Stasia Eat World: The Trek Up North

Eating Duluth's Favorites

I was recently up in Duluth with some friends and, of course, when I asked around where we should go while there, I got about a dozen suggestions of food places. So, as the coordinator of that trip, I included the staples into the itinerary and figured that I'd write a quick blog about them.

Grandma's Saloon and Grill

Grandma's Restaurant Company was founded in 1976 based on a legend of Rosa Brochi, who ran a boarding house on the shores of Lake Superior. The founders based their establishment on the principle of customer satisfaction, and it shows. With cool tchotchkes on the walls, great location (we went to the Canal Park one, and I'm sure that on the roof patio, when it's not raining, you can see miles and miles of lake), and good food, no wonder that this is a staple of any Duluth trip.

I will say this, however, the item that I got from the menu, Chicken Tetrazzini (a house special) tastes a bit heavy to me.

Chicken Tetrazzini with Wild Rice

Don't get me wrong, it's not that it wasn't delicious, but whenever I get a rice dish, I expect it to be light. Especially wild rice. The sauce that they put on top was a bit too rich and heavy, so I couldn't finish my plate and it weighted down my stomach the whole evening after the dinner. On the other hand, my companions loved the choices that they made, especially the huge Bloody Mary my friend ordered.

Grandma's Bloody Mary

Overall, a good experience with the wait staff and the food. I would recommend. Just make sure that you know what your stomach can handle.

Overall

Grandma's Restaurants Website

Betty's Pies

The original cafe dubbed Betty's Cafe began in 1958 when Betty turned her father's fish stand into a food stop. Betty's Pies evolved over the years, moving further up the hill to make room for the highway, changing ownership, and expanding. However, though the menu and the pie selection has grown, they use the original recipes developed by Betty herself.

The food is good, certain menu selections are unique, like pasties, but it's the typical American restaurant food that you can get at a lot of places. Honestly, I don't even know that I got what I ordered because the description didn't really match my plate but it was good.

Devil's Track Spicy Chicken Cheese Grill

But that's not why you'd stop there. It's the pies. The restaurant has a pie board in every room which features the day's pies selection and you really can't go wrong with your choice. You want chocolaty? They got chocolaty.