Lake Country Feeds

Norway Ridge Supper Club
This fifty-eight-year-old family-operated lakeside eatery on the site of the old Norway Ridge Resort in Pequot Lakes is a sentimental favorite. Located on a small rise, just a few yards from the shores of Kimble Lake, it is the type of scratch-cooking country-style eatery that all up-North restaurants ought to be. Tables line the large picture windows—tree boughs are regularly trimmed to allow everyone a peek at the lake below. There are fireplaces galore, a stone smokehouse out back, a honeymoon suite, a nook for slot players, a glut of popular homemade sauces and dressings sold by the pint, a grandma who makes the cheesecake, and a small but impressive wine list. The ribs, stuffed mushrooms, broiled seafood, roast duckling, and sourdough batter-dipped vegetables are all superb. Meals include soup, homemade rolls, and salads with the famous dressings. Open April–December.

Prairie Bay
The fancy newcomer to these parts is two-year-old Prairie Bay, tucked in the rear of a strip mall by the highway in Baxter. If this restaurant was on the water it would be turning away customers twelve months a year. That said, when I go north, it’s hard to get excited about a contemporary American bistro that seems like all the big-city restaurants, but if duck confit cassoulet, bouillabaisse, tuna carpaccio with tapenade aioli, or wood-fired smoked-salmon pizzas are what you crave—served by fawning waiters who can’t pronounce the names of the dishes, in a room dominated by an Arts and Crafts motif—then this is your Valhalla! The first chef here was Tim Anderson, formerly of Goodfellow’s, but now Matt Annand is doing a great job under very tough conditions when it comes to sourcing ingredients and staffing. Anderson took over the stoves at Iven’s on the Bay, a local favorite that burned to the ground last winter. If Prairie Bay could move to Iven’s location, it would be one of the best destination restaurants in the state. Just a thought.