Other stories in "Dining & grazing"

• Indulging at the holidays
  At old-fashioned feasts, party like it's 1899.
• Seeking the best soft-serve
  Their ranks are thinning, but old-fashioned ice-cream stands still brighten road trips.
• Feasting in Dubuque
  Guests on a progressive dinner and mansion tour get a good look at what frontier fortunes could buy.
• Chow-down in Chicago
  In a city of neighborhoods, cooks from many countries stir the broth.
• Sweet spots
  For a taste of heaven, find your way to one of seven European-inspired chocolatiers.
• Now they're cooking
  For weekenders, rubbing elbows with a real chef is better than TV.
• A feast of festivals
  At small-town shindigs, get your fill of strawberries and sauerkraut, kolacky and sweet corn.
• Dining on the North Shore
  Finally, the cuisine matches the scenery.
• Great places for a picnic
  Here are some of the best spots in Minnesota, all with a view of water.
• Nourishing tourism
  In small towns, an interesting restaurant can make all the difference.
• The dish on Dorset
  Tiny 'Restaurant Capital of the World' is just a burp on the road.
• Grazing in Wisconsin
  Where Badger state began, Old World flavors remain.
• Cheese country
  In verdant hills around Monroe, the Swiss stay true to flavors of forebears.

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. That summer, I sat on the shady brick patio of Bemidji’s Tutto Bene, eating chicken mostaccioli, drinking wine and listening to opera, and I thought I was in heaven.

I still remember these meals not because they were the best I’ve ever eaten, but because they were such delightful surprises and because they were just what I needed at the time. Such a meal is a little like a summer romance; it’s especially sweet because there’s no telling when you’ll be back.

Below are some of the small towns in which you should be able to have a really good meal; I haven’t included those where you’d expect good restaurants, such as Grand Marais, Bayfield, Duluth or Galena. Things change fast in the restaurant world, so I won’t guarantee that you’ll have a good meal, too — but it’s a pretty good bet.

Bemidji, Minn.: Tutto Bene and its patio still is a great place to relax after a play at the Paul Bunyan Playhouse, just down the street. 218-751-1100.

Decorah, Iowa: La Rana Bistro has great access to organic farms and artisan meat producers and takes full advantage of it. The atmosphere is slightly bohemian, befitting a college town, and it has a very good beer list and well-priced wines. 563-382-3067.

Rubaiyat Restaurant on Water Street serves a seasonal menu of classics with a nouveau twist and has an extensive wine and beer list, 563-382-9463, www.rubaiyatrestaurant.com. When Luther College has an event, both restaurants fill far in advance, so make reservations.

Dorset, Minn.: There isn’t really a destination restaurant in this tiny burp in the road near Park Rapids — the town is the destination, especially during Taste of Dorset (first Sunday in August). Companeros is most popular; mostly, I stop at the Dorset House for root-beer floats when I go by on the Heartland State Trail. Check www.dorsetmn.com; Companeros (closed in winter), 218-732-7624.

Downsville, Wis. The Creamery has been a best bet since the Thomas family opened in 1985. Everything is done with quiet finesse, from the Sunday brunch, a favorite of bicyclists on the 14½-mile Red Cedar State Trail, to evening dinners. It's now the New Creamery under new owners Terry and Paula Vajgrt. 715-664-8354, www.thenewcreamery.com.

Dubuque, Iowa: The chef of Pepper Sprouts, Dubuque native Kim Wolff, once worked at the Old Village Hall in Lanesboro, and in her downtown restaurant uses locally grown ingredients to make such dishes as sausage-stuffed quail and corn-chip crusted halibut with green tomato salsa. 563-556-2167, www.peppersprout.com.

Dundas, Minn.: Northfield’s inability to keep a really fine restaurant is legend, but at least it has Fermentations in nearby Dundas, which occupies a nondescript storefront but offers wonderful cuisine and wine flights. 507-645-8345, www.fermentations-bistro.com.

Gilbert, Minn.: You’d never expect a Caribbean restaurant in a little Iron Range mining village, but Whistling Bird not only fit in but has been a hit from the start. 218-741-7544, www.whistlingbirdcafeandbar.com.

Hazelhurst, Wis.: Just south of the resort town of Minocqua, Jacobi's offers a dollop of old-fashioned French savoir-faire. 715-356-5591.

Lake City, Minn.: Nosh, named for the small plates it offers, uses produce and meats from artisan farms around Lake Pepin. 651-345-2425, www.noshrestaurant.com.

Lanesboro, Minn.: Mrs. B’s and the Victorian House are gone, but the Old Village Hall ably handles the needs of discerning tourists. On a beautiful day, try for a table on the deck, 507-467-2962, www.oldvillagehall.com. Around the corner on Parkway Avenue, the Vintage serves such dishes as osso bucco with saffron risotto and cranberry gremolata, 507-467-3457, www.vintageinlanesboro.com.

Madeline Island, Wis.: Lotta’s Lakeside Cafe is the kind of place to which you go for a special occasion — which is to say, it’s really good but expensive for a laid-back town like La Pointe. 715-747-2033, www.lottascafe.com.

Mantorville, Minn.: Don’t expect nouvelle cuisine at the 1854 Hubbell House. But you will get good solid food and a whole lot of atmosphere. 507-635-2331, www.hubbellhouserestaurant.com.

Monticello, Wis.: In this town near Madison and New Glarus, the Dining Room at 209 Main serves such dishes as salmon with garlic-parmesan potato cake and a three-mushroom reduction sauce. 608-938-2200, www.209main.com (click on menu items to see images).

Mount Horeb, Wis.: This town just west of Madison, known for its Trollway and nearby Little Norway, finally has a good restaurant. Bistro 101 serves tapas, panini and 20 wines by the glass; its chef worked for Wolfgang Puck at Spago in Chicago. The Wisconsin State Journal cites its "quiet sophistication.'' 608-437-9463.

Pepin, Wis.: The Harbor View Cafe has a mighty reputation that draws ’em from near and far. When it reopens for the season in mid-March, the whole Lake Pepin area swings into action. 715-442-3893, www.harborviewpepin.com.

Red Wing, Minn.: First, Greg and Sarah Norton ran Red Wing’s Staghead; then, they moved across the river to Bay City, Wis., and opened The Nortons. In July 2008, they're moving back to Red Wing to open Norton's Downtown & Lucky Cat Lounge on Main Street, 651-388, 2711, www.thenortonsrestaurant.com.

Spooner, Wis.: This western Wisconsin village is lucky to have a place like the Spooner Market & Grille, which serves such dishes as scallops with bacon and chipotle peppers in a cream and chardonnay sauce with corn cakes. 715-635-6833, www.spoonermarketandgrill.com.

Sturgeon Bay, Wis.: In a downtown storefront, Sage is expensive but also elegant and unpretentious. 920-746-1100, www.sagedoorcounty.com

Superior, Wis.: Next to the S.S. Meteor on Barker’s Island, Kirk Bratrud’s Boathouse is a stunning place for a meal; if you’re lucky, a 1,000-foot ore boat will cruise by as you eat. 715-399-0076, www.boathouserestaurant.org. And in the old city hall, Le Bistro offers a large continental menu, featuring such entrees as cioppino, rack of lamb and veal scaloppine. 715-399-3220.

Thunder Bay, Ont.: This Lake Superior working town is a great place to eat ethnic, thanks to its Finns, Italians and Ukrainians. But the real find is Bistro One, which turns out continental masterpieces. 807-622-2478, www.bistroone.ca.

Trempealeau, Wis.: This quiet river town wouldn’t be much without the good old Trempealeau Hotel, which had become a redneck bar before a couple of hippies replaced the Grain Belt with microbrews and the Beer Nuts with walnut burgers in 1985. You can watch the world go by from its porch, and the world gets especially interesting during the annual Reggae Fest in mid-May and Blues Bash over Memorial Day weekend. 608-534-6898, www.trempealeauhotel.com.

Wabasha, Minn.: In the shadow of the Mississippi River bridge, Vinifera serves small plates of Mediterranean comfort food with bottles of wine guests can pick out themselves at the on-site shop, 651-565-4171, www.viniferarestaurant.com.

Washburn, Wis.: In this town on Chequamegon Bay, just south of Bayfield, Good Thyme Bistro was a gem, with great food and a touch of Chequamegon sass. Unfortunately, it burned down on March 18, 2008, www.goodthyme.net.

Winona, Minn.: A mile and a half up the bluffs from Minnesota 61, at Bridges Golf Club, Signatures has lovely views as well as appealing food. 507-454-3767, www.signatureswinona.com.

Last updated on October 26, 2008