Sarah Nigbor

This past weekend was my favorite type of weekend. A road trip!

Our destination was in the midst of frozen sugar beet fields in the flat tundra of North Dakota. As we headed to Grand Forks to see our son perform with the concert choir in the Winter WUNDerland holiday concert at University of North Dakota, I was surprised by the lack of snow. We have a lot more snow than they do. I expected to see snow whipping across the flat fields for miles. While the wind was whipping and the temperature was a brisk 1 degree, the snow was just a dusting. Hubby assured me that this would change soon and the streets would be tracks of ice between mountains of snow. He was stationed in Grand Forks in the Air Force, so he has told me many stories of working on jets in negative 60-degree temps.

I find it ironic that our oldest son, who hates cold weather with a passion, chose NORTH DAKOTA of all places to attend college. Grand Forks is only an hour south of the Canadian border. He has family there, so I know that’s quite a draw, but still. The kid loves hot weather and tropics and he picks Grand Forks. The kid who swore for years he was moving to Florida or California the minute he graduated high school, picks UND.

Grand Forks is a pleasant city with around 60,000 people. It rises out of the flat nothingness seemingly out of nowhere. It’s along the banks of the Red River, whose flood waters are held at bay by a levee/wall. I was surprised to learn that sugar beets are a main crop in the area, along with potatoes. The Simplot factory in town was emitting boatloads of steam as potatoes were being turned into fries and tots.

After the concert, which was absolutely amazing (Ethan even wore a tuxedo!), he took us all over town showing us where he has his classes, where his friends live, his dorm, where he hangs out, etc. I sat in the backseat as father and son yammered away about what has changed since Hubby was stationed there, taking it all in. Hubby showed us the places he lived when he was in Grand Forks, where he worked and some of his old haunts (the ones that still exist anyway).

I learned about local cuisine, such as Lavosh, a thin, crispy loaded flatbread that has a crust like a Saltine cracker. It has savory toppings such as shrimp, sausage, cheese or chicken. Traditionally, it’s a thin flatbread from West Asia/Armenia, so how it became popular with a twist in North Dakota, I have no idea. Some say it’s because of the restaurant, The Toasted Frog, that made it popular.

Knoephla soup is also another regional staple, a German Russian hearty stew with small, button-like dumplings (knoephla) in a creamy chicken broth with potatoes, onions, carrots and celery. It’s perfect for bone-chilling cold weather. Pickles are also a big crowd pleaser in Grand Forks. Menus boast pickle pizza, pickle grilled cheese, pickle beer, chocolate covered pickles and cheesy wonton pickles. Pickles are everywhere. I’m on board. I like pickles. But not with chocolate.

Hubby also raved about The Red Pepper, a restaurant known for the grinder sandwich. The grinder is a sub sandwich with meat, lettuce, and cheese, topped with taco meat and a peppery red and white sauce whose ingredients are a closely guarded secret. It’s no lie that at bar close, the line into the Red Pepper stretches down the sidewalk. It is to Grand Forks what Steve’s Pizza is to River Falls.

As we left Ethan to his finals week in this far northern city, I left with a warm feeling in my heart knowing that he’ll soon be home for Christmas, and chills and fever from a cold that sprung itself on me most annoyingly as we were leaving. Thankfully, Hubby is a good cook and made me something very close to knoephla soup when we got home, where it was a toasty 15 degrees.