Grand Forks: A History of American Dining in 128 Reviews Read online

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to all the people who have the gumption to work so hard in restaurants across our land.

  It is also dedicated to the memory of my daughter Carol Hagerty Werner and in honor of her husband, Curt, along with my daughter Gail Hagerty and her husband, Dale Sandstrom, and my son, James R. “Bob” Hagerty, and his wife, Lorraine. And especially to the eight grandchildren who brightened the last days of Grandpa Jack Hagerty and continue to make my life worthwhile. They are Jack Golden; Carrie and Anne Sandstrom; Curtis, Mariah, and Anna Werner; and James and Carmen Hagerty.

  Contents

  Dedication

  Foreword

  Introduction

  If Food Isn’t Right, Diner Should Speak Up—Softly

  Neon Lights, Burgers, Malts Are Topper’s Trademarks

  Mr. Steak Aims to Be the Gathering Place for Birthdays

  Krumkake Served with Scones at High Tea in Bismarck

  The Pantry Brings Blue Plate Back to Grand Forks

  Gramma Butterwicks Has Soup, Pot Pies Waiting

  Pear Tree Is Place in the Pink for Leisurely Dining

  Chuck House Is Good Place to Be “Out to Lunch”

  Sonja’s Hus Has Cheery Blue and Red Norwegian Décor

  At the Tomahawk, They Roast the Whole Turkey. People Go to the Highway Cafe for the Kind of Meals They Used to Eat at Home: Meat, Potatoes, Pie.

  Shore Lunch Adds Another Dimension to Food in Mall

  Andrew’s Steakhouse Is Gem Along U.S. Highway 2

  Royal Fork Serves Sunday Dinners Every Day

  Frenchy’s Cabaret Has New Menu with Combo Options

  Downtown Explorers Discover Dinner in Pantry

  Dinner and Theater Make “Fantastick” Evening

  Gordy’s Cafe Specializes in Home-Style Cooking

  Gramma Butterwicks Has a Healthy Heart Menu

  Norma’s House of Goodies Is Filling Station in the Mall

  Bronze Boot Expands Its Dining Area, Shrinks Lounge

  Taco Bell Is Like a Cool Pastel Oasis on a Hot Day

  East Side Dairy Queen Offers Soup to Blizzards. Flow of Customers Begins with Early Breakfasts, Ends with Late Evening Snacks.

