Birch's Restaurant

• Cuisine(s): American
• Hours: : Mon.-Sat. 4 p.m.-11 p.m.; Sun. 10 a.m.-2 p.m., 5 p.m.-10 p.m.
• Features: Patio/Sidewalk Dining

Description

Birch's roadside supper club on Highway 12 in Long Lake serves younger diners in baseball caps and tank tops who look like they just hopped off their Harleys, alongside older patrons in khakis and sweaters who look like they just docked their yachts. Burt Joseph, a Minneapolis caterer, took over the former home of Ravello, made the cuisine more casual, and put in a big bar. Among the list of pizzas, sandwiches, walleye, and fried chicken, the zucchini fries were the standout. They tasted like a hybrid of French fries and eggplant Parmesan and were good enough that a kid actually set down his portable video game to sample a few.