Five coffee table books More books to give to the

to give (or for yourself). E2 Top 10 Features section in the nation pet lovers on your list. E9
Awarded by the national Society for Features Journalism (2021)

S U N DAY, D E C E M B E R 12, 2021 S TA R T R I B U N E . C O M / VA R I E T Y • S E C T I O N E

VARIETY

The Bridge chairlift ascends through the middle of the condo village at Eagle Ridge Resort, part of the sprawling Lutsen Mountains ski area.

Check in, For novice skiers, the best part of a ski vacation isn’t the fresh pow-
der and the black diamond runs. It’s the lodge.
After all, winter nights are long. Skiing is exhausting, so we need a
hot tub, with or without a time machine. Indeed, we want the nostalgic

ski out
lodge atmosphere of a 1980s ski movie — or at least the bittersweet
Alpine romance of Wham!’s video for “Last Christmas.”
At the same time, the serious skiers in our party want a place to
stay that thrusts you right into the downhill action — a true “ski-in,
ski-out” experience.
Does Minnesota have all that? Not all in one spot, we found out
when we checked in at three of the state’s biggest ski resorts as the
2021-22 season was getting underway. But the midrange rentals we
surveyed were impressive.
In search of a cozy ski-lodge experience at The hokey but charming log-cabin decor of North Woods resorts
was mostly a thing of the past at these beloved destinations. All had
Giants Ridge, Spirit Mountain and Lutsen. fully modern and fully equipped kitchens, quality beds, electric fire-
places, working Wi-Fi, smart TVs (with one exception) and comfort-
Story and photo by SIMON PETER GROEBNER able new furniture. All had some form of hot tub.
simon.groebner@startribune.com See SKI on E5 Ø

My scattered kid is a lot like me From musician to dessert person

L AU R A Y U E N a brilliant description for
my creative, distracted sec-
It was one of ond-grader.
those books Filling out a question-
so engrossing naire in the book, I showed
that I didn’t no mercy while judging his
see the twist ability to remember where
coming. he put his hat and gloves,
The neuro- or whether he could stick
psychologist who diagnosed to a morning routine before
my firstborn son with atten- school. No surprises here.
tion deficit hyperactivity But a few pages later, I
disorder (ADHD) recom- had to evaluate myself as a
mended it so I could better parent. On a scale from 1 to
understand how my oldest 7, the book implored, how
was wired. The title, “Smart would I rate myself on the
But Scattered,” seemed like following statements?
“No matter what the task,
I believe in getting started as
soon as possible.”
“Procrastination is usu-
ally not a problem for me.”
“I have a good memory
for facts, dates and details.”
“It is natural for me to
keep my work area neat and
organized.”
Welp! Who wrote this
book, and how do they have
a window into my dishev-
eled, free-spirited soul?
When COVID-19 shut
down classrooms last year,
See YUEN on E6 Ø
Tenor is nearly through
goal to make every recipe
in “Dessert Person.”
By NICOLE HVIDSTEN
nicole.hvidsten@startribune.com
Barrett Radziun has never
been one to take the path most
traveled.
Growing up in Cambridge,
Minn., he first set his sights
on being a scientist, then an
eye doctor. But somewhere
along the way, between the
piano lessons that started in
second grade and high school
theater, what he thought was
a hobby became his calling.
“I started taking voice les-
sons with a teacher in Ando-
ver, and she was the person
who told me, ‘You know, I
think you could make a career
out of this,’ which I hadn’t
considered at all,” Radziun
said. “And so I did, and I never
looked back.”
So what led the performer
and vocal professor to start
baking his way through the
bestselling cookbook “Des-
sert Person”? Chalk it up to
the pandemic, a grandmoth-
er’s influence and a timely
viewing of the movie “Julie
and Julia.”
Radziun’s foray into the
kitchen started where many
do, at Grandma’s house. Mary
Dahlgren lived close by, and
was what Radziun calls a
“fantastic cook and an amaz-
ing baker.”
As a kid, the two would
bake together, and he recalls
her pulling out all the stops
for the holidays. In true Min-
nesota fashion, a quick trip to
See DESSERT on E4 Ø

Your Home for Holiday Entertainment!

