Road Tips

BB's Lawnside BBQ - Kansas City, MO

Kansas City has so many great barbecue places and even though I've been going to the city for years and years, it's been difficult to try all of them.  While I was down in Kansas City earlier this year, I had the hankering for some barbecue and decided to go to one of the places I had tried to get into a couple times before, but it turned out the place - which is also a destination for live blues music in Kansas City - was packed both times.  I finally got a chance to have some barbecue at BB's Lawnside BBQ.  

Lindsay Shannon grew up in Kansas City and used to go to ball games at the old Muehlebach Field (later called Municipal Stadium) that was the home of the Kansas City Blues minor league baseball team, the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Baseball League, and eventually the Kansas City Athletics from Major League Baseball.  Municipal Stadium was located near the heart of the famous barbecue neighborhood surrounding 18th and Vine.  Shannon developed his love for barbecue at some of the more famous barbecue joints in the area including Arthur Bryant's, Harris' Barbecue and Gates Barbecue.  

When Shannon got into his teens, he found joy in listening to jazz music from a local Kansas City station during his lunch hour at home from high school.  At night, he could listen to blues music from stations such as KAAY in Little Rock, AR and XERF located across the border from Del Rio, TX.  He soon fell in love with some of the blues music of the day and began to immerse himself in the history of the blues.  But his first love was barbecue and while he was in college, he acquired his first barbecue smoker.

After college, Lindsay Shannon was living in Des Moines, IA for a time.  It was there that he met a young lady who was living downstairs from him in a duplex.  Jo Davis had moved from Pittsburgh after graduating from high school in 1968 to be closer to family in Des Moines and the two hit it off.  Jo and Lindsay were married in 1971.  

Jo and Lindsay Shannon moved to Kansas City soon thereafter as Lindsay started on a sales career and Jo started working for an advertising company.  By 1977, Lindsay was hosting a weekly show playing blues music on the local public radio station.  He was the founder of the Kansas City Blues Society in 1980 and was the booking agent for the blues stage at the Kansas City Spirit Festival for a number of years.  

In 1986, a local classic rock radio station - KCFX 101.1 The Fox - contacted Lindsay to see if he would move his popular weekly blues program over to their station.  KCFX had a much larger audience than the local public radio station and Shannon thought that anything he could do to help promote blues music would be a plus.  In 1987, Shannon began his career at KCFX and his Sunday night blues show from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. ran for over 25 years.  

But Lindsay really wanted to run his own barbecue restaurant.  He found a place in south Kansas City that had been built in 1950 as a roadhouse that was able to sell beer and liquor as it was just across the street from the Kansas City city limits.  It eventually became a barbecue joint in the 60's as Kansas City filled in around the restaurant.

Pictured right - Jo and Lindsay Shannon.  Photo courtesy KCFX - 101. The Fox

Lindsay had a guy who used to work at Harris' Barbecue who came down to the building to inspect the barbecue pit that was in place.  It was an old-style pit which burned wood and not pellets and it met with the approval of the veteran pit master.  The Shannons signed the lease on the building in the summer of 1990 as Lindsay quit his solid sales job.  BB's Lawnside BBQ opened in October of that year - the "BB" in the barbecue joint's name came naturally from blues great B.B. King.

In 1992, Jo quit her job with the advertising company to join Lindsay full time.  Jo ran the kitchen and books, and BB's Lawnside started to serve some of her Louisiana-inspired dishes such as jambalaya, red beans and rice, and gumbo.  

Lindsay had always wanted to combine his barbecue with blues music.  In 1991, Lindsay hosted his first music event - BB's Lawnside Blues & BBQ Festival - showcasing blues artists over a couple days in early September.  The event expanded over the years and in 1999 the Shannons added an outside deck for the festival.  The Blues & BBQ Festival now runs for nearly a week as blues artists and blues fans from all over the nation come to BB's for the annual event.  

For years, Lindsay and Jo's son Michael worked side-by-side with his parents in the business.  However, in 2012 Michael passed away unexpectedly dealing a personal and professional blow to the Shannons.  And earlier this month, I'm sad to report that Jo Shannon also passed away after 50 years of marriage to Lindsay.  

BB's is located just east of Troost Ave. on E. 85th Street.  (see map)  There is no cross street at Troost and E. 85th and Troost is on a viaduct over 85th.  To get to BB's, you have to turn onto a frontage road at E. 84th Street and head back to 85th.  BB's is located about 250 feet east of Troost on the south side of 85th.  

There was a moderate late lunch crowd in BB's when I went inside.  The rectangular dining space featured a bar on one end with some high-top tables nearby.  The inside stage area was on the far side of the bar in front of a wall of windows that let in a lot of natural light.  Vinyl red and white checkerboard table cloths covered the tables in the joint.  

There was posters from previous shows at BB's Lawnside as well as a number of posters of local blues festivals from over the years.  Photos of performers as well as other memorabilia covered nearly every inch of the walls.  I found myself lingering after finishing my lunch to check out some of the things they had on display.  I especially liked the sign that simply said, "BBQ, Beers, Blues!"  Music from blues artists such as Son Seals, Carey Bell, Pinetop Perkins (who I saw years ago at the old Blues Etc. in Chicago) and, of course, B.B. King played in the background during my visit.  

I sat down at one of the high-top tables near the bar area and was greeted by a young lady who asked what I wanted to drink.  They had Boulevard American Pale Ale in bottles available and I asked for one of those.  

The menu at BB's Lawnside consists of a number of smoked meats - turkey, beef brisket, ham, chicken, pulled pork and ribs.  Appetizers such as double beer-battered Spanish onion rings, beer-battered shrimp, pulled pork nachos, and chicken tenders were available.  Sandwiches such as a battered chicken breast, smoked Italian sausage, and a mixed meat sandwich featuring a little bit of everything were on the menu.  Dinners such as a barbecue meat loaf, smoked catfish, and half or quarter chicken plates were part of the offerings.  