  Two Subway Stations Running on Washington Street

  If It’s Thursday, It’s German Cuisine at Sanders 1907

  Crisp Fruit Pizza Pies Call You Back to Happy Joe’s

  Big Sioux Is Surrounded by Trucks with Engines Idling

  VFW Diner Offers Publike Ambience and Basic Menu

  Dacotah Passes the Poached Egg Test with Flying Colors

  Luncheon Buffet Sports Nifty Spaghetti Sauce at Shakey’s

  Palace Casino Offers Excitement with Burgers and Salads

  Whitey’s Offers Eclectic Menu with Art Deco Ambience

  No One Goes Away Hungry from New Players Bar & Grill

  From Pâté to Pears, Dinner at Sanders 1907 Is Unique

  Lumpy’s Offers Yet Another Version of the Sub

  Ronald McDonald Is Now at Home in East Grand Forks

  Royal Fork in Columbia Mall Has Mammoth Array of Food

  With Lights Down Low, Pantry Turns into Le Pantre for Dinner

  Señor Howard’s Menu Features Pizza and Mexican Foods

  Steak, Lobster Combo Stars in Bronze Boot Repertoire

  Inge’s Bavarian Cuisine Offers German Specialties

  Beaver’s Brings Potatoes and Gravy to East Grand Forks

  Tortellini Is Soft, Warm and Like Soul Food at Big Al’s

  Bit of Norway in City Center Mall Builds a Following

  Gramma Butterwicks Serves Good Food, Nothing Fancy

  Whitey’s of East Grand Forks Thrives on Keeping Status Quo

  County Coffee Court to Feature Soup du Jury, Statute Stew

  Red Lobster Offers Seafood in Landlocked North Dakota

  GF Goodribs Is Warm, Cozy Haven on Cold Winter Night

  John Barleycorn Bakes Up Mean Lavosh in Columbia Mall

  Bonzer’s on Fourth Still Excites Taste Buds After 10 Years

  Open Kitchen at Sanders 1907 Gives Diners Front-Row Seat

  Windmill’s Sunday Brunch Just About Takes the Cake

  Even Without Quiche, Lunch at Passages Is Grade A

  Noel’s Spices Up Legion with Indian-Pakistani Fare

  Mexican Village Buffet Is an Adventure in Cuisine

  Diners Shouldn’t Tarry If Going Out to Applebee’s

  Halstad’s Kaffe Huset Epitomizes Small-Town Cafes

  Al’s Grill Awaits Discovery in Corner of Parrot’s Cay

  Sanders 1907 Never Lets Its Customers Down

  Arby’s Adds Another Dimension to Fast-Food Scene

  Noel’s Brings the Sweet Smell of Curry to Downtown

  “Ruth and Cherie Show” Goes On Daily at Dacotah

  It’s No Bologna—Minto’s 10th Annual Sausage-Making Extravaganza That Is Held Each January Is Not Your Average Cooking Contest

  Red Lobster Reels ’Em In with Seafood, Biscuits

  Bit of Norway Fits the Bill for Syttende Mai Meal

  Blarney Mill Would Make Any Irishman Smile

  Cozy Millennium Cafe Pays Extra Attention to Presentation

  Red River Cafe Rightly Claims Spot in New Downtown

  Specials Pull In Customers at the 42nd Street Eatery

  Lutefisk, Lefse Greet Holiday Diners at the 2-29 Cafe

  The Blue Moose Bar and Grill—Little to Criticize, Lots to Love at EGF Restaurant

  Royal Fork’s a Homey Delight—You’ll Find Plenty of Old-Fashioned Meat and Potatoes

  Twilight Dinners Are a Draw at Ramada—Walleye Is Most Popular Choice off the Menu

  If It’s Monday, It’s Chicken Wings at Players

  Lola’s Captures Flavor of Italy

  Sanders Is Cream of Crop

  Classics Keep Customers Coming Back to Quizno’s

  Late-Night Grazing Enhances Sanders 1907 Repertoire

  Touch of Magic Caters to Lovers of Cheesecake, Fine Dining

  Diners Can Tee Off on Good Food at Eagle’s Crest Grill

  Dinner at Lola’s: Everything from Polenta to Fried Leeks

  Take In Dinner, Play at Starlites

  Sachi Serves Sushi at Kon Nechi Wa’s in Grand Cities Mall

  Irishman’s Shanty—Far More than a Supper Club

  Stormy Sledster’s Makes a Lively Addition to the Downtown Scene

  Flashy Cooks, 13 Sauces Await Mongolian Grill Diners

  “Expect Something Different” When You Go to Mamaz

  Sarello’s Calls with Curried Sea Scallops, Lobster Ravioli

  Whitey’s Continues to Offer a Fine Dining Experience

  City’s Only Japanese Restaurant Doubles Size in New Site

  Great Wall Offers More than 100 Choices on a Vast Buffet

  Paradiso Completes Expansion, Almost Doubling in Size

  3rd Street Slowly Builds Up Clientele

  Panda Buffet Features Unique Mongolian Stir-Fry

  Suite 49 Establishes Itself as a Force in Less than a Year

  Boot Marches Through 52 Years of Business in Grand Forks

  Capone’s Puts the G in G-Man

  Sirloin Tips Top Menu at Al’s Grill

  Toasted Frog Takes Its Place in Downtown

  Dinner at Capone’s: A Rare Seven-Course Production

  Golden Corral Buffet and Grill Offers Endless Selections

  North Side Cafe Features More than Everyday Cooking

  Blue Moose’s Creative Menu Changes with the Seasons

  New Bowl Meals Prove to Be Very Popular at KFC />
  Tavern United Would Make an English Pub Proud

