DON'T MISS THESE 10 MOSTLY-UNDER-$10 DULUTH DISHES

1 At the Lake Avenue Cafe, chef and co-owner Patrick Cross has been featuring a low-cost ($7.25) signature dish since 1995: a big bowl of chili, brimming with spicy house-made pork sausage and a surprising hot/sour Thai sensibility.

2 Drop-ins at Fitger's Brewhouse probably come for the exceptional house-brewed suds, but chances are they just might stay for the jumbo wild rice burgers ($9.29), a North Woods spin on the veggie burger that's smothered in sautéed mushrooms and onions and finished in a zesty pepper sauce.

3 Speaking of burgers, no visit to Duluth is complete without a pit stop at the 95-years-young Pickwick. The specialty at the city's dining grand dame is a crazy -- and crazy-good -- burger ($9.95), an overkill blend of beef and pepper cheese that's breaded, deep-fried, topped with more pepper cheese, and then slipped into a bun.

4 The person rolling and crimping the beyond-flaky pie dough at the New Scenic Cafe is a master of their craft. There's a featured daily slice ($4), jam-packed with intense fruit flavor and served with a voluptuous dollop of thick, teasingly sweet whipped cream.

5 There's no more glorious way to greet the day than facing off to a stack of lemon ricotta hotcakes at kitschy Hell's Kitchen, flapjacks so deliriously light and tasty that maple syrup only bogs them down. Honest.

6 A close second might be the marvelously sweet-tart blueberry muffins ($2) at Takk for Maten (translation: "thanks for the food" in Norwegian). The perky Scandinavian-style counter-service newcomer boasts another a.m. winner in the form of grilled lefse stuffed with hard-cooked eggs and smoked salmon ($4).

7 It's impossible to imagine a North Shore by-the-glass wine selection that can best the vast array at Bellisio's.

8 It's easy to fall for a pre- or post-Lakewalk ice cream cone ($1.25 to $3.25) at the adorable PortLand Malt Shoppe, but the gelato assortment ($3 per scoop) at nearby Va Bene Berarducci's Caffe is tempting.

9 Fans of the Winzer Stube in Hudson, Wis., will appreciate the handful of German-inspired selections elbowed into a corner of the sprawling menu at its Duluth sibling, Midi Restaurant, starting with a hearty knackwurst- bratwurst-mettwurst sampler ($13), served with sauerkraut, naturally.

10 Forget McDonald's and go where the locals get their fast-food fix: A & Dubs, a time-warp drive-in where carhops deliver crowd-pleasing classics such as the Power House Platter ($6.95), a double cheeseburger on a sesame seed-studded bun, a heaping basket of golden crinkle fries and a frosted mug of caramel-kissed house-made root beer.