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FEBRUARY 28, 1996
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The parking lot at the Red Lobster was jammed at noon on Ash Wednesday. And employees look for brisk business on Fridays during Lent. It happens every year.
The restaurant is one of more than 700 Red Lobsters in the United States and Canada, and it has been in operation here for four years. It has a strong following of people who hanker for seafood, and others who say they just go there for the garlic cheese biscuits.
I always welcome a chance for lunch at the Lobster, and I often order the grilled chicken salad ($5.35). That was my choice when four of us met for lunch last Wednesday. Corinne Alphson ordered the same. Donna Gillig settled for New England Clam Chowder ($2.50 a cup and $3.75 a bowl). Irene Fossum chose a seafood Caesar salad with lobster, shrimp and scallops ($5.99).
We meet at the Lobster occasionally during February and March, when the rest of our bridge club is keeping warm in Arizona or Florida. We find it a comfortable place to have lunch, visit and play cards. Staff members at the Red Lobster are cordial and accommodating. They bring us more ice water. They watch over our shoulders as we play.
The chowder is good. And DG says it’s plenty. The seafood salad rates at least a B-plus, if not an A. Lunches at the Red Lobster are in the $5.99 to $6.99 range. That is, if you drink water. Coffee or tea is $1.20. Milk is $1.15.
You get the biscuits with the crisp, garlic and cheesy crust with your meal. And if one isn’t enough, you can have more. The grilled chicken salad is an ample serving, nicely spiced. It’s as much or more than you can eat. I often wonder what the dinner salad is like. If I ever get out at night, I will report on that.
Meanwhile, I have heard glowing testimony about dinners at the Red Lobster. The restaurant introduced a new menu last week, with many of the old favorites and new features. Meal prices range from $9.99 to $18.99. Of course, if you want live Maine lobster dinner, it’s more. The price fluctuates, and most recently has been $24.35 for a 1-pound serving. Dinners include the garlic bread, salad and your choice of a potato or vegetable.
I like the Red Lobster menu because it has a symbol for Lighthouse selections that are low-fat. However, I have a hard time finding things on the menu. Maybe it has too many pages. Maybe it’s the flaps. Maybe it’s the slippery covering. Maybe it’s me.
The place has a Cape Cod feel, with banks of big windows framed in rich, dark wood. Tables and captain’s chairs are also in wood. Walls are cream-colored and covered with items of interest, including blackboards listing the catch of the day. Restrooms are clean, convenient and roomy.
Red Lobster continues to operate in Grand Forks.
Bit of Norway Fits the Bill for Syttende Mai Meal
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MAY 15, 1996
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Uff da!
I know it doesn’t fit in with light eating, but I ordered meatballs and potato dumplings when I revisited Bit of Norway for lunch in the City Center Mall on Friday.
The visit seemed timely, since Syttende Mai is coming up Friday, and the Norwegians among us will be strutting their stuff. Their stuff is rommegrot, or cream pudding, and riskrem, a rice pudding. It’s klotboller meatballs, lapskaus stew and sotsuppe, or fruit soup. Baked goods are rosettes, krumkake, lefse and fattigman.
Bit of Norway lists all of them beside a map of Norway on a big sign at the counter. And Bit of Norway has a wooden-carved gnome, named Ole, perched on the counter with a “velkommen.”
The mall seemed fairly quiet around noon Friday, but there was a steady stream of people coming in to order lunch. Specials for the day were turkey hotdish and a hard roll for $2 or a grilled ham and cheese sandwich for $2.50. Usually, there is a soup of the day, too.
The menu lists sandwiches, dinner dishes, salads and soups, desserts, beverages and cookies and pastries. One of the sandwiches is called Roger’s special, and is made of hot meatballs with potatoes, gravy, pasta salad and raw veggies. There are homemade doughnuts and cookies available to eat in or take out.
I took my meatballs and gravy and dumplings to a quiet table, where I could read and eat. The gravy was a pleasing, natural gravy that tasted for all the world like that my Danish relatives used to make. The dumplings were filling, and I ate the whole dish of them.
