I'm an 18 year old who will be taking his first trip without parental supervision this may. Totally on my own for the first time! I'm just curious what all of your favorite pre and post trip places to eat are in the Tofte area. Driving from the Twin Cities to Tofte and putting in at Sawbill. Thanks!

Probably the holiday gas station.

Our favorite place when we stay in Tofte is the Coh9o Café. Great pizza and pastries. try the pizza with the wild rice, it sounds weird but is great.

Strongly suggest taking the relatively short drive to Grand Marais. Far more options, and better food, IMO.

Lockport is just a couple miles up the road near Lutsen. I've done breakfasts there before entry and lunch there after exit. Good food, good atmosphere.

Hi Nolly. Welcome to the board!

Our favorite place to stop in that area is the Trestle Inn. Great food, great "logging country" atmosphere, and reasonable prices. It is located on the forest roads in the middle of nowhere, so no credit cards are accepted. Bring cash.

A truly awesome beginning or end to your BWCA trip!

Here's a link...

Trestle Inn

Coho is good

Trail Center on the Gunflint Trail can't be missed

My Sisters Place in GM is ok

This sounds fantastic. I looked at their website and it appears that they have all you can eat ribs on saturdays. Seems too good to be true!

No one has mentioned the Blue Fin restaurant. It has been my go to for many years.

If you want to stop a little earlier on your way to Tofte there are some great places off Hwy 61 about 30 miles to the south. My favorites in no order are Camp 61 and the Lemon Wolf Café in Beaver Bay and Northwoods Family Grille in Silver Bay for their award winning burgers.

Trestle Inn

Nolly, I don't know about torte for food,maybe Judy's cafe in two harbors? I have to commend you for being excited about the bdub at your age! Good luck and be safe! I wish I would have known about it when I was a teenager. You are so lucky! Marc

quote cowdoc: " Trestle Inn "

+1 I always eat there when I'm in the Sawbill area. It's a fun drive on dirt forest roads from Sawbill with a good chance of seeing wildlife. It's pretty much in the middle of nowhere. It's a very neat place with great food. The only place I like better than the Trestle Inn is the Trail Center.

Hey Nolly, when are you going??

May 24th through May 28th

If I'm coming back in through Sawbill, my go-to is the Blue Fin for dinner. Pricey, but the food and service are great - very good burgers. I've eaten there in my 2 week old camping clothes with the funky smell. Just ask to sit in the "stinky camper" section, and they will sit you away from others. I kind of like that after a long trip to give me some "decompression" time after not talking to anyone on a 2 week solo. Excellent view of Lake Superior, as it is right on the edge of the lake. You get what you pay for, I think.

If you need a room for the night, the Americinn across the street is decent, although pricey. Book a room now though, as advance reservations can save some pretty decent bucks over just walking into the place and asking if they have a room available. You can walk to the Blue Fin from the motel.

And, for future reference with respect to booking a motel on the north shore, check for local events which may book up motels. I ran into that about four years ago. There were festivals in Grand Marais, Duluth, lots of weddings going on in between. Heading back towards Chicago, the first room I could find was about 150 miles southeast of Superior, WI on Highway 53. It was a pit, and had a mangy old dog wandering the hallways. A Super 8 would have been a Hilton in comparison.

If you need a breakfast, Judy's in Two Harbors is my fave. Right on Hwy 61 in town.

Tomster

Another Coho fan here. Especially on days when I'm driving up from the cities and in a hurry to start paddling, I'll stop in at Coho for a good cup of coffee and cinnamon roll or other pastry which I think are great. Blue fin works for me if I'm staying in or near Tofte, but some of the other suggestions sound good too. On way out, I usually drive further down toward Two Harbors or Duluth before strapping on the feed sack.

Trestle Inn. An oasis in the forest. I know you're 18 but I bet you could get a beer with your burger there. Pretty chill place.

quote Jaywalker: "
Another Coho fan here.
"

+1 Yep - I'm a fan too.

quote h20: "Trestle Inn. An oasis in the forest. I know you're 18 but I bet you could get a beer with your burger there. Pretty chill place. "

Really? If Nolly had said he planned on bathing in one of the lakes he would be excoriated for violating LNT guidelines. However, underage drinking and driving is encouraged.

Nolly, my guess is that you have proven your trustworthiness to your parents and this trip is a sign of their trust and confidence in you. To betray that trust does not fit the vibe I get from your OP. Good decisions have good consequences, bad decisions have bad consequences.

I go along with the vote for Judys in Two Harbors.Ask for the brown gravy on whatever you order.

Another vote for Lockport, on the right as you come in to Lutsen. Great homemade local food.

All you can eat ribs. Saturdays. Trestle Inn. Just do it.

Anybody have any idea how much the all you can eat ribs are at Trestle Inn? If they only take cash I'm going to have to plan ahead

Just call them and ask before you take off - there's a phone number on the website and you'll want the current price.

Coho is good.

Now I'm curious of the Trestle though, they have showers!

Hex

I have seen good reviews on Our Place, Four Seasons in Finland, North Woods in Silver Bay,and Camp 61 in Beaver Bay. I have not been to any of these. Has anybody else?
brucew

I haven’t been to North Woods since it changed ownership, but it and Camp 61 are on my short list. It looked as if Four Seasons was for sale last fall, but they must still be open from the looks of their Facebook page.

-1 on Coho Cafe. Five of us spent nearly 100 bucks on dinner. A do not recommend the shells stuffed with ricotta and wild rice sausage. Bland, old tasting, improperly cooked and small!! I think they warmed em up in the pizza oven. More of an appetizer the serving was so small. The pizza had a pre-made and frozen crust feel to it. Nothing special! The desserts were average. You are your own waiter and table busser.

A big +1 on Bluefin Grille. Great food. Great burger, even the kids grilled cheese sandwich was good. Recommend the duck and wild rice soup.

My sisters place was as usual very good as well.

quote Unas10: "

quote h20: "Trestle Inn. An oasis in the forest. I know you're 18 but I bet you could get a beer with your burger there. Pretty chill place. "

Really? If Nolly had said he planned on bathing in one of the lakes he would be excoriated for violating LNT guidelines. However, underage drinking and driving is encouraged.


Nolly, my guess is that you have proven your trustworthiness to your parents and this trip is a sign of their trust and confidence in you. To betray that trust does not fit the vibe I get from your OP. Good decisions have good consequences, bad decisions have bad consequences."

This is sage advice. No need to ruin a good time with a DUI or worse yet - a wreck. They'll be plenty of opportunities for post B-dub libations after you reach drinking age.

you'd drive up to Grand Marais to eat when you are going to Sawbill?

crazy, even driving to Lutsen or Lockport, these are all good places to eat, but why go out of the way when there are good places right on the way, save the others for future trips

even the Trestle is a bit out of the way, but then, it is pretty much out of the way of everything

So where'd you end up?

quote OldFingers57: "Our favorite place when we stay in Tofte is the Coh9o Café. Great pizza and pastries. try the pizza with the wild rice, it sounds weird but is great. "

+1