Restaurant Roundup: Downtown changes, half-price apps, more Easter brunches
March 28, 2024
Sunny’s Pizzeria is closing its kitchen in the EightyOne Arcade Bar this weekend. The owners of Salas Salsas are taking it over full time as they prepare to open BibiSol this spring in an adjacent space in The Carpenter Building. Salas Salsas has been using the kitchen during the day before Sunny’s opens to make the salsas and food that it sells online, at farmers markets and on its food truck. Sunny’s original restaurant at 1801 S. Walts Ave. remains open, and its pre-made pizzas will still be available downtown at WoodGrain Brewing Co., Glacial Lakes Distillery & Brewhouse and The Orion Pub. EightyOne will return to selling prepackaged snacks.
It’s time for Sunny’s Pizzeria’s annual Pizza Hunt, which owner Jon Oppold started four years ago shortly after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Every day in April, Oppold will post before noon on Facebook and Instagram with a photo clue to find a hidden wooden token. Each one can be redeemed for a free medium pizza at the restaurant. Sunny’s is short a few tokens, so to encourage holders to use them, the pizzeria is offering a two-for-one deal until Sunday.
Squealer’s Smoke Shack in Tea has added half-price appetizers and two flatbreads for $8 each to its happy hour menu.
New dessert offerings are available at Parker’s Bistro and Myrtle’s Fur Vault & Bar. Pastry chef Mia Temple has crafted chocolate malt ice cream cake, carrot cake doughnuts and pistachio panna cotta. A vegan German chocolate cake is available upon request.
Chef Lance’s on Phillips is known for its beef, pulled pork and salmon Wellington dishes, and now there’s a version for kids. It’s billed as a hot dog Wellington, more commonly known as a corn dog. For the grownups, there are lots of new choices, including tuna tartare, Mexican street corn dip, penne alla vodka, penne alfredo, grilled Montreal ribeye and scallop piccata.
A BBC correspondent ate at Harvester Kitchen by Bryan, Owamni in Minneapolis and a restaurant in Edmonton, Alberta, for the recent article “A national awakening to the Great Plains’ gourmet bounty.” Reporter Johnny Motley wrote of Chef Bryan Moscatello: “Fascinated by the possibilities of Great Plains ingredients elevated with his Michelin-level finesse, he launched Harvester Kitchen by Bryan in a former tractor depot.” He mentioned the restaurant’s pheasant special and deconstructed s’mores dessert and also coming back to Sioux Falls to try Sanaa’s 8th Street Gourmet. Owamni is co-owned by Sean Sherman, an Oglala Sioux chef who was born in Pine Ridge.
Chef Dan Myers, the general manager at Crawford’s Bar & Grill, won the annual Cleaver’s Chef Challenge for the second time in a row. His dish was the Not So Old Fashion sandwich and cocktail. Chef Alex Keehn of The Sioux Falls Country Club won the People’s Choice Award with smoked pork belly buns.
Applebee’s is celebrating March Madness with 50-cent boneless wings for dine-in or to-go. Get them in orders of five or 10 wings through April 8.
The zingy flavors of Tajin seasoning and hot sauce are featured in three new limited-time offerings at Nekter Juice Bar. Try the Pineapple Tajin Smoothie, Tajin Chamoy Cucumber Frozen Lemonade and Tropical Fruit Cup with cucumber and pineapple.
If you’re a fan of lavender, Caribou Coffee has new drinks made with real lavender. There are options with honey, matcha tea, white chocolate and a lavender cold foam.
A new seasonal menu of drinks is available at Glacial Lakes Distillery & Brewhouse. Among the new offerings: Last Aloha with the distillery’s Whitecap Rum, amaretto, coconut cream, cinnamon and vanilla bean-infused raw syrup; Kiwi Smash with rum, lime and fresh muddled kiwi; Garden Gimlet; and Peachy Keen Sangria.
Last week’s roundup included Easter brunch offerings, but here’s a few more we noticed.
Let It Fly has a special Easter brunch menu that will be available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. The full menu also will be offered.
Johnny Carino’s is adding salmon, Italian pot roast, lasagna and a chocolate fountain to its usual Sunday brunch.
Umami Cafe & Catering, 3501 N. Aviation Ave., is doing a brunch buffet from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The price is $15 for adults and teens, and $7 for kids 12 and younger. Reservations for groups of more than six are recommended.
Tailgators Grill & Bar in Brandon is serving a buffet from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Prices, which include a drink, tax and tip, are $30 for adults, $22 for seniors and $15 for kids age 3-10.
Brandon Steakhouse is offering a ham dinner special for $16 along with its regular breakfast and dinner menus. Hours are 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sunday.
Changes in hours, service
- Starting Monday, Remedy Brewing Co. will be open for lunch. New hours will be 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11:30 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. Check out the menu at remedybrewco.com.
- A couple of restaurants have added online ordering: Nick’s Gyros and Hacienda Jalisco.
Here are other food and drink headlines from the past week.
Canopy by Hilton takes shape with new GM, plans for Italian restaurant, coffee shop
