by Chris Larson | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | May 1st, 2019
To say that this year’s Bartenders Battle was the best display of talent in the six years since its creation would be an understatement and a disservice to not only the bartenders who made it into the competition, but also the incredibly creative and seasoned professionals who barely missed out on taking their skills to the stage at the Holiday Inn Great Hall on Sunday the 14th.
In fact, the competition was so fierce this year that we had to add a “build your way in” to this…
by Sabrina Hornung | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | April 10th, 2019
Well shiver me timbers. After weeks of sampling some of the finest drinks in F-M from more bars than we could shake a belaying pin at, the results of High Plains Reader’s 6th Annual Cocktail Showdown are in!
For nine weeks, three judges were presented with a shot or after-dinner drink (depending on the establishment) and a drink at each stop of the showdown. Bartenders at participating establishments were judged on presentation, flavor, and creativity, in two different bar…
by Chris Larson | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | March 27th, 2019
On our ninth week of the Cocktail Showdown, we made just a single stop that showcased one of the most well known restaurants in North Dakota, The Toasted Frog. While they had been locally and regionally celebrated for their restaurants in Fargo, Grand Forks, and Bismarck, the downtown Fargo location of The Toasted Frog and the franchise, in general, was recently given some big-time TV attention from both the Travel Channel and The Food Network. The latter focused primarily on the…
by Chris Larson | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | March 20th, 2019
The eighth week of this year’s HPR Cocktail Showdown was another tripleheader for our panel of judges. On this particular week, we found ourselves focused on a trio of downtown dining and entertainment establishments to visit some new competitors as well as experience the return of a couple of seasoned veterans. We first made a return to the Sanctuary Events Center to visit Aaron Duma and spend some time in the coolest “church basement” in town while drinking a couple of entries…
by Chris Larson | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | March 13th, 2019
It sure seems like almost every week we go out for the Cocktail Showdown, we are faced with winter weather that threatens to derail our plans. This was one of the first Wednesdays of the year that found us enjoying a fairly mild winter walk to one of the more established downtown drinking spots, Rooter’s, where Leo Gonzalez mixed us up a couple of drinks that featured Jameson and will probably sell like mad after the St. Patrick’s Day downtown parade. We then hoofed it down the…
by Chris Larson | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | March 6th, 2019
Our sixth week of the Cocktail Showdown was another tripleheader that had us hotel hopping before ending the night on the western edge of Fargo, in the vicinity of the mall. When we go out and do the judging for this competition, I always like to imagine for a moment that I am a visitor to our town and view the experience through the eyes of someone who doesn’t have an insiders look at the industry. Hotel hopping and seeking out hotspots located near the mall makes it quite easy to…
by Chris Larson | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | February 27th, 2019
For the fifth week of the cocktail showdown, we packed three establishments into one night so let’s get right into it with our first stop which was not only a first-time entry into the competition but also a brand new business. Opened in late October, 46 North Pints and Provisions is the newest addition to the downtown dining scene and brings a slightly elevated gastropub model to the corner to the east of the post office. The space is wide open and warm with a touch of sleek chic…
by Chris Larson | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | February 20th, 2019
Chef’s Table Catering recently converted the building that formerly housed the restaurant Barbacoa into a private dining and event space. Located just south of 32nd Avenue off 42nd street, they have kept all of the great lighting fixtures and features but opened the space up into one large dining room that can seat up to 125 and is worth consideration for your next special event. Adam Nehk is their Bar Catering Manager & Event Coordinator/Mixologist and he explained that they have…
by Chris Larson | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | February 13th, 2019
After a day of checking the weather updates and keeping an eye on any closing announcements from this week’s entrants, our judges ordered up a ride share service and headed out to the western side of town for two stops in West Fargo. The fact that these establishments are located directly across the street from each other made it seem like such an easy trek between the two but the piles of snow covering every sidewalk corner made the short walk across 9th street east in West Fargo a…
by Chris Larson | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | 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…
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by Rob Hannahistory@nd.govAs I write this, the beautiful Stutsman County Courthouse State Historic Site in Jamestown is only partially furnished. But this photo, taken by my one-time colleague Guinn Hinman, caused me to see the…
by Kris Gruberperriex1@gmail.comTwo teenagers rescued around 20 Koalas from the horrific bushfires in Australia, fitting them in their car.An anonymous donor pays off back taxes for several mobile home residents. Neighbors with…
Thursday, February 6, 6-8 pmFront Street Taproom, 614 Main Ave, FargoThe ND Hemp Association is committed to lending education and advocacy to propel the hemp economy for the state, serving as a medium of resources, news, advocacy…
by Gary Olsonolsong@moravian.eduOn New Year’s Day, I was sporadically listening to Sirius Radio Channel 5 as they did their annual countdown of top songs from the 1950s and cringing at my fading aural memories. This prompted me…
Our Great Leader of the Zombies Is Tilting at Windmills AgainA few days after he was impeached by the House, King Donald admitted to a group of young conservatives attending a Turning Point USA annual summit in Florida he never has…
To say that this year’s Bartenders Battle was the best display of talent in the six years since its creation would be an understatement and a disservice to not only the bartenders who made it into the competition, but also the…
I am a voracious reader of anything culinary and a subscriber to several culinary periodicals. I like to hang onto them as I find it hard to throw away these culinary nuggets of information with their adventures to distant lands. …
by Jill Finkelsonjsfinkelson99@gmail.comDeb Jenkins returns for a 23rd year of celebrating Fargo’s Women- and their music. The story is old news now, Deb tells me over the phone as I ask her- how did this start? 23 years ago, she…
The death on March 29, 2019 of Agnes Varda concluded a career perpetually in bloom. The legendary artist and filmmaker, unmistakable in later years under her wonderfully cartoonish yet delightfully chic two-tone coiffure, was 90…
“Surrealism permeates--there’s a legacy there with contemporary art where they’re still trying to capture or convey something that can’t quite be fully understood without the existence of that thing that you can’t fully…
by Kris Gruberperriex1@gmail.comHigh Plains Reader spoke to Act Up Theatre board member Jackie Shaw, about the fundraiser "Kabaret for Kaleidoscope" at the TAK Music Venue.High Plains Reader: How did the idea for this show come…
Stand-up comedy is traditionally a one-way exchange. Outside of the odd question addressed to a random audience member, the limit of the spectators’ contribution to the conversation is their laughter at the comedy stylings being…
Perched along the banks of the Allegheny, Ohio and Monongahela Rivers and tucked up into the surrounding hills, Pittsburgh’s 90 distinct neighborhoods are connected by more bridges than Venice. Commuters and travelers enjoy…
Every Thursday evening during the month of June, Mara Solberg is inviting people to come out and try Yoga on the Farm. It is a unique yoga experience that was born from an idea that was proposed to Solberg.“I’ve been with Red…
by HPR Contributor
by Devin Joubertdevinlillianjoubert@gmail.comIt’s that beautiful time of the year that’s filled with seasonal decorations, sparkly lights, warm family gatherings, and delicious feasts. I love everything about this time of the…
by Karen Andersonkartcone@gmail.comCongratulations to the Fargo School District for opening up a discussion regarding today’s students as covered in the January 7, Barry Amundson article “Social, emotional learning a forefront…
