Restaurant Roundup: More burgers, Super Bowl foods, featured monthly menus
Feb. 8, 2024
In case you missed it, Crawford’s Bar & Grill won the Downtown Burger Battle. The winning burger, The Gold Standard, will be on the menu for a couple of months. It’s a 6-ounce prime beef patty with jalapeno bacon, boursin cheese, peppadew jam, crispy onion straws, homemade ginger pickles and arugula tossed with spicy vinaigrette. It’s served on ciabatta crusted with smoked mozzarella cheese. Some of the other restaurants are giving their burgers a permanent spot on the menu, including Blarney Stone Pub, Monks Ale House and Wagoo Burgers. Flying Santo Taco Bar will keep serving its burger through February.
The winner of the Brandon Burger Battle, which included eight businesses in the Brandon area, was Bottoms Up in Corson. The winning burger, The Italian Job, will be back on the bar’s menu beginning Tuesday, and it may have earned a permanent spot. It’s a seasoned Wagyu beef patty with black truffle aioli, asiago cheese, raspberry chipotle bacon and giardiniera on a toasted bun.
If a Big Mac doesn’t fill you up, this just might be the burger for you. McDonald’s has introduced the Double Big Mac for a limited time. It features four patties instead of two for $7.39.
Friday is National Pizza Day, so Blue Rock Bar & Grill is celebrating with a special pizza menu that’s available all day.
The new Nunzio’s Pizza Kitchen, a pop-up, takeout-only offering from Harvester Kitchen by Bryan, is taking orders for Super Bowl Sunday until 5 p.m. Saturday. The wood-fired pizzas will be ready for pickup from noon to 8:30 p.m. Sunday. Choose from the regular offerings of cheese, mushroom, pepperoni or veal meatballs or try the special: The K-Swift Pie with housemade Italian sausage, roasted peppers, and onions. Nunzio’s started in January and will be available through February. Hours have been updated to 4 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. To order, call 605-271-2015.
Grille 26 has created a special takeout menu for Super Bowl Sunday with options of wings or a taco bar.
The Thirsty Duck Bar & Grill is hosting a fundraiser for the Sioux Falls chapter of Pink Ladies. It’s the 11th annual chili cook-off and Super Bowl party. Members of the group will make chili, and tickets are $7 for all you can eat. Diners can vote for their favorite. The chili feed starts at 4 p.m. Sunday.
Potlucks are a tradition for many bars on Super Bowl Sunday. Here’s a few we noticed: Ken’s Korner and The Orion Pub in Sioux Falls and Critters Bar and The Wooden Nickel in Crooks. The Brewery in Salem invites customers to bring an appetizer or snack to share in addition to its game-day specials.
Featured food and drink menus are available at Tinner’s Public House and Tinner’s North. A customer favorite, the Greek dish chicken souvlaki, is back.
The featured three-course menu for February at Chef Lance’s on Phillips includes scallops for the starter, beef tenderloin and a fried lobster cake as the entree and Cupid’s Strawberries & Cream for dessert.
Look’s Marketplace is celebrating what it calls gravy season with four “heartwarming Midwestern-inspired” dishes this month: Croque Madame, Country-Fried Steak, Turkey Dinner and Swedish Meatballs.
The Breaks Coffee Roasting Co. had customers vote on their favorite monthly specials from last year, and the winners are Howdy and Cookie Puss. The drinks will be served throughout February. Howdy is a cold vegan drink with espresso, Oatly oat milk, ginger and heirloom Peruvian organic cacao. Cooky Puss is a steamer made with Biscoff cookie butter, Maldon salted caramel syrup and Biscoff cookie crumble garnish.
Urban Chislic is hosting its fifth Spice Challenge at 2 p.m. Feb. 25. Entry is free. Participants eat samples of up to six dishes that feature mouth-burners like Carolina Reaper peppers. The dishes get progressively hotter, and only a few people make it through the final level, co-owner Hong Phrommany said. Send your name and phone number in an email to [email protected]. The restaurant will confirm entries a few days in advance.
February’s features at Maribella Ristorante are Agnello & Portobello Ragu and Pizza Valentino with an olive oil base, fresh mozzarella, soppressata salami and fresh basil. For dessert, there’s Torta Mantovana, a Tuscan almond cake topped with icing sugar and toasted almond slices.
The other restaurant in the Vinyahd Restaurant Group family, R Wine Bar & Kitchen, is featuring applewood-smoked salmon cream pasta and two desserts: amaretto cheesecake and red velvet creme brulee.
