Wild Rice Restaurant nails a summer salad
Jana Hollingsworth/News Tribune
Out of a thousand ways to serve tomatoes and mozzarella, Wild Rice Restaurant prepares a simple yet highly luxurious version.
Quality ingredients have everything to do with a successful traditional Caprese-style salad. Wild Rice, a David Salmela-designed fine dining restaurant on the outskirts of Bayfield, tops plum tomato slices with fresh Buffalo mozzarella wrapped in prosciutto. Sprigs of basil dress the dish, drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil and dotted on each corner with a balsamic reduction.
The presentation is really more like art; each dish is constructed with the precision of an architect. The eye-popping red of the tomatoes, delicate white of the mozzarella and the translucent green of the olive oil created a picture so mesmerizing it was tough to take the first bite. Once I did, it was hard to eat like a lady, as one should in such an establishment.
The prosciutto was salty; stunningly delicious. The tomatoes were rich, the mozzarella light and creamy. The flavor combination of the ingredients is time-tested, but I can’t remember it ever tasting quite this good. Perhaps it was the surroundings: an airy Scandinavian building with glass walls, arched ceilings and bright, modern colors. Couples at every table were laughing, smiling, drinking wine.
The gracious servers were attentive, but not overly so. A glassed-in room holds a chef’s table, where diners can observe the theater of gourmet food preparation in the kitchen.
As lots of Northland residents know, Bayfield can be a perfect day-trip dining destination. Wild Rice should be at the top of the must-eat list. A lounge menu exists for those who want the experience without the hefty price tag.
A long, elevated wooden walkway covered by a grass-topped roof leads you into the building, surrounded by leafy woods showing glimpses of Lake Superior. It lends a treehouse-like effect to the dining room. And the salad, on a sultry summer night, lent itself to a memorable meal.
Posted by: Jana Hollingsworth on Thursday, July 02 at 12:15 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink
Tags: jana hollingsworth, restaurant reviews, wild rice restaurant
Chester Creek Cafe's new summer menu
photos by Jana Hollingsworth/News Tribune
Chester Creek Cafe has moved into a new seasonal menu, this one reflecting influences from the Gulf coast of the U.S. and Mexico.
I've eaten there twice with the new menu, and had a great experience once, and a so-so experience the next. The first time I started with the seafood bocadito, which was three grilled shrimp served with some sort of Cuban spice mixture, with red peppers, garlic chunks and slices of grilled baguette. It was light, it was spicy, it was an amazing combination of flavors popping in my mouth. We had a side of guacamole and tortilla chips, and the guac was addictive. This is one menu item I would plead with the owners to keep forever and ever.
My entree was the pan-roasted wild Alaskan salmon with a buerre orange sauce. I sort of expected the pool of sauce to be creamier, as buerre sauces usually are, but for summer it was perfect. As was the salmon. Does this place ever screw up salmon?
The next time i was there I had the Cochinita Pibil, which is achiote-rubbed pork slow- roasted in banana leaves and served with tortillas and posole. The posole seemed pretty authentic. It's a traditional stew from Mexico with pork and what i think were potatoes. It definitely had some heat. The pork, which I threw onto the tortillas, benefited from slathers of guacamole. While it was spicy, it lacked a strong pork flavor. Not sure what was going on there, but perhaps my palate isn't developed enough to appreciate it.
I shared a side of crazy-good red potato salad and had two glasses of tempranillo. Chester Creek's wine list keeps getting better and better.
Christa Lawler also ate at Chester Creek recently. Her take:
Last week I had the Maverick Grits from Chester Creek Café’s summer menu. Oh, my.
Grits made with parmesan cheese and topped with ham, chorizo sausage, shrimp, scallions and these pretty little cherry tomatoes that were mini flavor explosions — just like tomatoes should be. The whole thing was seasoned with a list of spicy seasonings longer than your arm, which included nutmeg.
My date had the Arroz Veracruzano, seasoned rice and veggies and seafood, which included octopi. His meal was a different kind of good, but I didn’t go near a tentacle.
Soon after dropping off our entrees, our server returned to see how we were doing.
“Wow, that was fast,” he said, eyeing our nearly empty plates.
“My only wish would be that this was a bottomless bowl of grits,” I said to my date, mentioning that this is the third time in three visits to Chester Creek Café that I have been tempted to lick my plate.
