Best salmon ever!!!!! Thank you. I stop everytime near Duluth. Service is exceptional too.read more

My own personal mistake should not be a ding against the excellence that is Russ Kendall's Smoke…read moreHouse. Those who listen to my cautionary tale may end up fairing better for themselves should you decide to make the trek and find yourself at this magnificent smoked seafood counter. But first, for the love of god, if you are here you are a stone's throw from Lake Superior which is perhaps one of the best places for fish in the country. You may like salmon. Russ Kendall may do a great job with salmon. But don't sleep on those fish that were plucked from these frigid waters. This mindset had me eyeing the walleye and the jumbo whitefish sections. I wanted to buy both, but this was just one of many smoked fish destinations on my list for the week. I hate wasting food, and there is only so much my family can eat. Despite what others may suggest, I am not about to freeze beautiful smoked fish. My hope was that pieces in the case might be able to be cut down. But those hopes were dashed. I get it. That's fine. Policy. Mess. Time. Workflow. Yadda yadda yadda. The walleye pieces were big, but the helpful clerk found a smaller one just for me. Now, as the fish selection process was happening, more and more people were funneling into the shop. My wife was getting antsy. She wanted me to make up my mind and leave. And she had a point. However, that smaller piece was from the meaty and lean tail end of the fish. In a panic I gave the piece a thumbs up, and the clerk wrapped it up for me. This was my one great regret. Not just of this shopping trip, but of my whole vacation. I should have opted for a larger piece that was fat and juicy. That same helpful clerk did indeed find me a gorgeous hunk of lake whitefish that was delightfully fatty, and eating it made me smile with delight. Of course, different people can prefer different pieces of fish. Just like there are some chicken wing lovers who prefer the drummette and others who prefer the flat. If everyone liked the same thing, the world would be a pretty dull place. I guess what I'm saying is don't panic. Know in advance the cuts in the case are the cuts that are available for sale. Find the pieces that call you. If it ends up being a little more fish than you wanted, so be it. This stuff is so good you'll find a way to get it down without denigrating it to the freezer. For those who need crackers, like my wife and kid, there are sleeves for sale. As far as I'm concerned, those crackers are just taking up space in my belly that could be used for more fish. One last thing. Okay, maybe a few last things. Let's call it a lightning round: This isn't a restaurant. It's a takeaway smoked fish shop. It's small. It's busy. It's efficient. It's a regional treasure. Get there. Eat local smoked fish. Salmon isn't local to Minnesota. Get it fatty. Do not fear heads, or skin, or bones. The good stuff takes a little extra work, but it's worth it! You've got this. Now eat well.

Another satisfying visit to Sweeden Sweets. Actually, our best visit ever…read more Our grand daughter lives in Superior. She loves candy and so does grandpa - so we always stop at Sweeden Sweets when we're in town. This visit was more special than all the others as there was a very knowledgeable and kind man working the store (the owner?). He was so kind and so informative. He explained about their freeze-dried candies and let us try them all. We left with a LOAD of candy. Thank you Sweeden Sweets.

This was a super cute candy store! Definitely a kids dream! They even have the trendy freeze dried…read morecandy. Which I must say was very good! We had the gummy nerd clusters. If we weren't on a road trip we would have tried the ice cream parlor looks very cool and vintage. The service was good I would have expected very friendly for a candy store, but the young lady that helped us was friendly. They also have a cool make your own pixie stix thing that was awesome! I would say this is a must stop spot. Given the amazing candy art on the outside your kids will make sure you

Best smoked food in the world. I get the northern bagel every time and it always hits the spot. I…read moremake it a habit of planning my trips up north around a stop for a bite here. The service is great (a bit busy but that speaks to the quality). It's a cute little shop under the building and feels cozy.

