Road Tips

Silver Moon Supper Club - Fargo

A couple years ago, I took my dealer in Fargo out to dinner at Rescan, a wonderful Italian restaurant in the hip downtown area.  Before we went out to dinner, we met his wife for drinks at a place called the Silver Moon Supper Club - an upscale supper club that had opened just a couple weeks before.  I told him that at some point I wanted to take him out for dinner at the Silver Moon.  On my annual trip to Fargo this past summer, I did just that.

Monte Jones was a North Dakota farm boy who was obviously out of place in the upper plains.  After graduating from high school, he took off for New York City and became a dancer and choreographer.  After living in New York City for nearly 30 years, Monte moved back to Fargo, sensing a change in the attitudes of the city.  With Fargo being a small, yet somewhat cosmopolitan city in the middle of nowhere, Jones opened up a fine dining establishment called Monte's Downtown.  It was a big hit with the well-to-do locals and the people who came into town to do business. 

Let's go back to the 1940's.  That's when a supper club by the name of the Silver Moon opened in Moorhead, MN, just across the Red River of the North from Fargo.  From the early 40's until 1969, the Silver Moon was a grand old-style supper club - the kind of place where people would go for special dinners.  Monte Jones' mother used to work in the Silver Moon when he was growing up.  Jones and his partner, Jerry Erbstoesser, decided to open an extravagant supper club in downtown Fargo based in part on the old Silver Moon in Moorhead. 

The building that houses the Silver Moon was originally built in 1917 for a company that used the four floors and the basement as a warehouse for dry goods including clothing, linens, sheets, blankets and bedspreads.  The building was a warehouse for nearly 70 years before the space was no longer useful.  The building languished for about 20 years used for various things before a group of investors bought the space in 2007 turning the upper floors into loft residencies and allowing Jones and Erbstoesser to put the Silver Moon Supper Club on the main floor.

Jones and Erbstoesser envisioned a retro-styled restaurant, full of art deco and art moderne touches including clam shell booths, a water wall and a private eating area called Salon Privé.  They enlisted the help of Chef Josh Smith to come up with an interesting and varied menu - one that changes seasonally based upon locally grown foods found in the area.  Because of that concept, the Silver Moon's menu changes constantly and there's always bound to be something different to eat each time you go to the place.

It was late in the afternoon when I arrived into Fargo.  My dealer and his people were out working on a job site and were running late.  I ended up at a place for a couple three beers before he joined me after getting cleaned up.  We sat and talked business for a little while before we decided to head over to the Silver Moon on Roberts Street (see map).  My dealer's wife had been planning on joining us for dinner as were his two workers, but none of them were there when we showed up at 8 p.m.  

My dealer and I had a drink at the bar - a nice little modern style U-shaped bar with the bartender in a vest and black tie.  The owner, Monte Jones, whom I'd met on my previous visit to the place, came over to greet my dealer, whose wife and he are regular visitors to both the Silver Moon and to Monte's.  My dealer reintroduced me to Monte and I told him that I was looking forward to dinner that evening.  

One of my dealer's workers showed up about 8:30 and his wife finally showed about 10 minutes later.  The third worker had called and begged off saying that he was too tired to come out to dinner.  I told my dealer, "Man, you must have worked him pretty hard!"

My dealer said, "Oh, we were running wire in attic and crawl spaces today.  It was brutally hot in some of those spaces."  

The four of us sat at one of the Silver Moon's signature clam shell booths.  Personally, I don't care for booths like that - it's like you're on display for the rest of the restaurant, watching you eat and carry on in conversation.  But it was late in the evening and only a handful of people were in the restaurant.  

The Silver Moon also usually has someone in playing the baby grand piano that's up on a little riser in the main dining area.  But that night it sat silent.  When my dealer's wife inquired about that with Monte, he said that during the summer months he's been only having someone come in during the weekends.  "When the schools get back in session this fall (North Dakota State University and Minnesota State - Moorhead), we'll get our regular group of players to come back in." 

Our waitress came out and gave us menus.  I also ordered up a bottle of wine - and I have to admit that things get very fuzzy from here on out.  I'd had a few beers before we showed up to the restaurant, then a couple more while we were waiting.  I usually go back to the room and make notes of what we had to eat or drink at the restaurant, but I didn't get back to my hotel until 11:30 p.m. and I had a 5 a.m. wake-up call for a 7 a.m. flight out of Fargo that morning.  I immediately went to bed. 

So, I can't remember what kind of wine we got, but I do know it was red.  But I was the only one going to have beef that night - everyone else went with a seafood entree.  The night before in Dickinson, I broke up my two night streak of having steaks, going with some chicken dish at an Applebee's when I took my dealer and his crew out for dinner.  (My Dickinson dealer closes his doors at 9 p.m. and anything close to a fine dining restaurant in Dickinson closes at 9 p.m. - that's why we ate at Applebee's.) 

Three courses came with the dinner - salad, main entree and a dessert.  I ended up getting the Silver Moon's New York strip - rare - with a side of garlic mashed potatoes.  As I said, my guests all got seafood.  I do remember that my dealer got the shrimp and risotto entree, but I can't for the life remember what the other two got.  

The presentation at the Silver Moon is very good.  My steak was resting on a bed of asparagus spears with a small grilled onion slice on top.  From what I remember about the meal, it was very good.  Our waitress was also very good, she had a great sense of humor and took care of us very well.

After dinner, our waitress came around and showed us the dessert menu.  Something caught my eye on the dessert menu - the after dinner drinks.  And for $15 bucks they had a three-Scotch flight of drinks - the Macallan 12 year; the Macallan 15 year aged in fine oak barrels; and the 18 year Highland Park.  Now, I really have to tell you that at that point in the evening - close to 11 p.m. - I certainly didn't need that.  But for $15 bucks to have all three fine Scotch whiskeys I really couldn't pass it up.  I ended up passing on getting dessert and got the Scotch instead.  Let me tell you, I was feeling no pain at that point, but lingered a little longer in the shower the next morning after my 5 a.m. wake up call at the hotel.

So, from what I remember about the Silver Moon Supper Club - my steak was very good, the service was wonderful, whatever wine we had was very good, Monte Jones was a great host and the Scotch at the end of the night - which I didn't need, but had anyway - was a nice closer to the evening.  I wish I could get up to Fargo more often, but being that it's a nine hour drive - minimum - and a 3.5 hour plane trip (with a stop at Minneapolis-St. Paul to change planes), I just can't get up there as much.  But the way the economy in North Dakota is going, there's business to be had and I may be getting up there more often than once a year.  That way I can go back to places like The Silver Moon Supper Club and hopefully remember more about my meal.  

 

(Update - It wasn't long after my entry about the Silver Moon that Monte Jones shut the place down.  I know a lot of people were unhappy about his decision.  It was actually a cool place and one that would have worked well in a much larger metro area, but maybe not so much in Fargo.)

Wells Brothers Restaurant - Racine, WI

Wells Brothers Restaurant is one of those old time pizza places that I just love to find. The business has been around for nearly 90 years and third generation family members continue to run the restaurant today. For years, Wells Brothers has been getting awards and recognition for their pizza - an ultra-thin cornmeal crust pizza topped with fresh toppings with caramelized cheese edges. In 2005, they were named as having the sixth best pizza in the U.S. in the book "Everybody Loves Pizza"; and in 2006, USA Today gave Wells Brothers more recognition in an article featuring the top ten pizza places in the U.S. I visited a dealer in nearby Kenosha one afternoon, then decided to stop into Wells Brothers for a pizza on my way up the road to an overnight stay in Milwaukee.

There were five Wells brothers in Racine in the early 1900's - one ran the Wells Brothers supermarket, one ran the Wells Brothers shoe store, another ran the Wells Brothers barber shop, while brothers James and Dominic ran the Wells Brothers restaurant. The restaurant first opened in 1921 and served Italian and American food from recipes passed down from family members over the years. In fact, the restaurant is still housed in the original building that James and Dominic bought to open their restaurant. The building has survived two fires in the mid-to-late 70's that completely gutted the building.

In the 1940's, James Wells began to serve what was called a "tomato pie", the forerunner of the modern day pizza. The dough was passed through an industrial roller giving it a very thin crust. The same roller and the original gas-fired pizza ovens are still in existence in Wells Brothers kitchen today.

After James Wells died in 1944, his sons Tony and Guy took over the business. They ran it for 55 years before passing the reins on to Guy's daughter Paula and her cousin, Bill Rivers, whose mother was the sister of Tony and Guy. Tony and Guy are still around, coming in on a daily basis to check up on things and to kibbutz with the loyal patrons. Not much has changed over the years at Wells Brothers. Well, that is, except for the neighborhood.

The area surrounding Wells Brothers at the corner of 22nd and Mead in Racine (see map) has slowly fallen into decay. The most apt description of the neighborhood could be simply stated as "The 'hood". But there is a lighted parking lot across the street to the south of the restaurant. And to keep the local riff-raff and ne'er-do-wells from upsetting their customers, Wells Brothers hires a uniformed Racine County deputy sheriff to stand watch outside during business hours. They're open Tuesday thru Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8:45 p.m. Wells brothers also closes each summer for two weeks to allow their employees some time off.

I parked in the nearly full lot across the street from Wells Brothers and walked toward the front door. The deputy sheriff standing guard was talking with a gentleman who had parked a vintage 60's car on the street next to Wells Brothers. I walked into the restaurant, through the packed bar area up front and around to the dining area in the back. It, too, was full of people with a small line of people waiting for a table to open up. I went back to the bar and took the last open chair between a couple that was finishing up a large pizza and a guy who had just ordered a pizza to go.

The bar area wasn't all that big but they did have a lot of beer on tap, as well as a number of coolers full of bottled beer. The bartender gave me a menu and put down a coaster in front of me, then he walked away. He didn't even take my beer order, which I needed so desperately at that point in the day. After a couple minutes I finally got his attention. He sort of shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, man. I got distracted and left you hangin'. What can I get you?"

I ordered a cold Miller High Life - hey, when in Wisconsin, especially the Milwaukee area, support the local brewery.