I usually get a combo platter when I first go to a barbecue joint that I hadn't been to before.  They had a three meat platter with a choice of brisket, ham, turkey or pulled pork with two sides on the menu.  They also had a combo plate with ribs, Italian sausage and a choice of meat available.  But I was sort of in the mood for burnt ends.  

I ended up getting the getting the burnt ends dinner - a pile of brisket tips with battered fries and pit beans.  The burnt ends were served on a piece of white bread and dill pickle slices came on the side.  

Now, when I first started to go to Kansas City years and years ago, I tried burnt ends.  I found them to be dried out and somewhat tasteless.  I really resisted burnt ends for the next few years before I finally tried some as part of a combo platter at a rib joint.  I found those to be succulent, tender, and delicious.  I've warmed up to burnt ends over the years and found that the first time I had them was an anomaly.  The burnt ends at BB's Lawnside were outstanding. They were tender and juicy with a nice hickory smoke flavor throughout.  And at BB's Lawnside BBQ, they give you a pile of burnt ends for $14.50.  

The battered fries were interesting.  They were basically potato wedges, or more like potato spears.  When the platter was placed in front of me, I thought the battered fries were actually fried pickle spears.  The outer side of the battered fries were crisp and the inside of the wedges were light and flaky.  They were actually very good and they were made even better by squeezing some of the barbecue sauce on to them.  

Speaking of barbecue sauces, BB's Lawnside had 3 different sauces to choose from.  They had their version of a mild Kansas City sweet-and-smoky sauce, a hot sauce that was basically the same as the mild only kicked up a bit with some cayenne pepper, and a sweet peach habanero sauce.  Now, I usually stay away from anything habanero, but for some reason I squeezed a little out onto the battered fries and gave it a try.  It was cool, sweet and tangy on the front end.  But moments later this taste explosion erupted on the back of my tongue.  It was spicy, but not burn-your-face-off spicy.  It was probably too spicy for sensitive tastes, but I thought it was just outstanding.  In fact, that's all I used for the rest of my meal.  The pit beans mixed with some of the sweet peach habanero sauce had such a wonderful flavor.  

But I screwed up.  I should have asked to see if I could have purchased a quart of the stuff.  I've done that a couple three times with some sauces that I've really enjoyed in the past that I knew weren't available for retail purchase.  But I didn't.  And that sort of sucked.  Oh well...

I finally got the chance to experience BB's Lawnside BBQ after getting shut out on a couple of previous visits when the place was packed because of live music playing in the joint.  I have to say that I liked nearly everything about the place.  It was the quintessential dive barbecue joint.  The blues memorabilia, alone, is worth a visit to BB's Lawnside. The burnt end platter was outstanding and the battered potato fries were surprisingly good.  And everything was made even better from the deliciously sweet and spicy sweet peach habanero sauce that they make in house at BB's Lawnside.  It's not a fancy place compared to some other barbecue places in Kansas City, but don't let that fool you.  BB's Lawnside is a top-notch barbecue joint in a city famous for their barbecue.  

Founders Brewing Company - Grand Rapids, MI

During our vacation earlier this year up in the Grand Rapids area, we visited many of the local breweries the city has to offer.  Quite possibly the most successful and high profile brewery in the city is Founders Brewing Company.  We found out that they had a taproom with a kitchen that featured deli-style sandwiches and hand-tossed pizzas.  We decided to head to Founders for lunch one day during our time in Grand Rapids.  

It's sort of interesting how I found out about Founders Brewing.  My Michigan brewery of choice for a number of years was Bell's Brewery based out of Kalamazoo.  About 10 years ago, my wife and I were on a vacation trip to Michigan and it seemed like every place where I tried to order a Bell's Two Hearted American IPA - a staple at bars and restaurants around the Midwest - didn't have it.  About the only Bell's beer that we encountered at places in Michigan was the Bell's Oberon Ale wheat beer.  However, most places had the Founders Centennial IPA available.  At one place, I asked the bartender as to why there seemed to be a dearth of Bell's beer - especially when their brewery was just down the road in Kalamazoo.  I was told that Bell's founder Larry Bell could be, well, sort of a prickly individual - only the term the bartender used a much stronger term than that.  "A lot of places have just given up trying to work with Bell's," I was told.  "The guys at Founders are good guys and they make good beer."  I've since sort of migrated over to the Founders All Day IPA which is a lighter version of the Centennial IPA.  

The history of Founders Brewing starts with two college buddies who had a common interest in home-brewed beers.  While he was in college, Dave Engbers received his first brew kit as a present from his parents.  His older brother had already been making homemade wine, beer and mead, and Engbers parents thought that Dave would enjoy brewing his own beer.  

Mike Stevens was enamored with the growing culture of west coast craft beers, especially the beers from Sierra Nevada.  He set about to try and replicate some of those beers at home.  Even though he threw out his first batch of beer, he persevered and little did he know that his hobby would later become his vocation.

Stevens and Engbers met at Hope College in Holland, MI and found their common interest in home brewing beers.  Engbers was the one who first proposed having their own craft brewery at some point after some of the west coast craft breweries he was so fond of.  

By 1994, both were out of college and started to work on a business plan they could present to banks and other investors for financing for their brewery.   By 1997, they had procured approximately $350,000 and were ready to open their brewery.

Pictured right - Mike Stevens and Dave Engbers.  Photo courtesy Craft Brewing Business.  