Northern Waters Smokehaus is one of the most recommended restaurants in Duluth. Located…read moreconveniently in the center of Canal Park, we stopped by on a sunny Wednesday early afternoon, hoping to score some of the best sandwiches in town. Even though this was well past lunch time at 2PM, the outside patio was packed and there was a line of 10 people or so to contend with to order at the register. Due to how busy it was, our food took about 20 minutes to arrive. The Squealy Dan, Porketta ($16) - Unlike most other restaurants with Iron Range Porketta, Northern Waters slices their porketta thinly instead of pulling the pork apart. It has a pleasant spiced flavor and the texture feels as if it's cured rather than roasted. It's relatively tender, and while they give a decent amount of meat, it's completely overshadowed by the heavy spicy quality of the black pepper and the acidity and vegetalness of the crunchy pepperoncini. There's a bit of melted gooey provolone on top of the porketta. While nice, there's not enough to balance out the peppers. This is all on a crusty almost baguette-like hero roll, toasty and warm. The sandwich is served with a side dip that's essentially black pepper and pepperoncini water. Definitely not needed given how overwhelming those elements are in the sandwich. (3/5) Pastrami Mommy ($19) - I haven't had bison pastrami before. Now I know why it's not very common - it's way too lean and dry compared to beef pastrami. Still, it's nicely spiced and peppery, and there's not much of the bison gamey flavor since it's cooked out from the curing. There's a little bit of mayo underneath and some mustard on top, but it's not enough moisture or fat in my opinion to counteract the leanness of the bison. While there are some slices of provolone above the meat, they are served cold. I feel like melting it with the pastrami on the griddle would do wonders to help develop some more unctuousness. It's also served on cold rye - perhaps toasting with some butter would also help. Otherwise, the sandwich is just too dry and lean for my tastes. (3/5) I feel like I ordered the wrong items. I probably should have gone with some of the seafood sandwiches, but I found it strange they only serve Atlantic salmon rather than local lake fish. In the end, I appreciate that Northern Waters Smokehaus makes most of their meats in house, but after trying their food, I feel like it's more hype than substance. Bathrooms - Larger ones located upstairs, shared with the rest of the businesses in the mini mall. Note: Northern Waters Smokehaus charges a 3% credit card fee. This is disclosed on a sign at the front register. Food: [3/5] Service: [ ] Other: [+] Final Rating: 3/5

We stopped in here to get a dog bone for my pup and had a wonderful intereaction with the employee…read morebehind the counter. I could assume it's the owner, but unsure. We talked about dogs and their habits and his dog loving these bones (which he was right, mine loved it too). The inside was BEAUTIFUL, we popped in on a whim, it smelled amazing and they had a huuge variety of meats. Im really looking forward to stopping by again!

A week or two ago, after a long day at work, I wondered into old world meats. I always liked the…read moreplace but hadn't been there for a long time. I was instantly greeted and asked what I was looking for. It was right about then that my eyes adjusted from the bright outdoors light to the inside light. I realized they were clearly not open for business; the door was just unlocked and there were a few people working inside. I felt a little silly. I apologized and started heading for the exit. A man (I assume the owner) engaged me in conversation and told me that they had closed for a few months during the dead of winter but would be opening in the near future. We had a short, conversation about the meat business, how they had installed a new smoker out back, and other small talk. He then went and got the meat I was looking for out of the freezer and sold it to me despite being closed. It was not an expensive order by any means. Probably hardly worth the time it took him to find it. It's experiences like this that make you want to go out of your way to give a place your business.

What a fantastic gourmet goods store! On one side of the hallway are snacks, sweets, and cooking…read moreingredients plus some accessories, while the other portion of the store has a large selection of home and kitchen products. I specifically prowled for cheese and found a nice cooler with mostly domestic cheeses plus other chilled things like fancy butter, mustard, and meat.

The staff (which was rude when I made the purchase) made a mistake with my order, and I had to go…read moreout of my way to return to the store to get it corrected since I'm not from the area. When I arrived, I was left standing there while the employee helped multiple other customers before fixing their mistake. On top of that, the interaction was rude and the process took far longer than it should have. Mistakes happen, but how they're handled makes all the difference. This was very disappointing customer service.

Here's a GREAT coffee shop that has lots of other foods, including cheese, pizza, frozen meats, and…read moreon & on. We stopped for coffee bought other things too. We bought dill pretzels and buffalo pretzels, string cheese and smoked provolone.

Great pizza. Awesome ice cream in many flavors…read more FTmrrbisned cooperative. They take pride in their cheese products.

This market is located at the top of the hill near the university campus. I visited for one reason,…read morecheese, and I found four new ones for my stash. They had a strong selection of import and domestic cheeses, plus many accompaniments.

Nice produce and meat department . people. Dairy too! The store is clean and its appearance is good.read more

After a particularly painful physical therapy session I decided to treat myself…read more I stopped here because I wanted to try a locally owned business; I'm new to the area. The place is clean and tidy, there was a line, but it went quickly. The team behind the counter seemed like they were working well together. The person who scooped my ice cream was friendly and offered me a cup and spoon in addition to my waffle cone. I really appreciate this since it was a hot day. The only other thing that could be better about this place is if they had one or two non-dairy ice cream options. Otherwise, great spot!

At King Of Creams, you get good service, smashburgers that are available in 1/4 lb 1/2 lb, 3/4 lb…read moreand 1 lb sizes, and wickedly good (and spicy) fried pickles. Definitely worth a stop if you're in Duluth.