Dining & grazing
Time to eat
During Restaurant Weeks, you can be a glutton with a good conscience.
There's only one good way to respond to cold: Take a cue from bears and pile on some fat.
Oh, you could buy long underwear. But doesn't it really make more sense to gobble some blueberry cobbler with freshly whipped cream?
The Restaurant Week season is starting, giving you another good —no, irresistible — excuse to eat: It's a deal!
A feast of festivals
At small-town shindigs, get your fill of strawberries and sauerkraut, kolacky and sweet corn.
As soon as rhubarb leaves unfurl and morels pop out of the ground, towns across the region begin their salutes to the local specialty.
It starts with Norwegian lefse on Syttende Mai and continues to Finnish pasties, German pretzels, Czech kolacky, Danish
pancakes and American pie. There will be music and parades and all kinds of goofy contests — rhubarb-stalk throwing in
Lanesboro, the rutabaga shot put in Calumet — but mostly, there will be a lot to eat.
If you’ve ever said, “I could eat a hundred of those!’’ you'll get your chance this summer. Here are some of the premier places to pig out in 2012.
Into the belly of Chicago
A food tour points us toward pizza, candies, spice and everything nice.
Once, Chicago was a meat-and-potatoes town, the City of Broad Shoulders.
Chicagoans still brawl over who has the best deep-dish pizza and Chicago-style hot dogs, which come with no ketchup but so many condiments they're “dragged through the garden.’’
But these days locals are just as likely to seek out the best macarons and gelato, and on special occasions, they dine at Michelin-starred restaurants with avant-garde chefs who are more Jeff Koons than Betty Crocker.
Chow-down in Chicago
In a city of neighborhoods, cooks from many countries stir the pot.
Chicago has come a long way since it was hog butcher to the world.
There was nothing very appetizing about early Chicago. The factories and slaughterhouses that made it grow also made it stink. Rotting carcasses made the Chicago River bubble; a glass of water came with a side of cholera.
But the city grew up. The immigrants who packed its meat, dug its waterways and built its railroads moved on and were replaced by new immigrants, who settled in places that became known as Little Italy, Andersonville, Polish Village, Ukrainian Village, Chinatown, Greek Town and Pilsen.
Now they're cooking
For weekenders, rubbing elbows with a real chef is better than TV.
When some folks want to go out for dinner and a show, they make a beeline for Stephen Larson's kitchen.
At his restaurant QUARTER/quarter in the Minnesota bluff-country town of Harmony, the chef and his assistant-wife, "the beautiful and talented Lisa'' Flicker, offer cooking classes that are part magic show, part chemistry lab and part comedy routine.
"Steve and Lisa are the best,'' says frequent guest Carol Beastrom, who runs the Selvig House B&B in Harmony. "They work off each other; they'll make you laugh.''
Table-hopping in bluff country
On a culinary adventure to Decorah, we tighten our belts, then let them out.
Lately, we’ve been traveling like kings . . . and paupers, too.
I suspect a lot of other people are doing the same thing. To get what we want, we save on something else.
Our favorite splurge is eating out, but a meal for two in a really good restaurant costs $60-$100, same as a hotel room. Our solution? We pitch a tent.
Toasting Oktoberfest
Festive tributes to Bavarian tradition put the oompah into fall.
When fall arrives, we get a sudden urge to hoist a stein of beer, eat a grilled bratwurst and listen to red-cheeked men in
little felt hats play the accordion.
Fall belongs to the Germans, who streamed into the Upper Midwest in the 1850s and still are the largest ethnic group in every
state. Which is a good thing, because Germans like to have fun.
In October 1810, they had so much fun at the wedding of Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen and Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, held in a meadow near Munich, that they decided to do it every year.
A spin around Lake Pepin
An excursion on a favorite route turns up some real treats.
Along the shores of Lake Pepin, villages like to play a game called “Tempt the Tourist.’’
The tourists think they’re going to go for a drive and see some scenery. But the villages give them so many places to indulge themselves, they end up mostly eating and shopping — not that anyone’s complaining.
The highway around Lake Pepin is a gantlet of temptations — bakeries, bistros, wine bars and gift shops. Some people never make it beyond Stockholm or Red Wing. But this is the kind of place where it’s fun to spin your wheels.
Cheese country
In verdant hills around Monroe, the Swiss stay true to flavors of forebears.
In the land of Velveeta, Wonder bread and Miller Lite, a chunk of southern Wisconsin is an Old World holdout.
