Stopped in for fried chicken lunch at the Stone Inn on a Wednesday. Had a long drive afterwards so…read moreskipped the beers on tap. Fried chicken was excellent. Good enough so that I changed dinner plans and skipped a favorite restaurant so I could eat my chicken leftovers for dinner instead. Off my beaten path but if even sort of in the neighborhood will return.

The only redeeming quality was the sweet server we had which we will give them 1 star. We left…read morehungry. I ordered ribeye with double the veggies for the side and received rib eye thinner than a deck of cards and a large portion of brocolli that had been steamed with mold on the tips and part of the top of the stalks. Server offered a replacement or side to take home. I respectfully declined. The management took $4 off the check. Would have been nice to have my 2 root beers comped instead. Oh, well! Also, the decor is Interesting. However, for an indoor venue, flies were EVERYWHERE! We were swatting them the entire meal. Do yourselves a favor and skip this joint.

Sis and I took a last-minute Thursday late afternoon roadtrip up Hwy 8 due to a FB Marketplace…read morepickup. It was dinnertime and I asked the Seller a restaurant they recommend in the area. She told us The Northern and to make sure to order the cheese curds. Looking at the menu before hitting the road again, sis and I knew the place was for us: burgers, sandwiches and wraps. Pulling into the parking lot was easy. Even though looked full, we were still able to find a spot. I want to note the gorgeous view of the red barn/farm across from the pond when pulling in. I noticed a patio on the North side of the building, which would put this farm in your view. We did have about a 20 minute wait for a table for 2. The restaurant looked busy from what I could see. Once we were brought to out table, I then noticed that the bar seating was pretty much open. Had I known, we might have elected to just sit at the bar. However, I asked for menus right away so that we could at least ponder it during that 20 minutes. We were sat at a high top right near the kitchen door. Being able to see all the food come out, I changed my mind on what I was going to order almost 10 times. We asked for the cheese curds as soon as we were greeted by our waitress. OMGosh! They were in the shape of cubes, deep fried to golden perfection. The outside had perfect firmness from the fryer. The inside was gooey, salty white cheese. Perfect just by itself. It did come with a ranch dipping sauce that was just so yummy. It reminded me a seasoned sour cream. The waitress didn't know the brand of the cheese curds (ie. Ellsworth) but did say the ranch was homemade Sis ordered the Great Northern Burger with French fries. She's a fan of BBQ sauce, bacon and onion rings on a burger. Fries were nicely seasoned, long, soft and semi-skin-on (not crinkle or steak fries). Burger was huge and worth the $15.99 price tag. I settled on the BOTM, the Nacho Burger, with tator tots. Toppings included nacho cheese, Fritos chips, bacon, diced/sliced jalapenos. The tator tots were one of the best I've ever had. Again, seasoned nicely. And the perfect ratio of hard outside crunch to soft inside potato. The Nacho burger was huge too....and messy with the nacho cheese. The Fritos did get a little soggy at the end. The bacon was under the melted cheese. And there were plenty of jalapenos hidden under the meat patty. Those were easy to discard so I could control how many fiery peppers were in my mouth at one time. Was service slower than normal? Yes. Was the service friendly? Yes. Was it worth the wait? Also YES! I would definitely recommend (I already have to my coworkers.) for anyone who loves gourmet burgers. They also have a nice variety to the sandwich, wraps, tacos and flatbread menu. I will just have to take the 40 minute drive again to try something else.

Embracing my Swedish/ Norwegian side checking out the lovely town ofLindström today. Well known as…read morethe town with the teapot water tower just north of Forest Lake. Along with a tasty lunch in Chisago. @thenorthernlaketavern wrapped up our visit with a tasty lunch. We enjoyed the chicken and garlic flatbread, and a mushroom Swiss burger with tots. Uffdah what a fun day! Hoping everyone can find some Hygge in your days.

Popped in last Saturday afternoon for a few brews and burgers; Tony's did not disappoint. Service…read morewas great, and the onion rings were pretty fantastic. Having had mediocre onion rings everywhere else, they were large, crispy, and a generous portion. Pull tabs were hot; quite the line to try your luck, but the bartender multi-tasked with ease and made sure everyone was getting served in a timely manner. Will definitely be back this summer!

