BISMARCK -- The minute I saw the menu, I knew I would like the Pirogue Grille. This is a restaurant that specializes in North Dakota cuisine and serves local produce in season. Pirogue features regional fare such as sauteed loin of local lamb and grilled North Dakota branded filet of beef.
I went there on a recent Thursday evening with my daughter Gail Hagerty (GH), and we were joined by friends Debbie and Paul Levchak (DL) and (PL).
The menu is uncluttered and easy to read. It also is a la carte, which makes it possible to order a couple of appetizers and maybe a salad and soup if you don't feel like going through a full dinner routine. I like that.
I ordered a trio of walleye tastes ($9) from the appetizer list and a BLT salad with bacon croutons ($6). GH ordered grilled wild Alaskan king salmon with red beet and orange relish ($23) for her entree. DL ordered a venison sausage appetizer ($7) and soup of the day -- roast corn with ancho chile cream. PL enjoyed a New York steak ($25).
I was impressed as much by the presentation of the food as the food itself. The walleye trio came in three tiny triangle shaped trays that fit nicely inside an outer, long tray. DL's soup was topped with a design.
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Our food choices ranged from good to excellent. Service was unobtrusive, top-rate. However, it was hard to hear evening specials recited by our waiter and also our conversations because the place was filling up and acoustics aren't too good; but the surroundings are above average. We were seated at a table for four deep in the long, narrow restaurant.
Our table tended to be small, but the tables are of varying shapes and size. There is enough space between them to prevent diners from feeling crammed in. The tables are covered with white cloths, which in turn are covered with white butcher paper. I also liked the tiny flickering lights on each table. They seem to bring things to life.
The Pirogue has a small, metal bar upfront designed by David Badman, Grand Forks, and a back bar of walnut. The restaurant has one wall of brick and nice, thick colorful carpeting. Original artwork and metalwork help create a casual and elegant setting for a meal. At the rear, an arch gives you a glimpse of the kitchen. Restrooms are well-decorated and inviting.
Vine-ripened tomatoes were used in appetizers in mid-August, and rhubarb pie was on the menu preceding the Garrison Keillor Rhubarb Concert.
Pirogue Grille is one of several fine restaurants in the state's capital city, including Peacock Alley and the Bistro. It was opened three years ago and has been seeing a slow and steady increase in business, according to Stuart Tracy, who owns and operates the restaurant with his wife, Cheryl. He is the chef. She is the hostess.
He is originally from Minot and is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of American in Hyde Park, N.Y. Before opening his own restaurant in Bismarck, he was chef at the Rivery, a corporate meeting facility 60 miles south of Bismarck that catered to retreats of Fortune 500 companies before it closed in 2003.
Reach Hagerty at mhagerty@gra.midco.net or call (701) 772-1055.
