Bigfork Wilderness Bar & Liquor (Bigfork, MN)

The One Voice choir descended upon the town of Big Fork, Minnesota to perform at The Edge Center that evening.  Of course, the beer sub-group of the choir headed to Bigfork Wilderness Bar & Liquor.

For a town of 446 people (and tourists), the beer selection is pretty good. Ten taps with New Belgium Ranger IPA for the hoppy end with Fat Tire, Leinie's Honey Weiss, Nordeast and Shock Top as examples of the range. More than exceeding my expectations and my Ranger IPA was fresh, well served and the lines are clearly very well maintained.

The gang filled nearly every seat in the place.  What we didn't understand was the bar wasn't really a restaurant but a bar with a single deep fryer.  When the orders inevitably backed up in spite of the frenetic efforts of the staff, we took the bartender's advice and ordered a cheese pizza from the Pizza Palace across the parking lot. I walked over, ordered and they delivered to our table a local, thin crust pizza with a bit of spice that even went well with my Ranger IPA. Had we read the note on the food board that we could order from next door, it might have been better logistically for all.  Hindsight.

We so overwhelmed the place that glasses ran low and I drank from a plastic cup the whole time.  The beer was so well served that even the plastic cup had a nice lace.  On the way out, I specifically complimented the wait staff for the fine job they did handling the beer.  Not only was the hoppiest beer in the tap line fresh and clean, but I sipped on several others among our group and all were similarly well served.  

As a result of drink, laughter and a couple of games of darts (all of which I lost in spite of my best efforts), we saw very little of the town of Bigfork beyond the bar.  The walk over the bridge from the performance center to downtown was picturesque.  Many in the choir reported enjoying Scenic State Park and, while walking back, we caught our friends laughing under the bridge as they paddled their canoes back to the rental office.  And, the dusk drive from to our hotel in Grand Rapids on Highway 38 was so beautiful that I felt like we were hiking on that incredibly curvy road.  We may have to return to see what else we missed.  Overall, our stop in Bigfork was one of the most fun, relaxing times of the trip and, when I find myself this far into the Minnesota Northwoods again, I won't hesitate to stop for pizza and a beer in Bigfork.