While the menu at Wells Brothers features items such as pasta and a Friday night fish fry, pizza is the king at the restaurant. Although, I will say that I was almost tempted to try their "Sicilian Steak Bomber" sandwich that a couple guys two seats down from my left got. It was basically Wells Brothers interpretation of a Chicago-style Italian sandwich, only much bigger and it smelled heavenly. When I was ready to order, the bartender had a waitress come over to get my order. I ordered a small (10") sausage, pepperoni and mushroom - my staple reference pizza.

In the meantime, the waitress brought the pizza-to-go for the guy next to me and the couple had gotten what was left of their pizza boxed up and they were getting ready to take off. It cleared up a lot of room around me and by the time my pizza showed up there were only about seven people at the bar. People come early at Wells Brothers and when it gets to be 8 p.m., the place sort of starts to wind down for the day.

Being that the pizza is so thin, it was less than 15 minutes from the time I placed my order to the time it showed up to me at the bar. Cut into party-cut squares, it sort of looked a little over-cooked with heavily caramelized edges. But from the first bite, I knew it was perfectly cooked.

Oh, man. Was it good. The sausage was fresh and had a nice tangy kick to it, the mushrooms were also fresh and not out of a can like some other pizza joints will do, and the pepperoni was plentiful across the top of the pizza. I'm not big on corn meal crust for pizza, but this crust was actually pretty good. The crust wasn't crisp, nor was it mushy. I was overly impressed with this pizza. I have to say it was truly one of the best thin crust pizzas I've ever tried.

I easily finished up the pizza and got the bill from the waitress. I had three beers that evening, but the bartender only charged me for two. "That first one was on the house," he said, apologizing once again for not taking my order right away as I sat down.

With the tip and a couple beers, my meal at Wells Brothers came to $20 bucks and change. It was everything I hoped for since first learning about Wells Brothers from various places on line and in print. The pizza was outstanding and very worthy of the multitudes of praise it has received over the years. If there was just some way to get the Wells family to move their pizza ovens to the Quad Cities, then life would be great.

10 North Main - Minot, ND

I had set up a morning appointment with a dealer in Minot, ND and arrived the evening before.  I stayed at a Fairfield Inn on the outskirts of the town and the choices for restaurants in the immediate area were limited to chains, such as Buffalo Wings and Rings - a knock-off of Buffalo Wild Wings; and Paradiso - a North Dakota five-location chain of Mexican restaurants.  I asked the young lady at the front desk of the Fairfield Inn where I could get a really good meal in town.  She didn't hesitate and replied, "Oh, you'll want to go to 10 North Main.  It's downtown and it's very good.  It's, by far, the best restaurant for miles around."  She gave me quick directions and I took off toward downtown Minot. 

Even beyond the restaurants around the hotel, there's not much to choose from in Minot.  And that's probably why four guys who grew up in Minot chose to open a fine dining establishment in town.  Friends Chad Schmidt, Jon Peterson, Josh Duhamel and Lance Behm opened the restaurant in January of 2005.  Schmidt is the managing partner of the restaurant while Peterson is the chef.  Behm is a local Minot dentist and Duhamel, well, he's a somewhat famous Hollywood actor.

Josh Duhamel (pronounced Duh-MEL) grew up in Minot and has starred in the movie "Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!" (he played Tad Hamilton), as well as in both of the Transformers movies (a third Transformers movie is coming out next year).  For four seasons, Duhamel was also seen on the television drama "Las Vegas".  But he's possibly most famous as being the husband of Stacy Ferguson, a.k.a. "Fergie" who fronted the group "The Black Eyed Peas".  I understand that Duhamel and Fergie make it back to Minot from time to time (I believe his parents - his father was an advertising salesman and his mother was a teacher - still live in town) and dine at 10 North Main when in town.  As one of my dealers in North Dakota told me, "I can't believe a guy from North Dakota married Fergie!"

"Good Food and Nice Drinks" is the motto for 10 North Main.  It's situated in a building - at 10 North Main, naturally - just across from the Soo Line Train and Transportation Museum in downtown Minot (see map).  The exterior of the building is a mixture of brick, stained glass windows on the first level and large tinted windows that light up the second level of the restaurants. 

It was just after 8 p.m. on a warm North Dakota evening when I stopped into 10 North Main.  Two 20-something girls were at the hostess stand and I remarked to them, "I understand this is the best restaurant in Minot."

They sort of looked at one of another and one of the girls said, "Well, yeah, I guess so."  It was not quite the ringing endorsement I expected to hear after my statement.  One of the girls took me to a two-seat table along a short wall and dropped off a menu.  My waitress for the evening, Anna - a cherub-faced young lady with pig tails in her hair - came by to greet me.  If someone were to say, "Show me a typical, wholesome North Dakota girl", Anna would be the one.  I told her that I would probably have some wine with dinner, but for the time being I really needed a Bud Light.  Well, actually, I needed two.  It had been a long drive out to Minot from Grand Forks.     

The interior of the restaurant was warm and inviting giving it a very laid back feel to the place.  The dining room was segmented into three areas - I sat in the middle area - and there was a small bar area in the front corner of the restaurant with one of the stained glass windows helping provide light to the bar.  I'm not good at describing furnishings, but the place sort of had a contemporary antique look to it - if there is such a thing. 

The menu at 10 North Main was an interesting mix of beef, pasta dishes, smoked entrees including smoked duck and smoked pheasant, and a handful of both seafood and fresh water fish entrees to choose from.  I was hoping the food would be as good as the menu was making it sound. 

Anna came back and told me that they were out of prime rib for the evening - that was fine, I wasn't going to do prime rib - and she told me of a couple specials that I immediately lost interest in.  I told her that I needed a little time to look through the menu and she went to wait on other people.  I was looking at a couple three items on the menu.  First on my list of interest was the bison New York strip - a 12 oz. lean piece of North Dakota-raised bison, seasoned and grilled over white oak wood.  But I'd had a steak the night before at The Toasted Frog in Grand Forks and I wasn't certain I wanted steak two nights in a row. 

I was also looking at getting a half rack of the smoked baby-back ribs at 10 North Main.  The menu said they topped the ribs with a homemade "sweet and snarky" barbecue sauce.  I was tempted to find out what sweet and snarky tasted like.  Lastly, I thought briefly about getting the Chilean sea bass - a sauteed sea bass filet served with asparagus.  But thinking that it's a long way from Chile to Minot, ND,  I decided to stay local.  

Anna came back and I told her that I wanted to start out with 10 North Main's caprese salad, then I had to quickly decide between the bison strip steak or the ribs.  If it's cooked right, bison steaks are pretty damn good.  I was hoping that would be the case and I ordered the bison steak - rare.  A side of garlic-mashed potatoes and a vegetable medley also came with the steak. 

I asked Anna to leave the wine list as I was probably going to get a glass of wine or two with my meal.  The wine list was surprising featuring dozens of very good wines at somewhat reasonable prices.  Also surprising was the amount of wines they featured by the glass.  A full bottle of the Liberty School cabernet was $25 dollars, a fair price for a good-valued wine that we like to drink at home from time to time.  I knew I couldn't drink a full bottle of wine, but one of the many wines by the glass they featured at 10 North Main was the Liberty School cab for $7.00.  When Anna came back with my caprese salad and a basket of bread, I told her that I'd like a glass of that.  "Good choice," she said as she scribbled down my wine order.

The caprese salad was good, but not quite as good as the one I had in Grand Forks the night before.  The tomatoes weren't as ripened as the one at The Toasted Frog, but 10 North Main's caprese salad had a hefty amount of fresh basil on top and a lot more mozzarella cheese than the one from Grand Forks.  The fresh basil and wonderful mozzarella more than made up for the under-ripened tomatoes.

I do also want to mention the homemade bread with the garlic/parmesan butter at 10 North Main.  Outstanding!  I made short work of the two pieces Anna had brought out with the salad and was afraid to get more because I didn't want to be eating bread instead of my steak.  Actually, what was more addicting was the garlic/parmesan butter.  I slathered both pieces with the butter and happily wolfed it down. 

Not long after I finished my caprese salad, Anna brought out my steak.  I thought it looked sort of small for a 12 oz. steak, but there wasn't really anything I could do about it.  I was also afraid that it was over-cooked from the char-marks on the outside.  But I cut into the steak and it was definitely rare.

I'm glad I got the bison strip because after the bad cut of meat I had at The Toasted Frog the night before I needed a good piece of beef to make things right in my world.  And it was a great piece of meat - tender, lean and about as juicy as a piece of bison can be.  The seasoning on the steak was sort of a mixture of salt, garlic, pepper and some other spices.  It worked well with the taste of the meat. 

The garlic mashed potatoes were OK, nothing really special to get excited about.  I had a couple bites of potatoes and a couple bites of the vegetable medley.  The medley of sliced carrots, zucchini, broccoli and cauliflower were cooked just right - warm, yet with a crunch with each bite.

I finished my steak and had one more bite of the potatoes before I let Anna take my plate away.  She got a nice tip for the evening being very attentive, but not bugging me at the same time. 

I was thoroughly impressed with my meal at 10 North Main.  This is a restaurant that could easily hold it's own in a much larger city.  I'm hoping that the people in Minot know just how good this place is and don't take it for granted.  In a city full of buffet and family restaurants, along with fast food and regional chain establishments, 10 North Main stands out as being one of the best restaurants in not only the city of Minot, but in the whole state of North Dakota. 

The Blue Door Pub - St. Paul

Over the past year, I've been on a mission to find the best stuffed-cheeseburger in the Twin Cities area.  I've tried the two most famous ones - Matt's Bar and The 5-8 Club - and found a surprising one at The Nook in St. Paul.  One more on my list to try was a St. Paul bar/burger joint by the name of The Blue Door Pub.  I was in the Twin Cities calling on accounts earlier this summer and had time to stop by The Blue Door Pub for a burger one afternoon. 

The Blue Door Pub is one of the newest of a list of nearly 30 burger joints in the Twin Cities that feature their own version of the Juicy Lucy - or Jucy Lucy - depending upon which spelling you subscribe to.  In the fall of 2008, Jeremy Woerner and Patrick McDonough opened the doors of the little funky place at the corner of Selby Ave and Fairview Ave. N in the Merriam Park area of St. Paul (see map).  The building used to house a Puerto Rican restaurant - Puerta Azu (The Blue Door) - so they just Anglicized the name and the rest is history. 

