All About Food

​Whose Local Breakfast Reigns Supreme?

February 23rd, 2022

By Rick Gion

rickgion@gmail.com

It’s the Packers vs. Spartans breakfast battle of two locally established heavyweights. You guessed it: I’m talking about West Fargo’s Deaner’s Diner and North Fargo’s The Shack on Broadway. This is a serious competition so let’s get ready to rumble.

In this debut column, I’ll be comparing just breakfast items: meaty omelets, hashbrowns and pancakes. In a different bout, I’ll maybe do a review of hot beef sandwiches at the two…

Read more...


From the Church Basement: Scandinavian Baking Traditions Fit for a Saint

December 30th, 2021

By Sarah Wassberg Johnson 

sarah@thefoodhistorian.com

It was 1998. I was in the basement of Elim Lutheran Church in Fargo, putting on a white robe and a tinsel crown. The Swedish Cultural Heritage Society of the Red River Valley (which we all just called the Swedish Society) was celebrating another Sankta Lucia Dag. At age 13, I was still one of the attendants to Lucia. There were usually a lot of us girls,…

Read more...


​Tootsie Rolls, The Candy That Saved the Marines

December 15th, 2021

By Loey Schaefer

loeyanns@outlook.com

Beginning in WWII, Tootsie Rolls were added to field rations because the Candy would hold up in a variety of weather conditions. Thus, this story begins…

In November 1950, during the Korean War, the First Marine Division (10,000 Marines) with elements of two Regimental Combat Teams of the U.S. Army, a Detachment of British Commandos, and some South Korean policemen – for a total of about 15,000 men – faced the Chinese Communist Army’s ten…

Read more...


​Savoring Local Flavor With Chef Austin Covert

October 16th, 2021

By Sabrina Hornung

sabrina@hpr1.com

“If you had talked to me five years ago or even a year ago and told me I was gonna be a chef in Fargo I probably would have looked at you pretty funny. It's wild where food is taking me in life,” said Austin Covert, executive chef of the Rosewild restaurant and the Jasper Hotel's dining services. Chef Covert got his culinary start in Detroit Michigan, but he’s worked at fine dining restaurants in New York, Chicago and now Fargo.

He developed a…

Read more...


​Fine Dining in the Grandest of Forks

July 14th, 2021

Sabrina Hornung

sabrina@hpr1.com

15 July 2021

With Grand Forks being a hop skip and a cruise away from Fargo-Moorhead, our neighbors to the north have some great dining options. Whether you’re planning on spending a weekend or planning a day trip there are a couple of spots that are worth the drive.

Ely’s Ivy

Ely’s Ivy in Grand Forks boasts “Chef-inspired food and fresh local ingredients,” and it may or may not have one of the best patios I’ve come across in a long time. In fact…

Read more...


​Thaikota: A Culinary Love Story

July 13th, 2021

By Jon Wayne

jonwayneandthepain@gmail.com

15 July 2021

I first met TJ Edra in 2001 at cooking school in Moorhead. We hit it off immediately and became fast friends, then later roommates at a cool apartment in South Fargo. Most of those summers were spent doing BMX and skateboarding in our neighborhood near Island Park, drinking Old English 40 ounce malt beers and listening to Sublime. Those were some great days I think for both of us.

I was cooking at Hodo, and later at Cajun Cafe. TJ was…

Read more...


Reviving Rural Grocery Stores in North Dakota

November 14th, 2020

Reviving Rural Grocery Stores in North Dakota

By Annie Prafcke

Fargo, ND – On October 7th, Gov. Doug Burgum awarded Milnor Market and the Forman grocery store project Main Street Awards, as part of an initiative led by the Office of Governor Doug Burgum and North Dakota Department of Commerce. These awards recognize communities that demonstrate excellence in responsible planning, attracting talent for economic growth, and developing vibrant communities.

The Milnor Market in Milnor, ND…

Read more...


​King House Closes Its Doors

October 21st, 2020

By Annie Prafcke

annieprafcke@gmail.com

Fargo, ND – On Oct. 27th, King House Buffet, beloved Chinese restaurant, will permanently close its doors. Their Oct. 6th Facebook post states the reasons for their closure as “Covid effects” and a desire to spend more time with family. Although owners Bojin and Cindy Chen declined to comment for this article, longtime King House customers are outspoken about their love of this local restaurant.

King House Buffet opened downtown over thirty…

Read more...


Local Restaurants Implement Their Own Mask Policies

October 7th, 2020

By Annie Prafcke

annieprafcke@gmail.com

Fargo, ND – Cass County is now at a moderate risk level for the coronavirus according to the North Dakota Department of Health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) further indicate that Cass County is responsible for almost a quarter (24.4% on October 1st) of coronavirus cases in North Dakota. On September 21st, Commissioner John Strand proposed a mask mandate for the city of Fargo to help flatten the curve. Although his proposal…

Read more...


Everyday Should Be Valentine’s Day

February 12th, 2020

It goes without saying that Valentine’s Day is the most profitable of all the holidays and the one with the most tortured history, literally. It is confusing how an ancient Roman festival that involved sacrificing animals and then flogging young, naked women with their hides, to increase their fertility would become the day to celebrate love. And then following all that with a drunken, naked lottery pairing the flogged women with the men. How did that morph into a billion- dollar…

Read more...


Tracker Pixel for Entry aquarium Tracker Pixel for Entry NewSalem1 Tracker Pixel for Entry bahai Tracker Pixel for Entry Gruff2 Tracker Pixel for Entry NewSalem2B Tracker Pixel for Entry Bismarck1

Recently in:

By Alicia Underlee NelsonMore than 1,000 pro-worker events are planned for Thursday, May 1 across the country, including rallies in Fargo-Moorhead, Grand Forks, Minot and Jamestown. East Grand Forks and Bismarck will host protests…

From concerts and car shows to Japanese art and Juneteenth celebrations, there's so much going on around the region this summer. This year's High Plains Reader Summer Events Calendar is back and bigger than ever. It's packed with…

June 21, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.Fargo Theatre, 314 Broadway N., Fargo“We Watch Shudder,” Fargo’s favorite horror podcasters, bring on the darkness during the longest day of the year. The Darkest Day of Horror Film Festival features…

By John Strandjas@hpr1.com One description that perhaps aptly describes the mental state of many lately is that they feel they are attached to a string. Or several strings. Call it the notion that people are played like puppets,…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comFor sale: White House in D.C. housing dung beetles and giant leechesI suspect someone close to Donald Trump has read “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,”because the Trump administration is…

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 After a very inspiring conversation with Kayla Houchin of Sonder Bakehouse a few weeks ago, I decided that it’s an appropriate time to write a column about some of the sweet people who are involved…

Mooncats and Pert Near Sandstone play Empire TheatreBy Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comThe MoonCats describe themselves as “Americonscious Campfire Folk.” They have a clear acoustic folk sound with a sense of whimsy — think…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com The writing/directing partnership of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck has to be one of the most curious cases of crazy connect-the-dots career moves in recent cinema. From short documentaries and…

By Raul Gomezraul@hpr1.com Minutes before Modern’s Celebration of Life opened its door at the Sons of Norway, I was fiddling with the bar computer, trying to pull up the playlists of Modern’s work I had set aside for the…

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 Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com There appear to be differences in the incidence of mental illnesses between men and women. For example, women are more likely to be diagnosed with depression, post-traumatic stress…

By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday, April 4 and…

By Vern Thompsonvern.thompson.nd7@gmail.com Our trucking business has me driving almost daily from gas plants in western North Dakota's oil patch to Canada. I haul natural gas liquids (NGLs) products we used to see flared off at…