Road Tips

Peacock Alley - Bismarck, ND

I had to fly up to North Dakota this past fall for a dealer event for one of my dealers in Bismarck.  Before I flew up, I contacted one of my former dealers who hit it big in real estate during the oil boom in North Dakota and who retired early to oversee his properties.  He told me this past summer that he wanted to get together with me the next time I came into Bismarck.  I called him up a couple days in advance and asked him if he'd like to meet me for lunch.  He suggested a place in downtown Bismarck called Peacock Alley and we met there for lunch shortly after I flew in.  

The history behind Peacock Alley is interesting - even with some embellishment in the story.  But one thing for certain is that the restaurant is located what was the former Patterson Hotel, the grandest hotel in the state of North Dakota for a number of years.  The hotel was built in 1910 by local businessman/political operative Edward Patterson who served two terms as the mayor of Bismarck.

Patterson owned the Sheridan House, later called the Northwest Hotel, in the 1890's before expanding his hotel empire by building a 7-story hotel - the Soo Hotel - in 1906.  At the time, it was the largest hotel and the tallest building in the city of Bismarck.  However, in 1910, Patterson decided to one up his glorious Soo Hotel and he built a 10-story 150-room hotel next door.  He named it the McKenzie Hotel after his friend Alexander McKenzie, a local businessman and former longtime sheriff of Burleigh County - and the strongest political operative in the state of North Dakota.  

Alexander McKenzie was instrumental in moving the Dakota Territory capital from present day Yankton, SD to Bismarck in the mid-1880's.  Bismarck would later become the state capital of the new state of North Dakota in 1889.  McKenzie's political group literally ran the government of North Dakota for a number of years.  Stories of intimidation of voters and political foes ran rampant around the state in the late 1800's and early 1900's.  After being jailed briefly for illegally taking over privately held gold mines in Alaska in 1901, McKenzie's political machine was eventually driven from office in North Dakota.  McKenzie would die in 1922 and out of reverence to his friend and mentor, Patterson kept the McKenzie Hotel name for five years after his death.  

During the height of Prohibition, the Patterson Hotel secretly served liquor with an elaborate alarm system in place if unwanted guests would show up.  It was also said that the Patterson Hotel was used as a front for both gambling and prostitution, but my friend in Bismarck said he couldn't confirm that.  

In addition to his business and political endeavors, Patterson was also an amateur boxer in his youth who befriended many of the great boxers in the early 1900's.  Gene Tunney, Joe Louis and Jack Dempsey all stayed in the hotel.  But the Patterson also hosted a number of U.S. Presidents such as Teddy Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson.  Portraits of many of the famous people who stayed at the Patterson Hotel hang in the Peacock Alley restaurant.  

Once Interstate 94 was completed in the mid-60's, the main road into Bismarck shifted to the north side of the city instead of going right by the hotel.  Train travelers didn't stop at the ornate Bismarck station - located just across the street from the Patterson Hotel - that much any longer.  By the late 1970's, the Patterson Hotel had closed and in 1980 it was condemned.  In 1983, the building was sold to a company that renovated it, converted the building into senior housing units, and renamed it Patterson Place.  

In what was the hotel's original lobby and restaurant, a new restaurant went in there in 1984.  It was called Peacock Alley and as the date in the logo says it was established in 1933.  Well, I was a little confused about this when I was talking with my dealer friend who was giving me the real history of Peacock Alley.  "Peacock Alley was the name of some bar that opened just after Prohibition was over," he explained to me.  "But it closed, I don't know, maybe in the 60's."  The people who originally put the restaurant in the Patterson Place building decided to resurrect the Peacock Alley name.  "So, it's not the same Peacock Alley," my friend said to me.  "And they are taking liberty with saying that it's been around since 1933.  Let's just call it a marketing embellishment."  

The current owners of Peacock Alley are Dale and Melodie Zimmerman.  Dale Zimmerman was the United States sales manager for Natuzzi, an upscale Italian furniture manufacturer, and his work was keeping him on the road for over 3 weeks a month.  Wanting to spend more time with his family and wanting to keep them in the Bismarck area, the Zimmerman's explored business options around the city before finding that longtime owner Mary Barbere was looking to sell Peacock Alley.  She had been the manager of Peacock Alley when her brother Bill Hixson bought the restaurant from the original owners in 1988.  In 1998, Hixson sold Peacock Alley to Barbere who, in turn, sold it to the Zimmerman's in 2010.  

Peacock Alley is located on the northwest corner of Main Ave. and 5th Street in downtown Bismarck.  (see map)  I was able to find parking up the street on 5th and got there before my friend met up with me.  Upon entering the bar, I found a very nice long, rectangular bar in the center of a well-lit room.  This was the kind of place where I would have no problem bellying-up to the bar and have a drink and some dinner.  

My friend wasn't there yet, so I took some time to wander around the bar to look at some of the old pictures they had on the wall in the bar.  The woodwork throughout the bar area was elegant and ornate.  

My friend showed up not long after I got there.  The lady who would turn out to be our server immediately greeted my friend by name and showed us to a table in the main dining area off the bar area.  I immediately saw the portraits of the Presidents of the United States who had visited the old Patterson Hotel hanging on the wall in one section of the dining room.  She took us to a table that looked out onto 5th St. and gave us menus to look over.  The dining room had an old time feeling with the dark walnut paneling, mirrored walls, and the 1930's-style light fixtures hanging from the ceiling.  This was a very nice place and I was somewhat surprised this was my first visit to Peacock Alley in all of my trips to Bismarck over the years.  

They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner at Peacock Alley with the dinner menu featuring steaks, pork and chicken entrees, pasta dishes, burgers and sandwiches.  At lunch, the menu also featured burgers and sandwiches, as well as soups, salads and daily lunch specials.  Lunch sandwiches featured a four-cheese grilled cheese sandwich, a crab cake sandwich, seared ahi tuna sliders, and a one-pound pastrami sandwich. They had hoagie sandwiches, many with sliced beef sirloin, but the one that caught my eye was the "Meat Sweats" hoagie that featured pastrami, corned beef and sirloin slices.  Their burgers were all billed as 1/2 pound patties and very messy.  The one burger that caught my fancy was the Hot Gravy burger - a combination beef and bacon patty served on wheat bread with fries and covered with a brown gravy.  That sounded great, but possibly a little too much for lunch that day.  

