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…

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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,…

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​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…

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​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…

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​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…

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​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…

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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…

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​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…

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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…

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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…

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