“Magnificent!”
– Pioneer Press

CUT LOOSE
“Polished, pizzazz-y, to the rockin’ rhythm of its
The ChanhassenDT.com • 952.934.1525
captivating!” Perfect super-charged Top 40 score!
– Star Tribune
Holiday Proof of COVID-19 vaccination
Gift or negative test required.
CLOSES JANUARY 22! OPENS JANUARY 28! See website for details.
S U N DAY, D E C E M B E R 12, 2021
Check in, ski out: Minnesota ski lodging
ø SKI from E1
In the delta-cum-omicron
era, skiing remains a rela-
tively safe outdoor activity.
But once indoors, we also need
amenities that are safe and
uncrowded. Here’s the best we
sampled at the three resorts,
along with some things they
could do better. (In general,
look for ski-and-stay packages,
midweek offers and multinight
deals to get the best rates, espe-
cially later in the season.)
Giants Ridge:
The Lodge at Giants Ridge
The state-owned, privately
run Giants Ridge near Biwabik
boasts top-rated golf courses
in the summer, but turns its
attention to skiing in the win-
ter. The “crown jewel of the
Iron Range” features 35 runs
across 165 acres, with 500 feet
of vertical drop. Giants Ridge
has also added a suite of down-
hill fat-biking trails, serviced
by the same chairlifts. There’s
even a snow-tubing park.
At the heart of the complex
is the Lodge at Giants Ridge:
a three-story, 67-suite, arc-
shaped hotel at the base of the
slopes. From the bed in a one-
bedroom “hillside premium”
suite, you can watch the skiers
coming right at you from the
ambling Cat Track run.
The interior-corridor lodge
is not strictly ski-in/ski-out,
but you could fairly call it “ski
right up to the building.” It’s
also a starting point for an
extensive network of Nordic
ski and snowshoe trails.
The vaulted lobby pays
tribute to classic park lodges
of the early 20th century, with
an adjacent 1980s-style game
room and bike parking room.
Our suite (we paid $201 on a
Thursday) featured 12-foot
ceilings, a small fireplace, two
basic TVs, an induction cook-
top in the kitchen and the
requisite pine furniture, but a
promised whirlpool was miss-
ing. It wasn’t worth complain-
ing about, but we wondered if
we had been downgraded. The
front desk did grant a one-hour
late checkout upon request.
The communal hot tub,
meanwhile, offers that same
great view of the ski hill, but it
was mobbed with 12 to 15 peo-
ple at night (despite a posted
COVID-era capacity of five),
26K Freestyle & Classic | 12K Freestyle & Classic | 5K Fun Ski | 2K Para Nordic Cup | Youth Races | 10K & 3K Skijor | Fat Bike Races
A skier descends the Bridge Run at Lutsen Mountains, past the entrance to a condo unit at Eagle Ridge Resort.
plus many fully clothed guests
lounging around the pool area.
Earlier in the pandemic, the
lodge was taking reservations
for the pool, but it currently is
not. Tip: Strategize on shared
amenities with an early or mid-
day visit.
The Burnt Onion restaurant
in the chalet next door serves
craft brews and northern com-
fort food (think walleye, burg-
ers and more walleye, plus wall-
eye tacos) to skiers and snow-
mobilers in a spacious, luxe
dining room. Despite evidence
of a small bar/restaurant in the
lodge itself, however, there’s
no breakfast served at Giants
Ridge — or at any of the resorts
we visited. We settled for Pop
Tarts from the sundry shop.
The lodge is worth it for
anyone who wants to be in
the middle of the action at
Giants Ridge. It was plenty
cozy, but ultimately this place
is designed to make you go out-
side, not stay in. (6373 Wynne
Creek Drive, Biwabik; 1-218-
865-7170; lodgeatgiantsridge.
com)
Off-site pick: If proximity
to the slopes isn’t essential, we
can vouch for the Green Gate
Guest Houses 4 miles away.
These four unique homes in
the woods are the work of
engineer Shawn Callahan,
from a repurposed 1890s Finn-
ish tiny cabin that sleeps two,
to a classic “barn home” for
five. They’ve recently added
an apartment “Gasthaus” in
German-flavored downtown
Biwabik. (greengateguest-
houses.com)
Lutsen Mountains:
Eagle Ridge Resort
With 95 ski runs across
1,000 acres on four mountains,
plus sprawling views of Lake
Superior and up to 1,088 feet
of vertical drop, Lutsen Moun-
tains is enormous by Minne-
sota ski standards — and an
expansion is being proposed.
But the skiing is intimate for
guests of Eagle Ridge, one of
two lodging options inside the
Nordic-flavored ski area (the
other being Caribou High-
lands Lodge).
All 75 units are ski-in/ski-
out — some more conve-
niently than others. Skiers on
the popular Bridge Run take
an overpass across Ski Hill
VA R I E T Y
the bare aspens. The bed-
Eagle Ridge Resort room near the entrance had
Lodge at
(Lutsen Mountains) no view. Second-floor condos
Giants Ridge and “mountain view” studios
Grand
Marais promise a more elevated vista,
M I N N E S O TA but our lower position in the
