Just droppin' in to drop some hints about a little honky tonk out in the middle of some farmland, just a few miles south of the thriving metropolitan gem that is Fargo, North Dakota.
In all my gallivantin' around, I get a hankerin' for some regular grub off the ol' feed wagon. Where ya gonna go? Well, y'know the big city here in The Gateway don't extend out like some of those fancy towns in ol' New England. Car trails turn into horse trails on the quick, and you find yourself with a pocket full o' miles between canteens.
Wild Rice is one of those "oasis in the desert" kinda places, where you can stop in and get a few things taken care of for a couple bits o' silver. The good thing is that the folks in Wild Rice ain't so enterprising as to pull a highway job on you in your time of need. That's a good thing. Let me break it down for ya!
Wild Rice is a bar. First and foremost. If you have elevated expectations about an old shack in the middle of a wheat field, you better phone in your reality check. That being said, they do have a side room which will let a few families dig into some of that bar grub. They have a bar area, and a dance hall. Looks like they can set up for a live shindig.
I grabbed my sidekick and we rolled in late on a Saturday night. There was a bunch of pickup trucks corralled up in the lot, so we knew the place was still alive. All we were there for was grubbin'. No drama, otherwise.
Of course, when I patronize a new roadhouse, I'm going for the burger. Everyone knows that. If a place can't do a burger, they are probably not going to be at the top of their game with other offerings. I had to find out if I would ever go back. This is the litmus. It took a few ticks of the tocker for the dude in the dining hall to stop cleaning tables and take our order. Not a super personable gent, but he took his work seriously. Who knows, maybe he owned the joint? Doesn't matter. I ain't in it to run a telethon, I just want to tame the inner lion. We pulled a ticket for a couple burgers, some fries, and a couple tap sodas.
Just FYI, the menu is a la carte, but that's good news, so stay tuned!
After the moon moved a few degrees, a couple baskets fill of hot, steaming grub was laid down before us. It looked pretty good. I tapped the mushroom swiss burger and beer-battered fries. We dug in!
Now, I had to take one star for the quality of the burger. It's been a while since I had a burger that suffered so badly. I could be wrong, but it tasted like a frozen, ground round patty. The meat was a tad sour, which is a characteristic of round. Not a fan, but I knew I wasn't dropping in on Emeril, right? I'll add that it was a little on the dry side, as well. Overall, not a great experience. However, the problem ain't a catastrophe and it could be fixed with a little TLC, in the future. Not a deal breaker.
Now, I don't like giving less than stellar reviews, but I gotta tell it like it is. People gotta pay bills, and when a service competes with the electric company, they gotta come fully charged, right? This cloud's got a silver lining, though. Economically, Wild Rice will do right by you. That's the bottom line. I'm not gonna lead you astray, here. My burger was a fiver and some change, the fries a couple bucks, and the soda was a paper George and two metal Georges. That's phenomenal to get tap soda at that price. That tells me this joint is honest. That's why I sill give a good recommend even though the food was just OK. They might have had a bad day. Gotta give honest folks an honest try! Don't forget to be a neighbor! I heard they have excellent prime rib. I'll be back to take that risk!
And, you know me. I work hard to fill my silver pouch. I don't mess around when it comes to parting with my presidents. These folks at Wild Rice gotta come from a ways yonder just to show up and tolerate your conversation. Let 'em know you value their contribution to your survival. They treated you like family, treat them like siblings. Don't let your brothers and sisters freeze to death in this brutal cold. Throw out a healthy donation to their heating bill! Be awesome! read more
