Restaurant Roundup: Wild sales for Twin Bing Stout, duck fat fries are back, pizza hunt
April 9. 2020
Fernson Brewing Co. started taking pre-orders Wednesday night for its limited-edition Twin Bing Stout that’s being released Friday and sold out of its taproom stock within hours. The crew resorted to “scrounging around in the back room to find more.” Those were added to the online shop Thursday and also promptly disappeared. The rest of the “twin-packs” are headed out to retailers in South Dakota, northwest Iowa and Nebraska for sales beginning next week. Stores in Sioux Falls, Harrisburg and Brandon will have the beer. “We have been blown away from the customer response,” said Evan Richards, Fernson’s marketing director. “We have never seen a reaction like this to one of our beers before. We’re incredibly honored and humbled by the support we’ve seen from both customers and our retail partners.”
The kitchen crew at Look’s Marketplace is taking comfort food to crisis levels. Here’s everything that’s on the new Annie sandwich: Pulled pork, pork brisket, beef brisket, two smash patties, pit sausage, two strips of bacon, pickled onions, arugula, special sauce, Calabrian lime mayo on a ciabatta roll. Wow!
If you’ve been missing the duck fat fries and burgers at Taphouse 41, which closed temporarily because of COVID-19, you’re in luck. The restaurant has shared some of its recipes with neighboring All Day Cafe – which is also owned by WR Hospitality. Here’s what’s on the menu.
Sunny’s Pizzeria is giving people a fun, social distancing-safe activity this month. Owner Jonathan Oppold has hidden 25 wooden tokens around the city in public places. Each morning, he posts a photo clue on Facebook. The tokens are good for a free medium pizza. The contest started Monday, and the first few tokens were found each day by early afternoon, but “some are going to take awhile,” Oppold said.
COVID-19 has sent all kinds of restaurants into new territory. Pizza Ranch is selling frozen pizzas for takeout or delivery. Get a medium thin crust for $8. The restaurants need 24-hour notice to prepare them.
Stensland Family Farms is expanding into take-and-bake family meals, featuring actual Stensland family recipes and using their dairy farm products. New features will be available every Thursday at both east and west retail locations. This week kicked off with recipes for a tortilla bake and chicken cordon bleu with stuffing from Leah Moeller, a family owner who manages retail operations and marketing. Future recipes will come from her grandmother, mother and brothers’ families, she said. The meals, which are limited in number, come in 2-3 and 4-6 serving sizes. And there’s a special offering for Easter take-and-bake brunch options that must be ordered by Friday night. Choose from blueberry French toast bake, sausage and cheese strata or a peaches and cream oatmeal bake.
There’s still time to place an order for Easter cookies that you get to paint yourself. Cakes & Confections by Chef April has sets of 12 cookies in a variety of shapes. Curbside pickup is available Friday and Saturday.
The West 12th Street B&G Milkyway is the last of the bunch to open. Since there’s no drive-thru at this location, owner Bruce Bettmeng is asking customers to keep a 6-foot distance from each other while waiting to order and to keep the line at no more than 10 people.
The owners of Snortz Barbeque are giving a little more notice this time for their next round of to-go barbecue. They’re taking orders for pickup from 5 to 7 p.m. April 17. The menu includes pulled pork, beef brisket, ribs, side dishes and fixings for sandwiches. Get the details on the food wagon’s Facebook page.
This one was too cute not to share. Here’s a Facebook post from Bread & Circus Sandwich Kitchen, which closed indefinitely March 31 after COVID-19 began spreading more in the community. The photo is “our buddy Sam’s” sixth-grade homework. “Hey Sam, if teach has a problem with your answer, just let us know.” The correct answer — according to Wikipedia, which won’t cut it with teachers as a source — is more along the lines of the ancient Roman populace no longer caring for its birthright of political involvement and rather having interest only in “bread and circuses.”
We’re doing our best to keep this massive list updated with which restaurants are closed temporarily and which ones have adjusted hours and changed operations. Several of them are coming up with creative ideas to keep income coming in.
Here’s a look at other recent headlines from the past week.
For all the news from the local dining scene, visit our Food & Drink section.