Coming up with a name was the next thing to do.  Initially, they were going to call their brewery Canal Street Brewing Company as a homage to the street where the bulk of Grand Rapids breweries were located before Prohibition.  In the process of doing background work on the history of Grand Rapids breweries, the two found a picture of four men who were owners of breweries back in the 1880's.  Above the four men was the term "Founders" which meant those gentlemen were the founders of the breweries.  Steven and Engbers used that picture on their early bottles they had brewed.  Some of their early customers started to refer to their beer as "Founders".  Both Engbers and Stevens figured out that was probably a better name than Canal Street Brewing Company.

The first Founders brewery was a 9800-square foot building known as the Brass Works Building on Monroe Street in Grand Rapids.  (Monroe Street was originally called Canal Street before the turn of the 20th century.)  By 1998, Founders opened their first tap room serving beers to the public.  Because they were on a shoestring budget from under-capitalization, Engbers and Stevens were the brewers, bartenders, bar managers and owners.  

Founders beers weren't exactly setting the world on fire.  By 1999, the co-owners had fallen behind on financial payments and at one point their only income was from the tips they were receiving working at the bar.  But it soon became evident that the two were going deeper and deeper into the hole.  

By 2001, they were far behind with payments to the bank and they were behind in rent to their landlord.  Plus they were 8 months behind in paying state taxes.  One day, they got a certified letter from their bank saying they had 6 days to make up the payments of which they were in arrears.  Their landlord caught wind of it and immediately demanded payment or he would lock up the building with a chain and lock.  Really down on their luck and not thinking straight, Engbers went out and bought a large bolt cutter that he thought they would have to use if their landlord or the bank locked them out.  

Instead of having to use the bolt cutters, Stevens and Engbers started to canvas other potential investors around the area to see if someone would help them get out of their dire situation.   One of those potential investors was Grand Rapids area philanthropist Peter Cook.  During their meeting, Cook gave no indication that he was interested in investing in their brewery.  But he did give them this advice, "Look forward to the future and not backwards at the disaster."  

After leaving their meeting with Cook, Stevens and Engbers were all but sure they would be forced into bankruptcy.  They went back to their taproom to have a "come-to-Jesus" realization meeting with themselves. They realized the beers they were making were bland and they didn't even really like them at all.  They started to talk about the beers they wanted to make at some point, not knowing if the bank would be showing up in the next couple days to serve papers on them.  

However, the next day they got a call from their bank.  Peter Cook had made a phone call and guaranteed the bank loan and authorized a line of credit for more financial help for Steven and Engbers.  Other investors stepped forward to help pay off other debts the brewery had accumulated.  That was the impetus the duo needed to continue on with their venture.  

Engbers and Stevens then fired their head brewer at the time and brought in a new team that included Jeremy Kosmicki.  With Kosmicki's vision, Founders dumped their boring beers and came up with some exciting beers such as the aforementioned Centennial IPA, the Kentucky Bourbon Stout - commonly known as KBS - that was aged in bourbon casks, and the Dirty Bastard Scotch ale that became Founders signature beer.  

As Founders Brewing Co. grew, they continued to lose money.  Distribution problems, mounting costs and the lack of a proficient space to brew their beers was the biggest problem.  Their original location could only produce approximately 5000 barrels of beer annually.  A larger place would allow them to produce more beer and to one day pursue national distribution.  

In 2006, Engbers and Stevens found a building that was an old trucking warehouse on Grandville Ave. SE just south of downtown Grand Rapids.  The 27,000-square foot terminal had closed in 1991 and had sat vacant since then.  They were able to renovate it into a brewery and they moved into their larger facility in 2007.  The brewery was soon producing 11,000 barrels annually and was growing exponentially over the next few years, finally going into the black and being able to begin to pay back investors and financial institutions.  In 2014, Founders announced a $35 million dollar expansion adding another 12,000-square feet to the building that would give them the capacity to produce up to 900,000 barrels of beer on an annual basis.  By 2018, Founders was the 14th largest brewery in the United States and was producing over 550,000 barrels of beer annually.   

To help finance that expansion in 2014, Stevens and Engbers sold a 30 percent stake in Founders Brewing Co. to Mahou-San Miguel, the largest brewer in Spain.  And in 2019, Mahou-San Miguel bought another 60% of the brewery allowing for Engbers and Stevens to stay on as combined 10% share holders in the brewery.  The further investment by the Spanish family-owned brewery was designed to take Founders nationwide.  In all, it was estimated that Engbers and Stevens were paid over $295 million dollars for their controlling stakes in Founders Brewing Co.  Not too bad for a couple guys who were hours away from bankruptcy just 20 years ago!

Founders Brewing Company is located between the Grand River and the US 131 freeway that winds north south through Grand Rapids.  (see map)   Parking is sort of limited in the area, but we found a parking spot on the north side of the brewery along Williams Street SW.  

As we went to the front door of the public entrance to Founders Brewing, we found their beer garden to the left.  It was a good sized open air space with benches, picnic tables and outdoor heaters for cooler days and evenings.  It was a brilliant sun-shiny day when we were there and we sort of contemplated about sitting outside for a moment.

On the far end of the beer garden was a full functioning bar with high-top tables and heaters hanging from the ceiling.  It was open on the sides, but it appeared that there were plastic screens that could be rolled down to continue to make it a functional space even on cold or rainy days.  

The main area of Founders Brewing Company features the original beer hall.  Heavy on wood accents, the main hall has a stage at one end for live music events.  Garage doors that can be opened to the beer garden are part of the beer hall with a long ornate bar opposite the garage doors.  

We took a seat in the middle of the beer hall and were given a couple food menus and beer menus to look over.  It wasn't long before our server, a 30-something guy by the name of John, came over to greet us.  It turned out that John had worked in the kitchen at Founders Brewing for 5 years before he grew tired of being in the back and wanted to interact with people out front.  Before he started at Founders, he told us he was a pastry chef.  "But, man, the 3 a.m. work calls got to be too much after awhile," he said.  John gave us a few minutes to get settled in as we checked out the lengthy list of beers they had to offer in the tap room.