  Greater Grand Forks Offers Diners a Variety of Restaurants

  Tasty Smoked Salmon Salad Draws People to Suite 49

  People Know Their Dumplings at Viking, Minn., Restaurant

  Pumpkin Figures Into Fall Menu at ’l Bistro Canad Inn

  Toasted Frog Brings High Energy to Downtown Scene

  Eclectic Menu Keeps EGF Applebee’s Up with the Times

  Pear Tree Menu Takes On an Appealing Italian Flavor

  Wendy’s Shows Low-Cost Fast Food Is More than Burgers

  Mashed Potatoes, Gravy Go Over Well at Kitty’s Cafe

  Fosston, Minn., Cafe Serves Unique German Hamburger

  Mexican Fare Draws Crowd to Forest River on Wednesdays

  Del’s Ushers In Holidays with Lutefisk, Lefse, Dumplings

  Little Bangkok Strikes Chord with Sushi, Traditional Thai

  Winnipeg Woman Finds Loss of Whitey’s Devastating

  Babylon Offers a Chance to Experience Old World Cuisine

  Kon Nechi Wa’s Japanese Cuisine Goes Well Beyond Sushi

  Cajun Cooking, Hot Wings Draw Diners to Parrot’s Cay

  Diners Find the New and Old Appealing at Mexican Village

  Ruby Tuesday’s Vast Menu Offers Many Healthy Choices

  Positive Vibes Permeate in Newly Refurbished Whitey’s

  Southgate Serves Up Tasty Food, Fun at Bargain Prices

  Creativity Helps Blue Moose Stay Ahead of the Game

  Long-Awaited Olive Garden Receives a Warm Welcome

  Elegant Food, Impeccable Service Define Le Bernardin

  Sleek, Large New Fuji Offers Japanese Cuisine with Flair

  About the Author

  Credits

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

  Foreword

  by Anthony Bourdain

  If you’re looking for the kind of rapturous food porn you’d find in a book by M. F. K. Fisher, or lusty descriptions of sizzling kidneys a la Liebling—or even the knife-edged criticism of an A. A. Gill or a Sam Sifton—you will not find it here.

  The territory covered here is not New York or Paris or London or San Francisco. And Marilyn Hagerty is none of those people.

  For twenty-seven years, Marilyn Hagerty has been covering the restaurant scene in and around the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota, population approximately 55,000. She also, it should be pointed out, writes a total of five columns a week, about history and local personalities and events, in addition to her writing about restaurants and food. As one might expect, she knows many of her subjects personally. Given the size of her territory, it is not unusual for her to write about the same restaurant two or more times in a single year. In short, she is writing about a community that she is very much a part of.

  If you knew her name before picking up this book, it was probably because of her infamously guileless Olive Garden review, which went viral and caused a tidal wave of snarky derision, followed by an even stronger antisnark backlash, followed by invitations to appear on Anderson Cooper and the Today show, dinner at Le Bernardin, an appearance on Top Chef, an Al Neuharth Award, a publishing deal—a sudden and unexpected elevation to media darling.

  Why was that?

  What is it about the eighty-seven-year-old Ms. Hagerty that inspired such attention and affection?

  Why should you read this book?

  Of the seven thousand pages of articles and reviews I read while assembling this collection, there is little of what one would call pyrotechnical prose. Ms. Hagerty’s choices of food are shockingly consistent: A “clubhouse sandwich,” coleslaw, wild rice soup, salads assembled from a salad bar, baked potatoes. She is not what you’d call an adventurous diner, exploring the dark recesses of menus. Far from it. Of one lunch, she writes: “There were signs saying the luncheon special was soup and a Denver sandwich for $2.25. In places where food service is limited, I tend to take the special. I wasn’t born yesterday.”

  She is never mean—even when circumstances would clearly excuse a sharp elbow, a cruel remark. In fact, watching Marilyn struggle to find something nice to say about a place she clearly loathes is part of the fun. She is, unfailingly, a good neighbor and good citizen first—and an entertainer second.

  But what she has given us, over all these years, is a fascinating picture of dining in America, a gradual, cumulative overview of how we got from there . . . to here.

  Grand Forks is not New York City. We forget that—until we read her earlier reviews and remember, some of us, when you’d find a sloppy joe, steak Diane, turkey noodle soup, three-bean salad, red Jell-O in our neighborhoods. When the tuft of curly parsley and lemon wedge, or a leaf of lettuce and an orange segment, or three spears of asparagus fashioned into a wagon wheel, were state-of-the-art garnishes. When you could order a half sandwich, a cup of soup. A prehipster world where lefse, potato dumplings, and walleye were far more likely to appear on a menu than pork belly.

