Fraters Libertas

Thanks For The Memories

There's really nothing lower than a blogger who reads an interesting post at another site and then shamelessly piggy backs on it with needless and usually redundant commentary of his own. As a rule I try to avoid this practice at all costs. But after reading this piece on Grand Forks at Exiled on Blog Street I have decided to make a special exception.

Bill writes about a recent trip back to GF to attend a high school reunion and mentions a couple of places he visited. I haven't been able to get up to see the new Engelstad Arena yet but after reading Bill's description it's trip that I must make:

Classsssy. Omigod this place is gorgeous. I could have spent an afternoon wondering the hallways, as this place doubles as a Sioux hockey museum with mucho photos on the walls complete with portraits and bios of all the Sioux All-Americans. The rink looks much cozier than on TV, plus it has leather seats with cupholders.

He also stopped off at what once was one of the coolest bars in America, Whitey's or Chez Whitey's as we used to refer to it:

Whitey's: Not the same bar as the old days (the Flood of '97 took care of that), but pints of Premos were only $1.85 and the service was as always top-notch.

Bill's right on about Whitey's service. I don't think I've ever been kicked out of a bar as professionally as I was at Whitey's (on more than one occasion if memory serves). I can't confirm this positively but I believe that we used to drink Schmidt Dark on tap there on Wednesdays for something like 85 cents a pint. Schmidt Dark?

Finally he hit what is probably the most well known restaurant (I use the term loosely) in Grand Forks:

The Red Pepper I hate myself. I walked into this place after a couple of beers at Whitey's knowing I should order a ham grinder with taco meat, just like my college days (except it would have been after about five or six Schmidt/City bottles at Whitey's.) But my 37-year old self stepped in and ordered a half grinder. Half what? It was tasty as hell but went by way too fast. Never ever order a half grinder again, EVER. Who knows when you'll be back in the Forks again?

The fact the Pepper has a web site is a sign just how far the internet has crept into our everyday lives. It's not really a restaurant as much as an old house where some young guys decided to start dishing up food and as such has all the charm and ambience that you would expect from such a venture. And it hasn't changed for thirty years which is a point of pride among the owners.

While attending school on in GF I lived directly across the street from the Red Pepper for two years in a abode that could be charitably described as a hell hole. We were close enough to shoot bottle rockets at customers trying to enter the establishment and we did just that on a couple of occasions. When we first moved in we ate nothing but grinders for three weeks. This led to the discovery that while they tasted damned good at 1:30 in the morning they were not a suitable staple item in your diet.

I've been back to Grand Forks a few times since I graduated from college but have not been able to bring myself to head over to the Pepper and order up a grinder. When I make a trip next winter to catch a Sioux hockey game I think I will indulge myself. As Bill says, "Who knows when you'll be back in the Forks again?".