We love Tony's Bar & Grill in Center City!! We stopped in for a burger and a beer, and to check…read moreout and support the new bar. The place looks great with barn wood walls, and big flat screen TV's to watch a football game. The food was great- served hot and fast, with a smile. Tony's has a pool table, full bar, and live music on weekends, and 2 for 1 drink specials during their "Power Hours". Thank you Tony's Bar & Grill for another great food option and bar in the Center City, MN area area!

Less Uffda, More Lefse: that's what this place is about! We…read morethought the service was lacking, especially for a Saturday morning (a relatively popular time for them). Since this was our first time, we had no idea that it was a 'seat yourself' type of place and there were no signs indicating so. We stood at the door being stared at by the patrons and the employees. It took several minutes for someone to tell us we could sit wherever. Finally, our waitress stopped over, took our drink order, but because we weren't ready, she left. She didn't come back for more than 15 minutes. She did apologize, but it was far too long. Prices were reasonable and two specials were offered - our kinda place! My husband took part in one of those specials and ordered the country fried steak and eggs. I ordered the regular steak and eggs. We did substitute an order of toast for the Swedish pancakes (gotta!) It took a really long time for our food to come, which was disappointing. Food did come out hot and my husband was a big fan of the country fried steak. I didn't think the Swedish pancakes were anything I would HAVE to order a second time, but I'm glad we tried them. The hashbrowns were probably the highlight of breakfast. A waitress did stop by with a dum dum for kids, which was a cute added touch!

Stopped in with a friend, after going for a walk. Our usual place was closed, so we found this one…read moreand decided to give it a try. It has a small town, local hang out feel to it. There are plenty of tables that aren't crowded too close together. Staff was extremely friendly. Everyone around us appeared to be eating breakfast, and it all looked good. However, since it is a Swedish restaurant we decided to order the meatballs and lefse. Both had average flavor, but wasn't anything special. The gravy on the meatballs were under whelming. I don't think I would order them again but I definitely want to go back and try their breakfast.

This place was the perfect breakfast/brunch spot. The way the restaurant was laid out was great…read more They have a bar area, a restaurant and a patio with a good flow, but also felt cozy for each type of dining environment. The patio has a view of the lake and a few yard games on the lawn. The food tasted very home style. The breakfast tacos were very filling and the flavors and textures were complimentary. Service was attentive and the staff were all friendly. They have parking outside.

We drove by and were really hungry so we pulled in. We we so glad we did! It is such a quaint…read morerestaurant. They pull off the "at the lake" feel well. The staff was friendly and helpful. Our food came out quickly and was delicious. Makes me want to go back and try more items!

It's a family owned cafe that has great breakfasts, which is served all day!! Their Pizza is…read moreFANTASTIC!!! Service is always great and I love that they deliver from late afternoon until close!!

Arrived at 8:30 on a Friday night, sat down and the server immediately told us they were no longer…read moreserving chicken or pizza, it was too late. It says they are open till 9:00pm, but obviously the cook and the owners don't care what the customer wants. They should change their hours then if they are not going to serve the full menu till 9:00pm. So, we ordered the Chicken Parmesan to take home, because it was obvious the workers there were more intent at leaving as soon as they could than properly servicing customers. Upon arriving home to eat our meal, the chicken was so tough that we had to get a steak knife to cut it, and was like chewing on a rubber ball. Bad service, bad meal, never going back there again and I definitely will not recommend this place to anyone.

Great service! Tif is a great bartender. She's fun, friendly and knows what her regulars like!…read more Lots of activities! Lots of TV's, sports, darts, pool table, pulltabs, juke box, drink specials, games, patio, plenty of seating Cribbage and cornhole tournaments Food was delicious! I had the grilled chicken ranch wrap with fries. Ordered the grilled chicken and it was perfectly grilled to add flavor. The ranch was really good! The cheeseburger with a side of baked beans was great! Everyone loved the Clam chowder soup and crackers and the baked beans! Deep fried mushrooms with ranch were a hit! They had Downeast Cider- black berry or mixed berry. Either one is tasty and sweet! Lots of drink specials for wild games! This is the spot to be!

The service is great, friendly and the food is great. Have a huge burger done perfectly and the…read morebroasted wings...can't go wrong!

