Driving to Duluth

Heading to pick up my son from camp in MN. Driving north through WI and then heading west to Duluth on our way. Any recommendations IN Duluth or along the way, like a great hidden burger place or some amazing roadside breakfast stop?

Thanks.

Some of this is slightly north of Duluth but worth an extra look / drive on the scenic North Shore highway:

http://www.sceniccafe.com/about/about.html

http://thevanillabean.com/ (best breakfast, out of your way north, though, but if you do go, look for Cornish pasties and wild rice next door after your Swedish pancakes with house-churned vanilla butter)

http://www.nokomisonthelake.com/

http://www.grandmasrestaurants.com/bellisios/ (for the wine more than the food, the only place on my list right in Duluth proper)

As long as you're going that far, I highly recommend exploring just the first bit of the North Shore. Stunning country. My experiences with hole-in-the-wall breakfast places are on the way from the Twin Cities to Duluth on 35, unfortunately; someone familiar with the Apostle Islands / Northern Wisconsin area will have to fill you in on places on the way up from your starting point.

Wow, thank you for the reply! I actually logged on to report on our pretty good dinner at Grandma's. The lady at the hotel recommended Applebees so we asked for something more "local" and I have to say the fried walleye dinner was great. Incredibly sweet fish and a fabulous crispy crust. I only wish I was hungrier, I couldn't finish it. Oh, and the wild rice was pretty nice too!

www.grandmasrestaurants.com

Unfortunately, additional driving is NOT in the cards this time. We pick up my son at 9 a.m. tomorrow and have to get home to pick up the puppy same day. But next time, cornish pasties sounds worth the trip!!!

Glad you enjoyed Grandma's; good place. They own Bellisio's, which I mentioned above, and you can actually get some of the lake fish specials there as well, no Italian involved!

its a nice ride the further north you get
you just follow the mississippi river all the way up
i think you go past red wing shoes and winnona sweaters

my big reccomendation in duluth is a mansion named glenshen

it was buit in 19005 when duluth was a bigger port than chicago
it was built by the lawyer for 3m

the family only lived in it for 10 years or so
so it is a great example of circa 1900 living and in pristine shape

the level of craftmanship and detail is very impressive to say the least

as well as the building and grounds

have fun good luck

also you will pass some great fishing towns like hayward muskie capitol of the world

I'm glad you found Grandma's. I was there in June fueling up for the first leg our 2-day, 150-mile MS bike ride. The place was packed with other riders fueling up with beer and burgers, a fun atmosphere in a beautiful part of Minnesota. (The state gets even prettier further north in the BWCA.)

Imagine my surprise when my husband mentioned we had to drive through Two Harbors to get to the camp!! We had lunch at the Vanilla Bean, thank you again for the recommendation. It was really good, the pastie was yummy if a little heavy for this time of year. Still I couldn't pass it up.

Also, just a couple miles north of there is a spot called Betty's Pies, which a friend had recommended, we were unable to stop there but thought I'd pass along the suggestion.

Now what do I do with the 3 pounds of wild rice I bought? LOL Thanks again all.