Woerner and McDonough were veterans of The Groveland Tap, a nearby neighborhood corporate establishment that also served a variation of the Juicy Lucy.  Woerner and McDonough happened to live in the Merriam Park area and sort of caught the vibe that the area needed a little neighborhood pub.  The "BDP", as it's known to the locals, has about 12 to 14 tables and booths and a small bar.  In the summertime, outdoor seating is available.  There's a small parking lot on the east side of the building and plenty of street parking up and down Selby.

I got into The Blue Door Pub and sat at the bar as no tables or booths were open.  The World Cup was playing on the flat-screen television in the corner above the bar, but I really had no interest in that.  A bartender gave me a menu and asked me what I'd like to drink.  I had a couple more stops that day, so I didn't think a beer or two at lunch would hurt.  The only problem was what to choose.

The Blue Door Tap has an extensive menu of beers on tap - one that changes on a seasonal basis and can change on a weekly basis.  I was torn between three or four beers before I ended up getting a Surly Furious- a very hoppy American India Pale Ale made in the Twin Cities.  (For my entry on Surly beers, click here.)

Burgers are the cornerstone of the menu at The Blue Door Pub - they call them "Juicy Blucy's" at the BDP, an obvious take off of the name.  The burgers at The Blue Door Tap have a bit of a twist to them compared to the other Juicy Lucy burgers that proliferate the Twin Cities area.  They have 10 different variations of the Blucy Lucy to choose from, some of which are:

The Blucy - a bleu cheese stuffed burger.

The Merriam Park - bacon, bleu cheese and garlic stuffed burger topped with red currant jelly.

The Bangkok Blucy - coconut milk-soaked mozzarella stuffed burger topped with carrots, cucumbers, red onions and ginger served with a side of curry.

The Breakfast Blucy - a cheddar cheese stuffed burger topped with more cheddar cheese, thick cut bacon and a fried egg.

The Frenchy - Swiss cheese and caramelized onions stuffed inside, then topped with more Swiss cheese.   A cup of au jus sauce is provided to dip the burger into.

Yum!!!

They also have something called the Jiffy Burger where they cover a burger with peanut butter, mayo, pepper jack cheese, bacon, and pickles.  Although peanut butter on a burger doesn't sound appealing to me, it was recently given the Best Burger in the Twin Cities award by City Pages weekly newspaper.

You can also build-your-own burger at the BDP.  You can have a single - or double - non-stuffed burger and pick from a myriad of toppings including lettuce, tomato, jalapenos, pineapple, sweet chili lime, banana peppers, and fried or raw onions.  They offer nearly two dozen toppings (not including ketchup or mustard) and six different types of cheese to choose from for the build-your-own burger.

The Blue Door Pub has a contest called the "Blucy Challenge" that allows customers to order all 10 of their regular "Juicy Blucy" burgers (they also rotate a couple limited-time specialty burgers in and out of the mix from time to time) and they'll receive a winners shirt.  Challengers get a punch card and once they hit their tenth burger they get a pretty cool t-shirt.  Here's a random picture I took off of BDP's Facebook site of a happy challenge winner displaying her shirt.  If I lived in the Twin Cities area, I probably would join in on the challenge.  But given that I only get to the Twin Cities two or three times a year, it would be five years before I would be able to go through 10 burgers at The Blue Door Pub.

In addition to burgers at the BDP,  they also feature a Pub Sandwich which sounds like a high-octane Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato sandwich topped with a fried egg and cheddar cheese.  For the health conscious in the crowd, they have a black bean burger and something they call the St. Paul Burger which features an egg foo young patty topped with garlic aioli, cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato.  The menu says it was popularized in St. Louis, but quite honestly I've never heard of it or come across this variation during all my travels to St. Louis.

One more thing - the BDP is quickly becoming famous for an appetizer they call Spam Bites.  They take a small bit of Spam, cream cheese, and a pickle and deep fry them.  I understand they're delectable, but I would think that would be an appetizer that you'd share with others.  Also, they had beer-battered green beans and they're also known for their tater-tots - served plain, Cajun style or with hot sauce to dip in.

I was torn between a couple three of the burgers:  the Mushroom-Swiss Blucy that features Swiss cheese and chopped mushrooms stuffed in the middle; the Breakfast Blucy - even at 1:30 in the afternoon that sounded damn good; or the Cajun Blucy - pepper jack cheese with chopped jalapenos stuffed into the center.  After a long deliberation that took up a good portion of drinking my Surly Furious beer, I ended up going with the Cajun Blucy.  The Mushroom-Swiss Blucy was a close second.  I also got a side of their hand-cut fries, narrowly choosing them over the tater-tots.

Waiting for my burger to show up, I switched gears for my second beer and got a Summit Extra Pale Ale.  And that was almost finished when my burger finally showed up as it took nearly 20 minutes from the time I ordered to the time the burger reached my table.

 
If you've read my earlier entries regarding Juicy Lucy burgers, the biggest problem is that they have to literally cook the burgers to a well-done state to get them to cook through to the middle.  And that means they usually cook them at too high a temperature and too fast.  I've found through trial and error of making my own homemade Juicy Lucy's is that a low flame and a long time on each side to cook through without drying out the meat.  I'm guessing that's exactly what they do at The Blue Door Pub.  The bun was soft and chewy, lightly toasted and very tasty.  The cheese and jalapenos oozed out of the burger, they weren't cooked out like I've had at other and more notable Juicy Lucy joints in the Twin Cities.  it could have been a little more spicy for my taste, but there was still a little kick from the jalapenos and pepper jack cheese.  But most importantly, the burger was still juicy and not over-cooked.  It was a very, very good burger to say the least.

I had a few of the hand-cut fries and they, too, were very good.  Nice and crispy, the fries weren't limp or over-cooked.  They went very well with the meal.

Earlier this spring, Guy Fieri from The Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives stopped in for a Juicy Blucy and filmed his experience for an upcoming episode that will be shown later this season.  Here's a picture that I took off of BDP's Facebook page of Guy with the boys from The Blue Door Pub.   His Food Network colleague, Adam Richman - host of Man vs. Food - has visited the 5-8 Club and Matt's Bar, whimping out during his segment by not declaring which of the two have the better Juicy Lucy.  Well, I can attest that the Juicy Blucy blows away either the Jucy Lucy at Matt's Bar or the Juicy Lucy at the 5-8 Club.  So far, The Nook comes in second to The Blue Door pub when it comes to a cheese-stuffed burger in the Twin Cities.  I have a handful of other places I'd like to try before giving the BDP the "Road Tips Best of" award for Juicy Lucy's.  But I'm afraid it's going to be tough to top the Blue Door Pub's Juicy Blucy.

 

The Toasted Frog - Grand Forks, ND

Earlier this summer, I took my annual trip to North Dakota to see some of our regular dealers and to interview some potential dealers in some towns I had not been to before.  One of those towns was Grand Forks.  I flew into Fargo, then drove a rental car to spend the night there. 

The city of Grand Forks is a quiet little Upper Plains community of about 60,000 with another 30,000 people living in the greater Grand Forks/E. Grand Forks, MN area.  It's home to the University of North Dakota, a surprisingly wonderful little campus of about 12,000 students.  I had a chance to drive around the town to take in the sights.  From what I understand, the town has changed dramatically over the past few years.

 

 

In April and May of 1997, Grand Forks went through a horrific flood that forced the evacuation of over 90% of their residents.  The Red River of the North, fed by an abundance of snow melt in South Dakota, Minnesota and southern North Dakota, flooded five feet over forecasts sending tons of water over makeshift dams and levees that were built to hold back the water.  A fire triggered by a natural gas leak laid waste to entire blocks of downtown buildings.  After the flood waters receded in May, Grand Forks looked like a war zone with burnt out buildings, deserted homes and a thick muck of mud left over from the flooding. 

Amazingly, the downtown area has come back strong with new buildings, parkways and housing.  Some buildings were refurbished from their former shells and, quite honestly, it looks like nothing really happened there.  But there are high water marks at various places around the downtown area showing where the Red River had gotten up to.  Some marks are between 12 to 15 feet above the ground. 

With that said, a handful of restaurants have popped up in downtown Grand Forks.  One such restaurant, Sanders 1907, I was told was one of the top restaurants - if not THE top restaurant - in the state of North Dakota.  Well, of course, I've had bad luck with picking my restaurants this summer and as I pulled up in front of Sanders 1907, I found it was closed.  (They're closed on Mondays.)  Oh well...

There was a pizza place just around the corner - Rhombus Guys - but it was a small place with a lot of people inside.  I didn't think I really wanted a pizza in North Dakota all that much, either.  I drove around the downtown area for a bit and I drove past another place that looked interesting - The Toasted Frog.  I parked just down the street and made my way into the restaurant.  

Located on N. 3rd St. (see map), The Toasted Frog is situated in a building that was originally built during the late 19th century and has housed a number of businesses over the years.  After the downtown was renovated, the building stood empty for a few years until it was purchased by Grand Forks natives Jon Holth and Shawn Clapp.  Clapp and Holth both had extensive experience in the restaurant business - both had worked at Sanders 1907 and then had ventured up the Red River (the Red River flows from south to north) to Fargo where they managed the restaurant and lounge at the Hotel Donaldson, a high-end boutique hotel in the downtown area of Fargo.  Clapp and Holth opened The Toasted Frog in May of 2006 and as of this summer they were looking to open a second location in Bismarck.  

The menu at The Toasted Frog is pretty eclectic including steaks, seafood and Asian-style spare ribs.  They have some interesting sandwiches such as the open-faced pheasant melt and the Moroccan-spiced lamb burger.  The restaurant also offers a number of wood-fired pizzas on their menu.  They also have something like lavosh- thin-rolled flat bread that they fill with interesting concoctions such as pheasant confit, a lavosh with a combination of different types of seafood such as shrimp, crab meat and scallops along with some vegetables, and a spinach and havarti cheese lavosh. 

