The Lighthouse Restaurant

Teresa and I stopped at the Lighthouse on Homestead restaurant near Duluth, Minnesota on Saturday as we were driving up to Silver Bay to visit my father at the Veteran's Home there. It was our first time at the restaurant and it was around lunchtime. One of my deer camp buddies' son is a cook there and he told me a bit about the food so we thought we might give it a try. It was excellent! The decor is based on a lighthouse in Michigan and is very well done. It is a comfortable atmosphere with no pretension and a nice feel of comfort and cheeriness. The server's name was Sheryl, a great example of what a server should be at a restaurant. She greeted us and asked if we would like a beverage. She then proceeded to tell us about their Bloody Mary and how good it was and that she made them personally. I told her I liked Bloody Marys and that would be nice.
I am here to tell you it was a work of art! We began a conversation about the ingredients as I am wont to do with the wait staff and owners of restaurants. I began to guess the ingredients and started with, of course a good mix, adding pickle juice, olive juice, and hot sauce. Sheryl added that they use Worcestershire Sauce and salt the rim of the glass with what seemed to me to be Lawry's Seasoned Salt with celery salt added. She then added a skewer of Green Olives and Pepperoni as well as a celery stick and a pickle pear to the deal and then topped it off with a "snick"of beer besides. What a way to start off our first experience at a new restaurant!
The menu seemed to be a good collection of comfort food items, burgers, sandwiches and some specialties. What caught my eye was a burger with a Cream Cheese/Green Olive topping.
I was not asked how I liked it cooked so I assumed they were cooking them medium to well and it was done very nicely. It was not over-cooked and the cream cheese/olive topping was great. The buns appeared to be made there at the site and were nicely grilled. The burger was served with some krinkle-cut french fries that were very crispy and well cooked.
Teresa ordered a French Dip sandwich that was labeled as "pulled beef" on the menu. It was served with their house made potato chips and those were very good. The sandwich was a pleasant surprise in that it was not the typical deli thin-sliced beef. It truly was pulled beef; large chunks of great roast beef on a good French roll, served with aus jus and those marvelous chips.
This was a very pleasant experience for our first time at the restaurant and both Teresa and I agreed we will return soon and often to this place. Check them out at www.lighthouseonhomestead.com and visit soon. They also feature live music on Monday evenings and some good happy hour specials as well.
Eat well and often,
Tim

The Smoking Gun

I have just finished experimenting with a new cooking tool that my wife Teresa got me for my birthday. It is a PolyScience Smoking Gun. It is made by the same people that make Immersion Circulators that cook food sous vide or under water in a vacuum bag at constant temperature.
My first experiment was with raw cabbage that I had shredded and placed in a modified 9x13 aluminum baking pan to allow the hose from the Smoking Gun to enter the top of the pan. I lit the Hickory chips in the gun and allowed the smoke to penetrate into the pan for about 5 minutes. I then mixed the cabbage with Marzetti's Original Slaw dressing (very good) and it was truly extraordinary! What amazing flavor those few minutes imposed on the cabbage.
The next experiment was to make a Smoked Bloody Mary. I mixed the drink in the traditional way, using a good mix and a very good Svedka Vodka. I covered the glass with plastic wrap and cut a slit in the plastic for the smoker hose and lit the Smoking Gun for 30 seconds and let the smoke infuse the drink for about 3 minutes. Again, it was extraordinary! What amazing flavor for such a short amount of exposure to the smoke. I am excited to try many more unique taste temptations with this method of cooking.
Good eating,
Tim