All About Food

Pepper’s Sports Cafe: a surprise inside!

April 12th, 2017

It was rumored that Pepper’s Sports Cafe had something new to offer, something smoky and delicious. A tasty delight that could only come from a prolonged cooking process and a diverse knowledge of meat.

The rumors were true, and when I visited on Thursday I experienced a beautiful thing. Well smoked, well prepared, and absolutely fantastic meat!

I arrived on Thursday at about 3:00pm. There were only three people in the restaurant. I quickly found a spot at the bar, and ordered a beer.…

Rosey’s: a decadent destination dedicated to deliciousness

April 5th, 2017

I visited Rosey’s twice on Saturday to get a real feel for the bistro. My first visit was at around 2:30pm. They were coming to the end of their lunch service, and it wasn’t very busy. The second was a much different affair. As I visited around 11:00pm, the environment was lively and much more spirited.

Rosey’s is beautiful. The interior is gorgeous. Everything is conducive. The tables are naturally cut wood, and usage of visible stainless presents a fantastic aesthetic. My inner…

Madina Cuisine

March 29th, 2017

photo by Logan Macrae

Madina Cuisine is a hidden gem. It’s an amazing environment and experience. It honestly felt like home, and it was the first time I had ever been there.

As you drive down 13th Avenue, Madina Cuisine is easy to miss, it’s tucked into the same strip mall as Kum and Go and O’Reilly Auto Parts. Don’t make that mistake. This is one restaurant in Fargo that should not be missed. It’s truly unique.

The interior is a dark burnt red, and the seating is rather…

Magnolia’s offers variety

March 22nd, 2017

On a cold windy Tuesday night, we wandered into the new downtown establishment Magnolia’s. I was impressed that the new tenant had replaced the garish green exterior of the previous Kitchen Gremlin. A pink and white signage and soffit had taken its place. The interior had also changed. There are seventeen tables in all with wooden booths that reminded me of the supper clubs of my youth. Country music was blaring. This may have been a problem if there were more customers, but we were…

THE BEAUTY OF SIMPLICITY

March 15th, 2017

With St. Patrick’s Day coming up, and everybody celebrating their true, or false, Irish heritage, I decided it would be a good time to write about one of my absolute favorite dishes, which is also very easy to prepare, Corned Beef and Cabbage.

Beef preserved in salt was a main source of income for many Irish people. Preserved beef was seen as a luxury item to the Irish since the cheaper cuts were primarily exported to the French and the better cuts were sold to the British, leaving…

A chef’s guilty pleasure

March 8th, 2017

Every Chef has his or her guilty pleasures. In the eyes of the public, chefs are associated with beautifully plated, perfectly prepared food, and a level of flavor that seems to leave our guests at a loss for all words, except for one, “Amazing!”

Our guests always seem to be shocked when they find out what a true chef’s choice consists of at the end of a long shift or during a lazy day off.

I was recently notified that one of my own favorites has made a surprise, middle-of-winter…

Farm to table

February 22nd, 2017

Meat production in the United States is reaching record highs, making many items in grocery stores more readily available to consumers.

Agricultural producers are conscious of the unpredictability in prices for their commodities. While some consumers believe that food prices are always increasing and producers continue to receive more money for the product. Meat prices in grocery stores may be considered high and beef producers are receiving next to nothing for their beloved…

Pastry Palooza breakfast with Nancy Olson

February 15th, 2017

Imagine the scent of freshly baked yeast, cinnamon, butter and vanilla wafting through a kitchen in the early morning. Now imagine extra soft and moist muffins with lemon glaze or ham and cheddar scones waiting for you on a kitchen table. It’s tempting to have a bite.

Nancy Olson, pastry chef, recalls her memories of grandmother’s kitchen, church basement potlucks and Parisian patisseries. The warm and comforting scent gives us strength to get through this severe winter in the…

Plans that bear fruit

December 21st, 2016

Photo by Sabrina Hornung

With winter finally beginning to kick in, some people might want to escape to the refuge of memory. Recollections of warmer, sweeter times, of climbing a ladder to pluck fruit from the trees of the family farm’s apple grove, provide a brief respite from winter’s barren chill. Wouldn’t it be nice for those fruit trees to be not only a memory, but a future promise, something to look forward to rather than something to look back on?

Until January 20, the North…

Lefse, krumkake, rommegrot, yum!

December 7th, 2016

For many of us, the holidays bring with them distinctive memories of traditional Scandinavian dishes. Fond recollections exist of lefse spread with butter and sugar, or sweet krumkake patterned with distinctive designs, that crumble to pieces in one’s mouth. Wouldn’t it be nice to learn how to create those treats yourself and carry the tradition forward?

Crooked Lane Farm in Colfax, North Dakota is providing an opportunity to learn traditional Scandinavian treat-making with its…