If you like MALTS!! This is the place! The restaurant in…read moreSwedish Village has a hamburger & malt special for $4.95 It's not fancy but has Swedish motive and is clean. There is a small gift shop inside. The hand carved canes are $37.00 ( that is a great price, by the way) The prices are outrageously reasonable and they have even better priced senior meals. The hamburger was hand made and the bun was grilled but it came bare, otherwise. they did ask if I wanted onions. They have a salad bar (small one) in the back room and I am sure they wouldn't mind if you took a piece of lettuce to put on your burger. I had mine just with ketchup &mustard and it was tasty! A small burger, comparable in size of fast food burgers but the patty was way thicker than fast food, The LINGONBERRY malt was insane! I had to be careful not to get brain freeze! What a deal! I will stop here every time for that malt!!!

GREAT PLACE! Old school greasy spoon. If you know that saying then you should stop by. Order soup…read moreand 1/2 sandwich for under three bucks. Another fave is the malts.

Small town dive bar that will attract us city-folk back to the area! lol…read more The food was great, and the prices are really reasonable. The burrito bowl came in a literal serving bowl it was so huge (also VERY spicy), the fries are those great battered seasoned fries, onion rings were excellent, my dad loved the inferno burger. And mini donuts were a fun treat! Reminded us of the state fair. They have awesome daily deals from $1 burgers to BOGO wings. Pull tabs, friendly service, and without giving too much away, I'll just say they are very supportive / protective of women's safety which is extremely appreciated in a bar setting :) I look forward to coming back here on my trips through town!

As we approached Smitty's Bar & Grill in Chisago City, MN to grab some lunch on Saturday, two…read moremiddle aged males (one much larger than me) were standing by the doorway smoking. The two started yelling and threatened both my wife and I. They threatened that if we went in Smitty's they would come in and kick our butts (not the language they used). As we walked through the door one of them said look out for the owner, he'll kick your butts too (not the language that was used), he doesn't want you in there either. FYI - There was a protest going on a coupe blocks away on Hwy 8, I'm pretty sure they thought we were part of it. The men followed us into Smitty's and we immediately told the woman behind the bar what was happening. The bartender/woman showed us no concern when they followed us in. The two men stayed in the immediate area where we were as we spoke to the bartender. By the bartender/woman's response, my guess is the two men both are regular customers. My wife asked her to call the police, she refused to call and told us we should call the police if we felt threatened. We decided to not have lunch as we really felt safe and the management apparently allows this type of goonish behavior in their establishment. As we left, the large man followed us on to the sidewalk and started verbally abusing and threatening us again as we quickly walked to our vehicle. Smitty's in Chisago City, MN is not a place to patronize if you are looking for a non-threatening place to have a burger and a beer. We left without trying the food because of the bullying by the two customers and employee/management. The bartender's response or lack there of, made it clear we were not welcome in Smitty's Bar & Grill and only made us feel less safe. We do not recommend Smitty's Bar & Grill. Our experience was frightening when approaching Smitty's, while in Smitty's and when we left Smitty's Bar & Grill in Chisago City, MN. If we could give zero stars, we would. FYI - I'm in my seventies

Perfect spot to be for a bit! The bartender/server was friendly and working hard. I'd go back if I…read moream in town again!

Nice greeting by our server who was was friendly and attentive throughout lunch. We arrived before…read morenoon and while there was only a couple of occupied tables, the bar was about 80% occupied with the local crowd who obviously enjoy a late morning beer (or three). The Grill has plenty of TVs a couple of pool tables, a pull tab booth, etc. The restroom was O.K. The cook, whom I greeted the couple of times he passed by to pick up supplies stored in the dining area, needs to smile or at least acknowledge a customer when they say "hello." I kinda had a "feeling" after looking around, including a peek into the kitchen and reviewing the menu, I ordered Chicken Fingers and tots something you typically can't screw up). My friend, who didn't have the same "feeling," went outside the safe zone and ordered a Taco Salad with chicken. Oh well, I warned her. The food arrived pretty quickly. I was right when ordering the chicken fingers. They arrived hot and the serving was plentiful (see photo). Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for my friend's salad, which she described as her "worst salad ever." The chicken was the worst ever...chicken was old, seemed pressed and was chewy. The salad had very little lettuce and the "shell" was almost flimsy...obviously old. Our server removed the remaining salad and never asked if everything was OK. She's obviously become used to the lousy food and offered no comment. If you're passing through the town, don't make the mistake of stopping here. There MUST be a better option...but if not, keep driving.