My friend went basic - he got the caramelized chicken salad.  It featured chunks of marinated chicken that were grilled and caramelized on a bed of mixed greens along with grape tomatoes, sliced cucumbers and red onions, topped with gorgonzola cheese, toasted walnuts and a housemade plum/Dijon dressing.  Given other opportunities I've had to eat with my friend, he likes salads for his lunch.  

I ordered up the Brewben sandwich - corned beef that is brined in beer, topped with a housemade beer/sauerkraut, a roasted pepper aioli and Swiss cheese, and served on grilled rye bread.  That sounded really good to me.  After about two minutes, our waitress came back with a menu, handed it to me and said, "We're out of the corned beef today.  Actually, we're making it, but we don't have it."  

I was just getting ready to order the pastrami sandwich and she jumped in a said, "And we're out of pastrami today, too."  I was crestfallen.  I didn't want to get a burger, especially after my friend had gone the healthy route.  So, I ordered up the club sandwich.  The one saving grace out of the whole deal is that they offered tater tots as a side with the sandwich.  I asked if she could bring some Tabasco or Cholula out with my lunch.  

My eyes must have bugged pretty big when she sat the sandwich basket down in front of me.  The club sandwich at Peacock Alley is piled high with ham, turkey, Swiss and American cheese, bacon, tomato, lettuce and mayo on toasted whole wheat bread.  This was a serious club sandwich and I knew that I wouldn't be able to eat the whole thing.  But it was so good that I made a significant dent by eating two of the quarters and a good portion of a third one before throwing in the towel.  The tater tots were a nice surprise with the sandwich.  As I've said many times, if tater tots are an option for a side, I'll get those.  I may not eat them all - like on this visit to Peacock Alley - but even just a handful will satisfy my tater tot craving.  

Peacock Alley was a very nice place to have lunch.  There's a lot of history that surrounds the place - even though part of the history was categorized as a "marketing embellishment" by my friend.  And even though I couldn't get the Brewben sandwich since they were out of corned beef that day, I was more than happy with my piled-high club sandwich with my tater tot sides.  The atmosphere at Peacock Alley is elegant - old time classy - but it's far from a stuffy or pretentious place.  I really would like to make it back to Peacock Alley at some point to try the Brewben sandwich or one of their burgers such as the Hot Gravy burger.  But that will have to be sometime down the road. 

The Walrus - Bismarck, ND

On my annual trip to North Dakota last year, I got into Bismarck a little early to go see my dealer there.  I decided to look for a place for lunch and did a quick search on my smart phone for a good lunch place.  A couple three suggestions came up, but I opted for the one with the fun and unique name - The Walrus.  

The Walrus has been around for 20 years, but for a little over the last 10 years a lady by the name of Jill Sanford has worked there.  She started out working part-time at The Walrus supplementing her income as a music teacher in the local school district.  One day in 2009 she was talking with the owner and made a joke about selling the place to her one day.  It turned out the owner was looking to get out of the business and more conversations ensued.  The next thing Sanford knew, she was quitting her teaching job and buying the Walrus.  

Going from being a part-time waitress/music teacher to the owner of an established restaurant was a big stretch for Sanford.  I read where she felt the first 18 months were excruciating for her as she was learning the business on the fly.  But Sanford has settled in nicely as business has steadily grown over the past seven years.  One of the things Sanford has implemented over the past few years has been a focus on offering a wide selection of craft beers at The Walrus.  The place offers over three dozen beers on tap with an ever-changing line-up of seasonal beers to choose from.  From the on-line description I found, The Walrus sounded like my kind of place.  

Pictured right - Jill Sanford.  Photo courtesy Bismarck Tribune.

It was the heart of the noon rush when I pulled up to The Walrus which is located in a strip mall not far from the North Dakota State Capitol building.  (see map)  There was plenty of parking available in the parking lot in front of the building.  The Walrus is a long and narrow space in the strip mall with an two levels of seating as well as a bar area near the rear.  The walls were full of beer signs - both lighted and non-lit - with some natural light coming in from the large windows in the front.

I took a seat at the bar area in the back of the restaurant near the open kitchen.  Though I didn't recognize her at the time, Jill Sanford was standing near the server's station by the bar choreographing the food orders between the kitchen and the servers.  I was greeted by the bartender/server Britnee who asked me what I wanted to drink.  One of the beers on tap at The Walrus was my current favorite - Kona Big Wave Golden Ale.  Any place that has Kona Big Wave on tap, I immediately like.  

Britnee had dropped off a lunch menu for me to look through.  It featured a number of salads with house-made dressings, a number of sandwiches to choose from, as well as pasta dishes and pizza.  Curiously, they only had one burger on the menu - the Bailey Burger - that featured a 1/2 pound beef patty topped with lettuce, tomato and onions.  I saw the price and thought that it had better be a damned good burger because it was $12.99 - and that was before you could get add-ons such as bacon, sautéed mushrooms and a choice of five different types of cheese which would have added about $3.75 to the overall price of the burger.  

I wasn't really certain that I wanted a burger, anyway.  A lot of the pasta dishes sounded wonderful including the Spicy Rock that featured fettuccine with shrimp and jalapeño slices, but I just thought that would be too heavy, considering I was taking my dealer in Dickinson out for a steak dinner that evening.  I was still undecided what to have when Britnee came back and told me about the lunch special that day - three carnitas tacos with chips and salsa for $14.99.  I thought that was a little high priced for three tacos and chips and salsa, but I figured the tacos were pretty good sized.

Uh...  They weren't.  They were three small soft-shell tacos with some basic pulled pork that didn't taste like it was seasoned, some chopped lettuce greens and a sprinkling of Chihuahua cheese.  The chips tasted like they came out of a bag of Doritos and the salsa tasted like it came out of a jar of Pace salsa.  I was absolutely stunned that they had the gall to charge $14.99 for this plate of food.  I mean, the tacos were all right - not the best carnitas tacos I've had.  But this was a situation where I just could not believe that I was getting charged $15 bucks for this plate of food.  I know that margins in restaurants aren't all that great, but the profit margin they made off me that day had to be substantial.  

