buffetbuster,

That trucker’s hash looks great. I may just have to make that soon. Now, about that hot roast beef sandwich. Your description of the gravy’s appearance is spot-on. Around here they make their hot roast beef, hot turkey and hot meatloaf sandwiches the same way — cut in half with a scoop of mashed potatoes in the middle. But here they call that a Split instead of a hot (whatever) sandwich. By the way, Henry’s calls theirs a Split, too.

BB:  I have only seen two white pelicans on the lake in the back of my house but I have seen them many times in the Midwest.  I have attached a pic for your identification.

Let us know promptly if you find a good friendly ND restaurant.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_white_pelican http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_white_pelican

Paul E. Smith

Knoxville, TN

I wanted to wait until I could read this all at once, BuffetBuster. Even with the hiccups, between Coteau Des Prairies and some great meals, you did well. I want some caramel rolls with a side of sour cream raisin pie. Great report!

I would try to resist Ohm’s.

Sometimes I just can’t help myself.

Michael,

You do have potential.

jrp

Oh, that Hertz….

Watch out, you guys, before you run afoul of Ohm’s Law!

 
Somewhere east of Edgeley, I swear there was a pond with a half dozen pelicans in it.  Is that even possible?

BB:  More than likely they were white pelicans.  I have seen them many times in Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota.  So far it seems that ND is no such a great experience.  It seems that you have experienced many disappointments during your visit.

Paul E. Smith

Knoxville, TN

That IS nice that they could visit and eat toge ther happily. I still remember visiting my grandma for, what turned out to be the last time. By that time, although Grandma was an invalid, confused, and unable to speak, she still lived at home cared for by my aunt. We visited for a week with side trips elsewhere. Often I sat with her doing embrodiery and talking about when I was a child and about our side trips. She would smile and her eyes were particularly bright and happy when I talked about how she visited us when we were children. She nodded very definitely when I asked if she remembered her visits. I do believe she understood part of the time. My aunt told me how very happy I made Grandma by doing that. I was pleased but didn’t feel I was doing anything special. She was still my Grandma and we had always been close. I was 23 at the time. That was in 1984 and she died in 1991. I never did have a chance to see her again nor my aunt who died in 1993. We lived far awAay. Sigh. Still think of them often and miss them.[:)][:(]

That hash does indeed look wonderful!  I’ve never had scr pie but I’ll have to try it one of these days.  Next time I’m in North Dakota.  [:)]

It’s only been a month and a half, so maybe we should put this baby to bed…..

The restaurant in Fargo I was most looking forward to visiting was TNT’s Diner

http://s232.photobucket.com/user/JCStrutz/media/Roadfood16/IMG_7342_zps631465d0.jpg.html

in West Fargo.  This place was found by wanderingjew and from his http://www.roadfood.com/Restaurant/Overview/7803/tnts-diner review, it sure sounded like my kind of place.  It is located in what looks to be a small industrial park and no doubt they do very well attracting customers from these nearby businesses.  The interior is deceptively large,

http://s232.photobucket.com/user/JCStrutz/media/Roadfood16/IMG_7341_zps76b7f41b.jpg.html

with a spacious main room and a cozier dining room in the back.

While the hostess was leading me to the table, she apologized that they were already sold out of the lasagna (here known as Tim’s cheezy lasagna),

http://s232.photobucket.com/user/JCStrutz/media/Roadfood16/IMG_7326_zps1979e5ff.jpg.html

but no big deal since there was no chance of that being my order anyway.  She was still at my table when I told her that was no great loss, since I was already eyeing up the hot roast pork.  She shrugged and said they were already out of that too and walked away.  Okay, not a great start here.

First up was the chicken and dumplings soup,

http://s232.photobucket.com/user/JCStrutz/media/Roadfood16/IMG_7329_zps670762a0.jpg.html

which didn’t have as many dumplings as I would have preferred, but it had plenty of small shreds of tender white meat and strong chicken flavor.  This was a fine cup of soup.  After confirming with the very cute waitress that they do roast their own turkey in house, we went with the hot turkey sandwich, despite just eating turkey a hour earlier.  And I was rewarded a terrific platter of classic Midwest comfort food. 

http://s232.photobucket.com/user/JCStrutz/media/Roadfood16/IMG_7333_zps28ad6117.jpg.html

The dressing and mashed potatoes both tasted like the real thing and the gravy didn’t overpower all it covered.

