Plains Folk

NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665

April 8, 1999

Plains Folk: Looking for a Few More Good Ones

Tom Isern, Professor of History
North Dakota State University

One reason I wrote a column a few weeks ago about the Empress Cafe in Drake, N.D., is that I like to meet people who have moved to towns on the plains and found the life they were looking for. Another reason is that I like to eat.

The plains are not exactly America's Outback, despite what people in Watford City like to say these days. But it can be a long way between oases in this sparsely populated land, and if you spend a lot of time traveling open country, it makes you appreciate those people -- too darned few of them, I say -- who keep good eating establishments.

There are three types of satisfying eating experiences to be found in the country towns of the plains, the first of which is the drive-in. I appreciate a drive-in that is not seen on TV, does not give away action figures of any kind and is not staffed entirely by persons with learner's permits. Good food is a plus, but not often found in these days when everything comes shrink-wrapped from a food service. What's good about a drive-in is watching the world go by, preferably on a sunny day, dining seated on your tailgate.

The second kind of eating experience -- and this one is an endangered species -- is the home-town cafe. A generation ago the cafes were all on Main Street; now they are as likely to be out on the highway. A cafe is a place for breakfast and dinner, or lunch, whatever you call the food you eat at midday.

A good cafe not only anchors the community but also puts locals in touch with the world by attracting customers from the road. It's nice if the fare is interesting, especially if the menu includes regional or ethnic specialties, but most important is that it be substantial. In my mind, the cafes of the plains fall into two groups: those that cut and peel potatoes, and those that don't. Those that do are likely to take the same care with other aspects of the menu. Those that don't have no culinary reason to exist, since their food isn't any better than fast food.

The third dining experience of the plains is the tavern, or bar and grill. This is my favorite, especially after a hard day's work. The essentials are tap beer, country music, a piece of meat and good company, by which I do not mean a bunch of barflies.

Recently I was in a tavern in the middle of North Dakota and observed that it seemed to be the local custom for patrons to bring their dogs to the bar. The experience compelled me to think about my personal position in respect to dogs in taverns, and that line of thought was enlightening. I decided there were some dogs I did not want to share tavern space with. Examples would be poodles, pugs, Afghans, or any other kind of dog that doesn't work for a living. On the other hand, heelers, heading dogs, retrievers or any other working dog is OK. My position on dogs in taverns, I realized, is exactly the same as my position on people in taverns.

Returning from that digression -- the tavern is the one domain of eating establishment where the plains as a region excels, particularly that portion of the plains west of the Missouri River. Everybody seems to know about the Pastime in Marmarth, but for my money, it's hard to beat the Pastime of Hettinger. Georgia's and the Owl in Amidon, or Hunter's Table and Tavern in Rhame -- how can you beat places like those for character? I can only think of one place that does, and that's the Corner Bar -- I know, the name is unprepossessing -- the Corner Bar of Camp Crook, S.D.

Still, I'm willing to be persuaded there might be even better places of refreshment than these, and if there are -- that is, if there's a great drive-in, cafe, or tavern in your parts -- I'd love to hear about it (Prof. Tom Isern, Minard 412C, NDSU, Fargo 58105-5075).

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Source: Tom Isern (701) 231-8339
Editor: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136