   
The restaurant features a dining room with exposed brick walls with a number of high tables in the middle with lower tables along the wall.  Large windows and contemporary industrial lights hanging from the ceiling allow for an abundance of light to filter into the room.  The exposed kitchen area is in the far back of the restaurant.  You could easily see the chef and assistants laboring over the grill.  The bar area is off to the side just as you walk into The Toasted Frog.  It had about eight to ten seats and a flat-screen television had ESPN on.  I decided to sit at the bar and enjoy my meal there. 

In addition to a number of top-shelf vodka, bourbon and Scotch they had on the shelf at The Toasted Frog, they also had a pretty extensive and impressive wine list.  I looked through it for a bit, but decided that I really wanted to drink beer that evening.  Surprisingly, they had Bell's Two Hearted Ale on tap.  I didn't know that Bell's came as far west as North Dakota.  I ordered up one of those from the amiable bartender while I perused the menu.

One of the first things that jumped out at me on the menu were the fish tacos.  I'd had a lot of fish tacos at a number of restaurants this summer and I don't want to say that I was burnt out on them.  But I was sort of leery of getting fish tacos in Grand Forks, ND considering they were made from grilled mahi mahi.  Now, grilled walleye fish tacos may have gotten more of my attention.

The bartender came over and said that their feature entree that evening was their New York strip steak, marinated in garlic oil and rosemary herbs.  I had been looking at that on the menu, as well.  I asked him about the fish tacos and he said, "Oh, they're very good.  They're one of our top items on the menu."

Well, I was torn between the steak and the fish tacos.  I decided to go with the geographic rule on this one - we're closer to beef lots in North Dakota than we are the sea.  I went with the steak - rare.  I also noticed they had a caprice salad on the menu and I ordered that, as well.

The caprice salad was absolutely wonderful.  The tomatoes were overly ripe and meaty.  The basil was fresh and the red onion slices were very forward and pungent.  I have to say the caprice salad was one of the better ones I've ever had - including some from much larger and more prestigious restaurants.

 

A waiter brought my steak to the bar and it looked pretty good.  It was a large strip steak (14 oz.) resting on a bed of broccolini.  Wasabi and garlic mashed potatoes were off to the side.  The outside of the steak was charred and I was a little skeptical if it were truly rare.  But I cut into it and it was a wonderful cool red in the middle.

The only problem was that the steak was overly gristled.  I had trouble finding parts of the steak that didn't have a full piece of gristle in the bite.  I would say a good third of the steak was full of gristle.  Sometimes you get a steak that isn't a good cut of meat.  My number came up that night.  What I could eat of the steak, it was very good, however.

The wasabi and garlic mashed potatoes were good, but I couldn't really get much of either a wasabi or a garlic taste to them.  The broccolini were cooked spot on, still having a little crunch to the stalks.

The bartender asked how my steak was and I told him that it was full of gristle.  He sort of cringed and said, "Well, that's no good.  Do you want me to get you another steak?"

I told him that wasn't necessary.  At $22 bucks, the steak was a bargain.  So he told me he'd buy a couple beers for me.  That was nice, considering the beers were $3.75 a glass.  But looking back, I should have gotten the fish tacos.

I dawdled at the bar after dinner watching a ball game on ESPN and having a couple more Bell's Two Hearted Ales.  The dining room had begun to empty out and I was the only person at the bar.  The bartender did a good job of taking care of me that evening and he got a nice tip.

Other than the steak being full of gristle, I had a good meal and a good dining experience at The Toasted Frog.  Each time I've had to change plans while looking for restaurants this summer that were either closed for the evening, burned down or gone out of business, Plan B or even Plan C has turned out to be a good choice.  I was glad to come across The Toasted Frog.  It was a surprisingly good place and one that I would think would work well in larger metro areas.

Joe's KC Barbecue (Formerly Oklahoma Joe's Barbecue) - Olathe

While in Kansas City recently, I had just gotten back from a long trip out toward West Central Kansas and decided to try and find the newer of the two locations of Oklahoma Joe's Barbecue - the location on Strang Road in Olathe, KS (see map).  Oklahoma Joe's has suddenly risen to the top of my "favorites" list of a long line of great barbecue places in the Kansas City area.  (You can read my original post on Oklahoma Joe's here.) 

The original Oklahoma Joe's is located in what is basically an old gas station in Kansas City, KS (below left).  It is one of the more unique places I've been to for any type of restaurant.   The barbecue I had on my first visit was absolutely fabulous - the brisket was out of this world and the ribs were very, very good.  Each time I get back to K.C., I have to have at least one meal at Oklahoma Joe's.

 
I was staying out at my usual place in Overland Park, KS - the Hilton Garden Inn - and the Olathe Oklahoma Joe's is much closer to my hotel than the original one in Kansas City.  The Oklahoma Joe's in Olathe (above right - picture courtesy of Kansas Travel.org) is located in a newer strip mall and has ample parking around the building.  Even coming up on 8 p.m., I was having trouble finding a place to park because it was packed with people at that time.  The one in Kansas City, Kansas (or KCK, as the locals refer to it) serves its last meal at 8:30 p.m through the week.  The Olathe location closes at 9 p.m. for the late eating suburbanite crowd.  (The KCK location is open until 9:30 on weekends and the Olathe location closes at 10:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.  Both locations are closed on Sunday.)  

 

The inside of Oklahoma Joe's in Olathe (picture right courtesy of Kansas Travel.org) is vastly larger than the original location, but it doesn't have any of the rib joint ambiance that the KCK Oklahoma Joe's possesses.  The menu in Olathe is nearly identical to the KCK location and the line to order at the counter was nearly 12 people deep when I walked in.  It allowed me ample time to peruse the large blackboard menu on the wall to see what I really wanted to eat that evening.

Without getting into the detail that I did with my original post, I'll just say that I went with the Two Meat Dinner - pulled pork and brisket with a side of baked beans and Texas toast, with a couple bottles of Bud Light to help wash the dust out of my mouth from a long day of driving and to help cut into the zippy chipotle pepper taste of Oklahoma Joe's "Night of the Living Sauce" barbecue sauce.

While the surroundings at the Olathe location was more of a corporate chain restaurant, the food was probably as good as the original Oklahoma Joe's in KCK.   The brisket was devastatingly delicious, tender and lean with a hint of a smoke taste.  The pulled pork was equally tender, but sort of lacked a good smoky base to the meat.  But putting a combination of the Oklahoma Joe's regular "Cowtown" sauce and the more spicy sauce together, the taste sensation with the pulled pork was not lost.  And adding some of the "Night of the Living Sauce" to the baked beans helped flare up an already wonderful side dish.

Next door to the Oklahoma Joe's restaurant in Olathe is a barbecue store that sells smokers and grilles, sauces, rubs, wood chips and barbecue accessories.  It's similar to the stuff you'd find at Smoke 'n' Fire in Overland Park, but much smaller in size and in selection than what Smoke 'n' Fire offers.

I've heard that the decor and ambiance of a restaurant can make the food taste better.  I sort of like the old rib joint feel to the original Oklahoma Joe's in KCK compared to the slick, contemporary interior of their Olathe location.  While it is comfortable with larger tables and a larger dining area than the original place, I think the KCK Oklahoma Joe's is just a notch better than the one in Olathe.  That's not to say that I didn't like my meal at the Olathe Oklahoma Joe's, it was very, very good - still one of the best, if not THE best barbecue in Kansas City.  But even though it's a little more of a haul from where I stay when I'm in the Kansas City location, I'd go back to the Oklahoma Joe's in KCK before I'd go to the one in Olathe.

Bristol Seafood Grill - Leawood, KS

Trying to impress a potential custom audio/video dealer in the Kansas City area earlier this summer, we agreed on dinner for four of his staff at Bristol Seafood Grill in suburban Leawood, KS (see map).  I'd eaten at the Bristol location in St. Louis a number of years ago and I do remember it as being very good.  I was sort of surprised to see one in suburban Kansas City and wondered if it were part of the same family as the one in St. Louis. 

Yep, it sure is.  In fact, there are four Bristol Seafood Grill's these days - the one in the Creve Coeur area of St. Louis, a location in the far western St. Louis suburb of O'Fallon, one in downtown Kansas City in the new Power and Light District near the Sprint Center, and the one we went to located in the Town Center Plaza in Leawood.  The original Bristol Seafood Grill location was in the Country Club Plaza of Kansas City, but that closed up in 1995 (more on that later). 

The four Bristol locations are owned by the Houlihan's corporation, the Kansas City-based restaurant chain with 97 locations in 20 states that had been in and out of financial trouble in the late 90's and right after the turn of the century.  In addition to the Bristol and Houlihan's restaurants under their corporate umbrella, the restaurant company also owns J. Gilberts, a very good Kansas City-area steakhouse that I wrote about here; the Devon Seafood Grill with locations in Chicago, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Hershey, PA; the Braxton Seafood Grill in the Oak Brook Center in suburban Chicago; and Chequers Seafood Grill in Atlanta.  The Devon, Braxton and Chequers Seafood Grills all have the same concept and theme as the Bristol Seafood restaurants. 

Like the others, the Bristol Seafood Grill is more of an upscale casual restaurant.  The bar area is usually full of people and can get very loud at times, while the dining area is more subdued with sturdy chairs and heavy tables covered with white linen.  The executive chef of the Leawood location is Dan Uche, overseeing a staff that makes a number of delectable items to choose from.

A couple of the people were late for our 6 p.m. meeting - one was having car trouble, the other - the owner - was still on a job site.  I sat down with two of the people who I'd known for years and years from working in the audio/video industry, catching up on old times.  The person with car trouble showed up about 6:30 and we were still waiting on the owner.  We decided to order a couple appetizers - Bristol's tuna sushi rolls and a double order of their famous crab cakes.  Our waiter, who was a very agreeable fellow, was already getting high marks for his sense of humor and his attentive nature.  

The center piece of the dining room was this wonderful stained glass dome that was situated right over the top of the room.  I was told that the glass dome was in the original Bristol restaurant in the Plaza area of Kansas City, but that restaurant shut down in 1995 because of a dispute with the then landlord of the property.  When they decided to build a location in Leawood in 2006, they actually pulled the dome off the old building, crated it up and then helicoptered the crate out to the Leawood location where it was put on top of the existing building.  The light filtering through the stained glass dome gave the main dining area a nice warm glow.    

