Local Counsel with Jessica L. Durbin

Best restaurant  –  The New Scenic Café. It’s a short drive up the shore. The atmosphere is casual, the food is incredible, and you can wander through the garden and look at Lake Superior while waiting for your table. Order dessert, even if you think you’re too full to eat it.

Where to go after a loss  –  It’s been so long since I lost, I really can’t say.

Best thing about your office  –  My wonderful co-workers. My view of
Lake Superior is a close second.

Best breakfast spot  –  The Duluth Grill. I order breakfast, even if I’m there for lunch or dinner. The seven-grain porridge is very tasty.

Best lunch spot  –  At Sara’s Table Chester Creek Café. I don’t totally understand the name of the place, but the food is local, sustainable and delicious.  

Best place to reflect  –  I love to sit in the long hallway between Tower Hall and the Monastery at St. Scholastica. It is a warm, beautiful space filled with light and shadows.  

Best view  –  You can sit in the Leif Erickson Park Rose Garden and watch the sailboats race on Wednesday nights. It is one of our summer family traditions.

Favorite park  –  My family loves to hike through the little city parks near our house. We spend a lot of time on the trails along Tischer Creek and the Lester River.  

Best arts venue  –  A tie between the Minnesota Ballet and the Duluth Playhouse.  

Best movie theater  –  Zinema 2 in the Zeitgeist Center. It’s not your typical movie theater.  

Best local shop  –  The Duluth Kitchen Company. They have every kitchen gadget you can imagine, along with unusual and delicious jams, jellies, sauces and sweets.  

Best coffee shop  –  I am a cocoa (and tea) drinker, not a coffee drinker—something the previously mentioned wonderful co-workers tease me about. The organic coffee bar at the Whole Foods Co-op makes a great hot cocoa, as does Pelican Coffee over the hill. 

Best slice  –  Vitta Pizza. My absolute favorite is the Tomasso—prosciutto, goat cheese and arugula on an incredibly chewy crust.