To be honest, I would not have expected to find such a delightful distillery in a very plain box…read morelike building in the middle of Brainerd. But oh what a great spot to stop with friends. Like wineries in the Midwest, I'm also very cautious about distilleries. Just because you can make Jenn or bourbon doesn't mean that you should. Not the case for this place. We tried an assortment of cocktails. I ordered one variation of a Manhattan and really enjoyed it. This place is punching above its weight. Highly recommend stopping in.

Let me say that this place has only gotten better as it has aged. This is perhaps my favorite…read moreplace in the Brainerd Lakes Area. I recently had a really nice Boulevardier. They have increased their wine products and gotten more creative with their menu, AND they are great at making up new drinks not on the menu. What has not changed is Bill and the great staff's excitement for their product and service. You need to go here.

Amazing experience! Al is awesome. Very knowledgeable and makes great drinks. The lowkey vibe is…read moresuper relaxing and fun!

Absolutely incredible drinks! This was the best espresso martini I've had! A nice spot with various…read moresearing options like tables, bar seats, and cozy couches. Our bartender was so kind and willing to accommodate to special requests and every drink she brought out was absolutely delicious. I highly recommend dropping in for a drink or two!

We always have a good time coming here! In the summer they usually have live music and it's a great…read morespot to have a drink by the water and relax. The prices are a bit high but I feel like you pay for the ambiance. They have vegan burger options which was great and we tried their green drink! Parking can be a little but limited on popular nights but it's free which is great.

Overall good experience, busy Saturday night yet everything went well. Cheese curds & tuna…read moreappetizers were great. Walleye tacos for dinner outside of being a little messy only because they were stuffed to the max, which was fine by me. I wish I could remember our servers name as she was the star of the show!

Met a friend for drinks in "downtown Brainerd" (I grew up near Merrifield and I swear I never knew…read moreBrainerd had a downtown!) and this was referred for its specialty cocktails. Naturally I don't drink those so the awesomeness of this little hole-in-the-wall place is wasted on me. That said, Rob, the owner/bartender, is a hoot. Great sense of humor, easy-going, and quick with a drink! It's cash or check only, but don't worry, there's an ATM on-site so you don't have to give him a look of panic when you realize you might not be able to pay for the drink you just ordered. The ambience was friendly (there was a game of darts happening, plus it seemed all the dudes there knew each other or were at least familiar -- I was the only female in the joint), but a bit warm + humid. I didn't have layers on and wished I would've worn a t-shirt to be able to strip down to. Plus the prices were cheap!

We love this place!!!! Always great friendly service and fantastic drinks!!! Great crowd !!read more

Everything about our meal was perfect!…read more Background: we've been to almost every restaurant within 30 miles of Crosslake, most many times. We somehow missed this place. We would rank this meal as one of our best in the area. I had the crab cake sandwich, upgraded to include the dinner salad. The sandwich is one of the best things I've ever eaten. And, am pretty sure the amazing blu cheese dressing was house made. I tasted my husband's food, and can confirm... his cheeseburger upgraded to have the Cesar salad and the shrimp bisque was FANTASTIC!!! Will definitely be back!

So many things to tell you(long post), I was searching the area near our summer rental for a good…read morespot for my birthday dinner. As I read the menu for this restaurant, I was getting that excited feeling that I stumbled upon a place where they really know good food. The Italian nachos looked promising as well as the reuben egg rolls. Sandwiches, wraps, burgers, oooh! What's this is see? Omaha Hereford ribeye? IMHO black angus is highly overrated. I love a good heffer! So we seat ourselves, the place is popping busy, they're having an all you can eat crab leg special this Friday night. We start ordering off the menu. Beverages to start, nothing fancy, just a good local craft beer and a summer mocktail. Appetizers, my birthday, I get to choose. I decided on the reuben egg rolls. For the main course, my bride orders the sirloin and I order the ribeye, we both get salad. The egg rolls arrive first, looking very homemade. OMFG, they are soooo good. Watch out for the juicy squirt (fresh sauerkraut). Ok, house salad - you'd think nothing special needs to be said about a house salad, we'll let me tell you, house made croutons, house made dressings. It's these small little touches that make a big difference. The steaks were fantastic, the sides perfectly done. The service- on point. The only drawback was the little black flies bugging my legs throughout our visit. But hey, it's northern Minnesota, it comes with the territory and can be easily fixed with a couple of Vector or Lavex bug catchers. Overall, I shall finish pontificating. My suffencies have been sorrencified!

