Quick hit: Love starting the morning at a Juice Stop
Not to be outdone by the Fro-Yo craze that is sweeping the nation Sioux Falls, Juice Stop now has four locations in the city (west, southwest, east and central). This is a saturation I can get behind.
With more than 50 smoothie combinations, I’ve definitely not tried them all, but two jump out as my favorites:
1. The Slalom: Orange juice, pineapple juice, orange sherbert, bananas, strawberries and ice. Punch-you-in-the-mouth citrus with just enough sweet to get you by.
2. Worlds Cup: Skim milk, chocolate, peanut butter, yogurt and ice. BUT, I add the cappuccino mix that normally goes with the Coaches Choice. YUM.
And for $5, it’s a pretty good breakfast. Check them out.
May 22
South Dakota #4 on list of most bars per capita. What’s your favorite beverage spot?
Check this cool interactive graphic below from The Cap Times: South Dakota ranks just behind neighbors North Dakota, Montana and down-the-block Wisconsin for the number of bars per capita in the United States. (Thanks to Michelle for the tip!)
My first thought is, ‘duh.’ It’s cold here. It’s sparse here.
My second thought is, ‘What is your favorite watering hole?’ Mine varies by mood, but Falls Landing, Copper Lounge and Icon all make my list for downtown establishments. Little Coalinga on the East Bank, The Rush on 41st Street, Woody’s on the westside.
Just make sure you have a D.D., get a ride, or call a cab!
Hit me up with your favorites!
May 21
Thanks for the notes: fun food stuff around the web
One of the perks of writing a blog about eating, is friends, family and even readers(!) send in tips, stories, grotesque food-related websites and the like to me all the time.
And I love it. Below is a quick roundup of a few from just the last day:
1. I’ve not been to Vegas in years, but it really is an outstanding place to get in trouble. And by that I mean eat way-too-much and way too well. In that vein, my friend Jesse Smith sent this link to me this morning: 10 burgers to eat right now: A beefy to-do list for Vegas diners. Yum.
2. The construction dumpster has disappeared from the front of the upcoming Five Guys Burgers and Fries building, and lately there have been trucks and cars parked in front of it during the day. Is the much-anticipated burger joint getting closer to opening? I don’t know, but do know that the Sioux Falls Business Journal is currently updating that story, so we should know soon.
Keep sending me stuff! Either here on the blog, or at ctmyers@argusleader.com
May 20
Minervas Buffalo Wellington is for real
In my continued effort to eat good food AND support my own company’s efforts, I hit up another Falls Taste Tour - Chefs Challenge participant recently: Minervas for the Buffalo Wellington.
For me, the great thing about the Chefs Challenge is, most of the participating places are restaurants I frequent anyway. Minervas, for example, is consistently good, and a place you KNOW you’re going to get a great piece of meat, a great meal and service.
That being said, I was still surprised at how much I enjoyed the Buffalo Wellington. Billed as a South Dakota-raised buffalo tenderloin with a garlic and herb oyster mushroom duxelle, and sautéed baby vegetables atop a Burgundy demi-glace.
That’s quite a mouthful, but to boil it down, the buffalo was tender, medium-rare and gorgeous inside the buttery, toasty pastry, and the garlic/herb/mushroom filling around the meat was outstandingly rich and made me happy!
I’ve never been to one. Who has, and what can we expect?
May 14
One thing to try: Pretzel Roll and Beer Cheese dip at Skelly’s
My friends, at least many of them, make fun of me for liking Skelly’s. They say it’s weird, it’s old and it’s dirty. And to all of that I say: they’re right.
But I don’t care! I’m going to keep trying to make it a thing because I think that as far as pub food goes, Skelly’s does a lot of things right. And I’ve had more than a few very enjoyable lunches there.
The last time I headed over there with my friend and co-worker Michael Klinski, they had something new on the menu: a pretzel roll with beer cheese dip appetizer. Of course we ordered it.
First, the beer cheese dip was great. Not too cheesy, not too bitter, but just right. And super rich. Secondly, that pretzel roll, toasted and lightly buttered was solid. Sprinkled with salt over the top like a good pretzel should.
If you’re willing to ‘brave’ Skelly’s, check this one out. It’s worth it.
The Six-step Process of the CH Patisserie Meltaways
These is my suggested how-to guide to your first CH Patisserie visit. Along with getting a pistachio macaron. Step 2 is really the most important if you want to be a good person, as you’ll see.
Step 1: Go to CH Patisserie and purchase a tube of the Vanilla Caramel Meltaways. They are different than the Vanilla Bean Soft Caramels I sampled earlier.
Step 2: Give some out to your friends and co-workers.
Step 3: Try one for yourself.
Step 4: Feel the immediate regret of sharing these rich, buttery, oh-so-vanilla (the good stuff, no crap) little chunks of heaven with your greedy friends and co-workers. They should have all been for ME! (This, however, is the SAME feeling you get from the Vanilla Bean Soft Caramels. Lesson: Don’t share CHP)
Step 5: Eat the rest of container. Feel glorious.
Step 6: Keep said container (seen above) at your desk for a week to look at longingly numerous times a day.
Enjoy!
May 10
Food lineup for the Cinco de Mayo Fiesta…on May 11!
Plus, this year it looks like the weather is going to be beautiful. So join me down at Falls Park tomorrow! Check out the food menu:
La Tapatia: Elotes (Mexican style corn on the cob), Fruta Picada (Mexican style fruit)
Linda’s Concessions: Burritos, Tacos, Tortas etc.
Nikki’s Burrito Express: Churros, Burritos, Tacos
Pueblo de Dios: Pupusas, Colombian Tamales
Puerto Vallarta: Enchiladas, Burritos, Nachos, Chips & Salsa
Taqueria Sanchez: Tacos, Burritos, Quesadillas, Tortas etc.
Valentina’s: Enchiladas, Mexican Tamales
Garza Insurance: Grilled Chicken
Kettlecorn Castle: Kettlecorn, Carmel-glazed Kettlecorn, Ice Cream
Bubbles Ice Cream: Ice Cream
May 09
Three delicious sliders at Wild Sage Grille. So good. #fallstastetour
In order of my preference: Cuban Pork with homemade zucchini pickles and mustard was just right up my alley. I think my exact words were “I’ll have nine more of these, now, please!” Dubliner Buffalo Roast with homemade tomato jam, and Guinness caramelized onions. Was sweeter than I thought it would be, and not in a bad way, just unexpected. I could eat a lot of this. Thai Chicken with spicy peanut sauce and pickled carrot slaw. Third only because the first two were so much better. Tangy, not very spicy, and yum.
The Wild Sage entry in the Chefs Challenge is a definite go-get-it-now sort of meal. Friend and fellow eater Abby agreed.
Is Instagram + Food making me obese? This video says yes
Yeah, I take pictures of my food when I eat out. Partly because I love food, and partly because I have to feed the food blog beast. Like the above GORGEOUS photo of Mama’s Ladas I took last week.
And I know some cringe at the now ever-present documentation of eating and sharing on Facebook and Instagram. But I’ve always said (and still say) ‘get over it.’
Anyway, here’s a video saying it’s highly possible taking photos of my food is making me fat. Whatever Patrick Jones! You and the Huffington Post can go kick rocks.