I really wanted to like The Walrus.  I really did.  I like the owner's back story of starting to work there as a server and working her way up to owning the place.  I like the fact that they have a great selection of craft beers on tap.  And I liked the varied choices for food they had for lunch.  But the price of $14.99 for three small pork tacos, some bagged chips and bottled salsa was just absolutely outrageous.  I know prices can be a little higher in North Dakota and maybe I got a little bit of a sticker shock for the cost of the tacos.  But compared to similar places I've found around the Midwest, The Walrus is a horrible value. 

Reza's Pitch - Bismarck, ND

I had come across an article earlier this year on the top burgers in the state of North Dakota.  I kept a couple in the back of my mind including a place in Bismarck by the interesting name of Reza's Pitch.  I was traveling across the state on Interstate 94 earlier this year and I decided to stop into Reza's Pitch to check out the place.  

From the logo, you can probably figure out that the "pitch" that is part of the name refers to the field on which soccer is played, usually called a "pitch" outside of the United States.  The Reza behind Reza's Pitch is Reza Kamranian, an Iranian immigrant who opened his eponymous restaurant in 2010.  Prior to opening his own restaurant, Kamranian worked in a number of restaurants starting out as a dishwasher and working his way up in a number of various positions.  

He eventually ended up in Bismarck and became a partial owner in three restaurants before becoming the A&W/Long John Silver's franchisee in the area.  However, after the parent company overseeing the franchises was sold to a group of investors, Kamranian didn't feel that he was getting the support he needed to continue with his franchise.  That's when he decided to strike out on his own.  He closed his remaining A&W/Long John Silver's in 2009 and renovated the building into a sports bar with a soccer theme.  In March of 2010 he opened Reza's Pitch with an emphasis on both burgers and craft beers.  

Reza's Pitch is located at the corner of Front St. and S. 3rd St. in downtown Bismarck. (see map)  The interior of the place kind of had a contemporary industrial look to it with exposed metal beams in the ceiling, large windows letting in a lot of natural light, a series of tables and booths in the dining area and a good sized bar with the order window into the kitchen behind the bar.  Numerous flat screen televisions were hung through out the place all tuned to sports channels.  Ironically, none of the televisions was showing any soccer. 

I took a seat at the bar and was greeted by a young lady by the name of Jessica dressed in a Reza's Pitch soccer jersey, similar to the other servers in the place.  She asked what I wanted to drink and I wondered what they had in beers.  She gave me a beer menu and I picked out a local IPA - Feast Like a Sultan from the Laughing Sun brewery in Bismarck.  

Jessica asked me if I had dined at Reza's Pitch before and I told her that I hadn't.  She pulled out a sheet that was basically their menu where you check off what you want, then hand it in to your server once you've made your selection.  At the top of the sheet, Step 1 is "Choose Your Striker", basically choosing between a 1/3 lb. single or a 2/3 lb. double burger.   Step 2 is "Let's Kickoff" - premium toppings such as various types of cheese, bacon and/or a fried egg.  Step 3 is "Select Your Midfielders" which allows one to select various veggies to put onto the burger.  Step 4 - "Get Onside" - is where you pick various spreads, sauces and condiments including horseradish, barbecue sauce, a spicy blue cheese dressing, a spicy cajun ranch and something called "Sudden Death Ketchup".  From there, you get to select your "Sidekicks" - sides that include fries, onion rings, stuffed jalapeños and housemade potato chips. 

I got the double burger with Swiss cheese, sautéed mushrooms (raw mushrooms were also available), and bacon - I know, it's my standard burger.  The burger patties were flat grilled and juicy.  This was definitely a multi-napkin burger with the cheese oozing out from under the lightly toasted bun.  I could have easily gotten by with a single burger patty and I'm glad I didn't get any sides to go along with the burger.  The bun - always a key to a good burger - was light and spongy, and it held together very well.  It was a very good burger with a great taste.

Compared to other burgers I've had in North Dakota, the burger at Reza's Pitch was one of the best I've had.  The service was efficient and reasonably quick for a lunch-time crowd, the beer selection was numerous and interesting, and it was a nice little sports bar with good burgers and an adequate amount of sides and appetizers to choose from.  Reza's Pitch was a good find in my travels.

(Update October 2016 - On a recent trip to Bismarck, I passed by Reza's Pitch and found that it was closed.  It turns out that owner Reza Kamranian decided to retire after 40 years in the restaurant business.  He closed the restaurant at the end of June of this year.  That's too bad because they had a very good burger at Reza's Pitch.) 

Bistro (An American Cafe) - Bismarck, ND

Earlier this past summer, I was in Bismarck calling on a couple of dealers.  I went to lunch with one of the dealers and he took me to a place called Bistro where I had a great reuben sandwich and he had a Caesar's salad with blackened salmon.  I checked out the menu for dinner and I was pretty intrigued.  A few weeks ago I had to go back to Bismarck to do some work for another dealer in town and I took some of the guys out to dinner at Bistro.  None of them had ever been there before, so they were looking forward to giving it a try.   

Bistro is housed in what was an old carriage house that was built over 100 years ago next to the main railroad tracks that go through Bismarck.  In 1996, Dona Rockstad - whose husband Terry was the CEO of Dan's Super Markets with locations in Central and Western North Dakota - opened Bistro 1100 offering eclectic and upscale food offerings.  Bistro's chef Gerard "Mo" Schmidt fashioned a menu that featured locally ethnic foods along with traditional steaks and seafood grilled over red oak wood, Italian pasta and meat dishes, along with wood-fired pizzas.  A couple of years ago, Schmidt bought Bistro from Dona Rockstad, slightly changed the name to Bistro - An American Cafe, and continued to run the kitchen along with the business.

Bistro is located on E. Front St. between S. 11th and S. 12th streets near downtown Bismarck.  (see map)  There is a huge parking lot to the east of the restaurant and on my first visit earlier this summer the parking lot was completely full for the lunch rush.  On this visit, we got to the restaurant after 8:30 and there was no problem in finding a place to park. 

Coming into Bistro, you find yourself in the stylish bar area that had a lot of earth-tones and sort of an old world feel.  This was where I had lunch on my first visit to the place last summer.  Bistro is certainly a popular place for lunch and we had to sit in the bar area - which was fine.  There's also outdoor seating during the summer months just off the bar area.  

We were met at the hostess stand by Jacque (Jackie) who turned out to also be our server that evening.  She led us into the dining room that was well-lit, but not overpowering.  There were five of and we were seated at a six-seater with a good look back toward the kitchen area.  The first thing I did after Jacque gave us our menus was to order the locally-brewed Laughing Sun IPA that they had on tap.  

For some reason, I wasn't that hungry and I didn't really want to eat a lot that evening.  I looked at the pasta - the spicy chicken tortellini and the lobster ravioli looked appealing.  The grilled mahi mahi with a sweet chili glaze sounded good, but I wasn't certain I wanted seafood that evening.  They had a number of wood-fired pizzas on the menu, but I didn't feel like having a pizza.  Hmmm...  I was in a bit of a quandary as to what I really wanted to get.

Three of the guys were ready to order when Jacque came back to check on us.  I let the guys go first and I finally decided upon the New York strip topped with a whiskey peppercorn sauce.  The peppercorn sauce got me.  Actually, the other guy who didn't know what he wanted ended up getting my second choice - the beef burgundy with sautéed mushrooms and grilled onions in a burgundy cream sauce.  

One of the guys had ordered a cup of the lobster bisque.  I thought about getting a wedge salad, but I thought that might be too much.  The lobster bisque turned out to be a great choice - it was rich, but not overly filling.  The bisque was topped with chopped avocado and leeks, and featured small chunks of lobster meat.  The creamy lobster bisque was a great start to the meal.  

The peppercorn strip steak was at least 16 ounces, thick and juicy.  I ordered it medium-rare and it may have been more toward the medium side of medium-rare.  Not a deal-breaker by any means, but a tad overcooked for my steak-snob tastes.  Still, the whisky peppercorn sauce was creamy and helped the overall taste of the steak.  I liked the fact that the chef covered just about half of the steak with the sauce so I could enjoy the taste of the meat.  Sometimes if it's not a good cut of meat, the restaurant will try to hide it under a sauce.  This was a good cut of meat and the steak - without the sauce - was very good.  

Along with the steak I got a side of sautéed vegetables and some garlic mashed potatoes.  I didn't have any of the veggies - they looked a little limp - but the garlic mashed potatoes featured large chunks of garlic in them.  The were really strong and pungent, yet tasty.  

One of the guys got the parmesan encrusted chicken - a chicken breast covered in fresh parmesan cheese, cut into strips and served with garlic mashed potatoes and covered with a garlic cream sauce, chopped red peppers and mushrooms.  Now, THAT looked great.  I normally don't get much chicken when I'm on the road, but I think I would have really enjoyed it.  My guest certainly did.    

But the most interesting thing on the menu at Bistro was the seared kangaroo.  Yep, it was truly kangaroo meat.  I've tasted kangaroo once at a restaurant outside of Montreal.  It was interesting - sort of the texture of beef, but it sort of reminded me of elk meat.  The guy who ordered it was intrigued enough to try it and he was definitely happy he got it.  "I've never eaten here," he said.  "But I'll always remember this meal as the first time I had kangaroo."  He said the meal alone would be worth telling the story a few times over beers with buddies.   

The last guy - who was directly across the table from me - got the Bourbon Street penne pasta.  It featured grilled shrimp, sliced andouille sausage, chopped chicken breast along with fresh red bell pepper slices and sliced onions.  It was all tossed together in a spicy garlic broth.  When I asked him how it was, he was effusive with his praise.  "This is outstanding," he gushed.  "Everything is just so fresh."  

I couldn't finish all of my steak, but I made a serious dent in it.  I did enjoy what I had and I was very happy with the garlic mashed potatoes.  When Jacque asked me if I wanted a box for the leftovers, I declined since I was traveling.  I did seriously think for a moment that having steak in the morning in my hotel room might have been a good thing.

All of my guests were in agreement - Bistro served up some very good meals for us.  First of all, Jacque was spot-on with her service.  She was in good spirits and a good sport waiting on five guys up to - and past - the dining room's closing time.  I was happy with my steak and the garlic-mashed potatoes were some of the better ones I've run across.  The other meals - including the seared kangaroo - were all to the liking of my dining guests.  I've had lunch there and now dinner - both times I came away with a very favorable impression of Bistro.  It's another great place to eat that I've found in my travels to Bismarck.  

Bar M Steakhouse - Mandan, ND

I was up seeing my dealer in Bismarck recently and he suggested that we go out for lunch.  He knows that I like to try new places and he suggested a place across the Missouri River in Mandan (emphasis on both the MAN and DAN when you pronounce the towns name) that was just bought by a customer of his.  We took off going west out of Bismarck and ended up at the Bar M Steakhouse in Mandan.  

Last summer, Dale Berger and his wife purchased Dean's Steakhouse from the previous owner.  The building that houses the Bar M Steakhouse has seen a number of businesses in previous years.  Before it was Dean's Steakhouse, it was called the Prime Steer.  And for a number of years up to 2007, it was known as the Speedway Restaurant.  I'm not certain that's a good thing for so many restaurants to be going in and out of the place in that short of a time, but my dealer felt that the new owners would make a go of the place.  

We pulled into the Bar M Steakhouse on Memorial Highway in Mandan during the noon hour.  (see map)  I found out later on that the place was going through a soft opening so that's why it wasn't all that packed during the lunch rush.   

There's a small bar area as you come in.  Actually, the place sort of looks like it may have been an old dance hall at some time with the pine wood paneling and the wooden floor.  

The main dining area is large and roomy with the kitchen off to the side.  A stage is situated along the far wall of the room, furthering my belief that this was some sort of cowboy dance club in the past.  Behind the stage is a smaller dining room with a long salad bar that is truncated in terms of offerings during lunch.   

We took a table in the middle of the main dining room and our server came over to drop off a couple menus.  The Bar M has their own smoker in the back so they do smoked meats such as brisket and ribs.  They have a number of steak entrees on the menu, as well as a number of sandwiches and pasta dishes.  They also had something on the menu called Fleischkuechle.  I asked my dealer what that was and he told me that it was a type of Cornish pastry filled with ground meat and sausage and deep fried.  "It's sort of the state food of North Dakota," he told me.  It's something that Eastern European immigrants - primarily from Russia and German - brought with them when they settled in the Dakota Territories in the 19th century.  

One thing that kind of caught my eye was the beef brisket.  When I asked our server about it, she told me that they smoke the brisket out back, take a cut of the meat and then lightly grill it over charcoal in the kitchen.  Both my dealer and I thought that sounded interesting and we both ordered that.   Baked beans and a small cob of sweet corn came with the brisket, but we had our choice of a baked potato, fries, potato O'Brien, wild rice or steamed vegetables with the meal.  We both got the wild rice.  

After going through the salad bar for a small bit of fresh greens and veggie toppings before the lunch was brought out, the brisket was served to us on a large plate.  The brisket had a bit of a grilled char on the outer fringes of the meat.  

I don't think I'd ever had grilled brisket before, but the taste was actually very good.  The brisket cut easily, like you'd expect with a good smoked brisket.  I asked our server if she had any barbecue sauce and she brought out a piping hot bowl of a sort of sweet and smoky sauce.  It was a good compliment to the smoked - then grilled - brisket.

The rice was fluffy and tasty, the corn was basically a throw-away for me, but the beans were actually very good.  They had chunks of pork mixed in the sweet and tangy base.  I usually like to doctor up most baked beans with barbecue sauce, but these didn't need it.  

While the Bar M Steakhouse isn't anything fancy, I was very happy with the meal that I had.  Grilled smoked brisket is something that I've never had and I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the meat and the taste of the brisket.  If anything, it was a little expensive for lunch ($18.95 each without drinks), but it was very good for what it was.  Here's hoping that the Berger family makes a go of the Bar M Steakhouse.

The Woodhouse - Bismarck, ND

As you get off Interstate 94 at the State Street exit (exit 159) in Bismarck and head south toward the North Dakota State Capitol building, there's a restaurant off to the left side that I've passed a number of times over the past 10 plus years called The Woodhouse.  Or it may be called The Wood House - I've seen it written both ways.  Anyway, I had heard that they had a pretty killer burger at the place.  And they think so, too.  They have a rather audacious sign on the side of their building that says, "Home of the World's Best Hamburgers."  When I was up in North Dakota on a recent trip out that way, I made it a point to stop for lunch at The Woodhouse.  

One of my all-time favorite burger places when I was growing up was King's Food Host, a chain that started out of Lincoln, NE in the early 50's.  James King and Larry Price were the original owners of the place until King left the business in 1960.  Price, a former football coach who was slinging burgers in his teens, continued on and began to open more locations a year later.  Most of the early King's locations where in college towns throughout the Midwest.  It wasn't until Price adopted a true franchise program in 1968 that King's Food Hosts began to expand tremendously.  For two years beginning in 1969, more than 100 King's Food Host locations opened across the Midwest, both franchisee and company owned.  

The growth was too much for King's Food Host and they reported nearly a million dollar loss in 1971.  Price sold his interest in King's in 1972 for $3 million dollars and left the company.  Losses mounted the next two years with deficits of nearly $2 million dollars reported in 1973 and 1974.  With that, the new ownership of King's Food Host was forced to declare bankruptcy protection and began to shut down many of their company owned locations.  By the late 70's there were only a handful of King's locations left.  (I remember one on Cornhusker Highway in Lincoln was still open in the mid-80's.) 

If you're of a certain age and grew up in the Midwest, you probably remember the Cheese Frenchee, one of the signature items on the King's menu.  They were basically a sandwich with mayo and American cheese with the crusts of the bread cut, then rolled in a mixture of corn flakes, eggs, milk and flour and deep fried to a golden brown.  There were people who would crawl to King's for Cheese Frenchee.  You can find a number of recipes for the sandwich by doing a Google search for Cheese Frenchee.

I never cared for the Cheese Frenchee, but I did like the King's burgers.  They were flat grilled and had sort of a black pepper taste to them.  For a made-to-order burger, they were very tough to beat.  

(In 2002, Amigos, a Mexican fast food chain that was started in Lincoln resurrected the King's name by adding the Kings Classic co-brand to their restaurants.  All of the restaurants for Amigos Kings Classic are located in Eastern Nebraska.  No, I've never been to one.  However, the closest place where I've experienced a near-King's burger experience is Don & Millie's with locations in Omaha and Lincoln.  Click here to see my entry on Don & Millie's.)  

The Bismarck King's Food Host opened in 1969 in what was the same building that The Woodhouse is housed in today.  (see map)  In fact, when it changed from a King's in 1979, franchise owner Bill Wood gave the new place his name.  And not much changed since then.

When you walk into The Woodhouse, it's like going back 40 years to a King's Food Host.  All the seating is booth seating and the original paneling is still on the wall.  Taking a quick look around, I saw that I may have been one of the youngest - if not THE youngest - persons in the restaurant.   

I took a booth along the wall and was greeted by a familiar sight at a King's Food Host - the menu on the wall with a telephone hanging next to it.  Growing up, we had a King's Food Host in what was the old Newton Shopping Center in Newton, IA.  You called your orders into an operator at a switchboard in the kitchen to give them your order.  It was a rather cool thing to do at the time.  And I thought it was a rather cool thing to do at this time, as well.

Most of the old King's Food Host items were on the menu - the burgers, Cheese Frenchee, grilled chicken sandwiches.  They also had bison burgers on the menu, something that you didn't see at a King's.  And they also had broasted chicken on the menu - something that King's was famous for so many years ago.  

On this visit to the Woodhouse, I went with the double cheese burger.  I placed the order over the phone to an operator back in the kitchen.  I had to smile when I hung up the phone.  Not long after I ordered the burger, a waitress came over to drop off a glass of water and to see if I had ordered yet.  Yep!  Called it in on the phone like you're supposed to!  I'm sure that some weary travelers that stumble into the place are probably confused by the phones at their booths and prefer to have their orders taken by a server.

Someone from the kitchen brought my burger out.  It featured two thin flat-grilled burger patties that had slices of American cheese on top of each patty.  An onion ring was on top of the burger held on by a toothpick.  I ordered everything on the burger, chopped onions, pickles, ketchup and mustard.

From the first bite, I could tell this was a good burger.  It didn't have the pepper taste that I grew to love from a King's burger, but it was still very good.  It was juicy and flavorful.  The bun was soft and had a great taste to it.  The fresh chopped onions were very forward in taste, but a great complement to the overall taste of the burger.

Was The Woodhouse the true "Home of the World's Best Hamburgers" as they tout on their awning out front?  It was a very good burger, but, yeah, I can't call it the best I've ever had.  It was certainly a spot-hitter for me that day.  But what got me more was the trip back into my childhood and getting the near-experience of going to a King's Food Host one more time.  The Woodhouse is a slice of nostalgic Midwestern Americana with a damn fine burger.    

The Toasted Frog - Bismarck, ND

Instead of going directly home after the annual CEDIA Expo in Indianapolis this past September, I was asked to squire around Jean-Philippe Fontaine, the International Sales and Export Manager for Focal Loudspeakers for a few days.  J.P. and I had both left our homes on September 3rd and we both weren't due to be back home until the 14th.  Only his trip was a little more arduous.  He started off in France, flew to China for a couple days, then flew all the way to Indy from Shanghai via Detroit.  After the Expo ended, we took off on Sunday afternoon, first stopping at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a tour of the museum and track (something J.P. wanted to do and I was glad to oblige), then up to Chicago and a couple days of meetings with dealers.  Given that we're doing a lot of business up in North Dakota, my boss suggested that we fly up there for a couple three days seeing our dealers in Fargo and Dickinson.  It's a four hour drive from Fargo to Dickinson with not a lot to see.  I told J.P. before we left, "We're either going to be best of friends at the end of this trip, or we're gonna hate each others guts."  On our way back from Dickinson, we stopped in Bismarck to have dinner at the Toasted Frog. 

I had wanted to eat lunch at the Toasted Frog earlier this summer with my dealer in Bismarck, but it turned out the restaurant is closed for lunch.  We ended up eating at the Blarney Stone (click here to see that entry) and that was exactly where J.P. and I dined for lunch on our way out to Dickinson earlier in the day.  I had eaten at the Pirogue Grill in Bismarck in the past (click here to see that entry), but wanted to try the Toasted Frog location in Bismarck.  I've eaten at the Toasted Frog in Grand Forks (click here to see that entry) and wanted to try their Bismarck location that opened in December of 2010.   Owners Jon Holth and Shawn Clapp bought the building on the southwest corner of Broadway and 4th Street (see map) in the heart of Bismarck's downtown core district.  Previous tenants of the nearly century old building included a couple of department stores and a cosmetology academy. 

Since it was the height of the dinner hour, we had to park in a public ramp behind the Toasted Frog.  (Getting out of the garage was pure Upper Midwest small-town Americana - there was no attendant on duty after 6 p.m., so you were on the honor system to place your money into a slot in the exit booth.)  We walked in and a hostess was in deep discussion with a man who had evidently got a dinner to go, but was bringing it back because he was less than thrilled with how it turned out.  It was an awkward moment for us and the hostess as the guy DEMANDED to see the manager and wanted his money back.  Fortunately, another young lady came up to greet us and seated us at a table opposite the bar.  

The Toasted Frog is situated in a long narrow building with high exposed ceilings with massive air ducts just below.  The tables and chairs are sort of a contemporary metal styling that were somewhat high, but actually pretty comfortable to sit in.   Our waiter came over to greet us and we ordered up a couple beers as we looked through the menu which is virtually identical with the Toasted Frog location up in Grand Forks.  

We had eaten eclectic Italian the night before, the night before that we had steak and seafood, and the night prior to that we had steak at Morton's near O'Hare (click here to see my entry on my visit to Morton's).  J.P. was sort of in a quandary as to what to get.  They don't have the same beef in France as they get in the U.S., so J.P. is always a little more prone to order steaks when he's in the states.  But at Toasted Frog, they only have a tenderloin filet and a New York strip on their menu.  I told J.P., "You know, the Midwest is also famous for their pork," pointing out the grilled pork tenderloin topped with a port wine craisin demiglace and served with your choice of potato and the vegetable of the day.  

He said, "That's it!  That is what I'll have!"   He got the French fries for his potato and fried zucchini was the veggie du jour.  

At the top of the menu, something caught my eye right off the bat.   They had grilled mahi mahi fish tacos served with a sour cream cabbage slaw, avocado slices, tomato and mango salsas, with chopped green onions and flour tortillas.  If you're a regular reader of Road Tips, you know that I'm a sucker for grilled fish tacos, even in a land-locked location such as Bismarck.  I didn't even consider anything else on the menu. 

It took about 20 minutes for our food to reach the table, time enough for another glass of beer from the list of beers the Toasted Frog had to offer.  J.P.'s  grilled pork chop was swimming in the port demiglace sauce.  He took one bite of it and had this look of astonishment on his face.  "Oh, my God," he exclaimed.  "This is so good!"  Midwestern pork won over another visitor to our country.  

My fish tacos came on two separate plates - one with the grilled mahi mahi filet on it with all the fixin's, and a small plate with the tortilla shells.   They grilled the tortilla shells to make them pliable and tender, giving them a nice charred taste, as well.  Putting a little bit of everything on to the top of the tortilla shell took a little while, but the time it took was worth it.  The mahi mahi was fresh in taste and not fishy in the least.  The sour cream cabbage slaw was a nice taste along with the salsas and fresh avocado slices.  The fish tacos were very good - surprisingly good for Bismarck, ND.  

J.P. ate up every last bit of the grilled pork tenderloin and swirled the last two pieces in the port demiglace.  He said, "Yes, we have pork in France.  But like your beef, the pork isn't as good as it is here.  This is some of the best pork I've ever had in my life."  And this is coming from a guy who travels all over the world for Focal.

I know it's sort of hard to screw up fish tacos, but the salsas and the sour cream cabbage slaw were a wonderful complement to the mahi mahi.  Let's say I've had worse grilled fish tacos in much larger cities.  And J.P. was more than happy with his grill pork tenderloin entree.  We were best of friends when we got back to the hotel in the Fargo area around 10:30 that evening, having spent over 8 hours in the car that day.  And I have to think that dining at the Toasted Frog in Bismarck helped.

Blarney Stone Pub - Bismarck, ND

I stopped in Bismarck earlier this summer to call on one of my long-time dealers in town and to take him out to lunch.  A couple three years ago, I had been up to Grand Forks and found a nice place called the Toasted Frog (see that entry here).  I heard that they had opened a location in Bismarck and I suggested we go there.  My dealer said, "Sure!  That sounds good.  I've been there a couple times and it's pretty good."  

We went to The Toasted Frog and found that it didn't open until 4 p.m.  Just across the street from The Toasted Frog was The Pirogue Grille, a place we had eaten at one time a few years ago.  (See that entry here.)  However, my dealer said, "Well, we're in the same boat with The Pirogue Grille.  It doesn't open until late afternoon, too."

He stood there for a moment and said, "Ah!  I know a place we can go.  It's just around the corner."  We walked down N. 4th St. to Main and took a left.  In the middle of the block was an Irish pub by the name of the Blarney Stone Pub.  (see map)  

(Disclosure - I didn't bring my phone with me, so the pictures I have in this blog were courtesy of the Blarney Stone's Facebook Page.) 

Thanks to a boom in oil and gas drilling in Northwest North Dakota, a number of cities and towns in the area are going through some major changes.  Some of the changes are good, but some are bad.  Bismarck is benefiting the most out of the oil and gas boom in North Dakota as it has become the favored place for oil company executives to live.  There has been an upscale housing and office space boom in the area and a handful of restaurants have popped up over the past couple three years.   The Blarney Stone is one of those places and they've been open for just under three years.  The pub is owned by a group consisting of Matt and Kelly Geiger, who own a construction company in Bismarck; Jim and Nicole Poolman (Jim Poolman is the former State Insurance Commissioner for North Dakota and is currently a consultant in Bismarck); Bil and Michele Rydquist (Bil Rydquist owns a heating and refrigeration business in Bismarck); and Russ Wanner, who is the managing partner at The Blarney Stone.  The group worked together to make decisions on the downtown location, the decor of the restaurant, and the eventual menu.  

The inside of the Blarney Stone is very reminiscent of an authentic Irish pub - heavy on the brick work with a large ornate wood bar in the main room as you walk in.  There's a large upstairs area for private parties and overflow dining.  

Off to the side of the main dining room/bar is an ornate and elegant dining room called the Grand Room with a large fireplace with a beautiful wooden mantle.  And through a large brick arch was a hallway with a handful of private booth dining areas, each with their own arch entry way.  The Blarney Stone would have been classy even in a much larger city.

We were escorted by a hostess into another dining area through the elegant room.  This was the Blarney Stone's "courtyard" dining area.  Actually, it was a long dining room with its own bar, and a number of high tables with what amounted to a large open garage door on the south end of the room.  We sat at a high table near the garage door and the hostess left off menus for us to look over.  Ricky was our server that day and he took our drink order while we took a look through the menus.  

Each day through the week, the Blarney Stone has a lunch special from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.  Since it was on a Wednesday when we were there, the special that day was a half smoked Sicilian sandwich with a bowl of cheesy chicken tortilla soup.  The Sicilian sandwich on its own piqued my interest - it consisted of smoked ham, pepperoni, and bacon with mozzarella cheese sitting on a bed of Spring lettuce, black olives, balsamic marinated tomato slices and sliced sweet onions, all sitting in between slices of grilled focaccia bread.  Marinara sauce came with it on the side.  I came into the place thinking a reuben would be pretty good, but this one jolted my taste buds.  

They also had a number of entrees, appetizers and burgers including something called the Haystack McFarland.  Named after a fictional Irish wrestler, this sandwich is Blarney Stone's "challenge" meal that consists of five different Blarney Stone signature burgers (such as the Rosemary O'Reilly, the Irish Mexican, and the Hot-Headed Irishman) along with two pounds of waffle fries.  It costs $48 bucks and you get 30 minutes to down the burger and fries or you have to pay for the burger.  You also get a free t-shirt if you win the challenge.  This is a somewhat disturbing trend I'm seeing in restaurants, primarily because of Adam Richman and his "Man vs. Food" food challenges on The Travel Channel.  Now, I love the Man vs. Food show, but I'm getting a little bored with these challenges.  Pictured at left is a young guy who is getting ready to take the challenge.  (He lost...)

My guest was thinking about getting one of the Blarney Stone's salads for lunch.  When Ricky came to take our order for food, my dealer had a question regarding the "angry sauce" that the Blarney Stone used on their Angry Chicken Caesar Salad.  Ricky said that it was a variation of a Buffalo wing sauce that they made in house.  "It's spicy, but not that bad," he told my dealer.  So, that's what my dealer ordered.

Even though the Smoked Sicilian sandwich was still at the top of my list, I couldn't help but notice a number of other items on the extensive menu.  The Shepherd's Pie looked very interesting, as did the corned beef and creamed cabbage platter.  There was also the Blarney Dip - sliced roast beef on a grilled hoagie bun, topped with melted Swiss cheese and garlic Aioli.  It came with a Rosemary Onion au jus gravy to dip the sandwich in. Oh, man!  It was between that and the Smoked Sicilian, but when it came my time to order I went with my original gut instinct and go the Smoked Sicilian - a whole without the soup - and waffle fries.  Ricky asked if I wanted any of the Dublin sauce to go along with it.  When I asked him what Dublin sauce was, he said, "It's mayo with pureed artichoke..."  I forgot what he said after that.  I immediately signed up for some of that, as well. 

As we waited for our lunches to show up, we talked a little business and how the oil and gas boom has been affecting my dealer's business.  He said, "Our retail traffic is still mediocre, but the number of homes that we're involved with doing home theaters or whole house systems is what's driving our overall business.  The housing boom is getting to the point that if someone calls up a builder and asks to talk to them about building them a home in the area, the first thing the builder asks is, 'Do you have a plot of land?'  If they don't, the builders won't even talk to them.  'Get a plot of land first,' the builders will say. 'Then come back and talk to me.'  I'm telling you, it's just crazy."

He was also telling me that with the boom, it's also brought some hardships to areas of North Dakota.  "Our infrastructure can't keep up.  The big trucks are tearing up our roads out west, we don't have enough state troopers to patrol the roads, crime is up in some of towns out west (that was confirmed later in the day by my dealer out in Dickinson).  The east side of the state isn't seeing this economic boom, but they have the most population.  None of the state legislators from out east aren't willing to earmark money for the problems that are starting to arise out west and they control most of the voting.  Even though I'm benefiting from it, I don't think this boom is good for the state as a whole."    

His salad and my sandwich was brought out to us and the sandwich was much larger than what I bargained for.   They actually had a picture (albeit not a good one) on the Blarney Stone Facebook page of the Smoked Sicilian sandwich with waffle fries and marinara on the side - exactly what I ordered.  The sandwich was piled high with the smoked ham, bacon and pepperoni, sitting on the bed of lettuce, tomatoes, olives and onions.  The focaccia was lightly toasted and crisp.  I had to cut it in half just to be able to handle it.  

The Smoked Sicilian was very good.  Years ago, T.G.I. Friday's used to have a similar sandwich - the Hot Sicilian - but they took it off the menu.  It was the only reason I would go into a T.G.I. Friday's to eat.  Every once in a while I'd find a T.G.I. Friday's that would still be able to make their Hot Sicilian sandwich, but it's been years since that last happened.  Which also directly correlates to the last time I can remember being in a T.G.I Friday's.  But the Smoked Sicilian at the Blarney Stone was every bit as good as the Hot Sicilian at T.G.I. Friday's.  And it was a lot of food.  I was having trouble eating the second half of the sandwich and I told my dealer, "Geez, I should have gotten the half sandwich and soup combo. This is a big sandwich!"

The waffle fries were all right, but they were helped with the Dublin sauce.  It had sort of a peppery taste to the sauce and it was very good.  I was extremely impressed with my meal at the Blarney Stone.  

My dealer was happy with his Angry Chicken Caesar Salad.  There were a lot of small chunks of grilled chicken that had been dipped in the spicy sauce before it was placed on the Caesar Salad.  He said that the waiter was right, the sauce wasn't all that spicy.  "This is very good," my dealer declared.  

I had been looking through the beer list earlier during our visit and I was impressed with the number of beers they had to choose from at the Blarney Stone.  I told my dealer that I'd like to come back some night and take the other guys who work for him out to dinner and to have a few beers at the place.  And the food prices were very affordable.  The Smoked Sicilian was $9.99 and the waffle fries came with it.  It was a lot of food at a great value.  

(Since my original visit to the Blarney Stone earlier this summer, I was just in North Dakota on business last week with a factory guy from Focal Loudspeakers.  We stopped at the Blarney Stone for lunch on our way out to Dickinson, ND and I had the Guinness Irish Stew - slow-roasted beef cubes with carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, onions, garlic, thyme and rosemary in a hearty Guinness beer broth served in a miniature pot.  The guy from Focal, Jean-Philippe, had the Hot-Headed Irishman burger - a 1/2 pound burger topped with jalapenos, blue cheese dressing, pepperjack cheese and Blarney Stone's "Angry" sauce.  He said the burger was outstanding and I have to say the Guinness Irish Stew was equally as good.)  

I was very impressed by the Blarney Stone.  As my old neighbor, George, used to say, "I hate places that put up a couple Irish flags and call themselves an Irish pub."  The Blarney Stone was far from that.  The ornate brick and woodwork throughout the place, along with the old world Irish feel, and the great food and beer menu would have worked for the Blarney Stone had it been in a city like Milwaukee, St. Louis or Indianapolis.  I don't get up to Bismarck all that often, but I have a place that has risen to the top of my list of "revisits".  And the way my business is growing in North Dakota, I need to get up there more often.  

Pirogue Grille - Bismarck, ND

Bismarck, ND is kind of a surprising city for being, literally, in the middle of nowhere.  It actually has some pretty good restaurants to choose from in the area.  I put on a new dealer earlier this year up in Bismarck and went up there to do some training recently.  After the training was concluded, I took a couple of the guys over to the Pirogue Grille in downtown Bismarck (see map).   

Now, a pirogue is a long, narrow boat that Cajun fishermen use in the bayou.  I don't quite get the connection between the Pirogue Grille and Cajun food because Chef Stuart Tracy specializes in North Dakota-raised, farm fresh to table offerings.  His menu changes seasonally and features North Dakota-raised bison, lamb, walleye, beef, chicken and pork.  There are also pasta and seafood dishes on the menu.  

Maybe the Pirogue Grille gets its name from the shape of the restaurant.  It's situated in a long, narrow building in a very elegant setting.  There's a small bar area up front and a private dining area on the way back to the main dining room.  It's very comfortable, very relaxed and had a "big city" feel to the place.

Neither of my guests drank alcohol so I wasn't going to order any wine that evening.  But I wish I would have at least looked through the menu as I found out later that the Pirogue Grille is sort of famous for their wine events.  I sort of wondered what kind of wines they'd pick for Bismarck, ND.

Our waitress came over and gave the nightly specials.  One of them was a pork loin stuffed with apples, walnuts and homemade breading - all of which were either raised, grown or baked in North Dakota.  That did sound tempting, but I'm not big on apples or walnuts.  They were also featuring a pasta dish that evening with North Dakota made sausage.  

I was looking hard at the beef filet seasoned with a Southwestern rub and topped with lime butter.  That sounded interesting and killer.  I ended up getting that with a side of their caramelized onion mashed potatoes.  For a starter I got their corn and bison soup in a cup.

One of my guests took the pork loin special and got rice on the side.  The other guest got the North Dakota-branded New York strip steak with the caramelized onion mashed potatoes.  Both got the organic greens salad with homemade dressing.    

As we waited for our dinner, we talked some shop and relaxed after a long day.  Our waitress was very attentive bringing us more water, pop or beer (for me - you didn't think I would go dry during dinner, did you?).

About 10 minutes after we finished our soup and salads, the main entrees came to the table.  The presentation was very nice and I have to say the food was excellent.  The Southwestern rub on the steak was a combination of cumin and chili powder, but it didn't overpower the taste of the meat, which was cooked a perfect medium-rare.  And the lime butter was an interesting taste sensation, as well.  It has to be easy to make. 

The guest who had the New York strip had never been to the Pirogue Grille before and he was very impressed with the meal.  We both loved the caramelized onions in the mashed potatoes.  And the person who got the stuffed pork loin - who had eaten at the Pirogue Grille before - liked his meal very much.  He told me, "Surprisingly, there's a lot of good restaurants in this town.  I don't know if it's because we're the capital of North Dakota, but we do seem to have our fair share of good places to eat." 

After dinner, I offered to pick up dessert, as well.  Except nothing on the dessert menu sounded all that good to me.  One of the guys got the rhubarb blueberry pie, and the other guy went with a strawberry cheesecake they had that evening.  The Pirogue Grille has their own pastry/dessert chef and the menu can change from day to day or week to week.  That's kind of nice so they give you a variety of things to try for both main entrees and desserts on each visit.

The Pirogue Grille was a surprisingly wonderful dining experience.  The meal, drinks and dessert came to about $95 bucks before tax and tip were included.  The food was great, the service was great, the atmosphere was great.  Going to Bismarck once a year will much less painful if I have the Pirogue Grille to look forward to.