Photo by Wolfskull Creative
On the same day reconstruction of East Superior Street begins in Duluth, the strip’s hottest new restaurant has announced its run is over. After a little more than a year in business as a brick-and-mortar establishment, Martha’s Daughter is reverting to popup status.
This promotional pamphlet is from roughly 1980. Within the text might be clues that narrow down a specific year.
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.
… with Emily Rose Olson and Emily Hayes.
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.
Duluth’s second T-Icy Roll Ice Cream shop opens today at 202 E. Superior St., the former location of Lake Superior Art Glass.
Owner Daniel Huang and manager Michelle Lin opened the first T-Icy shop on Aug. 10 in the Denfeld Retail Center in West Duluth. The shops specialize in hibachi-style Thai rolled ice cream treats.
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?
WDIO-TV Eyewitness News reports a new Sammy’s Pizza restaurant opened today in Hermantown at 4310 Menard Drive.
“It’s been a dream of ours for quite some time to open a full-service Sammy’s Pizza restaurant in this area, and we’re thrilled that the opportunity has finally arrived,” restaurant owner Terry Perrella told WDIO.
Sammy’s had a Hermantown location for 26 years inside a BP gas station, but it closed in 2017 when the building was sold and the restaurant lost its lease.
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.”
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
This undated postcard shows off one of Duluth’s best-remembered restaurants, the Flame, which operated off-and-on at multiple locations in various forms from the 1930s to the 1980s. At the time of the postcard above, the Flame was at 353 S. Fifth Ave. W., where the Great Lakes Aquarium is today.
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.
It was 25 years ago today — January 16, 1994 — when Duluth’s iconic Chinese Lantern restaurant was destroyed by fire. The video clip above is from the Asian Flavors documentary co-produced by the Minnesota Historical Society Press and Twin Cities Public Television in 2013. The full 28-minute documentary is below.