It turned out that John was very helpful in trying to figure out which beers to try at Founders.  They have three different classes of beers at Founders - Class 1 features some of their well-known beers as well as some seasonal beers.  Class 2 beers are the more eclectic beers including their nitro-based beers and fruit-based beers including their Rubaeus pure raspberry beer.  Pints were $6.50 each for the Class 2 beers while Class 1 beers were $5.50 a pint.  

Class 3 was the upper echelon of beers available at Founders.  These were generally the highest in alcohol content (ABV) and featured some of their barrel-aged stouts.  An 8-ounce glass of these ales ran $7.25 each. In all, Founders featured 10 beers available that day that weren't available outside of their taproom.  

As we were looking over the menus, John came back to our table with two small glasses of their Kentucky Barrel Stout infused with cinnamon, vanilla and cocoa.  "It's sort of our breakfast stout," John told us.  It was complex in its flavor, but we decided that it wasn't for us.   

John was asking what we liked in beers and we both said we like the IPA's or hazy IPA's.  "I don't want to try an All Day IPA because I can get that anywhere," I said.  John said that most people don't get their mainstream beers in the taproom because of the large list of other beers that are available.  

We decided to get a flight of beers to start out with and John was very knowledgeable in the differences between some of their IPA's.  We settled on four beers the Red's Rye IPA, the Unrivaled IPA, the Hello Jane IPA, and a special IPA - Ales for ALS where the proceeds of the beer's sales went to the ALS Association earmarked for research.  

John brought out the flight of beers we'd ordered up and he brought along another one that he said he really liked - the Scarlet Dawn IPA.  Red's Rye IPA was a little too much of a whiskey taste for me.  The Unrivaled IPA was smooth, as was the Hello Jane, but just a bit more hoppy in taste.  The Scarlet Red was all right - it was basically a combination of a red ale and a session IPA.  I'm afraid that it really didn't trip my trigger and I apologized to John for that.  "No problem," he said.  "It just happens to be my favorite beer right now and thought you might like to try it."

However, the Ales for ALS was my clear favorite.  This had a bit higher ABV (7.1%) than the other IPA's we had tried and it had a wonderful flavor.  My wife thought it was a bit too forward, but she liked the Hello Jane IPA as it was sort of in between the Ales for ALS and the Unrivaled.  I got a pint of the Ales for ALS and my wife got a pint of the Hello Jane.  

The menu at Founders Brewing featured a number of appetizers such as chips and guacamole or chips and salsa, a Bavarian-style pretzel, bourbon-barrel smoked chicken wings and a beer cheese dip that was made with smoked Gouda, cream cheese, chopped fresh garlic, red peppers, spinach, all blended with a combination of their Centennial IPA and the Red's Rye IPA.  The beer cheese dip comes with seasoned crostini and tortilla chips. 

14" hand-tossed pizzas were part of the menu as well as a handful of salads.  But deli-style sandwiches were the main items on the menu.  The "Devil Dancer" featured roasted chicken, Muenster and pepper-jack cheeses, jalapeños, banana peppers with a chipotle mayo.  The "Backwoods Bastard" featured barbecued pulled-pork, Colby Jack cheese, house-made cole slaw and a house-made barbecue sauce.  They had their own rendition of a Philly cheesesteak sandwich at Founders, as well as a ham and cheese sandwich made with cheddar and Swiss cheese with Founders Dirty Bastard stone ground mustard.  

John must have come over three or four times while we were trying to figure out what we wanted to order for lunch.  It really shouldn't have been that big of a problem, but we were just sort of taking our time trying to figure out what to order.  After the third time John came back and we weren't ready, I began to apologize profusely.  "No problem," John said.  "Take your time.  I'm not going anywhere."  

My wife was sort of torn between a couple things - she thought about getting the turkey reuben on sourdough bread, but ended up getting the "Blushing Monk".  It consisted of cranberry/chicken salad topped with provolone and smoked Gouda cheese, finished off with lettuce, tomatoes and red onions on a Mexican-style telera roll.  She got a half and she was glad she did because it was huge on its own.  She got a side of their house-made cole slaw.  She really enjoyed the sandwich, but she thought the cole slaw was just all right.

I had the same problem figuring out what I wanted.  They had a smoked-pork Cuban sandwich, as well as a smoked pastrami on Polish rye.  But John talked me into the reuben sandwich - "Rubin's Reuben".  It featured thin-sliced house-made corned beef with sauerkraut cooked in Dirty Bastard beer.  It was topped with Swiss cheese, 1000 Island dressing and served on Polish Rye.  It was excellent.  Once again John didn't steer us wrong.  

After we finished up our lunch and paid the bill, we took a little look around the rest of the tap room.  The addition that was built back in 2013 added a separate tap room next to the gift shop and the office area.  There was a separate bar in there and was a bit more cozy than the main tap room. 

Part of the secondary tap room had a display of Founders memorabilia through the years.  There were old bottles, photographs, and other items they had accumulated since Founders started nearly 25 years ago.  It was sort of neat to see some of the awards they had won for their beers over the years.  

While there are a large number of great little craft breweries in Grand Rapids, a trip to the area can't really be complete without a visit to Founders Brewing Company.  There are some locals in Grand Rapids who we talked to about Founders who felt that Mike Stevens and Dave Engbers literally sold out the craft beer movement when they gave up majority interest in Founders Brewing.  But I look at it as a way to preserve their legacy from taking their little two man operation that was on the verge of insolvency 20 years ago and making it into one of the largest breweries in the United States.  The Founders Brewing tap room was a great place to relax and have some of their special beers that are not available elsewhere, and to nosh on some pretty good sandwiches.  We can't say enough about the service we had from John who was friendly, helpful, knowledgable, patient, and had a great sense of humor.    Founders Brewing Company wasn't even our favorite brewery that we visited during our trip to western Michigan, but we realized that it was good to go pay homage to one of the pioneers of the craft beer movement in Grand Rapids.  

