Tk
Salty snacks at Wurst Bier Hall
56
Fall 2018
CAA manitoBa
THE
ESSENTIALS
GettinG there
Just over three hours
from Winnipeg, straight
south on Highway 75. or
take the scenic route via
Highway 59 to detroit
lakes, then east on
Highway 10.
thinGs to Do
Head to Junkyard Brewing
Co. on sunday nights for
Beer & Hymns featuring
local suds paired with
classic gospel tunes.
Fargo’s notorious wood chipper
and creamed corn is evocative of
Sunday dinner at grandma’s house.
I disguise retail therapy as morning
exercise with a stroll downtown, but
not before a leisurely stop at Atomic
Coffee, where baristas create custom
caffeinated beverages from fair-trade
beans. On Main Avenue, sprawling
Kittsona stocks clothing, handbags,
jewellery and gifts, while Broadway’s
Unglued sells handmade treasures by
a revolving roster of artisans.
One more stop before I leave town:
the Fargo-Moorhead Visitors Center,
where I don a fur hat and record a
quick Instagram clip in front of the
actual wood chipper from the movie
Fargo. I can’t stop myself from uttering
the film’s famous line, “And I guess
that was your accomplice in the wood
chipper.” You betcha!
Budding artists are invited
to leave their marks on
the Fargo Public art Wall,
an ever-evolving, graffiti-
friendly zone located
downtown.
eat anD Drink
nostalgia tastes great
in the form of the patty
melt and hand-scooped
chocolate shake at Kroll’s,
a ’50s-style diner housed
inside a replica streetcar.
grab a dozen for the road!
sandy’s donuts travel
well, especially gourmet
creations like maple-bacon
long johns, dirt-and-
worms donuts, or red-
velvet cake donuts.
Fargo-moorHead;
For lunch, I head to Wurst Bier
Hall, home to some of the world’s
best Bavarian pretzels, salted and
served with essential beer cheese dip.
Fargo-Moorhead is a hotbed of beer
production, so I’m not surprised to
see plenty of local pours on tap.
Drekker Brewing, Flatland Brewery
and Prairie Brothers Brewing
Company are a few of the eight or
so outfits crafting the good stuff.
Since I’ve saved room for dessert,
the Moorhead Dairy Queen is next
on my agenda. If you’ve ever enjoyed
a Dilly Bar, thank this location of the
famed franchise: They invented it.
They’re also happy to go off-menu to
create a custom Blizzard, any way
you like it.
Happily satiated, I head back into
Fargo to check out Bonanzaville, where
43 lovingly restored buildings—and
400,000-plus artifacts—offer a glimpse
into Red River Valley life a century
ago. A tip if you visit: Be on the lookout
for some of the museum’s several
Model Ts, dating from the early 1900s
to the 1920s.
Later that evening, I find myself
having a hard time deciding which is
more beautiful: the Fargo Moorhead
Ballet’s performance or the Fargo
Theatre itself, an Art Deco gem that
often hosts the dance company. Built in
1926, the venue also features a cinema
and a Wurlitzer pipe organ, all bathed
in the sweeping curves and glitzy
accents of the Jazz Age.
The basement of an even older
building (circa 1909) houses the Boiler
Room, where I savour a post-show
nibble of Scotch eggs served with spicy
maple aioli. For the truly hungry, the
restaurant’s barbecue-glazed meatloaf
with bourbon sauce, mashed potatoes