Julie R. Neidlinger: Lone Prairie Blog

I am the walrus.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 0 comments link this post

No. Not really. I'm not the Walrus.

But tonight, I ate at the restaurant so named, and it was delicious!

I never would have gone there -- never would have found it, probably -- had it not been for my Bismarck tour guide for the evening, Troy.

After discussing my dislike for fish and soup, of which he had both, I topped off the meal asking if I could take all of the leftovers.

Because I'm classy like that!

"I know it may be tacky," I said, eying the huge pile of pasta left in my bowl, and the bruschetta appetizer, "but do you suppose I could get this to go with me? It'll take care of at least a day or two for meals."

Thanks to Troy giving me a quick drive around Bismarck, I now know of some extended and wonderful trails beyond where I currently run, as well as the location of some other good places to eat. Plus, after the meal at The Walrus, there was, of course, a stop by Barnes and Noble where I could obsessively straighten all the books that were askew on the shelves as well as make fun of published writers and writing books based on the sour grapes fact that I am not a published writer.

Troy also gave me some more cool stuff from the projects he's worked on: The Call of Cthulhu (DVD); the soundtrack to The Call of Cthulhu; and the CD Dark Adventure Radio Series: At the Mountains of Madness (Find out more here.) I can't wait to watch the DVD and listen to the music and radio play. I haven't listened to the last CD he gave me, but I'm planning on taking a listen to them later this week when I need a break from studying. The visual design and the materials in the CDs is inspiring in itself. Very cool stuff.

I had to end the fun at around 9:30. I was yawning; I'd spent the day viewing and reviewing and re-reviewing the chapter on air performance numbers and all the different equations and steps to figuring out center of gravity, high density altitude, etc. etc. I need to go over it again before tomorrow, when I have to start on the next chapter in preparation for tomorrow's lesson.

All in all, a nice break from the studies as well as a quick look around Bismarck. Though I'm only here temporarily, it's nice to see some of the local places I can eat, and some of the places I can jog to work off all the food that I ate. It's good to have friends.

Links:

Labels: food, friends, summer 2008, tour north dakota

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The road to nowhere.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 1 comments link this post

Seeing as how I'm in Bismarck, I believe I need to check out this hilarious historical marker: The Road to Nowhere.

Hat Tip: Say Anything

Labels: links, tour north dakota

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Eating at Roby's.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 2 comments link this post

I recently ate at Roby's Supper Club with Michael and Colleen. Michael was adamant that the ribs were the best he's ever had -- "You know how ribs are usually dripping with sauce and grease? These ribs...they're seasoned and baked! You've never had anything like it!".

Colleen said he's been talking about this restaurant and the ribs for over a year, since he visited it with friend.

You can imagine how disappointed he was, then, when he was told that the ribs were all gone (owner just got back from vacation, and someone came in and ordered 30 racks the day before).

"What! That's what I came for, was the ribs!" Take that, times ten. He asked our server to check again, and even went back into the kitchen to talk to the owner/head chef/rancher.

There were no ribs.

But all was not lost. I had a burger and I can say it was the best burger and the best potato wedges I've ever had, and I'm not keen on lots of red meat. The homemade ranch dressing on my salad was killer good, and I'm pretty sure that the meal was excellent for everyone all around, even sans ribs.

Roby's Supper Club. That's where we were. It's quite a ways out of Mandan; you'll find yourself heading west and wondering if you're going to end up in Medora. About ten miles out, at exit 147 off of I94, you'll see a brown building that doesn't look like anything particularly earth-shattering.

That's Roby's.

Once you get inside, you'll probably be like me and be pleasantly shocked at how nice the decor and interior is, since the outside, though neat and tasteful, does nothing to suggest the ambiance indoors.

The menu is upscale; the cheapest entree was my burger, which was about $10. The rest of the selections are in the $22+ range. However, food this good in such a nice atmosphere...you get what you pay for.

Yep. The food was smashingly good, the decor wonderful, and the service pretty decent*, too. We were there until 10 p.m., the last people in the building besides the owner, and weren't rushed out. I would definitely visit Roby's again, and wholeheartedly suggest that if you find yourself driving west on I94 past Mandan, you ought to stop and eat.

Read other reviews:

Insider Pages: Roby's Supper Club

* Although I thought it odd to have an employee tell me that she was from the south and to imply that ribs from North Dakota just weren't "real ribs." I'm not a huge ribs freak, so I couldn't say, but you probably don't want to tell customers that when you are working at a ribs place. That's just my guess. Michael, however, swears by these ribs because they are different (not slopped with gunk but seasoned), not in spite of, and that's good enough for me.