Home of North America’s last Limburger factory, Green County is the big cheese in a state of cheese makers. It’s still famous for the pungent Limburger and Swiss on which it made its reputation. It’s weathered the advent of processed cheese food and gummy white bread. It’s survived the tide of bland beer and low-fat diets.
In Green County, people always have gone for the gusto.
Grazing in Wisconsin
Where Badger state began, Old World flavors remain.
In a state where people flaunt foam cheese wedges on their heads, you don't expect the cuisine to be timid.
The cheese, brats and beer for which Wisconsin is known are as robust as the Cheeseheads themselves, who invented the hamburger and the sundae but are best known for Old World flavors.
One of the best places to find them is in the southwest corner, where the state began.
Indulging at the holidays
At old-fashioned feasts, eat like a king or tycoon.
If you're in the mood to loosen belts as well as wallets, the holidays are the time to do it.
At madrigal dinners, channel portly Henry VIII in a Tudor castle settling. During Dickens dinners, wallow in 19th century England — the England of "A Christmas Carol,'' not "Oliver Twist.''
Which is to say, there's no gruel course.
Capitals of treats
When you’re on a road trip to temptation, here’s what to eat.
It’s a good thing that, when you’re on vacation, calories don’t count.
Who goes to Milwaukee without eating frozen custard? Or Mackinac Island without having fudge?
You’ve just gotta do it.
Seeking the best soft-serve
Their ranks are thinning, but old-time ice-cream stands still brighten road trips.
On road trips, some people look for the best pie or burger. But I look for the perfect twist cone.
Braking for soft-serve ice cream is how I stick up for the mom-and-pop drive-ins that used to be in every little town until the arrival of a certain franchise.
The ice cream almost always is better — richer, with not as much air — and the atmosphere is more fun.
Happy meals
Nowadays, travelers can find great cuisine in unlikely places.
These days, it’s not so hard to find a restaurant that shows a little imagination. But not so long ago, those of us who travel a lot considered it a banner day when we could find something beyond fish fries on Friday and prime rib on Saturdays.
I remember how grateful I was on a cold December day in 1994, when my Florida sister and I walked into the Old Village Hall in Lanesboro, tired from a day of touring B&Bs, and were served plates of fettuccine — al dente! — with perfectly cooked vegetables and plenty of garlic.
A year later, after a day skiing in nearby Minocqua, Wis., I sank into a chair at Jacobi’s of Hazelhurst and dug into
garlic-stuffed tenderloin with Dijon-cognac sauce, watching the fire and eavesdropping on a conversation about — what
else? — the Packers.
Dining up north: Longville to Walker
A bicycle trail connects towns and lakes en route to Minnesota's newest fine-dining destination.
In the middle of Minnesota's vacation land, the lakes go from big to bigger.
There's Girl Lake and Woman Lake, with the biggest woman of all, Paul Bunyan's 17-foot "wife'' Lucette Kensack, standing on the shores of Birch Lake in Hackensack.
Looming to the north is giant Leech Lake, the third-largest in Minnesota, and the town of Walker. Fishermen know it for giant muskies;
bicyclists know it as the hub of the Paul Bunyan-Heartland-Migizi trail system, now the state's longest.
Dining up north: Pequot to Crosslake
Deep in Paul Bunyan country, we find the best lakeside supper clubs, roadhouses and bistros.
North of moneyed Gull Lake, the Brainerd Lakes area starts to look more like traditional Minnesota resort country.
There's still plenty of money and big boats, especially on the Whitefish Chain. But this also is a place where vacationing families gather to race ducks (Fridays at 1 p.m., Pine River) and eat beans (Bean Hole Days in Pequot Lakes, July 12-13 in 2011).
Bicyclists whiz past on the Paul Bunyan State
Trail. To explore it, head out on the 54-mile Paul Bunyan Scenic
Byway.
Dining up north: the Best Bets
In Minnesota lakes country, vacation is too short for a bad meal. Here's where to get a great one between Brainerd and Walker.
When you're on vacation, everyone wants to end a perfect day with a perfect meal.
That may mean fancy or casual — a burger in a friendly bar can be just as satisfying as filet mignon and French wine by
candlelight.
We wanted to point you in the right direction, so we assembled a panel of local frequent diners, each of whom has eaten at
all of the restaurants on or near the top of our list.
Dining up north: Brainerd to Nisswa
We give you an insiders' guide to restaurants in Minnesota lake country, from nachos to filet mignon.
In summer, the crowds pour into the Brainerd Lakes, the Minnesota vacation land that's been stomping grounds for millionaires and middle managers alike since the loggers finished up and headed west.
What's it known for? Lakes, of course. And golf.
