Restaurant Roundup: Consolidated Dive, 30-year throwback prices, new monthly menus
June 8, 2023
The Dive has closed its original location in The Gaslight Lounge, two months after opening a restaurant in Park Ridge Galleria. “This place has been amazing for so many reasons but mainly they gave us a home and our beginning,” co-owner Allen Wright said in a post on social media. Consolidating to one location will allow The Dive to “provide a better experience for our customers.” The final day was May 27. There’s no word yet from the bar on West 12th Street on whether they’ve found someone else to take over the kitchen.
Mackenzie River Pizza, Grill & Pub is celebrating its 30th anniversary with throwback prices for dine-in only. Through Friday, get Lodgepoles for $2.50. From June 10-16, get a large Good Ol’ Boy pizza for $12.75, June 17-23 is a house salad for $2.50 and June 24-30 is the Willow Creek sandwich for $6.
Summer pizza days have returned at The Good Earth Farm near Lennox. Enjoy wood-fired pizzas, local craft beer and local and natural wines Friday and Sunday. Eat in the event barn or out in the farmyard if you bring a blanket or chair. Diners can reserve a 12-inch Breadico crust in advance to ensure availability. Gluten-free and vegan offerings are available by pre-order at no extra charge. The farm posts the weekly pizza options on Wednesdays on its Facebook page. Up this week: Fig & Arugula, Wild Idea Supreme with ground buffalo and veggies and Pesto Veggie. Editor’s note: The days for pizza have been corrected since this article was first published.
Cheezy Noodlez Gourmet Mac & Cheeze has concocted a special menu for Saturday’s Festival of Cultures. The food truck’s spin on the classic American dish is being set aside for a variety of Cambodian specialties. The free event organized by the LSS Multi-Cultural Center will be in the parking lot north of the Levitt Shell.
The Smoked Culture food truck is operating several days this month out of the parking lot where it’s expanding into a restaurant space. The patio of the future restaurant, which will be in the former BB’s Pub & Grill space at 49th and Westport, features six tables where customers can dine for now. Owners Ryan Gaede and Jess Jones hope to open the restaurant in July. They’re also booking other events in the meantime. Check the Facebook page or Instagram for hours and locations.
R.I.P. to Wilbur the food truck. The wheels of My Place Mobile Cafe, which Maxine Montreal started nine years ago, have been retired. Wilbur’s transmission went out last week. Montreal said she and husband Ray are looking for a smaller truck or trailer to rebuild. Montreal opened My Place Cafe in Montrose a year ago, so Wilbur had been on a more limited schedule.
Oh My Cupcakes has rolled out its new flavors for the quarter. Pick from Donut You Want a Cupcake, Cotton Candy, Root Beer Float, Sassy Classic and Better Than Summer. Other favorites are still on the menu.
Maribella Ristorante’s June features start with polpette alla marinara, which are certified Angus beef meatballs with marinara, trumpet mushrooms and Parmigiano-Reggiano. The entree is pizza Napoletana, and dessert is Baba al Rum, soaked rum cakes coated with a lemon and apricot simple syrup and topped with pastry cream. The featured cocktail is an Aperol spritz.
This month’s features at R Wine Bar & Kitchen include a seasonal fruit plate, pasta amore with chicken and Oreo cheesecake.
The featured throwback flavor for June at Poppy’s Popcorn Co. is salt and vinegar. “We haven’t had this in years, but if you’re a salt and vinegar fan, you’ll love this. It’s pretty potent, so just forewarning you’ve really got to like that flavor to enjoy this one!” the business said in a post on social media.
Tailgators Grill & Bar in Brandon has several specials for June ranging from a Hawaiian egg roll and the Aloha Rice Bowl to a strawberry walnut chicken salad and funnel cake fries. Some of the featured drinks are a Watermelon Refresher, white sangria and white chocolate martini.
The June tasting menu at Chef Lance’s on Phillips features a romaine salad with peaches, filet mignon and lobster scampi and a mixed berry cheesecake martini. The meal is $70 with the option of adding a $35 three-course wine pairing.
The Original Pancake House has extended an early bird breakfast special. The deal is still running to buy a regular entree and get the second one for half price from 6 to 8 a.m. daily.
Pinz in Dell Rapids has discontinued breakfast on Saturdays for the summer, opening instead at 11 a.m. The breakfast buffet is still served on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Other changes include new lunch and dinner specials, including kids eat for free from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays with the purchase of an adult meal.
Zooks Coffee Bar in Tea has a new lemonade flight. Flavors include dragonfruit, lavender, butterfly pea flower and strawberry. Call to reserve a board.
Buffalo Ridge Brewing Co. in Hartford hosts Brews & Cruise on the third Thursday of the month. Each cruise-in is from 5 to 9 p.m. and features different vehicles. June 15 is Corvettes. July 20 is side-by-sides, UTVs and ATVs. Aug. 17 is Mustangs, and Sept. 21 is VWs. Each event features a food truck and live music from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
Chipotle Mexican Grill is giving away 300 burritos every time a 3-pointer is made during the NBA Championships. Follow the chain on Twitter @ChipotleTweets for #ChipotleFreePointer drops. Grab a code for a free burrito, with up to 10,500 codes available per game.
Changes in hours, service
- Gist Wine Shop is adding Sunday and Monday hours beginning June 12. Hours will be noon to 6 p.m. those days. Tuesday through Saturday hours will continue to be noon to 8 p.m.
- Windy City Bites has suspended weekday lunch hours for its restaurant, which opened in February at 114 N. Indiana Ave. Owners DeShawn and Samantha Lewis still have the food truck they started with and have several lunch events lined up for it. DeShawn Lewis said it makes sense to use the trailer while the weather is nice and noted that it provides great marketing for the restaurant. New summer hours for the restaurant are 3 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday. Windy City stays open later when it’s busy or for events, Lewis said.
- Auntie J’s American Soul Food has new hours for June: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 4 to 7 p.m. Friday.
- Let Me Be Frank has switched its Tuesday spot from Runnings on Western Avenue to Tractor Supply Co. on North Cliff Avenue.
- Yakkity Yak Coffee Shack has new summer hours: 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. weekdays and 3:30 to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
- Watecha Bowl has dropped lunch hours on Wednesday but is open later that night. New hours are 5 to 10 p.m.
- SoDak Soda’s new summer hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
- Mary’s Mountain Cookies is open now on Mondays and has expanded hours on Sundays for the summer. New hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
- The Breaks Coffee Roasting Co. has extended Sunday hours. It’s now open from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.
- Stensland Family Farms has new hours for summer: The east and west locations are open from 1 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, noon to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 1 to 8 p.m. Sunday. The central store has hours of 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday.
Here are other food and drink headlines from the past week.
Newcomb honors grandmother in naming of Parker’s Bistro expansion