When you order food at the counter of Bit of Norway, you deal with Elizabeth Anderson, the owner-manager, or her assistant, Olga Chikmaverova, who came here as an immigrant from Armenia. Anderson says, “We are turning her into a Norwegian. She is now helping me with the baking, and she does the doughnuts.”
Bit of Norway is not one of those quick-serve places. Instead, the service is deliberate, but sure. Even though the foods are served in plastic, the shopkeepers take time to garnish each hot dish with a carrot stick, broccoli floweret or stick of celery—or all three.
Anderson shrugs off any compliments to her cooking by saying, “It’s just farm food. It’s what I ate when I was growing up.” She wishes she could find more help. Her dream would be to have a manager for the kitchen so she could be free to run a little shop in conjunction with Bit of Norway.
Although she is hampered by arthritis, Anderson is down at Bit of Norway bright and early in the morning. She is ready to serve breakfast if the bus drivers who start out from the mall want it.
She and Olga turn out an array of homemade cookies, bread, doughnuts and caramel rolls in the morning.
Throughout the day, they offer a senior citizen special of cookies and ice cream with coffee for $1.10. Some people come in for a bowl of riskrem—rice cooked in milk and served cold with a bit of whipped cream and a topping of raspberry jam. This is next door to soul food for people who are Scandinavian.
Along with those who come to the mall for a Norwegian fix, there are many more who place special orders for food. On Friday, rommegrot for 70 was going out to United Lutheran Church.
Anderson has been running the business four years. She likes the mall and the people there.
“If I didn’t like it so well, I would have quit long ago.”
Bit of Norway, along with many other Grand Forks and East Grand Forks businesses, succumbed to the Red River of the North flood in April and May of 1997. Says Marilyn of that time:
There was a period of time when I did not write because of the Flood of 1997. We had to evacuate and went down to Bismarck, where my daughter lives. My husband, retired editor of the Herald, died down there after a time in a nursing home.
The Herald called and wanted me to write, so I started in. The Herald was being published in a school in a small town north of here. There were writers from all over the country in here during the big flood. Still, the Herald wanted writing from someone who lives here.
The Herald, by the way, won a Pulitzer Prize for flood coverage. I can claim nothing to do with the Pulitzer Prize.
Blarney Mill Would Make Any Irishman Smile
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MAY 13, 1998
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The opening of the Blarney Mill in East Grand Forks is a cause for celebration on both sides of the Red River. The new Irish pub and grill on DeMers Avenue is receiving a royal welcome in the post-flood recovery era of Greater Grand Forks. The ambience is cheery and lively. The place has been jammed. And the future looks bright.
Usually, I wait for a new restaurant to settle into a groove before I go reviewing, but the idea of an Irish pub right here in the Forks is so appealing I couldn’t wait. I went there Saturday night and was joined by Liz Fedor (LF), Scott Hennen (SH), the Rev. William Sherman (FWS) and George and Betty Widman (GW) and (BW).
Since I arrived first, I had a chance to survey the surroundings. There’s a fireside room with original brick walls, decorative tin ceiling and a beautiful solid walnut bar handcrafted by Mike Nigl, a tanker pilot at Grand Forks Air Force Base.
You walk into a setting with lots of greenery and archways made of brick that came off the old Carnegie Library in Grand Forks. It had been on the home of Joan and Jerry Sayler. The
y operated the Olson Drug Store for years, before the flood, on the corner of DeMers and Third Street, where the Blarney Mill now has taken up residence.
Early in the evening, the interest seems to be on dining. As the night progresses, there’s more attention to the bar area, with singing from time to time and sports on television. Saturday evening, a wedding party dropped by for an Irish toast.
It is a happy place. Right now, the Blarney Mill is using a temporary menu with a more permanent menu of Irish entrees, appetizers, soups, salads and sandwiches in the making. Our waitress Saturday evening was Sarah, and she is perfect in an Irish pub. She’s friendly, but not too friendly. She’s quick on the uptake and equal to all of the bright remarks she hears.