The best part was when I told the server I was going to try to make it at home, and a few minutes later the chef came out to the deck where we were among the last diners and advised me on the recipe. Then he handed me the list of seasonings, a list he said he isn’t selfish about sharing. But, alas, I am. I’m taking this one to the grave.
Then we had raspberry peach pie, with ice cream, of course.
Posted by: Jana Hollingsworth and Christa Lawler on Tuesday, June 30 at 10:42 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink
Tags: chester creek cafe, jana hollingsworth, restaurant reviews
When Beaner's calls, answer
Kelli Baxter / kbaxter@duluthnews.com
What could be better than a cup of hot coffee and a good book on a rainy Monday in Duluth? It's when you order your vanilla latte with a smoked turkey sandwich and sit down at a table looking out at Central Avenue.
What drew me and my Dave Sedaris off the couch that day was the atmosphere at Beaner's Central, unassuming, yet inviting. It's part coffee shop, part art gallery, part live music venue; and it's comfortable in a way that you don't feel alone while you're sitting at a table with your nose in page 56, yet you could be in your own living room.
And the turkey sandwich I ordered was like a cherry on top. Grilled bread served panini-style and slathered with basil pesto, plus deli turkey topped with craisins. I adore pesto sauce. It's like cheese; I'm likely to eat just about anything that's layered with it. The blue corn chips were a welcome alternative to greasy potato chips.
Adding to the ambiance is the background music piping through the sound system. On this Monday it was a little Ani, a little modern Bob Marley and someone who sounded like an early Jewel. It's soft enough not to be distracting, but you'll notice it enough that you'll want the disc to repeat so you can catch what you missed the first time around.
If you've got a day off and some time to yourself, I'd put Beaner's on your to-do list.
Posted by: Kelli Baxter on Tuesday, June 30 at 10:30 AM | Comments (3) | Permalink
Tags: beaners central, kelli baxter, restaurant reviews
Bluefin Grille pan-roasted duck
Jana Hollingsworth/News Tribune
Bluefin Grille at Bluefin Bay Resort in Tofte is one of those lovely summer destination restaurants. Spend the day hiking at Tettegouche or visiting Split Rock Lighthouse, and end with a dinner here. On a May trip up the shore I had a great dinner seated next to a window overlooking an expanse of the lake. We had a server who knew what we wanted before we did, and was honest and spoke intelligently about everything on the menu. I hear complaints all the time about how crappy service is in the Northland, but Bluefin has some fantastic servers.
We started with a very fitting cured fish and Norwegian cheese plate. Because of that, I went with something I wouldn't usually choose -- due to a slight aversion to wild game -- for dinner: pan roasted duck breast. It came with cranberry chutney and bearnaise sauce, peppers and wild rice. The duck was perfectly browned outside, pink inside, and succulent. I'm a fan for life. It doesn't hurt that I love bearnaise sauce. and the cranberry chutney was a nice glaze. No wonder people eat this stuff for Christmas.
Posted by: Jana Hollingsworth on Friday, June 26 at 11:00 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: jana hollingsworth, restaurant reviews
Argentine BBQ at Nokomis
Nokomis on the Lake hosts an Argentine-style barbecue, or asado, July 9.
Fernando Festa, owner and winemaker at Cavas de Chacras in Mendoza, Argentina, will present his wines, and the restaurant will complement them with a family-style feast. Reservations must be made at (218) 525-2286 by July 3. The dinner begins at 6 p.m., and the cost is $55 per person plus taxes and gratuity, or $40 per person without wine.
The menu:
Starter: Pan-seared sweetbreads with piperade of peppers and bibb lettuce.
Salads: Figs, mozzarella and stone fruits with thyme and lemon oil
Burnt honey glazed carrots with manchego, arugula and parsley
Charred summer tomatoes with mache lettuce and goat cheese
Marinated olives
Vegetables: Corn with chilies, lime and paprika
Roasted peppers, eggplant, charred onion, arugula, zucchini
Smashed potato with tapenade
Meats, Fish, Chicken:
Flank steak with chimichurri
Smashed lamb steaks with mustard, oregano, and lemon
Cast-iron grilled calamari with grilled pineapple confit, paprika
Brook trout with prosciutto, sage, burnt orange
Dessert: Caramel flan with burnt stone fruits
Posted by: Jana Hollingsworth on Thursday, June 25 at 10:40 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink
Tags: jana hollingsworth, nokomis, restaurant news
Can't top ice cream at Portland Malt Shoppe
Sarah Horner / shorner@duluthnews.com
If it weren’t for the little chunks of banana that kept getting caught in my straw, I think I could have finished my entire Portland Malt Shoppe malt in one slurp.
