Last weekend G and I took a fly-by trip to Duluth, Minnesota. A girlfriend of mine from college, Carrie, was getting married – she came all the way to my wedding in Colombia and I feel I really I should do my best to go to the weddings of friends who made the long trip to mine. Plus, I was really excited to check out Duluth. I’ve spent little time in the Midwest since the four-year stint my family spent in St. Louis when I was a kid. (Actually, my dad worked in St Louis, but we lived in a suburb called Chesterfield. I refer to these as the Norman Rockwell years as it was all very picturesque.) The trip was shorter than we would have liked, but sweet.
We arrived at our hotel at around 11 in the morning, and as we were early for check-in, our room wasn’t ready. Luckily, we’d done some homework beforehand. Months ago, I heard a little smokehouse discussed on a podcast of the Splendid Table that happened to be in Duluth. Knowing I was probably going to be making a trip here in the next year, I filed the info away in my mind, and then looked it up before heading out. G went a step further and armed himself with directions from the Sheraton, where we were staying, to the Northern Waters Smokehaus. With no bed ready for us to fall into, we immediately headed out in search of food, waiting only for my friend Naomi to join us.
The hunt to find this little joint was our first chance to get a sense of the city as it turned out to be within an easy walk of the hotel. Our walk took us down a couple of the main streets of downtown. There were many cool older brick buildings -- some that were in need of renovation, but also many that had been well maintained or had been restored.
The Northern Waters Smokehaus was in the Canal Park section of town, an area comprised of reclaimed warehouses that have been converted into quaint shops and trendy cafes to entertain locals and tourists. Northern Waters Smokehaus is tucked in the back of one of these converted warehouses, and could have been easily overlooked when confronted with all of the other bustling restaurant options. It is a tiny little place with a counter displaying the various delicious looking meat options and a few shelves and cases filled with tasty selections. It’s clearly intended mostly as a take-away joint, but there are a few spots available for eating in.
The hunt was worth it. Greg and I shared 2 sandwiches – the Buffalo and the Cajun Finn. The Buffalo is basically a spicy take on a Ruben using bison pastrami.
Naomi had just recently had brunch, so she took some very tasty looking dry meat snacks back with her to the hotel. It was all very YUM! The Smokehaus is also socially conscious with an eye towards using local and sustainably raised meats and fish (albeit the salmon we had was Alaskan salmon). Delicious and socially and environmentally friendly!
Filled with yummy food, we made our way back to the hotel. Our room now ready, G and I promptly crashed for a few hours since we’d taken a red-eye and wanted to be fresh for the wedding.
Time to celebrate! The wedding was held at the Kitchi Gammi Club, a beautiful brick and stone building overlooking Lake Superior with many detailed wooden decorations and architectural elements embellishing the various rooms inside.
The bride was beautiful of course, and both Carrie and Morgan (the groom) held it together very well. I was amazed. Or such were appearances at least. Later Ms. Carrie hinted that her calm composure was merely a façade. Well done. After a lovely, simple ceremony -- Hallelujah for short ceremonies! – we danced the night away.
(Carrie and Naomi were my Theatre Girls in college - together we put together a lot of shows)
The next morning G and I had planned to get lunch at Pickwick’s-- which was recommended by both our cab driver the day before-- and then head out to visit Glensheen, a 17th century mansion in the area. However, we were seduced by the weather into other plans. The gray clouds that had covered the skies on Saturday, completely cleared up for a gorgeous Sunday. We had no choice but to spend the day outside strolling the edge of Lake Superior.
We opted for lunch at Little Angie's Cantina, which has a great deck in the middle of the Canal Street bustle. Ok, living in California I’m probably a little spoiled in the Mexican food department, but the food was just ok. What they did have – beyond the ambiance of course – was margaritas! Perfect for a hot, sunny day! They’re available in 3 sizes – G didn’t miss beat and opted for the largest – 42 oz! It was roughly the size of head. The shocking part is that it didn’t seem to affect him at all.
After lunch, we continued our walk along the shoreline. We made our way across the Lift Bridge (the street portion actually lifts to make room for tall ships to pass underneath) to the beaches, which are really beautiful. The water is very clear and the sands are a pinky beige.
The irony that we flew from LA to Duluth to have a Sunday of eating Mexican food and walking along the beach is not lost on me. Still . . . not too shabby.
The newlyweds were chilling with friends and family at a beach house nearby, so we stopped by to congratulate them one last time before heading back to grab our things and catch our plane.
But, yeah, Dutuh – I get it. You’ve got lots of green and lots of blue. It seemed that were lots of opportunities for outdoor activities like hiking and camping just a short drive from the city. Hanging out on the beach or taking a fishing trip on the lake doesn’t seem like it would be too shabby either. The people all seemed to very friendly, and that Midwestern accent is just infectiously charming, don’tcha know.
I’d happily come back should my path lead me this way again.
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