Plains Folk: Fried’s Knoepfle Soup

Tom Isern, Professor of History
North Dakota State University

Responding to my public appeal for Knoepfle soup sites, a couple of people referred me to the Rolling Hills truck stop just west of Mandan. The Knoepfle there were unlike any I had encountered, so I started asking fool questions, and the women in the café seemed a little tight-lipped. Finally they hinted I might inquire further at Fried’s Family Restaurant, in Mandan. I knew the place–the squat permastone building that used to be Amigos, until Amigos moved into Bismarck. Just off I-94, on Boundary Road.

The story got complicated fast, mainly because there are a lot of Frieds out there in Morton County, North Dakota. Peter and Margaret Fried were married in St. Vincent’s Church, that wonderful parish northwest of Mandan, 60 years ago, and they raised 13 kids. (Congratulations to Mr. And Mrs. Fried on what I gather was a glorious anniversary celebration!)

One of them, Cathy, ran the Oasis truck stop, forerunner of the present Rolling Hills. She recruited her sister Aggie (now Bauer) to make Knoepfle soup (more about that later). Subsequently Cathy’s sisters Patti and Fran, and their sister-in-law Linda Fried, ran the same café under the name Friedt’s Family Dining. When the truck stop wanted to go 24 hours they bailed out. After that Patti (Schantz) opened Fried’s Family Restaurant in Mandan, with her daughter Tanya Koch and later her niece (Aggie’s daughter) Valerie Klein. Now Aggie comes in to make the Knoepfle soup for Pat & company.

I told you it was complicated. Opening the new place two years ago, Pat decided, "Everybody knew us as the Fried girls. We figured if we called it Fried’s, everybody would know who was involved–and it turned out good." Whereas other family members have come and gone in the restaurant business, Pat says, "I’m the original–a diehard."

Now, as for the Knoepfle–Aggie says she "started from scratch, asked people, because our mother never made it. I came up with the recipe I use now, changed it a little according to suggestions, and I’ve stuck with it. I don’t even go by a recipe anymore. I used to taste each batch, but I haven’t tasted any in three years."

Aggie’s Knoepfle are little slivers, instead of the fat dumplings usually served. Why, I asked. "One of the suggestions was somebody said they don’t like these big dough balls in the soup. So I started making them smaller. We had one complaint–a woman said they were too small. So my sister said, your mouth’s too big."

Because Knoepfle soup is on the menu continuously, Aggie comes in at 3:30 a.m. every three or four days to make a 30-gallon batch. She rolls out the dough with a marble rolling pin and cuts it this way and that with a pizza cutter.

Pat says of the Knoepfle soup, "We donate a lot, like for the St. Vincent’s carnival, or anytime there’s an anniversary." Soups–including the alternates like borscht or ham-and-cabbage–are most popular at Fried’s. The buns are home-made, and if you’re lucky there might even be Blachinda (German-Russian turnovers–I’ll discuss the many spellings in some future column!).

Fried’s is a great café, one of the few on the northern plains that puts out a proper chicken fried steak with white gravy. It draws a considerable trade combining people from town, traffic from the interstate, and lots of drive-in custom from the surrounding countryside. I’ve listed Fried’s in my "Oases of the Great American Desert" web site (www.plainsfolk.com/oases). I’m always on the lookout for cafes, drive-ins, and bars & grills that do a good job of provisioning the prairies, and when I find them, I’ll let you know.

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Source: Tom Isern, (701) 231-2942
Editor: Gary Moran, (701) 231-7865

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