• 1. Where to Stay
• 2. Where to Eat
• 3. What to Do
• 4. Insider’s Tip
• 5. An Oddball Day

Enjoy hearty fare and homespun décor at the Gateway Lodge.    (Photo: Gateway Lodge courtesy of Jumping Rocks Photography)

Admire the hand-hewn chestnut walls at the Gateway Lodge, tucked deep in the Cook Forest. Earthy dishes like cornmeal-dusted mountain trout, ($26) and venison cranberry ragout ($39) make up most of the menu, but Länder’s wild forest mushroom agnolotti ($21) is a standout option for vegetarians.

Bite into an elk burger ($6) next to hunters at the bar at the Benezette Hotel. Mounted deer and bear heads adorn the walls, and only three menu items exceed $10.

Bag some Korv ($4; a Swedish beef and pork sausage) and homemade pickled herring ($5) at roadside market Jack Bell’s Meats in Kane, a former Swedish settlement. The place has been a local fixture for 39 years; ask about the popular grillers, a roulade of beef, cheese, and vegetables.

Published on Nov 4, 2010 as a web exclusive.