Pacific Eating House - Omaha, NE

I was out in Omaha in the early fall calling on accounts and I had asked a couple people from one of my dealers to dinner that evening.  One of them picked out a restaurant that I wasn't familiar with - Pacific Eating House.  "My daughter has a friend who manages the place," I was told.  We made reservations for 7 p.m. later that evening and I met them at the restaurant just off Pacific Street in west Omaha.  (see map) 

It turns out that the people behind Pacific Eating House are the husband and wife team of Darrell and Laura Auld.  They run one of my favorite little bistros in Omaha - Twisted Cork Bistro.  (Click here to see the Road Tips post on Twisted Cork.)  The Auld's moved from Omaha nearly 15 years ago and opened Twisted Cork in March of 2008.  The bistro features organically-raised foods that are locally sourced, as well as fresh seafood flown in from the Pacific Northwest.  The Auld's also featured a number of Washington and Oregon-based wines as well as a handful of local and regional beers on tap.  

The Auld's favorite place to vacation is Hawaii and they added a few Hawaiian-inspired dishes to the menu at Twisted Cork over the years.  They wanted to expand the offerings of Pacific-based entrees, but they realized that they would probably have to do it at another restaurant.  That's where the concept of Pacific Eating House came about.  

After finding a spot in a new strip mall at 126th and W. Pacific, the Auld's began a build-out of the new spot.  They got their crew in place and opened Pacific Eating House on March 3, 2020.  Less than two weeks later they were forced to close due to the pandemic.  They provided curbside pick-up for a couple months before  Pacific Eating House reopened for restricted dining in May of last year.  

(Also in 2020, the Auld's announced that Twisted Cork Bistro would be going through an expansion at their location just off I-680 at Pacific.  I drove by the spot where the restaurant used to be and it appeared the whole strip mall the restaurant was located in had been torn down.  However, I was told that they were planning on rebuilding a new building and hoped to have it open in by late 2021.  No word as to where they're at with that.)  

Walking into Pacific Eating House, the bar area was just inside the front door.  It was a two-sided bar with tall high-back chairs.  The decor had sort of a Pacific-rim motif with pendant lighting with light blue-fabric shades over the bar.  Down a hallway from the bar with partitions for a dining area on one side was a spacious kitchen area with large windows where you could easily see the staff at work.  

My guests were already seated in one of the areas of the dining room.  There was a small dining area off to the left as you come into the restaurant, then a small dining area with banquet seating just beyond the bar.  My guests were in the larger of the dining areas at a table with banquette seating.  Thankfully, they took the banquette seats and I got a chair seat.  

Charlene was our server and she had already dropped off menus for the table.  Pacific Eating House had a segment of the menu for tiki-style drinks including a mai tai.  One of my guests ordered up the "Puffer Punch".  It consisted of Pau vodka which is made in the Upcountry on Maui, Cachaca which is a Brazilian rum, Aperol which is an Italian bitters, and finished with pineapple and mango juice.  It was served in a pufferfish glass.  My guest purposely sat the glass so that the pufferfish would be looking at me.  

My other guest got an Alaskan Amber beer they had on tap and I noticed the distinctive tap handle for Kona Big Wave when I walked into the restaurant.  I ordered up a pint of that.  

The menu at Pacific Eating House was pretty interesting.  The bulk of the foods on the menu were seafood-centric and after each menu item, a city was listed.  I asked Charlene if the mahi mahi actually came from Kona, HI as it said on the menu.  "No, probably not," she said.  "Actually, the owners like to travel and they get ideas and inspiration from some of the meals they had in their travels.  There was a banh mi sandwich that they got from a trip to Viet Nam, a Korean stew they probably had on a trip to South Korea at some point, and there was a flank steak entree with spicy rice and chargrilled Brussels sprouts that they picked up from a trip to Thailand.  I'm sure the Auld's had some pretty good stories.  

One of the items on the menu was a miso salmon served in blue hardshell tacos with pico de gallo and an avocado aioli.  There was a seared wild sockeye salmon on the menu, as well as a 3-cheese grilled sandwich made with Tillamook cheese from Oregon.  And they also had a handful of small plates for sharing or for lighter appetizers such as Pacific mussels, a sweet-glazed Huli-huli pork rib platter, and a pistachio-crusted ahi platter.  

It came down to a couple things for me - the Big Eye Ahi that is flown in fresh from Honolulu, then lightly blackened and served rare; and something called the Wailea Stew.  That caught my eye because it said "Kihei, HI" at the end of the listing.  We stayed in the Kihei-Wailea area on our trips to Maui in the past and we just love the place.  Not only did the name of the stew tug at my heartstrings, it sounded good.  

The Wailea Stew consisted of stewed mahi mahi with wild-caught shrimp in a spicy Thai-curry broth.  Chopped macadamia nuts, chopped asparagus and Furikake-seasoned rice were added to the stew.  It was just outstanding.  There were so many excellent flavors going on with each bite that it was one of those meals that I didn't want it to end.  

One of my guests went with the cod and chips.  The Alaskan codfish are battered in a Alaskan Amber tempura, rolled in panko breadcrumbs and flash-fried.  The cod filets were sitting a bed of fresh-cut fries.  An apple slaw came on the side with house-made ketchup and mayo.  My guest said the Alaskan cod was outstanding. 

My other guest was eating light and he got the Alaskan salmon salad - lightly-grilled salmon mixed in with artisan greens and chopped vegetables.  He said it was also very good.  He said he'd had a pretty big lunch and didn't think he could eat a full entree.  But he was more than happy with what he got.

