened in February. For more than two years, area residents eagerly anticipated the restaurant’s arrival. (more…)
Martha’s Daughter to transform Original Coney Island
Duluth’s Original Coney Island restaurant. Image via Trip Advisor.
After several years of pleasing late-night palates with her pop-up restaurant, chef Nyanyika Banda is opening Martha’s Daughter, a brick and mortar eatery. She hopes to have the Original Coney Island space at 107 E. Superior St. transformed to fit her vision by summer’s end. (more…)
Poll: Best New Restaurant in Duluth Area
It’s time for the 2017 edition of Perfect Duluth Day’s “Perfect New Restaurant” poll. In 2016, Northern Waters Restaurant won by a landslide. Since then, a variety of new eating establishments have emerged. Which one is perfect? That will be determined by the good ol’ democratic process. Now is the chance to give your stomach a voice, whether your tastes are frugal or fancy.
It’s a runoff ballot, so if your favorite drops out of the running you can vote again from the remaining pool of contenders. At this stage in the voting, it’s down to the final two: Boat Club Restaurant and Bar and OMC Smokehouse.
[poll id=”91″]
This poll is now closed. The results were:
OMC Smokehouse: 82 percent
Boat Club Restaurant and Bar: 18 percent
PDD Quiz: Breakfast Diners of the Twin Ports
Inspired by a now six-year-old PDD post, we’re serving up a heaping platter of breakfast diner trivia. How well do you know your Twin Ports breakfast diners? Can you identify them using only a photograph of the counter and a unique menu item? Dig in and find out!
Our next quiz, reviewing July happenings, will be published on July 30. E-mail question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by July 27.
Trophy Café open on Commonwealth Avenue
Fox 21 News reports a new café has opened in the former Vietnamese Lotus Inn location at 1314 Commonwealth Ave. in Duluth’s Gary neighborhood. The Trophy Café is owned by Mont du Lac Resort and managed by Mike Ohara.
St. Louis County records show Matt Gregg is the owner of the building. He purchased it from Steven D. and Cuc T. Allen one year ago for $40,000. The Allens were proprietors of the Lotus Inn, which they operated from 2003 to 2013, and briefly reopened in 2015 under the name VN Coffeehouse. (more…)
Wabegon bar and grill has new owner
A tavern, off-sale liquor outlet and supper club in Superior Township is under new ownership. John Hartwick purchased the 85-year-old Wabegon bar and grill on April 28 and hit the ground running, only shutting down for half a day to inventory the place. Paul Vernon, who owned the Wabegon for 10 years, held a going away pig roast party the week prior.
The Wabegon is a bit of a geographical oddity. Though it’s located in Wisconsin, roads leading in are through Minnesota, and the vibe of the business is Minnesota through and through. For residents of Duluth’s Fond du Lac neighborhood, it’s the primary gathering place for food and revelry; Superior residents, on the other hand, are barely aware it exists. (more…)
Red Herring Lounge serving up food with tunes
Anna Hanson and Paul Wold
The Red Herring Lounge has made a name for itself as a music venue in Duluth and beyond. Since its inception three years ago, the bar has been serving up inventive cocktails along with a respectable list of wines and craft brews. Now it’s adding snacks and small plates to the menu. (more…)
Duluth Folk School finds home; plans to open Dovetail Café
Since offering its first class a year ago, Duluth Folk School has been largely nomadic. Appropriately enough, it recently found a home in the burgeoning Lincoln Park Craft District. A teaching kitchen and café are among the many plans for the massive space at 1917 W. Superior St. (more…)
Postcards from New Yorker Patio Restaurant in Duluth
New Yorker Patio Restaurant was known as the “home of Duluth’s original hickory charcoal broiler.” Located in the Fifth Avenue Hotel at 9 S. Fifth Ave. W., the restaurant offered fine food and cocktails, “expertly prepared and served in a unique atmosphere of comfort rarely found anywhere.” The proprietors were Fred and Loretta McAllister. (more…)
Crooked Pint Ale House open in Kenwood Village
Crooked Pink Ale House opened its Duluth location on Tuesday in the Kenwood Village apartment development on Kenwood Avenue and Arrowhead Road. It’s the chain’s sixth location in Minnesota. (more…)
Porter’s restaurant closing for renovation and rebranding
Porter’s restaurant announced today it will temporarily close on May 30 and reopen with a new name, look and menu. The $1 million restaurant renovation project coincides with broader revitalization efforts by Lion Hotel Group, which owns Porter’s, the Duluth Holiday Inn & Suites and the shopping and office complex that contains them — Holiday Center. Construction at the restaurant is expected to start in June. (more…)
New operator will reopen Crabby Ol’ Bill’s by June
Starting in June, Duluthians and tourists will once again be able to get their mini doughnut fix out of a retired fishing vessel in Canal Park.