It fully appeared the owner was knee-deep in his work, but did tell one of the people that he'd be there as soon as he could, even if it were just to drop by for a bit.  And the person with car trouble said that he'd probably only be able to stay for a drink and some appetizers as he needed to attend to his automotive problems.  The other two guests and I decided to just to go ahead and order up our food and worry about getting something for the owner a little later on.  

Our appetizers showed up at the table and the tuna sushi rolls was just excellent.  The crab cakes were large and rich - one of my guests said, "I usually order a double order of them for dinner, they're so good." 

And they're filling!  I ate one and I thought there would be no way I could eat a double order of these!  

The guest with the car trouble excused himself to leave, and one of the others made a quick call to see where the boss was.  He was still more than an hour away from leaving and it would have still been a 45 minute drive to the Bristol.  He told us to go ahead and order something and he'd worry about getting something when he got there.  

The menu at Bristol Seafood Grill is very extensive with fresh fish, steaks, pasta and even their rendition of a shrimp enchilada.  There were a couple nightly specials, but I was sort of looking at the Big Eye tuna from Hawaii.  Usually, the Bristol's seafood selections are cooked over a mesquite flame, but our waiter had a blackened cajun special that evening.  I asked him if I could get the Big Eye tuna rare, but blackened and he said, "We can do anything you like with it, sir!"  

I said, "Could you take it out back and drag it through the parking lot, then slam it against the building a couple times?"

The waiter feigned indignation.  "Our seafood is already handled roughly, sir!  That's what makes it so tender!"   He was a great guy.  I got mashed sweet potatoes and a vegetable medley for my sides.

One of the guests order the seared scallops served with a lemon-asparagus risotto.  And the other person ordered the swordfish special along with roasted yellow russet potatoes and asparagus.  

The Bristol's wine list is also pretty extensive with a number of very good wines from a number of vineyards from the Pacific Coast, Australia, New Zealand, France and Italy.  Since everyone was having seafood, I went with a bottle of the Ferrari Carano Fume Blanc from 2008, a light and dry wine that I particularly love with seafood.  I thought it to be a little over priced at $46 bucks, however.  But Bristol was an upscale place and the entrees weren't all that cheap either. 

After talking a little shop and going over some things about their business for a little bit, our entrees showed up at the table.  My blackened Big Eye tuna had a nice sear around the edges, topped with a generous amount of Cajun seasonings.  My knife went easily through the fish and from the first bite I was in heaven.  The combination of the spicy seasonings and the freshness of the fish set off a party on my taste buds.  It was absolutely fabulous.  And very surprising, considering the great seafood dishes I had in Hawaii.  The fish I had at Bristol that night easily beat one or two where I had seafood in Hawaii.

My one guest said his scallops were very good, as well.  "I usually get the double order of crab cakes, but I wanted to try something else tonight.  These are great."

My other guest was fully satisfied with her swordfish.  "I don't know how they get the fish so fresh here in Kansas City," she said.  "But I've never had a bad meal at Bristol."  

Toward the end of dinner, one of my guest's cellphone rang.  It was the boss, he was on his way and would be there in 20 minutes.  We ordered up an order of crab cakes and a salad for him so he'd have it as soon as he walked in.  

He did come in about 25 minutes later, apologizing profusely for missing a good portion of the evening.  But I fully understood.  He had a big job that he needed to complete for a client and even if that meant skipping out on the dinner meeting, so be it.   But we talked business as he ate his salad and crab cakes.  And that continued well into the evening and up to the time that Bristol was getting ready to close at 10 p.m.  

Although nothing was finalized or agreed upon that evening, I think the meeting went about as well as it could have considering the circumstances.  But I will say the meal at Bristol Seafood Grill was just excellent.  I remember it being good when I first ate at the one in St. Louis over 20 years ago.  My blackened Big Eye tuna was just stellar and the service was outstanding.  I gave the waiter a little extra tip as we basically rented a table for six for the night with only three people sitting at it most of the evening. 

Before we left, the general manager - Phil - came over to see how the evening was.  I told him that it was one of the more pleasurable dining experiences in my travels.  He told us to come back and see them again.  

I'm hoping to land this dealer in the Kansas City area because they're located not far from the Bristol Seafood Grill.  And I wouldn't mind going back there again at some point.      

Little Apple Brewing Company - Manhattan, KS

First of all, let me say that Manhattan, KS is one of my all-time favorite cities to travel to.  Yes, that's right - Manhattan, KS.  The home of Kansas State University.  They call Manhattan "The Little Apple" - a take off of New York City/Manhattan being called "The Big Apple."  I dated a girl when I was going to school at the University of Iowa around late 1983 - early 1984 who had gotten her under-graduate degree at K-State and was going for her masters at Iowa.  When I kidded her about going to school in Manhattan, she said, "Oh, no!  Manhattan is a great town.  It's a real party city." 

We didn't date any more than about three or four months as she was more interested in getting her masters and getting out of Iowa City and back to the family business near Dodge City, KS.  But all the time we dated I still was incredulous that Manhattan, KS could be a "party town". 

Imagine my surprise about three years later when I first traveled to Manhattan in 1987 to visit an audio/video dealer based in the Aggieville area near K-State and another dealer over in nearby Junction City.  The drive to Manhattan along I-70 through the Flint Hills region is rather boring.  At the 313 mile marker exit on I-70 it's another nine miles north of the Interstate down into a valley where Manhattan is located.  Suddenly, it's like this oasis in the middle of the prairie.  I instantly fell in love with Manhattan.  Yes, she was right - it was a party city.  The Aggieville bars were fun, the restaurants were pretty good and I would purposely stay in Manhattan for two or three nights - sometimes even staying on Friday and Saturday nights - just to have a large time in town.

As time went on, the dealer in Manhattan - The Sound Shop, owned by John Heritage - went out of business - and that was only to concentrate on his two restaurants, one of which was the Hibachi Hut which I wrote about here during a visit over four years ago.  (He's long since sold the restaurants.)  And the dealer that I used to call on in Junction City had also gone out of business, only to be resurrected when a guy came in and gave him money to re-open his store in Manhattan.  But he's more into car audio than home audio.

Long story short, I don't get out to Manhattan all that much any longer.  But recently, I had a meeting in Salina - about 70 miles from Manhattan - with Acoustic Sounds, one of the largest vendors of vinyl albums and high-end equipment via the Internet in the U.S.  I have stayed in Salina.  There are scary looking people in Salina.  There's not much going on in Salina (even though there used to be a great bookstore in downtown Salina).  I lost $80 dollars in a hotel room robbery in Salina (back in 1988 - I think the maid came in and took the money while I was in the shower).  I wasn't staying in Salina.  I'm staying in Manhattan.

As I said, I visited the Hibachi Hut on my last visit to Manhattan about three years ago.  Next door to the Hibachi Hut is their sister restaurant, Texas Star Cafe.  I used to eat there years ago when John Heritage owned the place.  It features more of a Tex-Mex menu along with some barbecue items and down-home chicken-fried steaks.  I was all set to have dinner there the night I spent in Manhattan earlier this summer.  

I got checked into my hotel, changed clothes and headed down to Aggieville to have dinner at Texas Star (see map).  I parked across the street in the public lot and walked across the street to go to the restaurant.

Now, if you read my recent post regarding Mader's in Milwaukee, I haven't had a lot of luck regarding restaurants, at least the ones I want to eat at. 

When I walked up to the door, it was locked.  The lights were off.  As I was sort of standing there trying to look into the windows trying to figure out if they'd gone out of business, a 50's-something couple happened to be walking by.  The man said, "Trying to get into the Hibachi Hut?"  

I said, "Actually, I was set to eat at Texas Star."

He said, "Oh, they're closed on Tuesdays."  

In an anguished response, I said, "Oh, you're kidding!"  I was completely crestfallen. 

We got to talking about some other places around the area and they gave me some suggestions.  One was a barbecue place, but I was going to eat at Oklahoma Joe's in Kansas City the next night.  I said something about a brew pub or a steakhouse - some place like that.  The lady lit up and said, "Oh, you want to go out to the Little Apple Brewing Company.  It's like a brew pub and steakhouse in one!"

Her husband said, "Well, the food is much better than the beer." 

OK, so I told you that story to set up my entry about the Little Apple Brewing Company.  Known to the locals as LABCO, the brewpub has been in business since 1995.  Co-owner/chef Russ Loub has been in the restaurant business since the age of 13, eventually earning a degree in culinary arts from Johnson and Wales University.  Prior to opening the Little Apple Brewing Company, Loub managed the kitchen at the Manhattan Country Club. 

Loub's priority at the Little Apple Brewing Company is to provide his customers with some of the finest beef possible.  He uses only Certified Angus Beef for his steaks, but also has a natural, anti-biotic/hormone free Kansas City strip steak on the menu.  LABCO also features prime rib on Friday and Saturday nights, and also has a number of standard pub fare items such as burgers, salads, appetizers and some specialty entrees such as a smothered steak and black bean burrito, chicken fried steak and Southern-fried catfish.

I found the Little Apple Brewing Company, tucked back into a strip mall on the west side of Manhattan (see map).  From the outside, it sort of looked a little shabby.  I walked in and it was like walking into an old west steakhouse.  The bar area was off to the immediate right and the main dining room was in the back.  I stood at the hostess stand for a moment waiting for someone to come greet me.  I looked around at the bar area and saw they had a baseball game on the television and a number of people were eating dinner in there.  Unfortunately, the bar, itself, was full, so if I was going to eat in there I was going to have to sit at a table.  

A hostess finally did show up and I asked if I could eat in the bar.  She said, "Sure!  It's open seating in the bar, so anyplace you'd like to plant yourself, go right ahead!"