While we were having dinner, Brittany - the Pacific Eating House manager - came over to check on us.  As I said, she was the friend of the daughter of one of my guests and she heard that we were going to be in that night.  I asked about Twisted Cork Bistro and when they expected to be open.  "Oh, it's been a nightmare," she told us.  "They had expected to be open this spring, now they're hoping to be open by the end of the year."  

Brittany excused herself and said she was heading out for the evening.  However, a few moments after we had finished our dinners, Charlene came over with a plate of malasadas - a Hawaiian pastry that is filled with haupia, a coconut-infused pudding, then rolled in sugar.  "Complements of Brittany," Charlene said as she laid them in front of us.  It was a pleasant surprise and a nice sweet treat to end the evening.  

My guests did a great job in recommending Pacific Eating House.  The Wailea seafood stew that I had was delicious and I know my guests were more than happy with their food.  The service was good and the atmosphere was laid-back.  Pacific Eating House is one of those unique places where foods from different regions around the Pacific can be tried under one roof.  

Prairie Kitchen at 701 Eateries - Fargo, ND

Earlier this year, my company had told me that they wanted to have me cut down on some of my territories and focus more on other areas where they felt I could grow the business.  One of the territories they wanted me to give up was the Dakotas and Minnesota.  I was sort of sad that Fargo would be going away for me because I really like Fargo and I really like my main account in the city.  I knew that this would be my last trip to Fargo for the foreseeable future and I wanted to go see my account one last time and take him out to dinner.  Unfortunately, my dealer and his wife had a prior commitment the evening I was staying in town and wasn't able to go out with me.  They gave me a couple of recommendations on places to try and one of them was a new-ish place some friends of theirs owned - Prairie Kitchen - that had been getting rave reviews so far.  

Prairie Kitchen is part of what is known as 701 Eateries which consist of 3 different spaces under one roof.  Prairie Kitchen is the main restaurant occupying the main floor of the building, while Camp Lone Tree occupies the 2nd floor with a North Dakota camp-inspired restaurant with a rooftop bar area.  For private dining and for hosting small events, the Dain-Room is located on the lower level of the building.  

701 Eateries is part of the Brew Restaurants family of eateries located in northern Minnesota and eastern North Dakota.  In addition to 701 Eateries, Brew Restaurants also run Brew Ales + Eats in Perham, MN, City Brew Hall which is housed in the old City Hall of Wahpeton, ND, and Brew Bird, a funky fried chicken-centric place located in what was once a tow truck company in Fargo.  The Belquists also have a stake with some friends of theirs in Up North Pizza Pub, a hip little pizza joint in East Grand Forks, ND.   

Alex Belquist got his start in the restaurant industry at an early age.  After going to culinary school and earning his degree, Belquist and his then-girlfriend Britt Nelson opened their first establishment called the Brew Pub and Wine Bar in Perham in 2011.  Nelson, who had years of experience as a server and working behind the bar, ran the bar and managed the wine list.   Belquist was partnering with a nearby restaurant to provide food for his little place, but he really wanted to have his own kitchen at some point.   In 2012, Belquist and Nelson found a larger location on the main street of Perham and began renovations that summer.  By the spring of 2013, they moved into their new place - Brew Ales + Eats.  

Belquist's sister, Shelby Terstriep, an oncologist in Fargo, and her husband, Chad, loved to entertain and were very supportive of her brother's and now-sister-in-law's dreams to expand beyond north central Minnesota.  The city of Wahpeton, ND - located about 50 miles south of Fargo along the Red River of the North - was selling their old City Hall and it caught the attention of the Belquists and Terstrieps.  The two couples forged a partnership - Brew Restaurants - and opened City Brew Hall in the fall of 2017.  The Belquists and Terstrieps then opened Brew Bird in the fall of 2019 in the building that was the former Daran's Soul Food in Fargo.  

On a roll now with restaurant concepts, the Brew Restaurant team found a building on the north side of downtown Fargo that was originally built in 1920.  The building was originally the Acme Dairy until it closed in the 1960's.  A number of businesses occupied the building in subsequent years, the last being Rosie's Laundromat which closed about 10 years ago.  The building had been vacant until the Terstrieps, the Belquists, and friends of the Belquists - Eric and Sara Myhre - took over the property in 2019 and gave it an extensive makeover.  After delays due to the pandemic and finally getting a full staff in place, 701 Eateries opened in May of this year.  (701 is the building address for the restaurant, as well as the area code for the state of North Dakota.)  

701 Eateries is located at the corner of N. University Ave. and 7th Ave. North, caddy-corner from the Fargo Brewing Company.  (see map)  There's a parking lot behind the building and there's additional parking on 7th Ave. North and side streets east of the restaurant.  I was fortunate to be able to take the last parking space in the lot when I rolled in around 7 p.m. that evening.  

I walked into Prairie Kitchen and went to the hostess stand.  I would say the place was about 3/4's full and there were places to sit in the dining room.  She took me to a banquette seat along the wall around the corner from the hostess station.  I immediately vetoed that as I do not care for banquette seating.  I noticed that there were seats at the bar that were open and I asked if I could sit there.  The young lady said it was no problem and they set me up at the bar and left a menu for me to look over.

The dining room was vibrant with a number of people having dinner that evening.  The decor of the dining room at Prairie Kitchen is classified as modern Scandinavian.  Teak accented walls, Scandinavian-style furniture, and concrete and brick floors were the primary features of Prairie Kitchen's dining space.  I was particularly interested in what appeared to be teakwood light fixtures in the center of the room.  

And they played good music in there, too.  While I was sitting at the bar before and during dinner, I heard contemporary indie rock music from the likes of Charlie Burg, Jake Bugg, Young the Giant, and Maggie Rogers.  The overall vibe to Prairie Kitchen was very laid-back.  

