We didn't spend much time in North Dakota, driving only a total of 37 miles on the state's highways. Not that I have any aversion to the Peace Garden State, but we were making the big turn in the tour route from the north to the south. By just dipping our tires in the very Southeast corner of North Dakota we could cross the state off the list and minimize our total miles. Sorry North Dakota for giving you such short shrift. I have driven round trip from Fargo to Bismarck a couple of times in the past and was amazed at the beauty of your state.
The big problem with cutting through the corner of the state was finding a decent place for breakfast. There weren't many possibilities. In fact, I could only identify one restaurant serving breakfast so that is where we ended up.
Hot Cakes Cafe and Lodging
Hankinson, North Dakota
AMBIENCE: Hot Cakes has been around since 2005. A motel with 7 or 8 units is part of the same building hence the "lodging" part of the name. We pulled into the dirt lot in front of the cafe and parked among a fleet of very large pickup trucks. We left our little cowering Camry sedan and proceeded through the front door into a mid-sized room with tables and a counter. We had seen plenty of license plates hanging on the walls of bars, coffee shops, and country restaurants but this is the first place we ever saw license plates lining the counter. The counter was really the only place in the restaurant that shouted ostentatious. The rest of the room was simple, comfortable, and with only a few pheasant hunting related items on the walls.
We chose a table with a good view of the kitchen. The cafe was about a quarter full; all men dressed in various degrees of camouflage or denim. They all seemed pretty laid back with plenty of time on their hands. A grizzled old farmer seemed very amused that I was taking pictures of our food. We with our fleece jackets definitely stood out as strangers in town.
4 out of 5 stars
FOOD: For such a small town and such a small restaurant the menu was rich in its variety of choices. I couldn't help but notice a dished called The Peterson Omelet which was described as a 12 egg omelet with sausage, ham, and cheese and toast on the side. It was tempting, but I was trying to dial things back a little after yesterday's Spam experience. I settled on two blueberry hot cakes with sausage. I thought about it, but decided to spare the waitress my razor sharp wit by asking her "if they sold like hot cakes".
The hot cakes were nothing spectacular but very good with an ample amount of tasty blueberries. I sure did wish they had pure maple syrup to pour over the handsome couple but our waitress was bluntly honest about the syrup being of grocery shelf quality. The pork sausage patties were terrific. They didn't taste as greasy as they looked and I gobbled that twosome in short order.
The Healthy One ordered the"Hot Cakes Special" which was actually one large hot cake with blueberries grilled inside and topped with two scrambled eggs. That's two mornings in a row with eggs! She thought it was a decent breakfast but I get the feeling she misses her granola and yogurt. Unfortunately for her, these small town cafes never have the healthy stuff on the menu, fearing I think, the locals would turn their noses up at such blasphemy.
The hot cakes were nothing spectacular but very good with an ample amount of tasty blueberries. I sure did wish they had pure maple syrup to pour over the handsome couple but our waitress was bluntly honest about the syrup being of grocery shelf quality. The pork sausage patties were terrific. They didn't taste as greasy as they looked and I gobbled that twosome in short order.
The Healthy One ordered the"Hot Cakes Special" which was actually one large hot cake with blueberries grilled inside and topped with two scrambled eggs. That's two mornings in a row with eggs! She thought it was a decent breakfast but I get the feeling she misses her granola and yogurt. Unfortunately for her, these small town cafes never have the healthy stuff on the menu, fearing I think, the locals would turn their noses up at such blasphemy.
4 out of 5 stars.
COFFEE:
It was Midwest coffee (see Ohio report). The good news was that the coffee was only a dollar with refills.
2 1/2 out of 5 stars
SERVICE: We thought our waitress was wonderful. She said that it was only her third day on the job. What she lacked in experience she more than made up for with friendliness and enthusiasm.
5 out of 5 stars
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5 out of 5 stars
A FEW WORDS ABOUT HANKINSON:
Hankinson only has a population of 900 If you could stand the bitterly cold winters and the torrid summers, it might not be a bad place to live. For a town of only 900, it has a surprisingly number of services: a bank (and its corporate headquarters), a grocery store, a pharmacy, a bar/restaurant, a hardware store, a dental office, a health clinic, and a funeral home. Hankinson also has a good size lake for fishing and swimming. Citizens have their extracurricular fun, hosting an Oktoberfest, a Polka Fest, and a Fourth of July parade. There is also a high stakes casino as well as a Franciscan Sisters convent where the stakes are different but still high. And of course, there is a grain elevator like in most small towns we drove through in the Upper Midwest.
BURN THOSE BREAKFAST CALORIES OFF:
Hankinson only has a population of 900 If you could stand the bitterly cold winters and the torrid summers, it might not be a bad place to live. For a town of only 900, it has a surprisingly number of services: a bank (and its corporate headquarters), a grocery store, a pharmacy, a bar/restaurant, a hardware store, a dental office, a health clinic, and a funeral home. Hankinson also has a good size lake for fishing and swimming. Citizens have their extracurricular fun, hosting an Oktoberfest, a Polka Fest, and a Fourth of July parade. There is also a high stakes casino as well as a Franciscan Sisters convent where the stakes are different but still high. And of course, there is a grain elevator like in most small towns we drove through in the Upper Midwest.
After breakfast we drove into South Dakota and took a long hike in Sica Hollow State Park. Sica is an oasis of elevation, trees, and streams in a vast ocean of corn fields that stretch to the horizon. Sica is a Dakota word meaning "evil", so called because of the iron-tinted water that looked like blood. Sica Hollow is said to be haunted. We walked along a path named the Trail of Spirits where supernatural forces have been reported. I did not experience anything supernatural but we did stumble upon an old overgrown graveyard where we did not linger.
October 12, 2017
NEXT UP: SOUTH DAKOTA
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