Labels: food, friends, summer 2008, tour north dakota

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Capitol Shakespeare.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 7 comments link this post

I'm enjoying my home-away-from-home (i.e. Bismarck). Oh, the benefits! For example, Capitol Shakespeare.

Even if it's really bad acting...well hey. Bad Shakespeare is still Shakespeare. And I don't think it will be bad. I'm going to be positive.

So, amazingly, I will be here the weekends of the free performance. Yes, in this busy July month of me driving gazillions of miles around the state to play violin at various weddings, the one weekend I will be staying in town is the weekend of Capitol Shakespeare's performance of Twelfth Night.

I can't wait.

If you're in Bismarck, you ought to check it out: July 17-20, 6:30 p.m., with a 2 p.m. show on Sunday. Get there early, drop a blanket on the ground, and settle in for cross-dressing star-crossed love as only Bill could write.

I just need to find an old blanket...I don't really have one here. Hmmm.

Labels: culture, my life, summer 2008, tour north dakota

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A friendly Post Office ghost.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 1 comments link this post

It was a few years ago when I became aware of the "friendly ghost" that lived in the Old Post Office (a.k.a. Lake Region Heritage Center) in Devils Lake, North Dakota. (No, it wasn't Casper.) Through conversation, I heard about Lillian Wineman and her connection to the museum that is now located in the Old Post Offices building. Wineman had many items that were donated and are on display in some of the rooms that are set up to look like historical locations.

The theory is that Wineman is still around, watching over her stuff. And they always said you can't take it with you...

She doesn't like people touching her stuff that on display, it seems, which makes me want to go there and touch some stuff and see for my own, skeptic self.

Of course, Devils Lake already has a sea monster, so I guess the ghost was the next likely step.*

You can read more about the here. You can find visitor information here and here.

* I can't imagine why the SciFi channel isn't all over the place, what with a sea monster (perfect for SciFi movie material) and the ghost (perfect for that ridiculous Ghost Hunters show).

Labels: local, tour north dakota

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A great library.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 3 comments link this post

Despite this article, I can't say enough about how in love I am with a library here in Bismarck.

Great layout, great resources, free WiFi, and -- get this -- a little Italian coffee/lunch/gelato shop in the corner.*

I've certainly never been in quite this kind of library before, and if I could, I would hide in it at night and try to live here. It's that wonderful. It's also making a great place to study, with access to internet and silence and the smell of books and coffee.

Here I sit with my textbook and notebook and pen and a delicious beverage, all in the relative silence and hushed talk only found in libraries. Fabulous.

I would be totally relaxed and unstressed (beyond the actually pressure of learning something new) if I could find a resolution to the other rather pressing problem that I'm trying to figure out ASAP.

But, for now, studying here at the library.

* It serves Big Trains, Anna. Weep in jealousy.

Labels: books, my life, summer 2008, tour north dakota

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Tour North Dakota: Oscar Zero missile alert facility.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 0 comments link this post

This applies to that.

I haven't been to see this facility, but I very much plan on it. I want to get a sense of what our facility used to be like.

I have been in one of these facilities while they were in operation -- maybe around age 12? Landowners who had part of this system on their land were invited to tour the sites, and my mom and I sent in our reservation a few months ahead of the tour as requested. On the big day, we climbed onto a dark blue Air Force school bus with a bunch of other farmers, and traveled to a site. It wasn't our site, but it was incredibly interesting. I still have impressions of it, vaguely, in my mind.

I hope they are able to preserve this site, but if not...I definitely want to see it before it closes down.

Labels: military, tour north dakota

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Dwelling in the garden.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 4 comments link this post

Today I will be baking under what looks to be a scorching sun, playing the violin with the rest of the group, officially called the Silver Strings.

We're the 1 p.m. entertainment at the Gardendwellers Farm Produce Party. Playing outside means we'll need clothespins to hold our music in place in case of sudden gusts of wind.

Gardendwellers Farm is basically the town of Churchs Ferry, a town bought out over the threat of rising flood water from Devils Lake in which most everyone left (but not all), leaving behind a school and some other buildings, as well as the sidewalks. The town has been turned into a kind of large garden area, with former home lots now the home to things like an herb garden, and labyrinth, etc. Mike and Colleen will be there with their bison meat.

