Polls
Perfect Lunch Restaurant: Northern Waters Smokehaus
When it comes to lunch in Duluth, the sandwich is king. Not one pizza place, burger joint or Asian restaurant managed to crack the top four in Perfect Duluth Day’s poll to determine the best lunch restaurants. Furthermore, the place with the best sandwiches in town, Northern Waters Smokehaus, smoked the competition. A solid majority of 55.4 percent of voters agreed Northern Waters is the best mid-day meal around.
Clearly the deliciousness is no secret — there’s almost always a noon-hour line at Northern Waters.
Jay Cooke State Park Survey
The DNR is asking whether or not to open the road from Fond du Lac.
Best Lunch in the Duluth Area
Our previous poll tells us the top four lunch restaurants in Duluth are: How Sweet it is Cakes Deli, Northern Waters Smokehaus, Red Mug Coffeehouse and Bake Shop and Sir Benedict’s Tavern on the Lake. Now it’s time to pick a winner, so again we ask …
[poll id=”47″]
This poll is now closed. The results are:
Northern Waters Smokehaus — 55.4 percent
How Sweet it is Cakes Deli — 21.5 percent
Sir Benedict’s Tavern on the Lake — 13.9 percent
Red Mug Coffeehouse and Bake Shop — 9.2 percent
Best Duluth Lunch Poll
Earlier this week, PDD asked where the best lunch is in Duluth. We got 31 different answers. Now it’s time to see which of those answers hold weight. It’s time to roll out the fancy polling tool.
[poll id=”46″]
This poll is now closed. Four restaurants move on to the finals:
How Sweet it is Cakes
Northern Waters Smokehaus
Red Mug Coffeehouse and Bake Shop
Sir Benedict’s Tavern on the Lake
Perfect Restaurant: New Scenic Café
You have to leave Duluth to get to its best restaurant. The New Scenic Café is located about three miles beyond the city’s northeastern border, in Duluth Township — roughly a 20-minute drive from the center of the Zenith City. It’s a drive Duluthians and tourists alike have been happy to take repeatedly during the 14 years since chef Scott Graden and his aunt Rita Bergstedt opened their contemporary American restaurant.
Above: New Scenic Owner Scott Graden
The location on the scenic North Shore Drive is a big part of the allure, but what’s so new about this 14-year-old café? The menu, that’s what. It’s always new, changing with the seasons. Today one might try the seared duck breast or ratatouille lasagna, while six months ago the lamb meatloaf was the temptation of the moment.
Sure, it’s the kind of place ham-and-eggers will make fun of, scoffing at the prices and snickering at the notion of an “heirloom” tomato, but it’s hard to be the best restaurant in the area without a hint of snootiness. At least it’s a North Shore brand of foodie snootiness, where your flannel shirt and/or socks with sandals will fit in just fine.
Props must go out to the runners up in this poll, because the voting was close. New Scenic edged out Zeitgeist Arts Café by two percentage points, and Zeitgeist edged out Duluth Grill by three percentage points. A bit behind the top three, but still pulling nearly 15 percent of the vote, was Lake Avenue Restaurant & Bar.
Best Duluth Restaurant Poll
In a previous poll, PDD readers made it clear there are four restaurants in the Duluth area worthy of consideration for the distinction of “Best Restaurant.” They are: Duluth Grill, Lake Avenue Restaurant and Bar, New Scenic Café and Zeitgeist Arts Café. So now it’s time to pick a winner.
[poll id=”45″]
This poll is now closed. The results were:
New Scenic Café — 30.7 percent
Zeitgeist Arts Café — 28.7 percent
Duluth Grill — 25.7 percent
Lake Avenue Restaurant — 14.9 percent
PDD’s Best Restaurant Poll
Through the highly scientific method of asking people what they think, we developed a list of 38 nominees for Best Restaurant in the Duluth area. This poll whittles the list down to manageable list of finalists.
[poll id=”44″]
This poll is now closed. The four top restaurants in alphabetical order, are:
Duluth Grill
Lake Avenue Restaurant and Bar
New Scenic Café
Zeitgeist Arts Café
Jim Carlson vs. United States of America: How will court rule?
Last Place on Earth store owner Jim Carlson’s trial is scheduled to begin today. He’s accused of 54 55 counts of violating federal drug and regulatory laws. How many of them will stick? Perhaps you’d like to take a lucky guess. There’s a prize involved, so concentrate and read on.
