and Breakfast near Ely, right on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe

Area Wilderness, but if you have a sense of humor, it is worth a visit. When

my friends and I arrived, we were greeted by Roy Misonznick, a middle-aged

guy in a ponytail, who informed us that if he could have reached us before our

arrival, he would have offered us $5 a piece to go eat at Hardee's instead.

Who wants to cook when the temperature is above 90 degrees?

It turns out that Misonznick is from New York City, which explains a lot.

He's smart, funny and has a lot of attitude.

When time came to clear our table, Misonznick announced that he would try

to find the waiter. When the diners at another table offered their compliments

to the chef, Misonznick speculated that the chef was probably back in the

kitchen, drunk out of his mind.

The joke being that Misonznick, who formerly worked in public television in

the Twin Cities, is the waiter, the chef, the maitre d' and the dishwasher.

At the Blue Heron, reservations and menu selection must be made 24 hours in

advance, and can be done online

(http://www.blueheronbnb.com).Misonznick's repertoire literally covers the

globe -- from Thai noodles, Vietnamese spring rolls and Italian pastas,

Moroccan lamb, Korean bulgogi beef and Spanish paella.

We could only sample a few of the dishes, with mixed results: The crab cakes

($6.95) were delicious, but the vegetarian sushi ($9.95) disappointing -- only

one variety, and the rice was too dry.

The pecan-crusted walleye ($16.95), which one companion found

exceptionally good on a previous visit, was a bit bland, but the Moroccan

lamb chops with homemade harissa sauce ($19.95) were delightful. So were

the desserts -- a coconut cream pie and a dish Misonznick billed as lemon

strata. It started life as a lemon mousse, Misonznick explained, but it