  Reading these reviews, we can see, we can watch over the course of time, who makes it and who doesn’t. Which bold, undercapitalized pioneers survived—and who, no matter how ahead of their time, just couldn’t hang on until the neighborhood caught up. You will get to know the names of owners and chefs like Warren LeClerc, whose homey lunch restaurant, The Pantry, turned down the lights to become the sophisticated French restaurant Le Pantre by night. And Chef Nardane of Touch of Magic Ballroom, who, in his 6,200-square-foot space, served cheesecakes inspired by Debbie Reynolds and Elizabeth Taylor and envisioned an exclusive private membership club with frequent celebrity entertainment. And Steve Novak of Beaver’s Family Restaurant, who, when Marilyn visited his establishment, spoke of reviving his beaver act, complete with costume, for birthday parties.

  And you will understand why the opening of an Olive Garden might be earnestly anticipated as an exciting and much-welcomed event.

  Ms. Hagerty is not naive about her work, her newfound fame, or the world. She has traveled widely in her life.

  In person, she has a flinty, dry, very sharp sense of humor. She misses nothing.

  I would not want to play poker with her for money.

  This is a straightforward account of what people have been eating—still are eating—in much of America. As related by a kind, good-hearted reporter looking to pass along as much useful information as she can—while hurting no one.

  Anyone who comes away from this work anything less than charmed by Ms. Hagerty—and the places and characters she describes—has a heart of stone.

  This book kills snark dead.

  Introduction

  When I started writing about restaurants in a weekly column called the Eatbeat, I never dreamed it would catch the attention of Anthony Bourdain or that it would lead to dinner at Le Bernardin in New York City.

  All I was thinking was that I write for the Herald—the daily newspaper in Grand Forks, North Dakota—and as features editor thirty-some years ago, I wanted to have a restaurant review. After all, I would dine with writers from the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the New York Times when I attended annual meetings of the Association of Food Journalists. We traveled annually to major cities, to Hawaii, to China. They talked of their restaurant reviews.

  My favorite pastime is eating. I know how to cook. Long ago, I memorized Betty Crocker’s Picture Cookbook and the Joy of Cooking. I have edited two cookbooks for my church.

  Why not have a restaurant review in Grand Forks? I asked myself. But how could I do it?

  We don’t have that many restaurants in our city. So I decided it would work if I went to every restaurant in town. That would mean places such as Taco John’s, McDonald’s, and the truck stops. To me, these places are interesting. And plenty of people eat in them.

  To broaden my Eatbeat coverage, I visited neighboring towns. Dinner or lunch and a drive make a nice outing.

  Thus began my routine of reviewing restaurants in the circulation area of the Grand Forks Herald. One review led to another. When
I traveled in Portugal, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Shanghai, London, and Brussels, I took the Eatbeat with me. Readers told me they enjoyed the travel and dining experiences vicariously. Twice, I have eaten in the White House; once with the American Society of News Editors and once with the Association of Food Journalists.

  My goal with the Eatbeat is to tell readers of the Grand Forks Herald what is available in restaurants and how much it costs. How clean it is, and how the service is. And yes, the condition of the restroom, because it sends a message. Then when readers come in from around the area they know what to expect.

  I write the Eatbeat as a reporter—not as a critic. This is not Los Angeles. It is not New York City. What point, I wonder, is there in tearing down some hardworking restaurant people? Sometimes I point out pluses and minuses. And if a place is just too bad, I move on. I don’t write about it.

  Some people berate my Eatbeats. Many more tell me they read and enjoy them. Years ago when Herald publisher Mike Maidenberg told me he liked what I wrote, I felt I had the green light to keep going.

  I go in unannounced, but by now plenty of people know who I am. That just makes it more fun. Since the Eatbeat was my idea and I like to eat anyway, I have always personally paid for my own food at restaurants I review. No expense account. I thank those in restaurants who occasionally offer to give me a free meal. And when I explain why I cannot accept, they understand and they appreciate my insistence on not being subsidized.

  Over the years, restaurants have come and gone. This is a tough business. Here in Grand Forks, there are more chain restaurants now than the home-owned restaurants we used to know. Some longtime residents of Grand Forks may recall the Golden Hour, downtown, where they served heavenly halibut. It’s long gone, along with the Ryan Hotel, where they offered lemon pie with mile-high meringue. Gone, too, is Jacoby’s Hamburger Heaven, where I would rather go than to a fine dinner. And gone is the A&W Root Beer place where we ate with the kids in the backseat. Only the Kegs Drive-In with its sloppy joes remains from the olden days. The servers used to be on roller skates. People still are drawn back there when they come for high school reunions.

  If Food Isn’t Right, Diner Should Speak Up—Softly