I had my first of the season Sunday, and the spoonfuls of cold, blended ice cream, along with the high temperatures that settled in last weekend, made it finally feel like summer in Duluth.
It can be a bit overwhelming to choose from the shop’s roughly 20 ice cream flavors and 15 toppings when concocting your malt combination, so I tend to just stick to the classics. On Sunday I went with the hot fudge banana and was not disappointed.
It’s hard to make anything made of ice cream and chocolate sauce taste bad. But I’d say the Portland Malt Shoppe does ice cream better than most. My malt was rich and creamy; not too chocolatey; no hints of cheap Hershey syrup distracting from the other flavors; just a reliably good malt. Topped with the thick layer of whipped cream — possibly my favorite part of the whole malt experience — and the vanilla wafer sticking out the top, I might even call it a reliably delicious malt.
From another perspective, my dining partner described it as “smooth with sudden surprises of banana greatness.”
The Portland Malt Shoppe is about more than just the malt, though. It’s about walking up to that quaint little brick station, placing your order at the window, and then taking your malt over to one of the nearby picnic tables overlooking Lake Superior to dig in. That is the Portland Malt Shoppe experience.
Work constraints forced me to take mine to-go last time and miss out on that part, so I guess I’d better go back soon.
Posted by: Sarah Horner on Thursday, June 25 at 10:17 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: ice cream, restaurant reviews, sarah horner
Meritage in St. Paul
Jana Hollingsworth/News Tribune
I've been meaning to try Meritage in downtown St. Paul for a long time.
The cute French bistro replaced Au Rebours maybe a year and a half ago, and I've heard fantastic things about its pomme frites and bearnaise sauce. In the cities a couple of weekends ago I finally made it, and had an amazing meal from start to finish.
The menu lists several amusements at $3 each, so we had three, pictured above: housemade lamb bacon, the "tiny tuna tartar taco" and provencal fish soup. The lamb bacon was elegantly rustic, and could make me forgo the pork version any day. The taco was had in two bites. Coated in some sort of velvety spiciness, it was light and perfect. The soup was OK. It was a tiny, cute portion, but it wasn't anything special.
I also had the crispy half chicken with spinach, roasted potatoes, garlic and chicken jus. We shared the pomme frites, which came in a cone and had the addictive and light bearnaise. The chicken was lovely, but I found myself switching plates with my dining partner, who had the roasted Alaskan dayboat halibut with sweet pea puree, cippolini onions and white truffle emulsion. and some potatoes. the combination of the emulsion, puree and the fish was one of the best flavor groupings I have had. Meritage really knows how to prepare fish. And it was exactly the meal needed on a warm summer night. My cotes du rhone would have been better with my chicken, but it's not as if I was going to dump it on the floor.
We also had tiny desserts. A salted caramel ice cream lollipop dipped in chocolate and a baby chocolate mousse. Yes, I know this eatery is in St. Paul, but it's worth a stop on a summer weekend trip.
Posted by: Jana on Wednesday, June 24 at 11:41 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink
Tags: jana hollingsworth, restaurant reviews
Thai Krathong shrimp coconut
Clint Austin/News Tribune
One late night at work I was hungrier for more than my usual Thai Krathong shrimp salad rolls, so I added the shrimp coconut starter to the line-up. Lots of shrimp, lots of food. I did share.
The dish is comprised of red curry, coconut milk, oyster sauce and cabbage. The cabbage is reminiscent of noodles, and that's what I wish they were. I love the curry. Thai Krathong has managed to be my favorite curry maker of all time. And anything with cilantro draped all over it can't be wrong. But I hate cabbage. I ate some of it, figuring I needed the roughage, but after the 5 or so shrimp, there wasn't much there. Coupled with the salad rolls, it actually was a pretty light dinner. Expensive, though, at $10.95, plus the $6 salad rolls.
On a side note, I normally get takeout from here because of its proximity to the newspaper, but the bar in its new location, overlooking the room and the street, is really great. Anyone sat there for cocktails yet?
Posted by: Jana Hollingsworth on Tuesday, June 23 at 11:15 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink
Tags: jana hollingsworth, restaurant reviews, thai krathong
Black Wood's bacon cheeseburger
I met friends for lunch recently at Black Woods Grill and Bar on London Road.
