Another culinary adventure

Teresa and I recently went on another culinary adventure up the North Shore of Lake Superior. We have found a nice retreat in the off-season at Eagle Ridge Resort on Lutsen Mountain. They offer nice room packages during the slow times of the year, such as two nights for the price of one in a room with a gas fireplace on the slopes of Lutsen Mountain. We have taken advantage of this deal several times now and it is a great way to take a culinary adventure in the area with minimal expense.
Our first restaurant stop was at the Lemon Wolf in Beaver Bay, which I have reported on in a previous post. We enjoyed fresh Herring from Lake Superior and fresh bread. That is always a good stop. Chef Rick is very friendly and welcoming.
The next stop on Saturday morning, after a light breakfast in our room was the Coho Cafe in Tofte for a cup of good coffee and a cinnamon twist (puff pastry twists with a cinnamon sugar glaze). We stopped along the way at a couple of trails to hike and enjoy the spring weather and get a little exercise to work off our food intake. Our food destination for the day was Grand Marais to check out the restaurants we hadn't tried yet. We picked up a pamphlet with the area businesses and restaurants listed and spent some time reading the descriptions. After walking through the streets for awhile we stopped at two places to check out their menus. the first was the Gunflint Tavern on the main street near the water. We had eaten here before and knew it was a good spot. They have excellent soups like Gumbo, Wild Mushroom and a few others as well as good ethnic dishes but we decide to try someplace we hadn't been before. Just two blocks away is the Crooked Spoon. It is a small place, seating about 35 diners with a small bar serving nice wines and craft beers. We stopped outside the door to read their menu posted there and found some cool stuff there.
I ordered their Crooked Ale and a 1/2 lb Kobe Beef burger. Teresa ordered the Crooked BLT.
My friend, it was excellent! I had never tried Kobe Beef before but had read plenty about the quality and marbling of the meat. I am here to tell you the beef flavor was outstanding! the burger was topped with Apple Wood Smoked Bacon, Mozzarella Cheese, a slice of tomato and lettuce; that's all! It didn't need mayo, ketchup, or anything else! It was served on a grilled Ciabatta roll and some Kettle chips alongside.
Teresa's BLT was amazing as well. It was served on toasted Caraway Rye with Honey Glazed Bacon with Black Pepper, fresh tomato and lettuce and a Curried Lemon Aioli; Wonderful! We shared each other's dishes so we could get a taste of each and it was the highlight of the day, culinarily. We headed back to the resort to hike around there and burn off some calories, a cocktail of Prosecco and Amaretto and then off to Lutsen Resort and their dining room for dinner. We enjoyed a very nice dinner there with good wine and the great view of the lake and good food as well. This was not the highlight of the day but very good. We also had our breakfast there the next morning because we had enjoyed dinner there. It was nice as well. I had a Stuffed French Toast with cream cheese and Lingonberries, dipped in rice crispies and fried. Really good!
We headed back down the shore to visit my dad at Silver Bay Veteran's Home and then back home. It was a very successful adventure and I highly recommend all of the places mentioned.
Go forth and eat!
Tim