The Northern Nerd

My favorite times of year to spend in the kitchen are fall and winter. There’s something about the oven heating up the room and the smell of fall flavors wafting throughout the house. Cinnamon, brown butter, cardamom, allspice, apple - my mouth is watering just thinking about it. It’s when spending hours baking and trying new recipes just feels right. There’s one fall staple that seems to work its way into everyone’s lives this time of year - pumpkin. Lattes, chai, pie, cooki

Everywhere you go to grab a bite to eat or a cup of coffee touts themselves as being world famous or the best in the state, but rarely do those eye-catchers deliver. Most businesses use these words as a marketing means. (Hey, it worked on Buddy the Elf with the “world’s best cup of coffee.”) But when Betty’s Pies claims that they are world famous, they mean it. With around 700 pies being made daily and shipped nationwide, Betty’s Pies in Two Harbors, MN is a must stop for any

Louie's Bar and Bites has become a hometown favorite in the Hayward area.

I don’t know if it’s allowed or not as a “foodie”, but I have a favorite restaurant. I’ve put off talking about it because I don’t feel like I will be able to do the restaurant justice, or that my words will be able to accurately describe why I love it so much. I don’t even know if there are words to explain the feeling. I have to give it a shot though, so that if you haven’t gone yet, you will just hop in your car and go there and experience for yourself why I love this plac

If you are looking for a destination restaurant, Pine Brook Farms might be the ticket! Located 8 miles from downtown Spooner, it’s nestled in the middle of nowhere in some of the farmland of the north woods. About two years ago, husband and wife team Jason and Michele Martell converted a 65-year-old farmhouse into a charming restaurant located on 85 acres of picturesque farmland. Jon and I turned onto the dirt road that leads to the restaurant and it was as if we were turning