Our program today will be about twice as long as that of Thursday night's program.

A boring blog post for an event-filled day. My job here is done.

Links:

Gardendwellers Farm blog

Labels: north dakota, tour north dakota

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In the spring, Devils Lake does not sing.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 2 comments link this post

In the spring, no one in the city of Devils Lake sings. This is because they are all holding their breath due to the fact that the city smells like crap.

Now, you may think I'm being unnecessarily crude.

::I avoided using the word feces/faeces because I'm trying to control overt abuse of Latin in this blog. Hence, "crap." Which is better than "shit" which I am trying not to say, though I just did in an effort to tell you that I'm trying not to say it.::

It is the truth, however, that the city literally smells like crap, because that is precisely what is giving off the smell. Or, I should say, the Lemna ponds are wafting their odors into Devils Lake. The Lemna ponds are thawing and releasing the aroma of sewage.

For those of you who despise WalMart, you'll be happy to know that the Lemna ponds are not too far behind the store and that few customers, in the spring, loiter about aimlessly shopping. Get in, get out, try not to breathe.

This is not information you'll find in a tourism brochure.

The odors of crap seemed to hover in the second floor area of work today, and I was wishing for fresh air. The entire afternoon was only salvaged by listening to Adam Sandler's "The Hypnotist" which, if you haven't heard, you ought to. It's one of the few clean audio skits he does. Kevin Nealon is riotous.

Somehow, smelling what I was smelling and hearing an eight minute radio skit that tied into that smell made the afternoon not only bearable, but downright funny.

And it takes a lot to make me laugh while working in the smell of crap.

Labels: humor, local, tour north dakota

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Tour North Dakota: New Rockford.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 2 comments link this post

I'm sure there's lots of interesting things to see and do in New Rockford, North Dakota.

I am here, however, to vouch for the bakery. I can't think of any better place to start and stop on a visit to a town than the local bakery.

The bakery in New Rockford is -- no kidding -- the best little bakery I've stumbled upon. There's no hodge-podge collection of tables and cases that so often happens in a small town business where money is tight and make-do makes do. Inside, it's clean, attractive, and the cases are well-stocked with food that your doctor would never let you eat. Luckily, the pharmacy is right next door so that if you were stopping by to fill a doctor's prescription, you could also fill the prescription I'm giving you now: baked goods.

I've been in too many small town bakeries that have too few items, not much variety, pretty much only white buns, and zero ambiance. The bakery at the supermarket with it's fried rolls and typical fare just doesn't cut it. New Rockford's bakery has none of these problems.

I don't actually know the real name of the bakery. I was sort of blinded by the word "bakery" and never read the rest of the sign out front.

And I tell you something else: when you stumble into a bakery with a cool "make your own sandwich" bar with all kinds of sandwich fixings and toppings and think you've seen it all, and then find yourself up at the baked goods display cases and see many, many, many bakery items with Irish and St. Patrick's day decor on them because the proprietor is of Irish descent and it's the day before St. Patrick's day, you know you've struck gold.

That would be a "pot o' gold", actually. Because in a land of Scandinavian heritage where all the grocery stores are stocked with lefse and there's far too few of us Irish here, you gotta love seeing the green donuts and cookies.

I also appreciated the Polish kolachkes. Now, if only there had been streusel or some German item, I'd have my heritage all covered.

Around the block from the bakery is the Opera House.

The Opera House is the kind of thing every small town in North Dakota is dying to do with their old buildings that are getting run-down from lack of use, but never get around to doing. Now, I've not been in the actually theatre area nor seen a production...

(Look, I was in New Rockford on Friday, long enough to get something to eat. That's it.)

...but the attached coffee shop, the Latte Lobby, was open and impressed me greatly. Some people have the gift of turning a building into some place you really want to be. This is such a place. Plus, good stuff to drink.

There are probably lots of other things to do in New Rockford besides eat. I just never got that far.

Maybe that says a lot.

So, visit New Rockford. Do exit off of 281 and go a couple of blocks west to get into the heart of the downtown area. Do buy some kolachkes and thank God for the Polish. Do swing by the Latte Lobby and admire the pressed tin ceiling while getting yourself a chocolate mint Big Train iced mocha.

Today someone came to my site on the search term "north dakota uninhabitable" and I think that's just disgraceful. Hence the new "tour north dakota" posts, starting with this one, which will begin sprinkling this blog, like the sprinkles on a donut.

Labels: tour north dakota