Despite the fact that they have a fairly large roster of available desserts,

http://s232.photobucket.com/user/JCStrutz/media/Roadfood16/IMG_7340_zpsf043d60c.jpg.html

including more kuchen (here spelled kuechen), there was no doubt sour cream raisin pie

http://s232.photobucket.com/user/JCStrutz/media/Roadfood16/IMG_7337_zpsa345564d.jpg.html

would be the choice.  It struck that right balance between sour and sweet, the meringue was unmistakably homemade, although the crust was a bit soggy.  Still, it tasted nothing like any other SCR pie I tried on the trip, due to what I thought was a powerful dose of cinnamon.  WJ and I talked about it and he thought it was nutmeg in the pie.  He very well may be correct about that as I’m not 100% sure.  Either way, this was an excellent slice of pie.  Great find WJ!

TNT’s,29,786834.001001001001001001001001001001001001001001001001001001,18,9261,24.154.232.99
791728,789876,791076,2014-10-23 05:56:35.667000000,Re: I’m Your Huckleberry”

All looks terrific and I’m looking forward to the rest. I always think it’s a shame how German, German-American, and Midwestern cuisine is often overlooked in popular culture. You and Dale have shown proof it isn’t all meat and potatoes and vegetables. And when it is, so what’s wrong with that! Mmmmm-mmmm.[:p]

Enjoying your trip…and oh, that hash!!!

Cliff,

What was your worst restaurant experience?  Was is that time you went to the Mayflower Caf� in Jackson late at night?

Danny

Approaching Bismarck, the fog gave way to dark clouds. 

http://s232.photobucket.com/user/JCStrutz/media/Roadfood16/IMG_6891_zps346fb748.jpg.html

http://s232.photobucket.com/user/JCStrutz/media/Roadfood16/IMG_6901_zps87e2326e.jpg.html

I live in an area where we get frequent thunderstorms, but I had never seen clouds as dark as these.  It was raining so hard that many had pulled off to the side of the road.  By the time I had reached the city, the rain had stopped.

My first stop was The Little Cottage, which appeared in the very earliest Roadfood books.  In his excellent epic http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/Heartlanding-Through-the-Breadbasket-m611406-p4.aspx trip report a few years ago, WJ stopped in here and had a less than satisfactory meal.  As soon as I pulled in,

http://s232.photobucket.com/user/JCStrutz/media/Roadfood16/IMG_7005_zpsca5f4241.jpg.html

I knew right away what happened.  Obviously, WJ accidentally ate at Big Boy instead!

Once reaching the front door, I noticed they were open until 9:00pm, which is not what my research indicated.  Knowing I now had all day to make it back, I turned around drove to http://friedsfamilyrestaurant.com Fried’s Family Restaurant

http://s232.photobucket.com/user/JCStrutz/media/Roadfood16/IMG_6931_zps89a46887.jpg.html

in Mandan, which is open only for breakfast and short lunch hours.    

First order of business, I told my waitress to get a slice of the sour cream raisin pie, which I had noticed in the pie case

http://s232.photobucket.com/user/JCStrutz/media/Roadfood16/IMG_6929_zps0f8a7a1b.jpg.html

as I went by and set it on the table.  Often a waitress will give funny looks at this request, especially at breakfast, but this lady was a real pro.  Even though Fried’s specializes in the German from Russia foods, which was evident on their big menu board

http://s232.photobucket.com/user/JCStrutz/media/Roadfood16/DailyspecialsatFrieds_zps92ae71ce.jpg.html

in the dining room, these aren’t available this early.

But, that didn’t mean I couldn’t order something truly North Dakotan, a homemade caramel roll.  Just about every restaurant I visited during my time here offered their own version.  While the cinnamon rolls you see in Iowa (and to a lesser degree in Oregon) are usually enormous, there doesn’t seem to be that one-upmanship here in North Dakota to see who can make the largest caramel roll.  Fried’s version

http://s232.photobucket.com/user/JCStrutz/media/Roadfood16/IMG_6919_zps5e37a83c.jpg.html

was modestly sized, flaky, with a generous portion of gooey caramel icing on all sides.  I was curious if it would have nuts and like all the caramel rolls eaten during this trip, this blissfully did not.  The interior was where the cinnamon could be found,

[link src=http://s232.photobuck,29,786834.001001001001,4,9261,24.154.234.91
786871,784698,785074,2014-08-24 11:16:38.727000000,Re: What is your favorite pie?”