Community Directory

Taverns and supper clubs

• Ninemile Supper Club. Lake Street. Relish tray, prime rib on Saturdays, and a view of the lake from every table, including the ones that face the parking lot.
• The Sand Bar. East Main, Sand side. Potato pancakes made with potatoes grown within sight of the door. Level floor, as they will tell you.
• The Bluffside Tap. West Main, Bluff side. Fourteen steps up from the street. Cheese curds, a ham-and-roll plate, and a strong sense of having earned it.
• The Tilted Silo. County Highway QQ. Built into a silo that leans four degrees toward the lake. Soup stays in the bowl if you sit on the uphill side.
• Curd & Anchor. Third Street. Named for the curds and for the anchor over the door, which is far too large for any boat that has ever been on Lake Ninemile. It was there when the building was bought.
• QQ Roadhouse. County Highway QQ, past the Lindqvist marsh. Good burgers and a Friday perch plate. Currently four-tenths of a mile farther than it used to be; they are honoring old directions.
• The Seventh One. Nobody is certain of its name. The sign says OPEN. Everyone agrees it is on a corner, and most people agree on which one. The pie is excellent.

Churches

• St. Ansgar’s. Main Street at Second. Services let out at 10:15, sharp, by long agreement with the Supper Club kitchen.
• Marsh Road Lutheran. Marsh Road. Lets out at 10:30. Coffee in the basement first; the coffee is not strong, and there is a great deal of it.
• Lakeside Methodist. Lake Street. Lets out at 10:45. Home of the fall quilt show and the good folding chairs.
• Bluff Chapel. Ridge Road, Bluff side. Sixty-one steps up. Lets out at 11:00, with the best view in town on the way down.
• Old Ninemile Church. Lake Street. Closed since April; see the Community Bulletin. The congregation meets in the school gym and lets out at 10:30. The building’s bell rings at noon.

Sunday after-church specials

By tradition, most of the taverns run a Sunday special timed to a particular congregation’s letting-out. Bring your church bulletin and show it at the door. Nobody checks which church.

• 10:15, Ninemile Supper Club. Chicken and dumplings, with a free slice of pie for a bulletin.
• 10:30, The Sand Bar. Potato pancakes with applesauce or sour cream. You may not have both. This is a rule from 1958.
• 10:30, The Tilted Silo. The Old Ninemile special, still honored in good faith: beef and noodles, and a bottomless cup of coffee, which at that angle is harder than it sounds.
• 10:45, Curd & Anchor. Curds and a grilled cheese, which is the same thing twice and nobody has ever complained.
• 11:00, The Bluffside Tap. Ham-and-roll plate. Sixty-one steps down from the chapel and fourteen back up to the door.
• All morning, QQ Roadhouse. Pancakes for anyone who set out for a different special and did not allow for the extra four-tenths of a mile.
• The Seventh One. Has a special. Regulars describe it as “the usual” and decline to go further.

Other places to know

• Community hall. Main Street. Fish fry, wedding receptions, and a clock with its own views.
• Xvaren Public Library. Second Street. Hours are on the Services page.
• Historical Society. The old depot. The train has not stopped here since 1961, although the bench is sometimes warm.
• Lake Ninemile landing. End of Lake Street. Public dock, picnic tables, and a sign giving the lake’s depth as “sufficient.”