All About Food

Missing Some Good F-M Eats of the Past

January 15th, 2023

By Rick Gion

rickgion@gmail.com

The winter blues has me feeling sentimental about former Fargo eateries. It’s been so cold recently that I need to warm up with some fond food memories.

The first eatery of absence on my nostalgia list is Bertrosa’s Cafe at their Downtown Fargo location. For those not familiar, Bertrosa’s opened a spot on south University in the late 1990s. It eventually ended up in the lower level of the Black Building after a brief stint off of south 45th Street.…

Don’t Forget About Shopping Locally for Unique Holiday Food Gifts

December 16th, 2022

By Rick Gion

rickgion@gmail.com

You can find all sorts of kitchen gadgets, gizmos and goodies at just about every big-box store these days. Heck, with Amazon, a home cook can become a collector in no time at all. However, it’s much more fun to take a local tour of some of the specialty stores around the area, in search of unique gifts.

Right down the road from my apartment building is the Asian & American Market. This place serves up some of the most unique food items available in the…

Cheese Culture Growing in Fargo-Moorhead

November 17th, 2022

By Rick Gion

rickgion@gmail.com

As someone who’s written a lot of feature stories and press releases, it’s tempting to write something cheesy as a lead for this month’s column. But, instead, this column will actually feature cheese and many of the dairy distributors you need to know about in the area.

If you’re interested in exploring the maturing dairy options here in Fargo-Moorhead, there are four locally owned mongers you definitely need to be familiar with.

Known as Fargo’s…

Carnivores Have Much to Choose From in the Area

October 20th, 2022

By Rick Gion

rickgion@gmail.com

You’ve probably heard about some of the brewery and winery tours happening around here. But in this column, we’re going to take a tour of many of the locally owned butcher shops.

Let’s start in Dilworth at Butcher Block Meats. This market opened last summer and is located in Dilworth’s hip new area on the east side of town.

Butcher Block offers a variety of freshly cut items including many favorite cuts of beef and pork. They have a large meat case to…

Let’s ‘Taco Bout’ Some of the Newer Mexican Favorites in the Area

September 14th, 2022

By Rick Gion

rickgion@gmail.com

In this land of hotdish and ham, it used to be a real pain to find something satisfyingly spicy in the Fargo-Moorhead area.

Thankfully, there’s a much different menu here these days. So give a muchas gracias to the following establishments for greatly improving the scene.

Let’s start with El Vaqueros, which is a restaurant that opened for business a short…

The Battle of Moorhead’s Bar Burgers

August 17th, 2022

By Rick Gion

rickgion@gmail.com

It’s Mick’s Office vs. Vic’s Lounge for best beef over in spud town. How will these fierce competitors stack up, and which will come out on top?

Because it’s legendary, let’s start with Mick’s. On weekends, this college bar is home to many Concordia and Minnesota State University Moorhead students. I’d guess that the amount of burgers…

Cravings for Extra F-M Eats

July 20th, 2022

By Rick Gion

rickgion@gmail.com

While the Fargo-Moorhead area offers many great things to dine on these days, there are some hopeful establishments that would make for big improvements to the local food scene here.

The first restaurant on my wish list is a full-on Korean restaurant. You may have heard of some of the Korean barbeque places around town, and that’s all fine and dandy. I do love good bulgogi and kalbi. It’s delicious.

What I’m talking about is a restaurant where meals are…

Local Pizza Legends Collide: Duane’s vs. Sammy’s

June 16th, 2022

By Rick Gion

rickgion@gmail.com

Photos by Rick Gion

Some people say that a pizza tastes better if you cut it in squares. And, the main event in this food battle features Fargo-Moorhead’s favorite thin-crust squared circles.

Judging a competition between Duane’s House of Pizza and Sammy’s Pizza and Restaurant is not easy. It’s a high-level affair. Did you know that both places are favorites of former U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan?

The good senator likes his thin-crust pies well done with…

HoDo Lifted the Landscape of Downtown Fargo and Local Food Scene

May 18th, 2022

By Rick Gion

rickgion@gmail.com

Photo by Rick Gion

As you may have read, the Hotel Donaldson and the Hodo Lounge are transitioning to the ownership group that runs the Blarney Stone Irish Pubs in North Dakota. Although feelings seem to be mixed about this move, it’ll be good to see the iconic Downtown Fargo building alive again.

I’m not going to share any overly strong opinions in this column regarding the sale. I’m just going to write about some history, reflect on personal…

Midwestern Breakfast Favorite Featured at Two Local Restaurants

April 21st, 2022

By Rick Gion

rickgion@gmail.com

Egg bake is about as North Dakota as knoephla soup. You betcha! Two local breakfast bests serve different versions of this dish. Let’s taste which restaurant’s bake is the most eggcellent.

Bernbaum’s

On the menu, it’s labeled as the “daily egg bake” here, and to regulars, it’s called “egg of the day.”

Bernbaum’s egg bake is similar to a crustless quiche. It has a custardy texture that’s achieved by adding cream to the eggs and cooked at…