More explanation below, poll question now:
[poll id=”43″]
This poll is now closed.
Following the ruling on the case, everyone who has chosen the correct number will be entered into a drawing for the prize. What is the prize? It’s a little vague, but PDD will buy you something nice at any shop located near the Last Place on Earth. Maybe you’d like a nice lunch at the Chinese Dragon, some copies at Shel-don, some tokens at Fond-du-Luth Casino or a couple Starfire Ales at Tycoons? We’ll figure it out.
Normally we turn off the commenting feature on polls, but this time we are leaving it on, because it could be interesting to get into some discussion about strategy.
It should be noted that there are three other defendants in this case, charged along with Carlson on some of the counts. For the purposes of this poll, we are considering them irrelevant.
Any changes to the ruling on appeal do not apply to this poll/contest.
Also, because this poll was recklessly hatched overnight, we reserve the right to change the rules at any point, should there be something stupid we overlooked.
Below is a copy of the indictment, courtesy of Minnesota Public Radio. Click here to read it bigger.
Perfect New Restaurant: Pak’s Green Corner
West Duluth had never seen the likes of schnitzel or poutine, much less a pad thai burrito, until Pak Williams converted the former China Station restaurant into Pak’s Green Corner in summer 2012. The friendly and funky little Asian-fusion joint — located across the avenue from a long-shuttered auto lube — was the clear-cut winner of Perfect Duluth Day’s Best New Restaurant poll.
Above: Pak Williams with the fancy Perfect New Restaurant plaque, flanked by cook Hieng Wilaiphan (left) and waitress Vicki Boynton (right).
Pak’s got off to a rocky start following its opening day, when word of the new restaurant leaked out and a positive recommendation on PDD led to a full-house showing up for lunch on day two. With one server out sick and no one around with a strong command of how the cash register or credit-card machine worked, it was a rough day to say the least.
Now, with a full year of working out the kinks behind it, Pak’s Green Corner can claim the title of Duluth’s Perfect New Restaurant, having captured 51.9 percent of the vote. Honorable mentions go out to Tycoons Alehouse and Eatery (second place, 32.5 percent) and 7 West Tap House (third place, 15.6 percent).
Poll: Best New Restaurant in Duluth
A previous poll on PDD narrowed the choices from a baker’s dozen down to the three best new restaurants in the Duluth area — Pak’s Green Corner, 7 West Tap House and Tycoons Alehouse. Now it’s time to determine the champion, so we ask …
[poll id=”42″]
This poll is now closed. The results were …
Pak’s Green Corner – 51.9 percent
Tycoons Alehouse and Eatery – 32.5 percent
7 West Tap House – 15.6 percent
You must be logged in to your Perfect Duluth Day blogging account to vote. If you need to create an account, click here. You can register and login simply with Facebook by clicking here. If you need help figuring it out, click here.
Poll: Best New Restaurant
After some careful analysis, we developed a list of nominees for Best New Restaurant in the Duluth area. Now we ask you to pick your favorite.
[poll id=”41″]
This poll is now closed. The three top finishers, in alphabetical order, were:
Pak’s Green Corner
7 West Tap House
Tycoons Alehouse & Eatery
Perfect Breakfast Restaurant: Duluth Grill
What’s not to like about Duluth Grill? It’s a truck-stop style diner in the friendly West End neighborhood that buys from local farmers and grows some of its vegetables around its parking lot in raised-bed gardens. Owner Tom Hanson and his family have plans to build an urban orchard on the lot as well, with plum trees, black-cap raspberries, lingonberries, choke cherries and other deliciousness. They even get their honey from hives on the roof of the building. Duluth Grill is much more than a simple breakfast joint, but readers of Perfect Duluth Day strongly agreed in a recent poll that it is indeed the best breakfast restaurant in the area.
Is it the Scotch eggs? The breakfast stir fry? The curried polenta skillet? The smoked salmon omelet? The caramel apple French toast? Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes. It’s all that and more.
(more…)
Poll: Best Breakfast Restaurant
Through a recent poll about breakfast joints we have a disputable, yet official list of the five favorite places to seek ante-meridiem nourishment in the Duluth area. Now it’s time to determine which is number one, so again we ask the all-important question …
[poll id=”40″]
This poll is now closed. The results were …
Duluth Grill — 39.2 percent
Pizza Lucé — 21.6 percent
Uncle Loui’s — 17.5 percent
At Sara’s Table / Chester Creek Café — 15.4 percent
The Kitchen — 6.2 percent
Poll: Best Breakfast in the Duluth Area
A recent post on PDD asked about the “best breakfast in town.” Having gleaned the nominees from that post — and eliminated one for being too far outside Duluth — we might as well make it official and have a poll asking the all-important question …
[poll id=”39″]
This poll is now closed.