Blarney Stone Pub is celebrating Mardi Gras with special dishes that will be available until mid-March. There’s Cajun Chicken n’ Shrimp, Cajun Cod, Shrimp Etouffee, Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwich and Croissant Beignets.
The international dish of the month at The Willows is Cuban steak. It’s served with coconut rice and Cuban-style black beans and is available every Wednesday night.
Verde Lounge in the Holiday Inn City Centre has a featured meal for February called By Land & Sea.
Here are a few special offerings for February from Johnny Carino’s.
Oh My Cupcakes is having a launch party for its Valentine’s Day menu from 1 to 4 p.m. Friday at The Bridges at 57th location. Samples will be available, and the Cupcake Ninjas will be there to take orders.
Dairy Queen sites recently held an event for mothers and sons, and now dads and daughters are up. Daddy-Daughter Date is from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday. Get a free small Blizzard with a kid’s meal purchase, and enjoy a sticker activity.
Stensland Family Farms is having a Valentine’s cookie decorating party Saturday at the central store. For $15, you’ll get six heart-shaped sugar cookies with frosting and sprinkles to decorate, plus two dips of ice cream. Pre-register online, and then drop in anytime from 3 to 5 p.m.
Remedy Flannel Fest on Saturday includes a Meat and Greet smoke-off that will raise money for the Veterans Community Project. Sample all the entries with a freewill donation, and vote for your favorite. The celebration of flannel will be from 1 to 6 p.m. at Remedy at 611. Enjoy a special beer release, games and live music from Brock Dexter, starting at 3 p.m.
Cooks & Bakers Kitchen has three events coming up in the next week:
- Chef Omar Thornton will be making his award-winning chili from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday. He’ll share his recipe and offer tips on making chili. Get a sample for free or a bowl for $5. Beer and wine will be available for purchase.
- He’ll be back on Fat Tuesday for a Mardi Gras tasting buffet from 6 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $35, with beer and wine available for purchase. Limited spots are available and can be reserved through Friday by calling 605-705-6770.
- On Valentine’s Day, Chef John Gilbertson is preparing a special four-course meal, and diners will help make the pasta. The $120-per-person tickets also include a champagne toast, specialty coffees and more. The dinner is from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Limited spots are available and can be reserved through Friday by calling 605-705-6770.
Chick-fil-A is having its annual Day of Sweetness fundraiser Wednesday to benefit the Sioux Falls Area Court Appointed Special Advocate Program. All proceeds from the sale of cookies and brownies will go to CASA, which seeks to promote and protect the best interests of abused and neglected children through the advocacy efforts of trained community volunteers.
Altered Specials Ales and Nothing Bundt Cakes are teaming up for a beer and cake pairing. The four beers and four bunditinis will be available while supplies last from 2 to 9 p.m. Wednesday.
In the wake of a glycol leak from the condos above that has temporarily closed Swamp Daddy’s Cajun Kitchen, neighboring business co-owner Holly Jorgenson of Intoxibakes has started a GoFundMe campaign to help the Swamp Daddy’s family and restaurant. So far, it has raised $6,575 of a $20,000 goal. Other downtown restaurants have taken to social media to encourage customers to buy gift cards to use once Swamp Daddy’s reopens.
Every Monday is Mini Monday at Cookie Co. Smaller versions of the weekly lineup are available for $2 each.
Changes in hours, service
- Auntie J’s American Soul Food is continuing to serve food at The Phoenix Lounge in Harrisburg after a pop-up last week was a success. Hours typically will be 8 p.m. to midnight Wednesday through Saturday. The menu includes Caribbean jerk meatballs, honey Dijon chicken, super nachos, mac-and-cheese and a “variety of pub appetizers, fried foods,” owner Joni Williamson said.
- The east-side Attic Bar & Grill is closed temporarily for remodeling, but the adjacent Ass’ociates & Co. and Clover Club Casino are open. Ass’ociates is serving food and temporarily will be open to all ages. Hours are 11 a.m. to midnight weekdays and 2 a.m. on the weekend, with the kitchen closing at 10 p.m. The tentative reopening date for The Attic is Feb. 15.
- Two downtown bars have discontinued Monday hours for February: Glacial Lakes Distillery & Brewhouse and The Hello Hi.
Here are other food and drink headlines from the past week.
New downtown coffee shop opens, featuring blends from international farmers
Gateway Lounge owner to bring new sports bar to city’s east side