 

 

I found a table for two near the front of the bar area, looking directly at a television with a game on up in the corner.  I was given a food menu and a beer menu was on the table.  My waitress for the evening, a cute blond with an equally cute name - Cherish - came over to great me.  She asked if I would like something to drink and I decided to try their Prairie Ale, a hoppy Indian Pale Ale that is one of their five flagship beers.  LABCO also features up to three seasonal beers, but at that time their brewmaster, John, had none to offer. 

While I was sort of up for some Tex-Mex food at Texas Star Cafe, I decided to try one of their steaks on the menu.  I was thinking of something along the lines of a filet when Cherish returned with my beer.  She told they had a special on a natural fed filet that evening for $29.99 for a 10 oz. cut.  I told her that I would gladly sign up for that - rare.  I had a choice of potato with my meal, so I took the red potatoes.  A dinner salad or a trip to their salad bar (located in the back dining room) also came with the meal.  I took the salad bar.

The salad bar was very good with a lot of items on the side to choose from.  I got some lettuce, a little cottage cheese and a couple other small sides on my plate, then topped the salad out with some of their homemade blue cheese dressing.  The salad bar offerings were very fresh and the homemade dressing was very good.

I will say the Prairie Ale IPA was OK, at best.  It was a little flat and not quite as forward of a hoppy taste that I've normally found in a good IPA.  I thought about getting one of their other beers but really nothing sounded all that good to me.  They had a brown ale and a red ale, but I decided to stick with the Prairie Ale for my second beer.

Cherish brought out my steak and it looked very good.  I'll call the filet size as a generous 10 ounces.  The steak was not over-cooked and had a nice cool red center.  It was tender and flavorful.  It wasn't the best steak I've ever had, but it was certainly good.  There were about five or six small red potatoes on the plate.  I think I had a couple of them, concentrating on the steak. 

The man that told me the food at the Little Apple Brewing Company was better than the beer was absolutely right.  If I were to grade the beer I'd give it a C-.  The steak was a solid B+, however.  Cherish was a good waitress and I sort of liked the ambiance to the place.  For being in a town miles from any large metro area, the Little Apple Brewing Company does a very nice job and is probably one of the top restaurants in the area.  Even though I couldn't get into Texas Star Cafe that night, I certainly was far from disappointed with my meal at LABCO.  

Next time I go through Manhattan, I'll have to make sure it's not on a Tuesday night... 

El Tejaban - Minneapolis

On a recent visit to Minneapolis, I was up for some Mexican food one evening.  Being out on the South side of town, I decided to try one of my all-time favorite Mexican restaurants, Tejas.  Imagine my surprise when I found it to be shut down!  I'm not having too much luck with restaurants this summer!  Turns out Tejas shut down at the end of 2009 when the owner's lease ran out and the landlord was going to be jacking up the rent significantly.  

I ended up going somewhere else that evening, but the next night I still had a hankering for Mexican food.  I was going to head over Pepitos, a pretty good Mexican restaurant that I've visited a couple of times in the past.  I was heading up Nicollet Ave. heading toward Pepitos when a large sign in a small strip mall on the Northwest side of the corner of W 66th and Nicollet caught my eye - El Tejaban (see map).  It looked interesting enough that it made me turn around and go back to check it out. 

El Tejaban (which roughly translates into "Mexican Hut" in English) has been in business since 2008 when the current owners bought the long time Morelos restaurant at the same location in what is officially Richfield.  El Tejaban's signature items on their menu are made in authentic Mexican molcajete's - authentic serving bowls that date back to the Aztecs and are used primarily to grind spices, to make salsa or guacamole in, or as a bowl to served fresh made Mexican dishes.   

The interior of El Tejaban is similar to a lot of Mexican restaurants, but was full of authentic Mexican artwork and a handful of antiques.  It was well lit, but was shy on customers the night I was in.  I was able to get a booth in the main dining area right away.  The bar area in the back has a large neon sign above it that signifies it as a "Tequila Bar".  I was given a menu and began to look through it.

In addition to mocajete's, El Tejaban has the usual Mexican fare with a nice authentic touch to the food.  They feature a number of specials for both drink and food through the week.  That night I was lucky - it was two for one margaritas that evening. 

The one thing that I also noticed about El Tejaban's very extensive menu of authentic Mexican food was that they didn't offer many combination dishes.  I wanted to try a couple three things on the menu, but they were generally full dinners.  Their "ala carte" selections weren't overly extensive, but I knew I'd be able to find something.

A young man brought out a basket of chips and two different types of salsa.  There was a regular tomato-based salsa, but the other one was rather intriguing.  It was sort of an orange color and had some spices that I really couldn't put my finger on as to what they were.  But I have to say it was very good - a very pleasurable taste sensation that I don't think I'd ever had before.  The orange salsa was so good I was afraid I'd fill up on that and some chips before my main entree showed up.

A good sign about El Tejaban was that I appeared to be the only Anglo in the place.  A family in the booth next to me was speaking in Spanish and I heard the waiter greet some new customers in Spanish, as well.  I've learned long ago that if there are more Hispanic's in a Mexican restaurant, it must be very authentic. 

I finally did find something on the menu that appealed to me - well, actually, a lot of stuff appealed to me, but I was looking for a sampler of things to try.  I did find a combination on the menu of a beef chile relleno, a beef enchilada with a green chile sauce and a beef taco.  For good measure, I ended up getting a pork taco ala carte. 

One of the good things about the 2 for 1 margaritas at El Tejaban, the waiter brought them out one at a time.  The first one was pretty damn good - it had been a long day.  It went down rather quickly and he brought the second one out.  By the time I had that one down, my food came out.  I signed up for another 2 for 1 special on the margaritas.

The first thing that caught my eye were the large portions El Tejaban offers.  The chile relleno was very big and was drizzled with a chipotle cheese topping.  The enchilada had an abundance of a homemade green chile sauce and was topped with a small red onion ring.  And both the beef and pork tacos were over flowing with meat, cheese, chopped lettuce and chopped tomatoes.  The presentation looked scrumptious.  I tried a little bit of both the orange and the regular tomato salsa on the tacos.  I would love to get the recipe for that orange colored salsa at El Tejaban. 

There was no way that I was going to be able to finish the whole meal, but I made a significant dent into the portions.  The chile relleno was a pleasant surprise in that it was stuffed with beef and cheese - most Mexican restaurants I've encountered just do a cheese-stuffed chile relleno.  I really liked the beef and cheese chile relleno at El Tejaban - it reminded me of the old Raul's restaurant in Des Moines.  Raul's had the absolute best chile rellenos stuffed with beef and cheese, dipped in an egg batter and deep-fried to a golden brown.  The chile rellenos at El Tejaban were very similar. 

The pork was a little overcooked on the pork taco, but both the beef enchilada and the beef taco were very good.  I especially liked the green chile sauce - very flavorful and I laid waste to the chile relleno and the enchilada, eating about half each of the tacos.  Between the food, the chips and now up to my fourth margarita at El Tejaban, I was stuffed!   

Overall, I was thoroughly happy with my food and my experience at El Tejaban.  I was pleasantly surprised to find the place and I was happy that I took a chance on a place that I had no idea what I was getting into.  It just looked inviting to me as I drove by.  The service was good, the food was very authentic and very good, and I certainly dug the 2 for 1 margaritas.  El Tejaban goes on the list for good Minneapolis Mexican restaurants.

Update - Sept. 2015 - El Tejaban moved across the street in 2014 from their original location.  It's now on the east side of Nicollet just north of 66th Street. (see map)  The same sign that was on the other building adorns the front of their new location and the dining area is open, festive and well-lit.  The food is still as good as it ever was.

The Cozy Inn - Salina, KS

I read a handful of hamburger/cheeseburger blogs from time to time trying to get ideas as to places I'd like to visit in my travels across the Midwest and beyond.  One place that was prominently mentioned in some of those blogs - a place I knew about for years, but had never visited before - was The Cozy Inn located in downtown Salina, KS (see map).  I hadn't been to Salina in years, but I had been trying to work up a relationship with Salina-based Acoustic Sounds, a mail-order/Internet house that sells higher-end electronics and accessories, as well as vinyl records.  I had a meeting with the sales team at Acoustic Sounds earlier this summer and I had time to stop by The Cozy Inn to try their burgers.

 

Since 1922, The Cozy Inn has been selling millions of "Cozies", as the locals call them, out of the little six-stool building on N. 7th St., just north of Iron Ave.  Bob Kinkel was a young semi-pro baseball player who had relocated to Salina to look for business opportunities.  With the sudden success of a burger place that opened up in 1921 down the line a bit in Wichita - a place called White Castle - Kinkel decided that selling steamed hamburgers would be a good business venture.

Kinkel's small burgers and small building gave diners a cozy feeling, hence, The Cozy Inn name.  The little burgers - steam-grilled with onions, then topped with ketchup, mustard and pickle (no cheese) - were 5 cents each and two-bits would be a satisfying meal for most people.  Through the Depression in the early 30's, The Cozy Inn thrived because Kinkel kept the price of his burgers at 5 cents - and kept that price until the early 40's. 

The outbreak of World War II brought thousands of soldiers to Salina due to the town's proximity to two bases that were built in the early 40's.  The Cozy Inn continued to gain steam by selling thousands of burgers to G.I.'s who were looking for a good meal at a low price.  And many of these G.I.'s would write home to their families and friends telling them about these great cheap burgers coming from a little building in the middle of Kansas. 

When the burger craze began to take hold across America in the 50's, Bob Kinkel and his wife, Kathryn, (pictured left in the 1940's) were already ahead of the rest when it came to good burgers at a low price.  Unfortunately, Bob passed away in 1960 leaving Kathryn to continue to run the business.  Kathryn eventually remarried to a gentleman by the name of Dick Pickering and they continued to run the business for the next 30 years.  

With the passing of Dick Pickering in the early 90's, then Kathryn soon thereafter, the family had bequeathed the restaurant to be run and profits shared by three Salina area institutions - St. John's Military School, Kansas Wesleyan University and Salina Regional Health Center.  After two years, the three institutions decided to sell the restaurant to two Salina men - Gregg Boyle and Max Holthaus.  After running the business for about 10 years, Holthaus and Boyle sold the business to Steve Howard in 2007.  

