Visit Bluff Country

By Charlene Corson Selbee

Whether you’re a resident or a visitor, enjoy a self-guided historic walking tour in downtown Harmony while enjoying a wide selection of mouth-watering culinary entrees, baked goods, desserts, and drinks found only in Harmony.

Your first stop is the Harmony Visitor and History Center where you can pick up a copy of the historic walking tour map. The Center is located at 15 2^nd St. NW, next to the town’s historic McMichael Grain Elevator, built in 1879.

Before heading out on your tour, take advantage of the clean restrooms at the Visitor and History Center. Pick up a copy of Visit Bluff Country to extend your visit in Historic Bluff Country. If you have any questions about Harmony or the surrounding area, make sure to ask the knowledgeable and helpful volunteers at the Visitor and History Center. The Center is open Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and closed on Sunday.

The interpretive signs listed on the map are located along Main Avenue which runs north and south through the town’s rich historic downtown district. Take time to read the signs as there is a lot of interesting information written and photos of the town and the buildings you will be visiting.

Your first course is at Breakers, a deli, coffee shop, and ice cream shop all-in-one. It is housed in a quaint Victorian pink and green cottage just across the parking lot from the Visitor and History Center. Select from an array of cold drinks, smoothies, malts, or specialty coffees to take with you or enjoy on the colorful outdoor patio. If it is closer to noon and you are hungry, enjoy a fresh deli sandwich before heading out on your self-guided tour.

Estelle’s Eatery & Bar is the perfect stop for appetizers made from scratch. The pork nuggets, barbacoa nachos or wings are this visitor’s favorites. An all-time favorite Midwestern dish is beef stroganoff. Estelle’s has added a large outside patio and offers music throughout the summer. The appetizers are so good it is recommended that you share an order, so you can try more than one.

An All-American restaurant with a Rt. 66 theme, new to Harmony but not new to Southeast Minnesota is The Bite. The restaurant previously called Lanesboro home. Burgers, wings (bone-in and boneless), salads (veggie, steak, Asian, and Mediterranean chicken), onion rings, French fries, cheese curds, pickle fries, pizza, ice cream, and daily cheesecake specials round out the menu at The Bite. The restaurant also offers a bite size menu for children. Creativity and one-of-a-kind entrees go together. Each week the restaurant offers a hamburger of the week. One week it was a hamburger topped with peanut butter, pickles, and bacon. Every month they serve a different specialty pizza. One month the specialty pizza, “I like it Elote,” was out of this world. The thin crust was topped with Mexican street corn sauce, roasted corn and pepperjack cheese finished off with chili powder and cotija cheese. Definitely, a five-star pizza. You can’t go wrong ordering the pizza of the month.

Indoors and outdoor seating are available at Harmony Spirits located one block off main street, just across the street from the grocery store. There is a locally crafted drink for every taste bud. Their Vodka, Rum, Gin, Whiskey, and Bourbon Whiskey are produced from locally sourced grains.   Their Pina Colada is a favorite of this visitor.

End your day at On the Crunchy Side, an American Bar & Eatery, for a relaxing evening in a historical building. The restaurant/bar is decorated for every holiday. The one-of-a-king “yuppie” cuisine prepared and served by friendly owners and staff will not disappoint you. The restaurant offers a variety of activities, live music, dances, darts, pool, and a variety of other activities. Made from scratch and delicious.

If you made it to Harmony in time for breakfast, check out Gabby Lou’s Kitchen. The quaint family friendly restaurant is open from 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Enjoy a down-home breakfast ranging from fried eggs, hashbrowns and toast, French toast, biscuits and gravy, omelets, breakfast tacos and burritos. You will also find a wide selection of baked goods to eat in-house or take with you at Gabby Lou’s Kitchen. The staff is very friendly and helpful.

Enjoy your visit and make plans to come back for another visitor.

For Luke and Ashley Bibby, of Elgin, Minn., they found their family hiking partner back in 2014 at Camp Companion in Rochester, Minn.

The day they met, Luke thought they were heading to Home Depot to run some errands.  His wife, Ashley, had a surprise in store.

She had applied to adopt numerous dogs, and finally connected with the one they would end up taking home.

Maggie, a Belgian Malinois, was a rescue dog from the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.  As Luke said, “They had an unfortunate incident there, so the authorities kind of had to round up any dogs that weren’t for sure in homes.”  That’s how Maggie ended up Rochester.

Their veterinarian estimated Maggie was around four months old when Bibbys took her into their home.

Over the years, there have been a lot of adventures with their growing family.  Luke, Ashley, their two girls, and Maggie like hiking the trails at Carley State Park near Whitewater, along with trails up around Frontenac and the Wabasha area.

During their hikes, Luke likes to snap a few pictures.  He has submitted quite a few that have been published in the magazine and on the Visit Bluff Country social media platforms.

This year’s magazine cover shows Maggie leading the Bibbys down a path that narrowly disappears into the sea of Bluebell flowers that only show their presence in April and May each year.

Maggie, now 12, was not only the inspiration of this year’s cover, but also the shirts the team at Visit Bluff Country Magazine is giving away each week over the next several months.  The shirts show an image of a dog similar to Maggie with the words “Eat. Play. Sleep.”  That’s the life of a dog, and that sounds like a pretty good life.

For those interested in adopting, Camp Companion currently has 42 dogs looking for a good home accessible at www.campcompanion.org

We also encourage readers to submit photos for next year’s magazine, sharing the unspoiled scenic beauty of History Bluff Country.

Thanks to Luke and Ashley for sharing their story about Maggie, and for helping us make this year’s cover extra special.

Every pizza is unique and there are so many options for you to enjoy pizza in the Bluff Country area. You will find Family friendly, entertainment, outdoor seating, your favorite crusts and toppings and many other unique options. We hope you get to visit and try out these outstanding Pizza’s and Flat Breads.

Whether you have already tried these or are planning to visit, don’t forget to Vote for the Best of the Best in Bluff Country, which enters you into a drawing to win big!

Prizes include:

• Gift Certificate to spend at Rochester Indoor Golf Center in Rochester, MN ($1,000 value)
• Gift Certificate to spend at Decorah Bicycles in Decorah, IA ($1,000 value)
• Green Mountain Grill Ledge Prime+ Pellet Grill ($800 value)
• Poly Outdoor Furniture ($3,600 value)