169 Virginia heart of the bustling ski area
61 Lake felt like a cozy secret.
US 169
Superior Creature comforts included
53
Silver
ver Bay stone countertops and a large
Roku TV. You can unwind in
Mountain Villas
the resort’s big outdoor hot tub
(Spirit Mountain) — which feels safer in the open
air — and watch dusk descend
Duluth MN over daunting Moose Moun-
35 tain, which you may or may
WISCONSIN not have just conquered. For
20 miles
dinner, nearby Papa Charlie’s
Source: OpenStreetMap EDDIE THOMAS • Star Tribune
Saloon & Grill is the go-to, with
your choice of the barroom
or an intimate dining room,
plus pizzas, burgers and local
beers and ciders. There’s spo-
radic live music of the singer-
songwriter variety on the bar’s
broad stage.
We had to check out —
which is done via smartphone
app — 15 hours early, ironi-
cally because of a blizzard that
could have made it impossible
to drive home on Hwy. 61. But
we would happily have been
forced to hide out, work and
play for a few more days from
our Eagle Ridge abode. (445 Ski
Hill Road, Lutsen; 1-800-360-
7666, eagleridgeatlutsen.com)
Off-site pick: We’re espe-
cially enamored of the Lutsen
Sea Villas, a set of one- and
two-story townhouses front-
ing Lake Superior with a Scan-
dinavian, late-midcentury,
wood-paneled flair. They’re
under the new management
of Odyssey Resorts. (odyssey-
resorts.com/lutsen-sea-villas)
Spirit Mountain:
Mountain Villas
Duluth’s underrated Spirit
Mountain is an urban oasis of
Photos by SIMON PETER GROEBNER • Star Tribune winter and summer adventure,
The Mountain Villas, top, are 14 hexagonal homes on pedestals with 22 ski runs and a 700-foot
near the top of Spirit Mountain. The Lodge at Giants Ridge, descent. While the adjacent
above, sits at the base of the downhill and Nordic ski area. Mountain Villas are not an offi-
cial part of the resort, they are
the only major lodging option
Road, then carve a turn around four and starts at $189 with a on the big hill.
Building A of the Eagle Ridge two-night minimum (we paid They’re perched at one of
compound. One chairlift even $493 for two weekend nights the singular locations in Min-
ascends right through the mid- with a holiday special, which nesota: where upland plains
dle of the mountainside condo included a two-day lift ticket). collide with the deep St. Louis
village. You could almost reach The private ground-level bal- River Valley, beginning a steep
up with a ski pole and touch a cony off the living room was descent to Lake Superior. This
snowboard (but please don’t). nestled in the woods, with is where the Superior Hiking
Our one-bedroom “Superior Moose Mountain and a pinch of Trail, the scenic Skyline Park-
condo,” in Building D, sleeps Lake Superior visible through way and the Willard Munger
Hyland Lake Park Reserve
Bloomington, MN
ThreeRiversParks.org/SkiRennet
S TA R T R I B U N E • E5
state bike trail all converge.
All 14 Mountain Villas are
hexagonal structures on ped-
estals, resembling a cross
between a toadstool ring and
an Ewok tree village. They’re
an architectural fever dream
of the 1970s, which also makes
them so very Duluth. Villas 5, 6,
7 and 8 have direct hike or ski
access to the top of the ski area
and the Skyline Chalet. Villas
9 and 10 overlook the chairlifts
and the action on the Powder
Monkey run.
The villas are all privately
owned vacation homes, so each
has been remodeled individu-
ally. We scrutinized online pho-
tos of the available units, and
stopped looking when we got
to villa 3, the Ridgewood, with
an image of a queen bed oppo-
site a floor-to-ceiling window
with a panoramic view. Villas 1
through 4 are a short additional
skate to the ski park.
The two-bedroom Ridge-
wood was the right call, with
a surprising amount of fresh
updates: granite counter-
tops, leather furniture and a
newer one-person jacuzzi in
the larger of two bathrooms.
A wraparound six-person
balcony with high Adiron-
dack chairs would make the
unit heavenly in the summer,
as well. Check-in and check-
out was via lockbox and we
never encountered any staff,
the norm for vacation rent-
als these days. We booked it
at $190 midweek, but were
charged only $152.
We fell asleep gazing across
the Duluth Harbor at the dis-
tant lights of Park Point and
the Aerial Lift Bridge beyond.
We were awakened, in turn,
by a searing Superior sunrise.
High winds at night led to a
screeching sound from some-
where above the ceiling, but it
was easy to overlook because
the rest of the experience was
so damn comfortable.
And to think that our idea
of good lodging around here
used to be the old Red Roof Inn
on Interstate 35. Skiing or not,
Mountain Villas are among the
best places to stay in Duluth,
period. (9525 W. Skyline Pkwy.,
Duluth; 1-218-624-5784 or
mtvillas.com)
Simon Peter Groebner
Instagram: @simonpeter6