February 6th, 2019
For our second week of the Cocktail Showdown, it was an abbreviated one due to the bitter cold weather closing down several of the establishments throughout downtown, including the ones we were set to visit. Thankfully, Andrew Hardy was excited enough about his competition entry to come in on a night off and treat us to a makeup Monday at the Sidestreet Grille and Pub, on 4th and 4th in downtown Fargo.
The Sidestreet is one of those hangouts that seems to have it all. One of the most…
January 31st, 2019
It’s always good to be missed and I’ve heard the same phrase, or a variation of it, from many readers over the last month or so….”when are you (HPR judges) starting the Cocktail Showdown?” While this year’s edition of the High Plains Reader’s Cocktail Showdown has begun a bit later than previous years, on behalf of my fellow judges and the fine participating establishments scattered throughout Fargo/Moorhead, I proudly present to you the first week of the 2019 edition of the…
April 17th, 2018
FARGO - A collection of memories from High Plains Reader's annual Cocktail Showdown. Participants were judged on creativity, flavor, and presentation; and this year we added a new category. Like years before, each establishment was allowed to enter a cocktail, but for the first time ever, we allowed participants to choose to create an after-dinner drink in place of the shot category.
The event was hosted at the Holiday Inn, and the theme was tropical tiki.
February 21st, 2018
Although the temperatures were sub zero last Sunday, the crowd and competitors were certainly on fire at the Holiday Inn in Fargo for the 5th Annual Bartenders Battle.
This event has become a highlight of the year for the service industry and this year’s Tiki theme was without a doubt well represented throughout the night. We saw it not only in the attire of the crowd and the juiciness of the drinks, but in the ambiance as well.
As guests arrived, they were escorted to their tables by…
February 21st, 2018
Round one: tequila
Strawberry Cilantro Sour
I chose Casa Noble Anejo Tequila for this drink because its deep vanilla and oak characteristics reminded me of a smooth whiskey. With whiskey on my mind, I decided to play on the traditional whiskey sour with egg whites.
I started adding 2 egg whites to an iSi Whipper with 1 oz. of fresh-squeezed lime juice and charged it with NO2. Then I muddled fresh cilantro with fresh strawberries, a bit of sweetened raspberry puree, and topped it with 2…
February 14th, 2018
This year’s Cocktail Showdown yielded a mixture of familiar and fresh faces to compete in the Fifth Annual Bartenders Battle when it returns to the Holiday Inn on Sunday February 18th. With a bright and colorful Tiki theme, we encourage you to bust out the island attire and join us, as eight of the best bartenders in town compete for an array of prizes that is bigger and better than ever before.
We highly suggest you consider a VIP table of 8, which allows you early entry into the…
January 26th, 2018
Once again it is time to announce the winners of the HPR Cocktail Showdown. After several weeks of sampling a wide array of traditional and modern cocktails, shots, and after-dinner drinks, the results are in and we are excited to present you the winners.
Participants were judged on creativity, flavor, and presentation; and this year we added a new category. Like years before, each establishment was allowed to enter a cocktail, but for the first time ever, we allowed participants to…
December 20th, 2017
Rhombus Guys
While they may be known locally and throughout the region for their restaurants, which feature over thirty different pizzas, and their recent addition of a brewery in Grand Forks, Rhombus Guys also proudly pour from a wide array of spirits for sipping or mixing. They also feature twenty different wines by the glass or bottle and a cocktail menu that features craft spirits in staff-created cocktails, including the Jaffa-tini and their Cucumber Pomegranate Lemonade, which were…
December 12th, 2017
cjlarson75@gmail.com
Newly remodeled since July of this year, the Spirits Lounge inside the Holiday Inn in Fargo takes the lounge concept to a level of comfort that isn’t often seen in town.
On one side of the room, underneath two large flatscreens, you and a dozen of your friends can enjoy classy yet comfortable seating on enormous couches and large lounge chairs, while you enjoy a solid selection of a dozen different wines.
If, like our judges, you are in search of something a little…
November 24th, 2017
On this, the fourth week of the 2017 HPR Cocktail Showdown, we return to visit a previous contender and welcome a new one. Heading back Downtown for this week’s judging, we first sat down at the newly renamed Zest Lounge inside the Radisson Hotel Fargo, where Vince Kramer was excited to toss his hat in the ring for a first-time appearance in the Cocktail Showdown. We then paid a visit to the Boiler Room and returning contender Josh Goedtke, who made a very strong showing in both the…
__293px-wide.jpg)
Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.com A midnight wedding ceremony at the Clay County Courthouse in Moorhead on August 1, 2013 was more than a romantic gesture. Eighteen couples made history on that day by exchanging vows in the…
By Michael M. Millermichael.miller@ndsu.edu On March 11, 2024, we celebrated the 121st birthday of bandleader Lawrence Welk. He was born March 11, 1903 in a sod house near Strasburg, North Dakota, and died on May 17,1992. The…
Saturday, May 117 p.m., gates at 5 p.m.Outdoors at Fargo Brewing Company610 University Dr. N, FargoWisconsin’s finest export, The Violent Femmes, started out in Milwaukee in 1981 as an acoustic punk band, and they’ve been…
Is this a repeating pattern?By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comThere’s a quote circulating around the world wide web, misattributed to Sinclair Lewis: "When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a…
by Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comAccording to my great-grandfather many years ago, my French ancestors migrated from Normandy to Quebec to Manitoba to Wisconsin to Minnesota over the spread of more than two centuries, finally…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com In this land of hotdish and ham, the knoephla soup of German-Russian heritage seems to reign supreme. In my opinion though, the French have the superior soup. With a cheesy top layer, toasted baguette…
By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.com It is not unheard of for bands to go on hiatus. However, as the old saying goes, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” That is why when a local group like STILL comes back to…
Now playing at the Fargo Theatre.By Greg Carlson gregcarlson1@gmail.comPalme d’Or recipient “Anatomy of a Fall” is now enjoying an award-season victory tour, recently picking up Golden Globe wins for both screenplay and…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com There’s no exaggeration when we say that this year’s Plains Art Gala is going to be out of this world, with a sci-fi theme inspired by a painting housed in the Plains Art Museum’s permanent…
By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comHigh Plains Reader had the opportunity to interview two mysterious new game show hosts named Milt and Bradley Barker about an upcoming event they will be putting on at Brewhalla. What…
By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…
By John Showalter john.d.showalter@gmail.comThey sell fentanyl test strips and kits to harm-reduction organizations and…
JANUARY 19, 1967– MARCH 8, 2023 Brittney Leigh Goodman, 56, of Fargo, N.D., passed away unexpectedly at her home on March 8, 2023. Brittney was born January 19, 1967, to Ruth Wilson Pollock and Donald Ray Goodman, in Hardinsburg,…
__300x100.jpg)
Dismissing the value of small towns for the future of our nation is a mistakeBy Bill Oberlanderarcandburn@gmail.comAccording to U.S. Census projections, by the middle of this century, roughly 90% of the total population will live…
