Hat Tips

Hello,

Do you remember when that elderly lady from Grand Forks that became an international star because she wrote columns about restaurants? She was a wonderful writer and a delight to listen to.

I’ve always enjoyed eating. You know that. And to me, there is no meal that is complete without meat. Usually beef. But sometimes I’ll eat a pig or a chicken. Drummies are good at happy hour. Bacon is for breakfast. But most of the time, it’s beef.

In southwest North Dakota, there are not a lot of steakhouses. You can visit the Crossing in Dickinson, and there are a variety of bar and grill establishments in smaller towns that serve a great steak.

One of my favorites is in the metropolis of Reeder. Yeah, Reeder.

Reeder isn’t very big. There is an elevator, a post office, a senior center, and a guy that must fix lawn mowers because there are about a thousand of them parked outside his shop. And there is the Borderline.

The Borderline is a bar and grill that fills up during pheasant season and over the holidays. It is halfway between our place and our son’s ranch. So it is a pretty regular stop for us.

Besides getting a wonderful meal of certified angus beef, or a wonderful walleye dinner, you get a dose of friendly conversation from the proprietors. And many times you will get more than you paid for.

The other day Shirley and I stopped there for supper on the way home from Reva. As we were eating our steaks we were visiting about gardening. As I’ve told you before, I was 25 years old before I found out pickles were cucumbers, but I’m learning.

Well, as we visited about gardens, the owner disappeared for a few minutes. When he came back, he had a package of frozen corn for us to take home. Sweet corn. Off a grilled cob. Wonderful.

We settled up our bill and prepared to leave when, I think his name is Roger, said hold on a minute. We’ve something for you.

Out came two tinfoil wrapped ears of corn basted in butter with a little salt. For the road. Have you ever tried to eat a piping hot ear of corn while driving. It’s not easy, but I used to be a hotshot driver.

Maybe this happens in other states. But I doubt it.

If you are in our area the next few weeks, and you stop in a small town, lock your car doors. Or you may end up with a bag cucumbers, corn, and tomatoes. And for dang sure you will find a few zucchini.

In Reeder, order the “Kristy” sandwich. And tell her Dean sent you!

Later, I can’t talk with my mouth full,

Dean