There were two bartenders working in tandem that evening at Prairie Kitchen.  One of them came up to me and asked me if I would like anything to drink.  After looking through the beer list for a moment, I saw that they had Kona Big Wave Golden Ale - my go-to beer.  I signed up for one of those as I looked through the menu.  

The kitchen area is open and just to the side of the bar.  I walked past it when I came in from the parking lot in back.  They had a large iron wood fire-grill/roaster in the kitchen bordered by thick brick walls.  It was almost like they were inviting you to stop by the kitchen and look in, it was so nice. 

The menu was an interesting mix of American favorites and Scandinavian delicacies.  Prairie Kitchen featured steaks, chicken entrees, pasta dishes and a number of sandwiches including a dry-aged burger, a reuben made with pickled red cabbage and roasted garlic, and a B.L.T. made with Neuske's bacon.  But they also had items such as Swedish meatballs, Nordic salmon in a dill sauce, and a Nordic-style charcuterie board.  They even had lefse - a traditional Norwegian soft bread - on the appetizer menu.  

One of the other things they had on the menu was the "Hot Dish of the Day".  Northern Minnesota and the Dakotas are famous for their casseroles or "hot dishes" which can consist of, well, just about anything.  They're sort of the thing that people bring for family gatherings, parties, and - mostly - funerals.  A good hot dish can be a spot hitter.  

The hot dish they had on the menu that day consisted of chicken and wild rice.  But there were other things on the menu that I sort of was interested in, as well.  They had beef short ribs with mashed potatoes, braised cabbage, grilled Brussels sprouts and finished with a beef demi-glace.  Actually, the Swedish meatballs sounded pretty good, too.  I've been wanting to make my own Swedish meatballs at home and Prairie Kitchen's Swedish meatballs came with mashed potatoes in a mushroom/beef gravy.  I damned near pulled the trigger on that.  

One other thing they had on the menu that caught my eye was the chicken roulade - it was a pounded and rolled chicken breast stuffed with creamy rice.  It was served with mashed potatoes and creamy pepper gravy.  Wood-grilled glazed carrots came with the meal.  One of the bartenders talked me into that dish over the chicken and rice hot dish.  "You can get hot dishes anywhere," he said.  When I told him that I didn't live in the area, he said, "We don't have the chicken remoulade every day.  I think it's pretty good."  So, I ordered that.  

It was a hefty chicken breast filled with wild rice.  It was rolled in breading, then lightly browned in a pan before being transferred to the oven to finish it off.  It came out a golden brown on the plate and garnished with a tuft of sprouts.  I'll have to say that it was good, but it wasn't great.  The chicken was a little dried out as was the rice stuffing.  (It's my guess they left it in the oven too long.)  The creamy pepper gravy helped give it a little moisture, but I was still having to chase nearly every bite with a drink of water or beer.  I thought to myself, "I should have gotten the hot dish..."

Before I left, I went upstairs to check out Camp Lone Tree.  I found a neat little spot that was warm and cozy with subdued lighting and a very nice bar area.  But all the action in the bar that evening was outdoors.  

Just beyond the bar area was the outdoor rooftop patio.  There was a garage door that opened from the bar area to the patio that was covered with a ceiling to ground screen to keep those pesky North Dakota flies and mosquitoes out of the bar.  The patio had an all-weather floor with a number of tables and ledge-seating along the railing looking out over the edge.  A large fire pit was going in the middle - it was an absolutely gorgeous night in Fargo and the rooftop had a number of people enjoying the evening.  In the winter time, 701 Eateries will put enclosed glass igloos on the rooftop patio complete with individual heaters for each igloo.  I also understand that they'll be setting up a miniature curling rink on the roof to use in the winter.  I contemplated having a night cap on the deck, but I thought I'd had enough and needed to get back to the hotel as I was heading out in the morning.  

My experience at Prairie Kitchen at 701 Eateries was a very good one.  My chicken roulade was a bit overcooked, but I was fine with it.   I really liked the ambiance and vibe of both Prairie Kitchen and the second story bar, Camp Lone Tree.  The outdoor rooftop patio was a great place.  It didn't offer much in terms of views, but the sunset on this beautiful North Dakota fall evening was spectacular.  The owners have done a good job of embracing the past, embracing their ancestors culture and traditions, and bringing it all together in the 21st Century.  I'm really going to miss going to Fargo, and it's places like 701 Eateries that will make me miss it even more. 

Copper Post - Grand Haven, MI

We had ventured over the small Lake Michigan lakeside town of Grand Haven during our vacation in the Grand Rapids area to hang out on the beach and to probably find some place to have lunch.  After spending some time walking the beach, we ended up in downtown Grand Haven looking for a place to eat.  We had been in Grand Haven about 9 years ago and had lunch at The Kirby House, so we didn't want to go there.  We found a place just down the street from The Kirby House and decided to give it a try for lunch - The Copper Post.  

The Copper Post is located in a historic building that dates back to 1872 when it was originally the Grand Haven Post Office.  Over the years, the building had housed a number of businesses, but over the past 30 plus years it has primarily been restaurant space.  For over 20 years, the building housed the popular Rosebud restaurant before it closed in 2014.   A place called the Wooden Nickel occupied the space for less than a year before it was replaced by the Grand Haven Brew House.  Unfortunately, the Grand Haven Brew House lasted just short of two-and-a-half years before the doors closed in August of 2017.  

Two men who owned a real estate/property management firm in Grand Haven - John Groothuis and David Ten Cate - came forward to take possession of the building.  They formed a company - Capstone Hospitality - and brought in two other partners - Doug Vanse and Mike Thorp to complete the investors in what would be a new restaurant.  Thorp had an extensive background in running restaurants before he joined Capstone Hospitality and he was brought on as the managing partner of the restaurant.  And Thorp completed the management team as he hired Lee Bigby as the chef and general manager.  The Copper Post opened its doors in late May of 2018.  