Howard (right) announced earlier this year that he was looking to open a Cozy Inn location in the Aggieville area of Manhattan, KS, near the campus of Kansas State University.  The biggest problem Howard faces is replicating the grill at the original Cozy Inn in Salina - a grill that has been in use since the early 1930's.  With millions of burgers and tons of onions cooked on that grill over the years, it will be tough to match the taste of burgers cooked on a grill that already has a signature taste built into them.  

I got into The Cozy Inn just before noon.  Just like White Castle burgers and Nick's Hamburger Shop in Brookings, SD, the signs around the restaurant encourage their customers to "buy 'em by the sack".  Over the years, The Cozy Inn has grown with an addition on the north side after tearing down and old building adjacent to the place in the 1980's.  Where the building next to The Cozy Inn was torn down, a parking lot was built.  There's a walk-up window on the north side of the building next to their parking lot.  Stacks of buns were in the back room area and the staff was working feverishly over the grill making about two to three dozen of the small burgers.  The smell of cooking onions and ground meat was heavenly. 

 
A crowd had gathered in the little space - all six of the stools were occupied and another six to eight people were waiting to get their orders.  I looked at the basic menu on the wall opposite the counter and decided to order six burgers.  Only I made the rookie mistake of asking for six CHEESEburgers.  The man behind the counter gruffly said, "No cheese!"  

Oh, OK!  Well, make it six burgers!   I got a bottle of water to go along with the burgers.  I tried to take a few pictures with my camera phone, but the people behind the counter were moving quickly and the two people tending to the grill were hunched over it, not giving me much of a clear shot of the burgers and onions on the steam grill.  

About five to seven minutes after I ordered, the guy who took my order asked me what I'd ordered - they don't write anything down at The Cozy Inn - and he figured up what six burgers and a bottle of water cost.  It came to $5.60 plus tax ("Cozies" are 75 cents each, double "Cozies" are $1.30 each).  He handed me a bottle of water, then a sack of my six burgers.  The Cozy Inn has a handful of tables outside, so I went out and opened up the sack for my first "Cozy" experience.  

The burger was very small, but a bit bigger than a White Castle burger.  It appeared that each of the burgers were hand-patted and pressed on the grill.  It had a good flavor to the burger, although the patty wasn't very thick.  

Then I opened the next one up to take a picture of the burger with the condiments on top (pictured lower left).  I sort of stopped and looked incredulously at the burger patty, exclaiming, "Well, what the hell?"  There *may* have been two ounces of meat on my burger.  I about crapped on the spot.  There was more of the bun and condiments than burger!  Two bites of that particular burger and all that was left was half a bun with some grilled onions and a pickle smeared with mustard and ketchup.   At least a White Castle "slider" has a patty that covers the square width of their buns.  These hardly covered 2/3rds of the size of the bun. 

 

 

 
I unwrapped and opened up another burger (pictured upper right) - this one was just as bad.  The burger was mis-shapen and it looked like a large chunk had fallen off when it was transferred to the bun.  I couldn't believe that this was the great Cozy Inn that bloggers, food critics and historians called one of the great treasures of Middle America.  I mean, I make bigger meatballs at home than the amount of meat they put on a "Cozy" burger. 

Feeling very disheartened and somewhat cheated in my experience, I quickly finished my final three burgers (checking each to see that, they too, were woefully short of beef) and dutifully threw away my trash in one of the outdoor receptacles.  I stopped to take a few exterior pictures before I left and then I got in my car to take off for Hays, KS - fully thinking that I'd been overly screwed by The Cozy Inn.  As I drove down Interstate 70 to the west thinking, "THAT was THE Cozy Inn that I'd heard about and read about for years?  The same one that all these people raved over the taste of their burgers?"  I was severely disappointed, to say the least. 

One burger blog from an East Coast man that I visit from time to time - and whose opinion of what makes a great burger falls in line with mine - stated that the Cozy Inn was the best burger he'd ever tasted.  While the taste of the burger was good - when there was ground beef on the bun - I thought the "Cozies" at The Cozy Inn were over-hyped, over-priced and average, at best.  This place wouldn't even come close to making an honorable mention on my List of Top Burgers.  The history, the unique nature of the business and the build-up to my visit to The Cozy Inn were all trounced by the minuscule offerings on their burgers.  If I get back out to Salina in the future, I won't be going back to The Cozy Inn. 

Tasty Tacos - Des Moines

What I call Des Moines style tacos are unique in that a handful of local places over the years will deep fry the flour tortilla shell giving it a fluffy and somewhat crunchy contour.  Some places would actually roll the beef and into the shell and pop it down in a fryer for about 15 to 20 seconds.  Unfortunately two of my favorite places that used to do their tacos that way - Lil' Nips Taco Village and Raul's - are long out of business.  However, there is one establishment in Des Moines that still deep fries the flour tortillas - Tasty Tacos. 

Tasty Tacos began in 1961 in what is described as a little "hole-in-the-wall" location in Des Moines.  Richard and Antonia Mosqueda built the business from their first location into now five locations around the greater Des Moines area.  A sixth location is expected to open in north suburban Ankeny this summer.  The Mosqueda family is still involved with the business.   Rick Mosqueda is the overall manager of the business, but is also well known in the Des Moines area as being a drummer for a number of blues-style bands over the years.  Rick's brother, Andre, is a long-time disc-jockey who has his own local blues show on a local radio station in Des Moines.  The food at Tasty Tacos is not very different from the time I first visited one of their places nearly 30 years ago. 

I got into Des Moines late one evening and was looking for something quick before I checked into my hotel near the Des Moines Airport.  I immediately thought about the Tasty Taco location on SE 14th St., a couple three miles east of where I was staying (see map).  It was just before 9 p.m. when I pulled into the place.  A worker was mopping the floor in part of the restaurant and a younger couple was enjoying their food toward the back of the place. 

I knew exactly what I wanted when I got to the front counter and looked up at the menu - two original beef tacos.  You can also get Tasty Tacos' original taco with refried beans, chicken or steak.  Tasty Taco is more of a fast-food type of Mexican restaurant with a limited variety of Mexican food such as burritos, enchiladas, nachos and tostadas.  

 

It was about a three minute wait before my number was called and I went up to the counter and picked up my tacos.  The tacos came out in a plastic basket on top of wax paper - nothing fancy in the presentation, that's for sure.  The shells were puffed up the way that I like them, but with a little crunchy texture to the outside edges.  They were stuffed with ample amounts of seasoned ground beef, lettuce and shredded cheese.  With the addition of some of their homemade salsa, the tacos had a little spicy kick to them.  The taste and texture of the taco shell at Tasty Tacos is what sets them apart from other places that sell tacos. I just like that deep fried shell giving the taco a little more heft to the overall taste and feel of the shell.  

Now, Tasty Taco is far from having what I would call authentic Mexican food.  And there are a number of places in the Des Moines area that have a great selection of Mexican items on their menu.  Lord knows there's enough Taco John's and Taco Bell fast food restaurants in the area.  Tasty Taco's niche is right in between the national fast food and the local authentic restaurants and at a much better value.  Tasty Tacos may have originated the deep fried taco shell in Des Moines.  But if Lil' Nips and Raul's were still open, I would have to call Tasty Tacos my third favorite deep fried flour taco in the Des Moines area.  But since Tasty Taco is the only one remaining, they - by default - make my favorite deep fried flour taco in Des Moines.  And that's not a back-handed compliment to the restaurant - Tasty Taco's original flour tacos are still consistently very good and a nice treat for me from time to time.  The Mosqueda family has been doing this for nearly 50 years and there's something to be said about consistency. 

B&B Grocery Meat and Deli - Des Moines

(Note - B&B Grocery made Road Tips' updated Top Ten List of Best Burgers for 2011.  Click here to see the entry.)

A shout out today to my good friend, Jeff "Burph" Versteegh, who asked me earlier this year if I'd ever been to the Killer Deli inside B&B Grocery in Des Moines.  He said, "They've got pretty good sandwiches there."  Not only had I never been there, I'd never heard of the place.  And after doing some research, then subsequently visiting B&B Grocery earlier this summer, I'm sort of embarrassed to say that it had never, ever popped up on my radar before. 

One of the biggest reasons for my embarrassment is that I grew up near Des Moines and thought of myself as a guy who knew a lot of the out of the way places in the city.  But B&B Grocery never registered before and it should have - they've been in business for 88 years. 

Brothers John and Archie Brooks opened the little south side grocery in Des Moines in 1922 making B&B the oldest grocery store in the city.  Over the years, John and Archie expanded their little store, even opening a second location at the corner of SE 6th and SE Hartford - across from their present location today (see map). 

Archie Brooks passed away in 1957 and his brother continued to run the business with the help of Archie's widow, Gwen, and Archie's two sons - John A and Archie, Jr.  John Brooks retired in 1965 and Gwen retired to Arizona in 1971 leaving her two sons to run the business.  John A. Brooks eventually bought the store from the family in 1977 and along with his wife and sons, they ushered B&B into the modern era by adding homemade deli sandwiches to their butcher business.  Their sandwiches are named "Killer Sandwiches" because that's what a hungry railroad worker asked for when he wandered in one day nearly 30 years ago.   

John A. Brooks sons - Joe and John A., Jr. (right - this picture had to be taken 20 years ago) - took over the family business and continued the family tradition. Joe's daughter and John's sons also work in the family business making 4 generations of Brooks who have worked behind the counter at B&B.  And, reportedly, there's now a 5th generation of the Brooks family who will one day work in the family business.  

Not only is B&B Grocery known for their "Killer Sandwiches" and their old-fashioned meat counter that continues to stock specialty meats and cheese that grocery stores quit carrying long ago, they're also known as having one of the best hamburgers in Des Moines.  That's right - a deli/meat market making their own burger.  While a burger was intriguing on my initial visit, I was there for a good ol' "Killer Sandwich".  

It was just before the noon lunch rush when I walked into B&B Grocery.  I could easily smell the burger meat cooking on a grill as I walked in.  I went past the front counter and down toward the meat counter to check out the menu posted on a board behind the counter.  As I was sort of standing there, I heard this voice next to me say, "What are YOU doing here?"

