Northern MN recs? (Duluth, Tofte, Lutsen, Grand Marsais)

I have seen some old posts from Da Beef about dining in this area, but the posts are from awhile back. Has anyone been in this area recently (Duluth, Tofte, Grand Marsais, Lutsen)? Any recommendations? We are looking for casual dining (dinner). We are driving to Lutsen Mountain for some skiing next week. Thanks for any advice.

Betty's Pies in Two Harbors. After grunting it out canoeing and camping in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, eating mostly fish & camp food http://www.bwca.cc a slice of berry pie from Betty's was amazing. https://bettyspies.com

Edited to add: There are plenty of excellent pie shops from Duluth northwards, I just remember Betty's for some reason.

If you are coming through MN rather than WI, do consider a detour to see the only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed gas station, in lovely Cloquet. (https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/fra ... as-station ).

In Duluth, Northern Waters Smokehouse every time (https://northernwaterssmokehaus.com/ ). Duluth Grill has great breakfasts (we prefer it to Grandma's which is more famous).

The Scenic Cafe is worth the detour on the scenic drive between Duluth and Two Harbors (http://newsceniccafe.com/ ). While you are there, you must visit Russ Kendall's Smokehouse, and you want the lake trout rather than the salmon (http://leftatthefork.net/russ-kendalls- ... -river-mn/ ).

I prefer The Rustic Inn to Betty's for pies (http://rusticinn.cafe/ ) - easier turnoff, friendlier service, variable but often superior (pun intended pies).

In Two Harbors, Castle Danger Brewing shouldn't be missed. Further up the shore, Grand Marais: World's Best Donuts (http://www.worldsbestdonutsmn.com/ ) - the skizzle is the thing to get. Sven & Ole's for pizza on the cheap. We were blown away last summer by the Angry Trout but it might have been lightning in a bottle (visiting experimental international young chef people). The Crooked Spoon has been more consistent over a longer period of time there.

Zup's (Zupanich Brothers) in tiny Silver Bay is a great stockup place - seems like a sleepy grocery store but the smoked meats are on point, particularly the pepper bacon and the Canadian bacon, both which pack well. http://zups.com/ . Here or at the Super One in Two Harbors (conveniently open late) you might run into "porketta" or "porchetta steak," which is fennel-crusted fatty pork steak / chops worth investigating. The Vanilla Bean in Two Harbors has good signature coffee; I don't recommend much else there beyond the brewery, but the spice store next door is great and if you really feel like rolling the dice try out Vietnamese Lantern with a truly unique buffet.

Wildcard: Lemon Wolf (if it's open, and they are a little eccentric). This is kitschy and nothing fancy but the fish and wild rice can be the best around, prepared simply. http://lemonwolfcafe.com/. I'll be up there in just a few months - can taste it already.

Thanks for the tips. I ended up going to Duluth Grill for dinner the first night. My son tried some of my Bi Bim Bop and liked it so much that he asked us to stop by the restaurant on the way back to Chicago. I picked up two Cajun Finn sandwiches the next day from Northern Waters Smokehouse since that was their number one seller. Such a great sandwich. I was too hungry to stop and take a photo. The pastries at Coho Bakery in Tofte were good (strawberry rhubarb muffin, chocolate croissant). Most of the other pastries were sold out by 10am. We had lunch at Rustic Inn Cafe. I'll post some pics later. Note: Angry Trout Cafe, Dockside Fish Market and World's Best Donut in Grand Marais were closed for the season - - they reopen in May.