As we gathered, we tried the crab and artichoke dip, made with Parmesan cheese and mayo, and served with fingers of freshly baked bread. This is rich and enticing. And after such a hearty appetizer, I decided to go with a blue cheese shrimp salad ($6.99) for an entree. FWS did likewise. SH ordered the spicy chicken marinara, a dish with fettuccine, sautéed chicken and squash in a spicy marinara sauce (8.99). SH pronounced it good, very good, except that it could have been hotter. LF shied away from the chicken marinara because it was billed as very spicy. She came up with an uninspired order of a Blarney Burger ($5.99). It distinguished itself, however, with caramelized onions and cheddar cheese served on a sourdough bun. And the fries that came with it were nicely done, with skin on.
The Widmans were a little behind us. GW ordered the turkey club sandwich on rye bread ($5.95). BW was pleased with her choice of a roasted vegetable salad ($5.50) made with mixed greens, red onion and feta cheese. It was tossed with raspberry vinaigrette and topped with roasted red and green peppers.
The feta cheese in the vegetable salad and the blue cheese in the shrimp salad are of good quality and in enough quantity to assert themselves. Usually, I don’t care for little shrimp, but the generous serving in the salad I ate were fresh-tasting.
We visited with Manager Jim Schable, who says prices will be competitive at The Blarney Mill. With people waiting up to 30 minutes for a table Saturday, he told us of plans to expand into the building formerly occupied by Frenchy’s Jewelry. Irish entrees will include Irish Shepherd’s pie, Irish stew, fish and chips, peppercorn salmon, grilled salmon and sausage stuffed pork loin.
While he was at it, he introduced us to Erika Olson, the chef at the Blarney Mill. She has attended cooking schools and has worked in the kitchen of Kincaid’s in Minneapolis and the Bistro in Bismarck. She was dressed in white with a blue baseball cap and had a big Norwegian smile. Where, but in East Grand Forks, I wondered, would you meet a friendly Scandinavian cooking Irish food?
Marilyn says, “The Blarney Mill is also part of the passing scene of restaurants that have closed.”
Cozy Millennium Cafe Pays Extra Attention to Presentation
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OCTOBER 14, 1998
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The specials included halibut filet grilled in a special teriyaki Prairie Sauce and an appetizer of melon wrapped in prosciutto when we dined at Sanders 1997 Millennium Cafe Saturday evening.
I was with daughter Gail Hagerty (GH) and her husband, Dale Sandstrom (DS), and I had made the reservation weeks ago. When they come up from Bismarck, they always enjoy a dinner at this fine, small cafe, relocated since the flood on South Washington Street.
There’s something special about Sanders—it’s small enough to have a cozy ambience. White tablecloths are covered with glass, and there are crisp, white napkins in the water goblets at each place setting. Our table for three was very near the entry but had very comfortable chairs.
At length, GH chose walleye meunière ($18), which was crisp and not dipped in batter. It had a pleasing touch of lemon sauce. DS asked for pork tenderloin ($16.50), which is served with chipotle sauce that he wisely requested on the side. He enjoyed the tender slices of pork with a touch of the spicy sauce. He said it reminded him of a dish he had at Arthur Bryant’s in Kansas City. They had mashed potatoes with a hint of garlic.
My choice was filet mignon ($22). I asked for it medium and topped with Gorgonzola sauce, and I enjoyed every bite of it. I had a baked potato, just the right size. Portions at Sanders are large enough. But Sanders does not go for the oversized portions you sometimes see. Entrees are presented skillfully. Saturday night, there were small asparagus spears fanned out on the potatoes. There were elegant radish roses on the plates and parsley that was thick and crisp.
The meal began with a French bread that had a delightfully crisp crust. Then came the Italian salads—excellent because of the quality of the sliced tomatoes.
It was a tough decision, but DS chose pumpkin cheesecake for dessert and allowed us a taste. Other dessert choices included pecan caramel torte, a caramel custard and chocolate decadence.
Our waiter was watchful, but unobtrusive. He was there when we needed something. And he was there with the check, which I made a feeble effort to take but was outreached.