The fate of Crabby Ol’ Bill’s snack shack remained in question after Steve and Susan Smith announced they would be closing it back in December after five years running the business. Last week, the Duluth City Council approved a lease for developer Brian Forcier of Titanium Partners to operate the seasonal food stand based within the Nels J, an iconic boat that sits adjacent to the boardwalk near the North Pier Lighthouse. (more…)
Postcard from the Bellows restaurant in Duluth
The Bellows was a fine dining restaurant and cocktail lounge that operated at 2230 London Road from 1969 to 1997. It was founded by Don M. and Verna Bellows, and the round-shaped design came from architect Robert W. Prestidge. (more…)
Birth of a Blog: Back-to-Back Mornings at Duluth Coffee Spots
It was probably midwinter when I decided on starting a blog. But as with most things, I hadn’t felt enough motivational surge to pull the trigger and actually do it. With the coming of spring I finally found the well and pumped myself up for back-to-back mornings at two of my favorite hometown hangouts. On the hunt for good vibes, yummy breakfast food, the world wide web and a cup (or three) of coffee, my plan was to spend the majority of both days two-fold: putting together a website and taking photos in anticipation of somehow capturing the weekend in a blog to gain some much needed content. (more…)
Burger blogger takes northland burger tour
I joined Burger Radio‘s visit to Big Daddy’s Burgers in Duluth as part of the podcast’s Northland Burger Tour. Tastefully astute, yet by no means snobbish, Bruce’s latest installment describes his burger dining experiences at Gordy’s Hi-Hat, the Anchor Bar and Big Daddy’s Burgers. Bruce covers the Minneapolis-St. Paul burger scene but enjoys tasting and reviewing burgers nationwide. (more…)
Zenith Bread Project takes baking to a new level
Like many young entrepreneurs creating their own opportunities in Duluth, Amanda Belcher hasn’t had a straightforward career trajectory. She started studying exercise physiology at the College of St. Scholastica. Instead of continuing on to graduate school, she decided to become a professional baker.
Her Zenith Bread Project produces sweet treats sold at Amity Coffee, Duluth Coffee Company and Snooty Fox Tea Shop. Bagels and English muffins are also available at Whole Foods Co-op. Bent Paddle Brewing‘s taproom occasionally serves Belcher’s soft pretzels with beer, and Blacklist Artisan Ales features her doughnuts and pastries on Saturdays. (more…)
Marita Pop Up resumes regular schedule at Red Herring
Nyanyika Banda – photo by Ivy Vainio
Most people wouldn’t dream of creating a taco with ingredients like apple and kabocha squash, much less topping it with micro greens, pepitas, roasted tomatillo crema, pickled mustard and red onion. Then again, most people don’t have chef Nyanyika Banda’s imagination and culinary chops.
Banda is the proprietor of Marita Pop Up, a “globally inspired, locally sourced” pop-up restaurant that travels around the Duluth area, popping up at various locations and events. In March, Marita Pop Up began a regular schedule at the Red Herring Lounge on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 7 p.m. to midnight. (more…)
Carnivores rejoice: OMC Smokehouse opens
For more than two years, Duluth carnivores have been salivating at the prospect of OMC Smokehouse, Tom Hanson’s new restaurant venture. The wait will be over when OMC opens Wednesday, Feb. 15. (more…)
Juice Pharm taking over Vintage Kitchen space
Set aside the biscuits and gravy, and get ready for freshly squeezed. The Juice Pharm has announced it’s taking over the space formerly occupied by Vintage Kitchen at 12 S. 15th Ave. E. (more…)
Avenue C restaurant opens in Cloquet
The long-awaited Avenue C restaurant in Cloquet will open its doors to the public on Monday, Jan. 23.
Perfect Duluth Day reported in November the eatery was on track to open by Christmas, but delays in deliveries and construction pushed the date back. General Manager Ryan Kolak says, “We’re here and kicking now.” (more…)
Lucky’s 13 Pub open at Miller Hill Mall
Drinking and dining options at Miller Hill Mall will improve by month’s end. Lucky’s 13 Pub is set to open at 1600 Miller Trunk Highway on Jan. 30. Duluthians will barely recognize the space, which was occupied for 25 years by Old Country Buffet. (more…)
The Boat Club Restaurant & Bar to replace Midi
Jason Vincent
After one last New Year’s Eve celebration, Midi shuttered its doors for good. But the prime location the restaurant occupied in the lower level of the historic Fitger’s Brewery Complex, with its patio and unparalleled lake view, won’t be dormant for long.
Renovations are already underway for the Boat Club Restaurant & Bar, a fine dining establishment set to open in Midi’s old space Valentine’s Day weekend. (more…)
O’Neill’s Pub and Liquor in Superior is closed
After 23 years in business, the owners of O’Neill’s Pub and Liquor closed its doors after ringing in the new year with customers on Saturday.
The laid back Irish pub at 3333 Tower Avenue in Superior featured weekly $1 tap beer and $2 Bloody Mary specials and had the distinction of being Superior’s only drive-through liquor store.
In 2014, Thrillest touted O’Neill’s as one of the top ten drive-through liquor stores in the country. Wisconsin is one of only six states where this modern convenience is legal. (more…)
The Lifespan of the Herring on My Sandwich
I had guests in from Ontario, from the part of Canada that is south by a long drive from Duluth. We talk often about that oddity, about how strange it feels to drive north to the United States from Waterloo.
They wanted to know what eateries had opened in Duluth since their last visit. I took them to Northern Waters Restaurant in the Mount Royal Shopping Center, where we enjoyed a two-hour lunch.
There are two joys about eating at Northern Waters. One is the unique pricing. Tax and tip are rolled in, so I never worry about whether my companions tip well enough, or whether I tip well enough. That is a greater relief than I expected.
The more substantive dimension is the food, of course. I had the sandwich with the catch of the day. It was a herring sandwich, and I ordered it with a sense of adventure. My whole life, my only experience of herring was pickled, typically stabbed with a toothpick and put on a cracker. I giggled nervously as I ordered it. It was so very tasty. (more…)