It was an old friend from my days growing up in nearby Newton, Terry Moss, who was there on his lunch hour picking up a sandwich with a co-worker.  I told him that our mutual friend, Burph, had turned me on to this place and I was there to try it out.  Terry asked, "Are you gonna write about it on your blog?"  Well, of course, Terry!  

I went up to the counter and Joe Brooks was there.  I said, "I hear you guys have great sandwiches." 

He said, "Oh, you bet!"  And he described a couple of them including "Dad's Killer Sandwich" -  roast beef, turkey breast, smoked ham, corned beef, pepper cheese, Swiss cheese, American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, Kosher pickles, mustard, Miracle Whip, Tuscan Italian dressing on a soft Italian hoagie roll.  "It's the original 'Killer Sandwich' that my dad came up with."  I immediately signed up for one of those. 

While I waited, I chatted up Terry, catching up on things going on in our lives and checking out other things they had to offer on their menu.  Good God, they had a lot to offer.  They had different sizes of burgers from a single patty all the way up to the 1.3 pound "Quadzilla" burger featuring 4 1/3 lb. burger patties.  They also had homemade breaded tenderloin sandwiches, Italian sausage sandwiches, grilled rib eye and grilled chicken sandwiches and a who list of variations of a "name-your-own" killer sandwich.  My friend, Burph, said that he's particularly fond of the "Zach's Killer" (named after John Brooks' son) sandwich that has more Italian meats on it than the potpourri of traditional meats on a "Dad's Killer".  Oooo...  Another sandwich to try on another trip to B&B Grocery. 

A young girl brought out my sandwich to me and I went over to the cooler and pulled out a bottle of water.  The procedure then it to take it to the counter and pay for it.  While B&B Grocery has a sit down area with a counter and swivel chairs, I opted to take mine to my car and get going for what was going to be a long trip between Des Moines and Manhattan, KS. 

As I unwrapped my "Dad's Killer" sandwich, I could easily see that it was stacked high with the four different types of meat and the three different types of cheese.  The lettuce was shredded and there were pretty ripe tomatoes on the sandwich as well. 

From the first bite I could immediately see why the "Dad's Killer" sandwich has been voted the best deli sandwich in the Des Moines over the past few years.  The bread was light and chewy, the meat was great and the cheese was very fresh.  Even with the combination of the Miracle Whip, mustard and the Italian dressing, it was a "killer" sandwich.  It reminded me a lot of the Davanni's "assorted whole" sandwich that I like to get when I visit the Twin Cities.  And I love those sandwiches tremendously.  But the "Dad's Killer" sandwich was definitely on par with the sandwiches at Davanni's. 

I was back in Des Moines for business later in the summer and had a chance to stop by the Killer Deli at B&B Grocery for one of their cheeseburgers.  It was the middle part of the afternoon when I got in there, but there was still four or five people waiting on sandwiches. 

I asked the 20-something cook behind the counter about the burgers and whether a single or a double would be the best.  He was a young guy of small stature and he said, "I can down a double hamburger, no problem.  You can do a double."  So I ordered up a double with cheese. 

It takes about 15 minutes to make a burger at B&B Grocery, so I wandered around the store looking at stuff and grabbing a newspaper to read.  Finally, the guy yelled out, "Hey, your double cheeseburger with everything is ready!"  He placed the burger wrapped in butcher paper on the counter for me.  The price was only $3.89 - a great bargain for a big cheeseburger.

After paying for the burger at the check out counter, I decided that I wanted to use their little dining area toward the front of the store to enjoy my burger.  The bun was soft and chewy, the burger patties were thick and juicy.  The burger itself was very flavorful and very good.  It had just a little pink in the middle, just the way I like my burgers.  The cheese just oozed off the burgers and it was definitely a four napkin meal.  I may have to add B&B Grocery to my honorable mention list of burgers when I update it at some point. 

As I was leaving, the kid who made my burger was out back behind the store on a smoke break.  He said, "Hey, buddy!  How did you like that burger?"

I told him it was very good.  "Surprisingly good," I said with emphasis. 

He said, "Great!  Glad you enjoyed it!" 

In addition to other awards for having the best burgers, tenderloins and being the best south side grocery store in Des Moines, B&B Grocery has also garnered the "Best Kept Secret in Des Moines" award, as well.   Well, I certainly didn't know about the place until Burph told me and I'm certainly glad I did.  The "Killer Sandwich" was, well, killer.  The burger was excellent.  My next visit, I'll be getting a "Zach's Killer" sandwich.  B&B Grocery is one of those little out of the way gems that I love finding during my travels - even if someone has to tell me about it first.

Bonfyre American Grille - Madison, WI

I was visiting the head of the audio department at American TV in Madison earlier this summer and asked him out for lunch.  He gave me two options - one, kind of a dive bar that had lunch specials; or two, a place across the Beltway expressway from the main American TV store called Bonfyre American Grille (see map).  "It's a little more upscale," he told me as he climbed in my car.  I said upscale was fine with me. 

Initially, I thought it was the same place as Axel's Bonfire, a place I've written about here and here based out of the Twin Cities.  But after looking at how Bonfyre spells the name with a "y" instead of an "i", I figured out they weren't the same.  But quite honestly, there were a ton of similarities between the two.

Actually, I wouldn't call Bonfyre as much upscale as much as I'd call it American contemporary, very similar to Axel's Bonfire in Minnesota where they cook the food over open flame.  Located in the Arbor Gate Center, it's quickly become one of the hotter spots to eat in Madison.  Parking at peak times can be a little rough - we drove around for about three minutes looking for a space to open up during the height of the lunch rush. 

Bonfyre American Grille's owner is Alfredo Teuschler, a local restaurateur who also owns the upscale Eno Vino wine bar and restaurant.  Teuschler used to own a Houlihan's franchise on the west end of town and was a co-owner in the elegant Cloud 9 when it was open in Madison.  Teuschler opened Bonfyre in the latter part of 2009 and it has been one of the more welcome additions on an already crowded restaurant scene in Madison. 

The hostess took us to our table located near the front window of the restaurant that had a not so nice view of the parking lot and the Beltway beyond.  We took a look at the lunch menus and discussed ever so briefly about getting a Capital Supper Club beer for lunch.  The American TV guy has also fallen in love with Capital beers.  The Capital Supper Club is suddenly my favorite summertime beer.  It has a taste that is not all that far away from the old Leinenkugel Northwoods Lager that I loved so much when it was available.  But after coming to the realization that it probably wouldn't be a good idea to go back to talk to staffers and other upper management at American TV with beer on our breaths, we reluctantly passed on getting a cold one with lunch.

The lunch menu at Bonfyre isn't much different from the dinner menu in terms of selection.  The main difference between the two are the combinations offered during the lunch portion of the day.  For between $9 and $12 dollars you get your choice of a variety of half-sandwiches, chicken entrees, jambalaya, grilled shrimp and other items along with a salad or a cup of soup.  A number of the items are full entrees on the dinner menu.  

One thing Bonfyre did have was fish tacos.  Yep, good ol' grilled fish tacos topped with cabbage, a creamy chipotle dressing with pico de gallo and refried beans served on the side.  I know I'm getting sort of boring with the fish taco thing, but I'm on some sort of a personal quest to find great fish tacos - sort of the same way that I always get sausage, pepperoni and mushroom on my pizza when I find a new pizza place.  I need to have some sort of a measuring stick when it comes to the things I'm eating.  I ended up ordering the fish tacos combo with a salad.

My guest ordered the jambalaya combo for lunch, however he asked if he could get a wedge salad instead of a regular salad.  The waitress said, "Sure!  There would be a $2.00 upcharge, but we can make it happen."

"Uh, hang on a second," I said as I stopped her from walking away.  "Change mine to a wedge salad, as well." 

Thankfully, the wedge salads were small - much smaller than what you'd find with a regular wedge salad.  Actually, I didn't know if that was their regular wedge salad or a lunch time size.  But it was very manageable in size.  And the homemade creamy blue cheese dressing was very good.  The blue cheese chunks were huge and very forward in taste.  I wondered if they were using Maytag Blue Cheese in the dressing.  

When the waitress came back to check on us, I asked her if they used Maytag Blue Cheese in their dressing.  She said she didn't know, but she would find out.  A couple moments later, she came back and said, "I asked the chef if it was Maytag Blue Cheese in the dressing and he said, 'Absolutely!' "  She said one of their signature appetizers is the homemade potato chips topped with Maytag blue and jalapeno jack cheeses.  

I commenced to tell the waitress and my guest that I grew up in Newton, IA - home of the Maytag Dairy Farm and Maytag Blue Cheese.  About how they used to sentence every fifth grade class in the Newton Community School District with tours of the facility and how bad it smelled.  My guest was laughing and he said, "Well, yeah!  It's cultured and moldy cheese!  It was bound to smell horrible."  I told them that it was a good 20 years after that before I began to like blue cheese.

Our entrees came out not long after and I had a couple of large fish tacos filled with a grilled white fish with a cabbage mix and the chipotle cream sauce.  And I will say they were very, very good.  The fish was fresh, light and had a nice charred taste to it.  The chipotle cream sauce added a little subtle kick to the tacos.  

My guest's jambalaya was interesting looking - not quite the jambalaya I've seen, but more of a rice dish with a tomato-based sauce and five or six large grilled shrimp placed on top.  He said it was good, however, and made a large dent into it before declaring himself rather full.  

A manager from Bonfyre came over and asked us, "Which one of you is from Newton, IA?"  I told him I was and he said that he had actually toured the Maytag Dairy Farm a few years ago.  I quickly told him the story of being a 10-year-old going through the dairy and the being exposed to the cheese vats and how horrible it smelled.  He said, "That's sort of weird that they'd make little kids go through the dairy.  Yeah, it smells pretty horrific in that vat room.  I can imagine that a little kid would probably be turned off with blue cheese if they smelled it during the processing."  

I thought Bonfyre was pretty good.  My fish tacos were above average, I did like the wedge salad and the service was good, as well.  It was a very pleasant experience and I thought, overall, Bonfyre was a very good, dynamic restaurant.  It's nice to have another option for dinner in Madison and Bonfyre is not far from the core of dealers that I call on in the city.  I was impressed.