THE EATBEAT: Top-notch menu makes 50-mile drive to Hastings Landing well worth it

• Marilyn Hagerty

Marilyn Hagerty

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DRAYTON, N.D. — A recommendation from a reader led me to try out the new Hastings Landing restaurant in this town on Interstate 29 about 50-some miles north of Grand Forks.

The reader had sampled the fried pickles and had a hot Sicilian sandwich with cheesy bacon potato soup for lunch. And she said it was the best lunch she had in a long time.

So, up I-29 I drove on a beautiful winter day early in January to Hastings Landing, located in a building owned by the city near the intersection of state Highway 11.

There is a plenty of parking space right in front, and the restaurant is new and inviting with maroon walls and light knotty pine wainscoting. There are tables and booths in the spacious facility, with areas for group dining.

Lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. And they give you one straightforward menu with both breakfast and lunch items. It is easy to read.

They also give you one menu for lunch, which features starters of cheese curds, cheesy pickles, nachos, chicken wings. There’s also a choice of different versions of lavosh. And there’s also an all-you-can eat salad bar and soup for $7.95.

There is another menu for dinner.

The special Jan. 5 was a club croissant sandwich with French onion soup ($7.95). And for me, that made for a satisfying lunch.

The sandwich on the croissant was crisp and tasty with a good and generous slice of tomato with lettuce on top. And the bacon was crisp in the multiple layers of thinly sliced turkey and ham.

The soup, on the other hand, was all right. Like many restaurant soups, it was not hot enough and like much restaurant soup too salty.

Sandwiches are served at Hastings Landing with either a cup of soup or potato. The 10 sandwiches featured on the menu include Reuben and walleye sub. And there’s a crusty prime rib melt ($8.95).

Sandwiches, burgers and salads are offered on the dinner menu. The dinner entrees include Teriyaki chicken, walleye, pork tenderloin, shrimp, rib-eye and tenderloin filet. For people who like to combine a drive in the country with lunch or dinner, the menu here is worthy of the miles.

In a quick visit with the owner, Kip Nerby, I learned that he personally would most likely order a tenderloin filet when eating out. And he would ask for it medium-rare.

Nerby has long had an interest in the restaurant business. It goes back to the days when he worked as a prep cook at John Barleycorn in Grand Forks.

Nerby has learned about the business from chefs including Kim Holmes, owner of Sander’s. And he got more experience in his love of cooking by working nights and learning from Scott Franz, a chef at the Toasted Frog.

Nerby was employed for seven years by AmeriPride, a linen and apparel company, and had a chance to get acquainted with restaurant owners.

So far, things are going well at the new Hastings Landing in Drayton. It has taken the place of another restaurant by that name that was closed.

This month, the restaurant started holding a Sunday brunch between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The brunch ($12.95) features both lunch and breakfast items.

Hastings Landing

126 S. Main St., Drayton, N.D.

Owner-chef: Kip Nerby.

Hours: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday;, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.

Telephone: (701) 454-3425.

Report card: An attractive, new restaurant with complete, easy-to-read menus for breakfast, lunch, dinner and in between. Friendly is service, prices moderately high. Wine and beer is available.

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