Lake Superior's best south shore dining

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Bayfield hosts a classic, Door County-style fish boil!

We can't say enough good things about dining along Minnesota's North Shore of Lake Superior:Chez Jude and the Angry Trout in Grand Marais, the Lockport Store in Lutsen, Nokomis and New Scenic near Two Harbors, and the heavenly pies at Castle Danger's Rustic Inn. But the eating opportunities afforded by the lake's south shore--the Wisconsin side, that is--have been sadly unexplored by most Minnesotans. Fortunately, the Star Tribune's Rick Nelson took on the epic task of sampling baked goods, ice cream, smoked fish, (and whitefish livers(!) with peppers, mushrooms, and relish), cheese, and rounding up up the best south shore eats. The area's dining scene took a big blow when Kirk Bratrud's Boathouse in Superior closed last year, but Nelson found a bunch of reasons worth making the trek to the Apostle Islands:

Somewhere between going strawberry picking and eating foie gras at Jim Webster's posh Wild Rice restaurant, Nelson discovered a classic, Door County-style fish boil at Greunke's Restaurant in Bayfield: If you've never experienced one of these, the cooking process is fun to watch, as potatoes, onions, and whitefish are set to boil in a giant cauldron over an outdoor bonfire--especially if it's the kind of place that, when the fish oils slick the top of the water, adds a bit of kerosene to the flames causing the pot to boil over and spill off the oil. It's like a plate of Greek saganaki on steroids, the "ufda" version of "opa." And the boiled meal tastes pretty good, despite its bland, monochromatic look.