Pet friendly patio was a huge plus which is in part why we chose this place…read more Ourt server was delightful and made great recommendations and brought us a little pup water bowl along with our waters. Food ordered: Onion rings Macaroni and cheese which is the good old kraft mac n cheese for kiddos. Rigatoni Jambalaya bowl Greek chicken salad with a lot of great vegetables. Green chick peas were tasty. Turkey melt Beet and grapefruit salad. Food selection was pretty decent, but prices were a bit steep. Service was excellent and the deck area was very charming and again, pet friendly which was a huge plus. Great place. Great service!

New place, so wanted to check it out. We decided to have happy hour with friends. We got there look…read morenice. Sat outside at a 8 top. Friendly service, plus the 3 appetizers we had were delicious. We also had mixed drinks plus try out the "You pour your microbrew" Where they give you a card. You go pour your owe beer. They charge by the oz. Seems like a great idea. Just make sure you can pour your brew correctly. You still pay foam. I like the place alot and recommend the Woods. However outside on the far side by the side parking lot. Beware of the walkway. Their is a dropoff. You could fall and hurt yourself. I noticed a few people didn't catch that and stumble. Hopefully management will place a yellow tap to bring attention to the dropoff. Check out the picture. I added text. I will be back for the food.

A fun stop on our drive home from the north. The space is dark, with an outer space theme. It also…read moreappears there is an enclosed patio, but it wasn't open the day we were there. There are some monthly specials, along with an extensive list of regular rotation cocktails. There is also a note, if you can dream it, they will try to make it. We had some BOGOs to use, so we tried a few different things. Hubs was a little disappointed that there was a drink with goat cheese that was sold out. It sounded so unique and interesting though! I had the Rover, a lemon raspberry gin fizz-like drink and the Peeps special. Both were light tasting, the Rover was delicious. Hubs tried the Gaia's Garden special, not my fave, but he enjoyed it. Worth the hour-ish drive from the cities or if you're up in the Collegeville area.

Welcome to the first stop of my Distillery Passport series! Obbink was an unexpected surprised…read morelocated in a somewhat industrial spot of St. Joseph. With family living near by I thought this would be a great location to begin my journey. As you pull up the spot looks quaint with a metal barn exterior and a large yard and tented patio. Walking in it felt very industrial chic, with wood and black metal interior design. The bartender was absolutely fabulous, we had great conversation and she was able to help my brother and I select a few cocktails that we could be interested based on our preferred pallets. The distillery has a main cocktail menu along with a seasonal menu with approximately 6-8 specialty drinks. My first choice 2.5/5 Rover Club - consisting of gin, egg white, raspberry, and lemon. The initial taste was nice, however the sweet of the raspberry and the sour of the lemon almost seemed to neutralize the drink leaving me wanting a bit more flavor. My brother's first selection 3.5/5 Golden Hands - consisting of whiskey, egg yolk, cinnamon, and lemon. I'm not a huge cinnamon fan like he is, however this had a nice consistency and could make a great drink for those looking for something outside of the box. My second choice 4.5/5 Aurora Haze - consisting of Aurora gin, grapefruit, and lemon. Their "grapefruit martini". This cocktail was right up my alley! The drink was slightly Tarte with a sweeter finish and the presentation was beautiful! I am a sucker for purple gins. Would most definitely return for this cocktail. My brother's second selection 4/5 French Toast - ingredients unknown. It was very creamy with a nice touch of cinnamon. It gave me the impression of drinking the leftover milk in your Cinnamon Toast Crunch bowl. This cocktail was my brother's favorite of the night. Overall this was a nice experience! Even though my first drink wasn't particularly my cup of tea, my last cocktail made me feel better about their selections! My brother also really enjoy his two cocktails. If you're looking for a new cocktail spot to try out, visit Obbink's!

Third time here and I really like this place. This time it was for breakfast and man was it good…read more The Brisket Scramble was amazing. Really good brisket with perfectly done eggs. Ask for the spicy sauce you like some heat. The Avocado toast was also tasty. Dinner or lunch has also been good with unique options and chef made food. Check out their cool cocktails. I has a really nice Paloma that was absent the grapefruit syrup that usually makes these too sweet for me.

We came here to celebrate in laws 64th Anniversary as Bar Harbor was Uber expensive…read more Wasn't very hungry and ordered Beet Burrata salad which was beets, arugula, vinegette and burrata cheese. Very good. We were a party of 12 and spent a lot of money on food and beverages. What deducts from a 5 star review is the $25 charge to cut a cake. Granted we were told there was a fee and we used their plates and silverware. The server even was given a slice. One relative insisted we needed a cake. Smh. Service was good.

A hidden-away-from-the-main-road gem. Food is absolutely delicious. And the service was wonderful.read more

Stopped by for dessert tonight. Soooo good. Always great…read moreservice. Thank you to the bartender for a great mocktail!