I enjoy the atmosphere and the look of that restaurant immensely. I think it’s unique (especially the windows in the men’s bathroom that allow you to look into the bar area and see what you’re missing when you’re away –- or so I’ve been told.) I’m still up in the air about the food.
I tried the bacon cheeseburger (safe choice, I know) with the waffle fries and yes, I should have just had a house salad but it was nice out. That made me think of summer, which made me think of the smell of charcoal grills, which made me think of burgers. The burger had two pieces of crisp bacon (just the way I like it) and barbecue sauce, which I wasn’t expecting. I should really read the menu when they put it in front of me. I’ve never had barbecue sauce on a burger but it wasn’t bad, and I think the burger would have been a tad dry without it, so it was a good move.
I think the most unique item they serve and that I enjoy the most is the corn bread that comes with soups and some meals. It’s a cute miniature little loaf of bread served with an almost cinnamon/nutmeg-like tasting whipped butter. It’s very good and my kids love it! Last time I went to lunch at Black Woods I was told not to come home unless I brought them some corn bread loaves and special butter. Blackwoods will let you purchase those items. I didn’t tell them I was going this time so I was off the hook. In the end, it was my loss. The corn bread is pretty good for breakfast, too.
Posted by: Kris Vereecken on Monday, June 22 at 8:30 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: black woods, kris vereecken, restaurant reviews
Sir Ben's British Dip
Jana Hollingsworth/News Tribune
I brought this sandwich back from Sir Ben's to work during a Sunday shift, hence the foil. The care that the sandwich maker took in prepping it, and my soup, for takeout, was unusual and appreciated.
It was done so well that nothing spilled, not even the dark and rich au jus that accompanied the British dip. I only had a half, but the half was stuffed with roast beef and Swiss. The crusty bread soaked up the au jus perfectly, while retaining its shape and not crumbling under the pressure of liquid. The roast beef was tender and not chewy: a good sandwich.
In my usual display of salty broth overkill, I had the English onion soup, as well. My love for that was documented in the DNT's best Northland soups and chilis-style story. I've never had it taken out before, but it was just as luscious as when eating it there, minus the cheese melting together from the transport. On site, the cheese has a wispy layering thing going on. No matter. It tastes fabulous.
Posted by: Jana Hollingsworth on Friday, June 19 at 11:00 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: jana hollingsworth, restaurant reviews, sir bens
Summer Saturday nights call for dinner at the Blue Max
Craig Gustafson/News Tribune
There’s something about summer Saturday evenings that summon my rural Midwestern upbringing. I’m moved to set aside the hassles of the week and get outside of Duluth to simple places and open spaces that feel like those of my youth.
Accordingly, I’ll then treat myself to a casual dining experience where the wait staff is charmingly Minnesotan and the food is tasty and filling.
The Blue Max Resort in Fredenberg Township qualifies as just such a place.
Set on Lavaque Road on the shore of Fish Lake, the Blue Max offers supper club-type dining with friendly, unpretentious service. It’s a favorite dining choice among lakeshore residents of Fish and Island lakes, and a popular bar hangout for nearby rural Duluthians and anglers.
The menu is the classic supper club array of beef, chicken, ribs and seafood. There are sizable burgers and sandwiches for the lunch crowd, and a couple lighter-side offerings.
Several times I’ve stopped in after a day of fishing to grab a quick bite at one of the pub-style tables in the bar. Or I’ll eat right at the bar. On this night though, moving at a slower, more relaxed pace, I chose the dining room and a table looking out at the water. Customers were taking their meals at a leisurely pace with quiet conversation. The sun was beginning its descent beyond the lake. Boaters were moving back to shore. A nearby lakeshore owner was cajoling a golden retriever into the water.
This was Minnesota lakeside Saturday night dining at its best. Perfection!
I started with a Blue Max Brew, a darker blend made specifically for the restaurant by Leinenkugels. Quite familiar with the menu, I considered my favorites and finally settled on the garlic butter sirloin. They bring it out with a pat of garlic butter melting down all sides of the
10-ounce cut. A choice of potato comes on the side. I ordered the steak medium, but probably should have gone medium-rare. No matter, the steak and potato and their accoutrements were more than satisfying.
In the supper club tradition, salad bar and fresh popovers come with all dinner entrees. Watch out, those popovers can be hot!
I’ve never left the Blue Max dissatisfied. Or hungry.
I have several other favorite dining establishments, but given my mellow mood, my huge appetite and the perfect weather Saturday, I doubt I could have made a better choice.
Was this the beginning of summer?
