First Guest Post: Sven and Ole’s Pizza

Today I am happy to introduce my first guest post on the blog—my mom! She recently took a trip up north to the Lake Superior north shore; more specifically the Grand Marais. She kept talking about this pizza place called Sven and Ole’s that she has to go to every time she is in the area, and apparently many people feel the same way! So I asked her if she’d be willing to do a guest post since this is such a “landmark” in northern Minnesota. So without further ado, my mom Lisa!!

Good morning all—hope everything is swell in your neck of the woods. I recently took a little summer vacation with a good friend of mine up to the Lake Superior North Shore. We stayed in a cabin right on the lake for 3 whole days and it was just what I needed for a mid-summer break. Cassie asked me to do a little recap of the trip and a restaurant review of Sven and Ole’s—enjoy!

 

Here’s our cabin, it was a 2 bedroom with the standard kitchen, bathroom and living room. I loved how the bed was lofted in this picture—very unique!

 

 

I had my needed dose of R&R. The weather was chilly at first, but thankfully it warmed up. I would love to live on a lake!

 

 

Another highlight of the trip was when we went into the town called Luetsen. Luetsen has the mountain called Moose Mountain which is the tallest in Minnesota. We took a gondola ride up to the top which left us with breathtaking views of rivers, wildlife, etc.

 

 

 

Now onto the restaurant review. Sven and Ole's Pizza is an extremely well known pizza place that was started in 1981 by 2 brothers who were 23 and 19 at the time inside a Wisconsin Ave. building. They had to close the first season to go to school, but reopened again and stayed open. It started as a summer project in their mother’s kitchen with 400 square feet and today has ballooned into 3,500 square feet and instead of 2 employees, they now have over 50!

A majority of the people come for their well-known pizza, but they do offer a variety of other things as well. Appetizers(from buffalo wings to garlic bread), salads(standard house to Asian chicken),frozen desserts(frozen yogurt to custard dishes), sub sandwiches(chicken salad to your standard veggie), and a random soup of the day. So your options are not limited to pizza—but of course that’s what we came for!

When you order they give you a cool cup with a number on it so the server knows where the pizza goes.

 

 

 

The decor is very Minnesotan as you can tell. And the restaurant overall is a very laid-back family atmosphere. If you are looking for fine dining, you will have to go elsewhere.

 

 

We ordered The Haviian Zah(The Hawaiian Pizza). It had Canadian Bacon, Pineapple, Mushrooms, Black Olives, Green Peppers, and Onions. The prices overall are pretty standard compared to other pizza places.

Overall the pizza was just as great as I remember it being last time! The crust is light and airy, yet chewy. They are not skimpy on the toppings—they loaded ours up with plenty of veggies, fruit, and meat. The Canadian Bacon was very thinly sliced which I prefer to huge chunks. And the whole thing was covered in the perfect amount of cheese. It’s some good pizza, so if your ever in the area make sure to pick up a slice(or two!) from Sven and Ole's Pizza!

Question of the Day: What is your favorite local restaurant that is well-known in your area?