We had parked down Washington Ave from the Copper Post and walked back to the restaurant located on the corner of Washington and S. 1st Street.  (see map)   The corner front door entrance opened into the bar area complete with hard wood flooring and ornamental copper ceiling.  The bar was lively with the lunch crowd.  We had our choice of sitting at a high table-top in the bar, or for a more conventional table in the dining room.  My wife decided on the dining room.  

The dining room was just back behind the bar area and featured a wall of banquette seating, a smaller bar that was probably used if the dining room was being used for a private function, and a series of posters of vintage Saturday Evening Post magazine covers.  I didn't figure out the connection between the restaurant and the Saturday Evening Post until I found out later that the Copper Post was the old post office for Grand Haven.  

When we walked into the dining area, it was about half full and the tables that didn't have people seated at them had not been cleared yet.  There was just one table in the middle of the dining room (I hate banquette seating) that was cleared and we took that one.

The big reason why the tables hadn't been cleared is that there was just one young lady working the dining room.  Her name was Hannah and she was working her butt off trying to keep up with the lunch rush crowd that was starting to thin out when we got there.  Hannah came over and apologized for not greeting us sooner, but my wife and I have come to expect slower than normal service as restaurants try to work through staffing issues.  

Hannah took our drink order and I ordered up a Bell's Two Hearted pale ale.  My wife, however, went with one of the Copper Post's specialty drink - the blueberry mojito.  It was like a regular mojito with white rum, only it featured blueberry juice and whole blueberries with a splash of soda water and a lime.  My wife enjoyed it tremendously.  I was reluctant to try it because while I like blueberries, I didn't think I'd like the combination of the rum and blueberries together.  

The menu at the Copper Post was an interesting mix of food items.  Appetizers such as crispy Brussels sprouts, jumbo shrimp with a Cajun beer butter, and a smoked garlic artichoke dip with goat cheese and pita chips jumped out at me.  They also had burgers and sandwiches such as a Cubano sandwich and a fried walleye Po' Boy.  Salads such as a southwest fiesta salad made with Jamaican jerk chicken and a classic wedge salad were also available.  And on Saturday and Sunday, the Copper Post serves breakfast and has an all-day happy hour for bloody marys, mimosas and screwdrivers.  

I thought about getting a burger - their Copper burger with onion straws and provolone cheese was interesting to me.  But, then again, I wasn't all that hungry as we stopped for coffee and a croissant at a bakery in Grand Rapids earlier in the day.  My wife, of course, has to have three squares a day, and she was hungry for something more substantial than just a salad.  

We were looking at some of the entrees - the shrimp appetizer was available as a meal with two sides.  There was a barbecued mac & cheese bowl with pulled pork added to it, but my wife thought that may be too heavy. And she wasn't interested in the Jamaican jerk chicken entree.  

What we ended up getting was the pulled pork platter - 1/2 lb. of in-house smoked pulled pork with a choice of two sides.  Fries, tater tots and cole slaw were available as the regular sides, but for an upcharge we could have gotten sweet potato waffle fries, mac & cheese, crispy Brussels sprouts, onion rings or or a house-made potato salad.  My wife let me pick a side - of course I went with tater tots.  To my surprise, she picked the cole slaw.  I would have bet that she would have gone with the crispy Brussels sprouts. She said, "I knew you wouldn't eat them, so I went with something that I know we'd both like."  She's so considerate sometimes, almost too considerate.  I wouldn't have mind trying their Brussels sprouts.  

The pulled pork platter was served on a small cookie sheet on wax paper.  (Here's a tip from Road Tips - go out and buy about 4 of the 10"x13" for your home.  We use them all the time for everything from serving food on them to holding meats for grilling.)  There was definitely more than a half-pound of pulled pork on the patter.  There was also a generous serving of tater tots along with the pork.  The cole slaw came in a 4 ounce styrofoam container.  

The pulled pork was actually very good.  Most, tender, and it had a lot of flavor.  The pulled pork came with a sweet and smoky barbecue sauce served in small 2 ounce cups.  I thought I'd need more barbecue sauce, but the way that Hannah was still running her tail off trying to keep up, I just let it go.  

The tater tots were, well, tater tots - it's pretty tough to screw up good tots.  But the cole slaw was outstanding.  It was sweet and creamy and went extremely well with the pulled pork.  My wife and I were very happy with our choice of the pulled pork and our two sides.

When we finished up, Hannah came over to check to see if we wanted any dessert.  She tempted us with a slice of cheesecake or a smoked caramel flan, but I was full enough.  My wife was interested in something that she saw on the dessert part of the menu - Ice Box ice cream bars.  Hannah said, "Oh, those are great."  She said that the ice cream bars are made up in Muskegon by the Ice Box Brand gourmet ice cream company.  "You can find them at a lot of places," she told us.  "They're pretty famous around here."  

There was a listing of what Ice Box Brand ice cream bars they had available at the Copper Post on the wall near the front door.  There was a caramel cashew bar and a strawberry-lemon bar with a shortcake coating.  That my wife thought long and hard about.  The Key Lime Pie bar got my attention.  But in the end, we decided to forego the ice cream bars and go find a local brewery as our dessert instead .  

The Copper Post was a pleasant surprise for us.  The pulled pork platter with cole slaw and tater tots that we shared was perfect for lunch that day.  Our service from Hannah - who was saddled with being the server and bussing tables because of the lack of staff - was very good.  She was friendly and accommodating even though she was running her butt off.  And the ambience of the historic old building in which the restaurant was housed was comfortable with a laid-back vibe.  We really didn't know what we were getting into when we went in to the Copper Post, but it turned out to be a nice experience.