Posted by: Craig Gustafson on Thursday, June 18 at 10:20 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: craig gustafson, restaurant reviews
Restaurant 301 tasting menu
Jana Hollingsworth/News Tribune
I'm a huge fan of tasting menus. As a diner who always has food envy and meal indecision, places that offer a prix fixe option are my favorite. The former Boathouse had one, and I hear Midi has one.
Bob Bennett's Restaurant 301 has a changing $15 three-course tasting menu on Sundays. I've had it twice before, and it's been amazing each time. This week's option started with a salad with grated manchego and tempura-fried bits of dough. If we (a group of four) hadn't already had the bleu-cheese fondue with fried croutons, I may have enjoyed the tempura dough more.
Next came a pulled pork slider with a fun pink coleslaw. The bun was nothing special, but whatever they did to the inside made it taste amazing: crunchy and buttery. The pork had a nice zest. It was eaten quickly.
The third course was braised beef shortrib with a cranberry glaze, atop an onion risotto. The shortrib was pull-apart tender and fairly melted in my mouth. I could have used a bit more risotto to mop up the juices, but I was quite full at this point.
This Sunday dinner is one of the best in town. This meal, at full price, could easily cost $30-$35. The $3 house wine pours, which come in mini-carafes, are also a fantastic deal. During this time of recession, fine-dining restaurants are suffering the most. This is a good way for those restaurants to garner more business.
Posted by: Jana Hollingsworth on Wednesday, June 17 at 11:11 AM | Comments (4) | Permalink
Tags: jana hollingsworth, restaurant 301, restaurant reviews
Breakfast at Hell's Kitchen
Jana Hollingsworth/News Tribune
The egg benedict (not plural, you just get one) at Hell's Kitchen in Canal Park doesn't get the recognition it deserves. The restaurant is really known for it's breakfasts, and one often talked about is the lemon ricotta hotcakes, pictured below.
I'm less of a sweet breakfast person. I go for the salty rich goodness of hollandaise and grilled ham. This breakfast comes with hashbrowns, which I gave to my companion, and fresh fruit. The English muffin-style bread is toasted and topped with nicely charred ham, a perfectly poached egg and a well-made hollandaise that doesn't go over the top in amount and thickness. It's very creamy and traditional. If you're on a diet, you know to avoid this. But it's a very good rendition.
The glutton in me wants two poached eggs, as is usual for this dish, but one is more than enough. The ham is thickly cut and filling. So much better than Canadian bacon.
My dining partner got the hotcakes. I tried them, (OK, I ate a whole pancake) and they are very good, but not quite what the hype makes them out to be. You can taste the ricotta, which is lovely and light, and a hint of lemon. The menu is right. You really don't need the butter or the syrup.
Posted by: Jana Hollingsworth on Tuesday, June 16 at 12:04 PM | Comments (6) | Permalink
Tags: hells kitchen, jana hollingsworth, restaurant reviews
New London Cafe
Christa Lawler / News Tribune
New London Café couldn’t be more adorable if the hostess was a shitzu in a mini doggie poodle skirt and mini doggie sweater.
This small café has a cute little wooden bar perfect for solo diners – me, reading, and a happy older man who ordered a smoothie. Strangely, I hadn’t been to this spot since it was Pepper McGregor’s, and I still tend to think of the spot as “where Pepper McGregor’s used to be …” What can I say? I rarely take meals east of Burrito Union. (It has been five years since Pepper McGregor’s closed, which means I am turning into one of those people who doesn’t recognize when half a decade passes. By the way: Who wants to talk about my personal record in the triple jump in high school?)
I had the Stormy Weather Stacker, a sandwich with grilled turkey, grilled onions, and grilled garlic served on a soft ciabatta roll with melted Swiss cheese, and upgraded my order to include Sweet Potato Fries instead of Kettle Chips. I had a home brewed Blackberry Currant iced tea.
I liked the little things about this place: That the turkey was grilled, and not just plopped between grilled bread; the caramelized onions; stumbling on a fleck of grilled garlic. The Sweet Potato Fries were cut to ridged rounds. They were served with a side of Chipotle Mayo, which was unnecessary, but I used it anyway. (One bite of the Sweet Potato Fries actually managed to taste like a waffle. I’m starting to think sweet potatoes are the great food chameleon). Adding to the ambience: the sounds of 1980s pop music playing in the kitchen. I miss Ric Ocasek.
Posted by: Christa Lawler on Monday, June 15 at 8:30 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink