Paul’s Picks

By Paul Hankel
Contributing Writer

Hello college-goers! Welcome to another school year in the delectable Fargo-Moorhead area. Is that student loans overage check burning a hole in your pocket? Then check out this list of must-see restaurants, bars, shops, attractions and hang outs for the upcoming school year.

Restaurants

There are the ever-present chain restaurants that serve the usual 2-for-1 apps and dollar off beers such as Applebee’s and Buffalo Wild Wings. But be sure to try out some of Fargo’s own local favorites. These eateries include Spicy Pie, located on Broadway in downtown Fargo, which serves $2 slices of pizza (plus toppings) and is quickly becoming a downtown favorite. Another crowd pleaser in J.L. Beers, which has two locations—one in downtown Fargo and the other on west 13th Ave.in West Fargo. The burgers are out of this world and their tap beer selection is second to none.

Bertrosas, in my opinion, is one of Fargo’s hidden gems. Not because no one knows about it, but because I don’t think people understand how good the food is! It’s located in the Black Building mall on Broadway and has arguably the best beer cheese soup in town to go along with fresh homemade sandwiches, hotdogs, and gyros.

One of the terrible afflictions that many college students come down with is “late night munchies.” Fear not, it happens to everyone and is easily curable. Just call Pizza Patrol, a college staple. They feature tons of great specials and are open until 4 a.m. I recommend the homestyle crust, it’s amazing.

Hangouts

As we all know, winter here in the FM area lasts forever, which leaves us all looking for places to stay warm and hang out with friends. My suggestions are as follows:

Atomic Coffee- Located on Broadway in Downtown Fargo. Atomic is the quintessential coffee shop. It features a full menu of lattes, frappes, mochas, and such, and it even serves a few different bottled beers! They offer free wi-fi and comfortable chairs, sofas, and seating for their customers.

Fargo Billiards and Gastropub- Located on 32nd Avenue and 42nd Street Southwest in Fargo. A new edition to the ever-expanding South Fargo, Billiards is a local pool hall and restaurant. Although it is an understatement to call Billiards a pool “hall,” due to the fact that it features 57 world-class pool tables and over 3,000 square feet of space in which to relax and shoot a few games of pool. The Gastropub serves delicious food and there’s also a bar and big screens to watch your favorite sporting events. This is definitely one of my personal favorites.

Bars

Where to begin? Hmmm. Well first off, I consider myself a seasoned veteran/expert on the nightlife scene in good ole FM. After all, I’ve been a foundation downtown ever since my roommate from college and I ordered those fake id’s from Canada when we were 19. When I was researching this writing assignment (which was the best excuse I’ve ever had for being out drinking on a MONDAY afternoon!), I decided that it all depends on what kind of mood you’re in. So I divided them up into some categories.

Dance Club

Although I consider myself in the twilight years of my downtown party days, there are still certain occasions when I feel the need to “shake it like a Polaroid picture.” In these instances, I find myself gravitating towards The Hub, the monolithic dance-club, concert venue, seven bars on two different floors bar located on 25th Street and 9th Avenue South in Fargo. It’s everything you would imagine a large dance club to be. With bars named The Monkey Bar and The Cadillac Ranch, there is a bar for almost everyone’s taste. They feature countless musical acts during the school year and have a different drink special on almost every night of the week.

The second most obvious choice for the “shake your tail feather” enthusiast would be the Old Broadway (OB) located on Broadway in downtown Fargo. The OB has all the trappings of a dance club including smoke machines, flashing lights, crazy drink specials, and sweaty people grinding on a wood-laminate dance floor. It’s almost always packed by 11 p.m. on a Friday and Saturday night.

College Bars

These are the bars where local college students flock to bond with their fellow General Studies majors. MSUM and MSCTC students call Chumley’s, located on Main Avenue in Moorhead, home. It’s an awesome bar and features karaoke, trivia, and steak nights, as well as various drink specials.

Cobbers call Mick’s Office home. Located at 8th Street and 1st Avenue in Moorhead, it’s been the Cobber tradition for ages and features mug night, incredible burger baskets darts, pool, and on Thursday nights you can count on someone singing Piano Man with their pants off. Good times.

Bison students flock to locations such as The Turf on University Drive right by campus or Woody’s, which is located in the strip mall just to the east of the Fargodome. Both are great bars and offer student specials, drink specials, and plenty of TVs to watch Bison games.

I want to follow this section with a disclaimer: All college bars are, from my experience, very welcoming to “rival” college students coming to their stomping grounds! From my dealings, I found all three to be very admirable and polite to each other.

Sports Bars

Wings, Beer, Sports! Wings, Beer, Sports! It’s game time and your roommate forgot to pay the cable bill so you service was cut. Oh s#%t! No worries, just head to one of the FM area’s many sports bars for high-definition screenings of your favorite sporting events. The downtown area features bars like the OB Sports Zone, which I’m convinced has more HD TVs than seats, Sports Bar, several others that show all major sports. Because I stole their slogan at the beginning of this paragraph, I better mention Buffalo Wings, a male fixture, which has two locations in Fargo and a new one in Moorhead.

Live Music Bars

I love me some concerts! You too?! Sweet, meet me at Dempsey’s downtown to catch some of the best live music you’ll ever see. Whether its Poitin, the house band, or other local, regional and national talents, Dempsey’s continues to provide the FM area with a steady stream of great music.

The HoDo also features awesome live music and an ambiance that is matched nowhere else in Fargo. When you do go there be sure to try a Texas Tea, it’ll rock your face off. And lastly, the Nestor gets my third spot for best live music. They feature all ranges of music and have drink specials that I didn’t even know existed!

Chill Bars

Some nights you just don’t have it in you to do the good old downtown pub crawl. You just want to grab a few drinks at a place where the music won’t make your ears bleed and some drunk isn’t puking in the urinals. Well if that’s the case, check out any one of these bars for an awesome time.

First up, be sure to check out either one of the O’Leary’s Irish Pubs located in South Moorhead and in West Fargo. Mammoth mugs, good food, karaoke, darts, and blackjack await you. If you’re in South Fargo, take a break from studying and check out The Bulldog Tap on 45th Street South or Hooligans Bar out in West Fargo. Two of my favorites, these bars offer everything you’d expect from a local neighborhood spot.

I must interject here and give a shameless plug to my absolute favorite bar on the planet, the Perspectives Lounge, located in the Radisson Hotel in downtown Fargo. I’m gonna get a little cheesy here, but bear with me. The bar is located on the second floor and features a glass-paneled wall that gives you a breath-taking (told ya) nighttime view of Broadway as you’re sipping your Disaronno and Coke, watching the sun go down. Their happy hours run daily from 4 to 7 and from 9 to midnight featuring a different special depending on the day. They also feature live music several nights a week and have one of the most helpful knowledgeable bar staffs in the area. You MUST check this bar out!

Feel like embarrassing yourself with a little on-stage rendition of “Hey Jude?”  Hit up Divas and Rockstars in West Fargo for some karaoke. They feature room rentals, drink specials and professional karaoke djs who will do their best to make YOU sound good!

Lastly are my favorite haunts. These include Fargo-Moorhead institutions that have been around since all the roads were gravel. The Townhall in West Fargo is a must-see for any imbiber. The Bismarck and the Empire on North Broadway are filled with locals and an eclectic mix of Fargoans.

West Fargo, in the past few years, has created an area that I affectionately refer to as “Downtown Lite.” Off 9th Street and 13th Avenue in West Fargo is basically a miniature version of downtown Fargo featuring the afore mentioned bars such as O’Leary’s, Divas and Rockstars, J.L. Beers and, one of my new favorites, Three Lions Pub. They are all within walking distance of each other and its fun to do some bar hopping. Check it out!

Activities

Although winter is approaching as we all get back to school, there’s still time to enjoy all of the outdoor activities that Fargo-Moorhead has to offer. These are many public golf and frolf courses located throughout the area for residents to enjoy. Parks include Lindenwood, Trollwood, Woodlawn and several others.

FM is unique due to the fact that there are countless 10k and 5k runs that take place throughout the summer and fall. Most of the proceeds from these events go to help local charities and causes. One of these includes the Monster March, held Oct. 15, which will benefit the Fargo chapter of North Dakota Special Olympics. Be sure to register you and your friends for one of these events!

There is also no shortage of concerts, plays and outdoor street events. Check out the Bluestem Amphitheater in South Moorhead for a show that will amaze you.

In the fall, snag a ticket and check out a FM Redhawks baseball game or a Fargo Force hockey game. Both teams are fun to watch and there are student rates and reasonable food and beverage prices.

During winter months, there is no shortage of indoor sporting activities you can participate in. Indoor handball, broomball, basketball, dodge ball, kickball, and soccer leagues are just a few of the team activities offered to Fargo and Moorhead residents.

Check out a city publication for a full listing of these events and places.

Fargo-Moorhead college students have always been and always will be about the work hard-play hard mentality. The area is known for its hard-working, fun-loving, jovial people and this case is evidenced by our refusal to just shut down and be shut in during our long arduous winters. So, if you’re like me and adamantly refuse to surrender your fun card just because it’s cold, then finish your Recreational Studies paper, zip up your coat, take a gulp of something warm and head out and dive in to any number of these places and activities. So, get after it, and I promise you won’t be disappointed.

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