New Scenic Cafe

After asking around for the best place to do a birthday dinner in Duluth I had an astounding number of recommendations for the New Scenic Café. About 15 minutes north of Duluth right on the lake, the New Scenic Café is another restaurant that is all about local, fresh, unique ingredients that highlight some of the best Minnesota has to offer.

I am very glad I made reservations, the place was packed at 7:30 on a Saturday evening. We had a cozy table that had nice lake views and a good chance to people watch.

The wine list was not overly impressive so we each opted for a beer, a Lake Superior Ale for him and a Rogue Hazelnut Brown Ale for me. Both were ok, not great, but definitely drinkable with dinner. Highlight of the drink choices? The waitress thinking I was born in 1991 and not old enough to drink. Thank you for making me feel so young  

Entrée choices were a seared duck breast and confit with butternut squash ravioli, beet greens, a cider sauce and a maple gastrique. One word. Amazing.

Perfectly cooked, the ravioli and the sauce were so good and I was tempted to lick the plate clean.

A ribeye with sea scallops, red potatoes, beet greens and a vin de glace. The steak was very flavorful and the scallops were actually cooked perfectly.

You can’t have a birthday dinner without dessert! A sea salt and caramel chocolate ganache. Worth every single calorie. Rich, creamy and a hint of saltiness. I would drive 2 1/2 hours just for that.

Cute little touch that added to the dinner? A journal where you wrote a little message about your meal and why you were there. I teared up at a few of the entries, so sweet!