It's not so known for its restaurants, but that may be because only locals know the best places.
Sweet spots
A search for great Valentine's treats leads to some unlikely places.
Now that money no longer grows on trees, it’s time to boycott the $4 truffle.
Who pays that? Not me. But lots of people have been suckered into thinking high prices mean high quality. Witness the success of the “Belgian’’ chocolates sold by Godiva, which was owned by Campbell Soup of New Jersey from 1967 until 2007, when Campbell sold it to a Turkish holding company.
“My husband and I were in Madison, and we picked up a box of Godiva chocolates that wasn’t even a pound, it was 14 ounces, in a beautiful box, and when I looked at the price — $65! — I about fell on the floor,’’ says chocolatier Lynne Marie Lindquist of Hayward, Wis.
Eating in the Amana Colonies
In eastern Iowa, a historic village has a long tradition of feeding people well.
Before 1932, the pious, hard-working people of the Amana Colonies were the only people in Iowa who got to eat out every night.
Members of the pacifist Community of True Inspiration, they emigrated from Germany and built seven villages on 25,000 acres
of eastern Iowa farmland. For nearly 90 years, they lived communally, pooling resources and skills.
Butchers, brewers and winemakers turned out goods for everyone, and meals were served in 50 communal kitchens.
Nourishing tourism
In small towns, an interesting restaurant can make all the difference.
On the road, tourists are a lot like lumberjacks, puppies and teen-age boys: If you put out food, they’ll come running.
They’ve been coming to the southern Minnesota town of Mantorville since 1854, even though it was bypassed by railroads and highways and should have shriveled up and died. It didn’t largely because of the Hubbell House, a former stagecoach stop that still is serving walleye and chops to busloads of tourists.
In 1976, hungry people found their way past the saloons, strip clubs, warehouses and junkyard on Duluth’s Canal Park to eat at an offbeat new restaurant called Grandma’s. A year later, the restaurant sponsored a new marathon, and the hungry people literally ran to Canal Park, followed by thousands of tourists.
The dish on Dorset
Tiny 'Restaurant Capital of the World' is just a burp on the road.
By rights, the northern Minnesota hamlet of Dorset shouldn’t even exist.
It’s on the road to nowhere, a mile and a half off the highway that links Park Rapids to Walker. It’s not on a lake. It has virtually no houses.
It does, however, have a knack for hyperbole. In the 1920s, it tried "land of clover, the big white potato and the dairy cow.’’ It tried boasting of "the shortest state highway in Minnesota running through its downtown’’ and, until 1986, was "the smallest town in the United States with a bank.’’
Dining on the North Shore
Finally, the cuisine matches the scenery.
Twenty years ago, dining on the North Shore was pleasant, if a little utilitarian. A meal often came with a view, but most of the menus had the same fish, steak, chops and burgers you could get anywhere.
Things have changed. One Memorial Day weekend, my husband and I ate at three of my favorite places and two newer ones, one of
which definitely was worth a detour. A three-star culinary weekend on the North Shore — who knew?
On old Highway 61 between Duluth and Two Harbors, the cheery New Scenic Cafe is a
fixture of fine dining. I had my usual, the pistachio-crusted goat-cheese salad, with a starter of sashimi tuna tacos.
Boffo B&B breakfasts
At a Wisconsin cook-off, we find out which is best.
At B&Bs, every good innkeeper knows that the quickest way to a guest's heart is through the stomach.
Guest like hot tubs, too, though many don't use them. Elegant decor is appreciated, though many people (well, men) barely notice it.
But everyone eats — and remembers — a great breakfast. That's why B&B proprietors knock themselves out providing one for guests.
Feasting in Dubuque
Guests on a progressive dinner and mansion tour get a good look at what frontier fortunes could buy.
Walnut carpenter's lace. Fireplaces made of Italian mosaic tile. Yards of leaded glass and richly printed, century-old wallpaper.
Oooooohh.
That's what the two dozen people on a house tour and progressive dinner in Dubuque, Iowa, kept saying as the tour progressed from one Victorian mansion to another.
Great places for a picnic
Here are some of the best spots in Minnesota, all with a view of water.
On a beautiful summer day, there are few places that aren't good for a picnic.
A patch of grass, a plump sandwich, the warmth of sun on skin — this is what we look forward to all winter.
But some picnic spots are so great a picnicker might want to while away a whole afternoon there. Here are some of the best, along with good places to pick up a box lunch on the way. If you want the lunch ready when you get there, call a day in advance or early in the morning.
© Beth Gauper, 2007 - 2012 all rights reserved