We had high expectations for our dinner at Sanders, and we were not disappointed. There is no place I would rather have dinner in North Dakota than Sanders. It’s a unique restaurant, run by Kim Holmes, who also operates Lola’s in downtown Grand Forks. He has been in the restaurant business in Grand Forks since 1985 and is well-known. That’s partly because he is willing to pitch in and help with community events.
He lost two restaurants downtown to the flood but kept plugging away until he could reopen Sanders—which he did seven weeks later—on a Friday the 13th. He said he wasn’t superstitious. He figured nothing else could go wrong.
And Sanders 1997 has gone right for Holmes. Though business was slow last winter, it picked up and has been going great guns since spring. Sanders 1997 has 20 more seats than Sanders 1907 had downtown. It can handle 60 diners in booths and at tables. The restaurant has an enlarged wine cellar and serves fine wines at correct temperatures.
The most popular entree is Sanders prime rib, called Swiss Eiger beef ($17 and $19). Second in popularity is grilled salmon. The roast caraway duck is another favorite, and some customers insist on grilled lamb served with Sanders apple-apricot chutney.
Red River Cafe Rightly Claims Spot in New Downtown
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January 6, 1999
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We went to the Red River Cafe for dinner Saturday night because they would take a reservation. It was wickedly cold and windy, but inside it was cozy, and the menu was outstanding. Saturday night specials included an appetizer of Oysters Rockefeller. The choice of entrees included Roasted Pheasant ($15.99), Salmon Topped with a Riesling Wild Berry Sauce ($15.99), Prime Rib with Lobster ($25) and Hazelnut Crusted Lamb Rack ($18.99).
In addition to Saturday night specials, the regular menu listed a page of starters, a full range of homemade pizza, salads, sandwiches and regular dinner entrees ranging in price from $10.99 to $14.99.
Once we were settled, it was decision time for me and my companion, Fannie Gershman (FG). We both ended up ordering Curried Penne with Shrimp ($12.99). We had a choice of soup or salad and chose salad, which was pretty good. I would put it at 8 on a scale of 10. It had a variety of ingredients, including alfalfa sprouts and round croutons. I counted at least six shrimp in my entree, and FG and I agreed they were done just right. The pasta was tasty, with an extra spicy curry sauce and an interesting texture created by chopped fresh red pepper and onion, Greek olives and scallions.
The pasta was enough to serve a family of three or four, and we left much of it on the plate. That was partly because of the appeal of the good, warm sourdough bread and butter served with the entree.
Then, of course, there was no room for dessert such as Cafe Cheesecake, Chocolate Beyond Reason or Magnificent Seven. The Red River Cafe offers some fascinating desserts, and it makes me think of going there some afternoon for coffee and sweets.
I would give the Red River Cafe high marks for providing a cozy setting, although another time on a cold
winter night, I would make sure to find a table away from the door. While our service was good overall, we did have to ask for water and ended up saving our fork from the salad course for the entree.
However, it was an upscale dining experience because of the creative menu and the setting. This included background music—not too loud—of blues and jazz. Our waitress was Anna Bergland, a UND student who was both pleasant and efficient. She was knowledgeable about the menu. She was around when we needed her, but she left us alone to visit without interrupting our conversation to ask if everything was OK.
Julie Conneran opened the restaurant with her brother, Brian Conneran, after the flood. The decor of the Red River Cafe includes used brick wainscoting up to the 54-foot 11-inch level, showing how high the floodwaters rose. There also is a wall of photographs showing how it looked when downtown Grand Forks was submerged in muddy water and ravaged by fire.
Julie says dinner business has become most important since the streets were reopened downtown. When the area was closed off for construction, there were some lean and worrisome times inside the cafe. Time will pass, and our city will heal, it says on the menu, but the strength and courage of its residents will never be forgotten.
Red River Cafe has closed.
Specials Pull In Customers at the 42nd Street Eatery
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JULY 7, 1999
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Normally, I would think of going to 42nd Street Eatery for the Exploded Pig sandwich. The establishment has a reputation for smoked pork so tender it virtually explodes on a grilled French roll. And it’s served with a side of barbecue sauce for $4.99. On Mondays, you can get two of these sandwiches for the price of one. What a deal!
Grand Forks: A History of American Dining in 128 Reviews Page 13