Because there were a dozen options in this poll, we considered it the first round of voting. So instead of posting the full results, we reveal the top-five breakfast restaurants, which advance to a new poll to determine the official champion.
The top-five breakfast restaurants, in alphabetical order, are:
At Sara’s Table / Chester Creek Café
Duluth Grill
The Kitchen
Pizza Lucé
Uncle Loui’s
PDD Band Publicity Photo Showdown: Teague Alexy vs. Tangier 57
Back in April, Perfect Duluth Day launched a series of polls, tournament style, to determine which Duluth-area band had the sweetest pic. Tangier 57 won the championship, and, now that the post-Homegrown grace period is up, must defend its title.
The challenger:
Teague Alexy (photo by Joshua Priestley)
The reigning champions:
Tangier 57 (photo by Patrice Bradley)
[poll id=”38″]
This poll is now closed. The results were:
Teague Alexy – 54.5 percent
Tangier 57 – 45.5 percent
Note: Only people who are logged in to their Perfect Duluth Day blogging account are allowed to vote (to prevent people from voting multiple times). To create an account, click here. If you need help figuring it out, click here.
Who won Homegrown 2013?
This poll is now closed. The results were:
Wolf Blood – 11.2 percent
The Blasphemists – 8.4 percent
Bratwurst – 7.4 percent
Big Wave Dave & the Ripples – 3.7 percent
The Boomchucks – 3.7 percent
Various other bands – 65.6 percent
Homegrown Band Publicity Photo Showdown: Charlie Parr vs. Tangier 57
With the Homegrown Music Festival coming up, PDD launched a series of polls two months ago, tournament style, to determine which Duluth-area band has the sweetest pic. It has come down to these two:
Charlie Parr (photo by Peter Lee)
Tangier 57 (photo by Patrice Bradley)
[poll id=”36″]
This poll is now closed. The results were:
Tangier 57 – 59.5 percent
Charlie Parr – 40.5 percent
Tangier 57 is now the reigning publicity photo champion, and will carry the title proudly through Homegrown. In future weeks, title defenses will occur randomly as new band photo contenders emerge.
Note: Only people who are logged in to their Perfect Duluth Day blogging account are allowed to vote (to prevent people from voting multiple times). To create an account, click here. If you need help figuring it out, click here.
Homegrown Band Publicity Photo Showdown: Quarterfinals
With the Homegrown Music Festival coming up, PDD launched a series of polls two months ago, tournament style, to determine which Duluth-area band has the sweetest pic. It is now down to the Final Four: Breanne Marie, Tangier 57, Southwire and Charlie Parr.
Quarterfinal #1:
Left: Breanne Marie (photo by Katlyn Kretzchmar)
Right: Tangier 57 (photo by Patrice Bradley)
[poll id=”35″]
This poll is now closed. The results were:
Tangier 57 – 78.1 percent
Breanne Marie – 21.9 percent
Quarterfinal #2:
Left: Southwire (photo by Rich Narum)
Right: Charlie Parr (photo by Peter Lee)
[poll id=”34″]
This poll is now closed. The results were:
Charlie Parr – 63.6 percent
Southwire – 36.4 percent
Note: Only people who are logged in to their Perfect Duluth Day blogging account are allowed to vote (to prevent people from voting multiple times). To create an account, click here. If you need help figuring it out, click here.
Homegrown Band Publicity Photo Showdown: Semifinals (part two)
With the Homegrown Music Festival coming up PDD launched a series of polls nine weeks ago, tournament style, to determine which Duluth-area band has the sweetest pic. Last week Breanne Marie and Tangier 57 advanced to the quarterfinals. This week we present the third and fourth semifinal matchups. (Click on any image to see it larger.)
