The 5 best things we ate along the North Shore and Gunflint Trail this week

I’ve headed to the Gunflint Trail annually for the past eight years, drawn by its spectacular hiking trails, lakes so clear they mirror the vistas above and access to the serene Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. It’s also home to great food finds if you know where to look (hello Poplar Haus walleye chowder).

For me, that now includes Big Back Eats, a new food stand in a lot across from Trail Center Lodge. Available to food entrepreneurs, it’s part of a northern Minnesota training program for the Oglala Lakota tribe from South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation.

Opened in mid-June, the stand emphasizes global and Indigenous-influenced cuisine featuring items such as Korean corn dogs and Jamaican jerk sandwiches. If there’s a must order, it’s the strawberry shortcake on fry bread ($6). The execution is spot on delicious, with puffy fry bread airy and bubbly in the middle, fried to a nice golden brown. Topped with juicy strawberries in syrup and dollops of whipped cream, it was a sweet end to days spent hiking and relaxing along the trail.

The stand is currently open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays; check Big Back Eats’ social media pages for the latest seasonal updates. 7611 Gunflint Trail, bit.ly/BigBackEats

Lutsen Mountains’ newest restaurant is all about chalet vibes. With cushy booths, warm woods and picture windows providing views of peaks and valleys and fall colors, we didn’t need much more.

So it was a bonus that the owners of Charlie’s Alpine Bistro have put thought into a menu that cranks standard fare up a notch. We stopped by the spot south of Grand Marais and on the way to the Gunflint Trail during breakfast. Offerings ranged from Belgian waffles and lox bagels to egg platters and sandwiches. The Benedict with hash browns ($14) emerged as the fan favorite. It gets the classic poached eggs and hollandaise treatment, but then the kitchen sneaks veggies in via avocado toast, heirloom tomatoes and pickled shallots that reads like a California-style riff on this classic.

Breakfast runs from 7 to 11 a.m. daily, dinner (burgers, pastas, fish, steak and chops) from 3 to 10 p.m. Opened in August, it replaces the long-running Papa Charlie’s that was destroyed in a 2023 fire.

The latest from the famed Duluth Grill family, this new restaurant on the southern end of the city attached to a gas station emphasizes chicken tenders and fried chicken sandwiches in a fast-casual setting.

Choose from about half a dozen sandwiches on springy brioche buns, from a classic, no frills lettuce, mayo and pickles concoction to Nashville Hot. The one we’re betting on to become a cult classic is the Cluckin’ Dill-icious ($10). The sandwich gets a double dose of brightness and zip with dill pickles and dill aioli. The fried chicken thigh is nicely seasoned with a peppery kick that lovers of a certain-chicken-sandwich at a certain-fast-food-joint with a crown logo will find right up their alley. For a few extra dollars, you can add crinkle-cut fries cooked in “all-natural beef fat.”

This is a practical pit stop if you’re wanting to check out a new local spot while keeping mostly on schedule during your road trip.

231 N. Central Av., Duluth, 218-206-6684, chickenandwhat.com

After years making a name selling breads, cakes, cookies and bars at local farmer’s markets and through her wholesale business, baker/owner Hana Crosby opened a bakery and coffee shop this summer in downtown Grand Marais. Things are going well, if the lines out the door are any indication.

We returned to the bakery a few days later on our way out of Gunflint, and snagged a slice of carrot cake (the last one!). It lived up to its hype. But you should also make the cookie part of your order.

The cream sandwich cookie ($4.25) satisfies carrot cake cravings — from the fresh grated carrots in the chewy, spiced oatmeal cookie to the cream cheese frosting in between. Crosby said the cookie was inspired by her husband, who loves a good sandwich, sweet or savory. “Carrot cake is very popular on the North Shore,” she added. “Turning it into a cookie form makes it easy to eat on the go.”

16 Wisconsin St., Grand Marais, 218-370-1417, crosbybakery.com

Floral bouquets with greetings of “congratulations” and “welcome to the neighborhood” perfumed the air when we visited the second location of Duluth’s Phoholic a few days into its opening. Located on the northern end of the city, the new spot continues the beloved restaurant’s legacy, serving Vietnamese noodle soups and salads.

Surveying the menu, we noticed items exclusive to each location. You’ll have to go to the old spot for a bowl of bun bo Hue, while at the new outpost you’ll find dishes such as mini-Vietnamese crepes. Also referred to as banh xeo or sizzling pancakes, the turmeric-laced (hence its yellow hue) flour rice crepes come out steaming, served alongside herbs, hot and sweet dipping sauces and lettuce for forming wraps.

1623 London Rd., Duluth, 218-481-7595, phoholicduluth.com