Semifinal #3:
Left: The Tisdales (photo by Ray Reigstad)
Right: Southwire (photo by Rich Narum)
[poll id=”32″]
This poll is now closed. The results were:
Southwire – 75.0 percent
The Tisdales – 25.0 percent
Semifinal #4:
Left: Charlie Parr (photo by Peter Lee)
Right: Snöbarn (photo by Shawn Stigstill)
[poll id=”33″]
This poll is now closed. The results were:
Charlie Parr – 71.0 percent
Sn̦barn Р29.0 percent
Next week’s Quarterfinals:
Breanne Marie vs. Tangier 57
Southwire vs. Charlie Parr
Note: Only people who are logged in to their Perfect Duluth Day blogging account are allowed to vote (to prevent people from voting multiple times). To create an account, click here. If you need help figuring it out, click here.
Homegrown Band Publicity Photo Showdown: Semifinals (pt. 1)
With the Homegrown Music Festival coming up PDD launched a series of polls eight weeks ago, tournament style, to determine which Duluth-area band has the sweetest pic. This week we begin the semifinal round. (more…)
Homegrown Band Publicity Photo Show- down: Tim Kaiser vs. the People Say Fox
Tim Kaiser (photo by Matt Blum)
The People Say Fox (photo by Nate Rendulich)
With the Homegrown Music Festival coming up PDD launched a series of polls seven weeks ago, tournament style, to determine which Duluth-area band has the sweetest pic. Last week Snöbarn defeated Peter Pain. This week we ask …
[poll id=”29″]
This poll is now closed. The results were:
Tim Kaiser – 87.1 percent
The People Say Fox – 12.9 percent
Note: Only people who are logged in to their Perfect Duluth Day blogging account are allowed to vote (to prevent people from voting multiple times). To create an account, click here. If you need help figuring it out, click here.
Homegrown Band Publicity Photo Showdown: Snobarn vs. Peter Pain
Snobarn (photo by Shawn Stigstill)
Peter Pain (photo by Rich Narum)
With the Homegrown Music Festival coming up PDD launched a series of polls six weeks ago, tournament style, to determine which Duluth-area band has the sweetest pic. Last week Tangier 57 defeated Duck Duck Punch. This week we ask …
[poll id=”28″]
This poll is now closed. The results were:
Snobarn – 52.2 percent
Peter Pain – 47.8 percent
Note: Only people who are logged in to their Perfect Duluth Day blogging account are allowed to vote (to prevent people from voting multiple times). To create an account, click here. If you need help figuring it out, click here.
Homegrown Band Publicity Photo Showdown: Duck Duck Punch vs. Tangier 57
Duck Duck Punch (photo by Davin Haukebo-Bol)
Tangier 57 (Photo by Patrice Bradley)
With the Homegrown Music Festival coming up PDD launched a series of polls five weeks ago, tournament style, to determine which Duluth-area band has the sweetest pic. Last week Dead Guys defeated Mary Bue. This week we ask …
[poll id=”27″]
This poll is now closed. The results were:
Tangier 57 – 76.5 percent
Duck Duck Punch – 23.5 percent
Note: Only people who are logged in to their Perfect Duluth Day blogging account are allowed to vote (to prevent people from voting multiple times). To create an account, click here. If you need help figuring it out, click here.
Homegrown Band Publicity Photo Showdown: Dead Guys vs. Mary Bue
Dead Guys (photo by Nate Rendulich)
Mary Bue (photo by Ryan Dahlberg)
With the Homegrown Music Festival coming up PDD launched a series of polls four weeks ago, tournament style, to determine which Duluth-area band has the sweetest pic. Last week the Tisdales defeated Ryan Van Slooten. This week we ask …
[poll id=”26″]
This poll is now closed. The results were:
Dead Guys – 61.5 percent
Mary Bue – 38.5 percent
Note: Only people who are logged in to their Perfect Duluth Day blogging account are allowed to vote (to prevent people from voting multiple times). To create an account, click here. If you need help figuring it out, click here.
Homegrown Band Publicity Photo Showdown: The Tisdales vs. Ryan Van Slooten
The Tisdales (photo by Ray Reigstad)
Ryan Van Slooten (photo by Jeremiah Brown)
With the Homegrown Music Festival coming up PDD launched a series of polls three weeks ago, tournament style, to determine which Duluth-area band has the sweetest pic. Last week Breanne Marie defeated Toby Thomas Churchill. This week we ask …
[poll id=”25″]
This poll is now closed. The results were:
The Tisdales – 81.0 percent
Ryan Van Slooten – 19.0 percent
Note: Only people who are logged in to their Perfect Duluth Day blogging account are allowed to vote (to prevent people from voting multiple times). To create an account, click here. If you need help figuring it out, click here.