Speak Easy

Every so often a commercial comes across the television with a catchy jingle: Speak Easy. SPEAK EASY. Can you hear it?

The jingle belongs to a Moorhead restaurant with a 1920's theme, and I have been intrigued to try it. I thought it was too probably too expensive for my low-budget dining out, so I was waiting for a special occasion.

Last Sunday, we decided to find Speak Easy in South Moorhead. It's right near the Safari discount movie theater, so it was easy to find, although it really didn't look like much from the outside: just a regular sign post and a plain looking building.


But inside! Inside the decor was perfect. There was even a vintage car in the bar area. A real, red, shiny vintage car from the 1920s. From the furniture to the paintings on the walls to the menu items, everything fell perfectly to the theme of Prohibition, flappers, the Mob...

In fact (and maybe because it was Sunday at lunch time -- post-church crowd), even the clientele fit in with the theme. Most of the diners probably remembered the 1920s or pretty darn close. And they were dressed in suits, with hats and everything.


The menu had tons of great lunch choices, and the prices were very reasonable. In fact, I think we often pay more for lunch at Perkins than we did for lunch at Speak Easy. I had the rigatoni (half) and brought home half of that, it was so much! The husband tried the reuben and enjoyed that, as well. On Sundays, kids eat free from the Babyface menu! Our toddler ate some of her chicken strips and fries; most came home with us.

The waitstaff is very friendly and attentive. The food was great. The price was right. And the atmosphere was exactly what I was hoping it would be.

It was just...fun! I hope to go back to the Speak Easy sometime soon. I hear you get a $10 gift certificate if you stop by on your birthday (with proper ID).

If you are planning a trip to the Speak Easy, I suggest checking out their online coupons before you go.

Just don't fill up on the warm sourdough bread while you wait for your food. Mmmm, bread...

Moe's Southwest Grille

After months -- no YEARS -- of my brother's goading us to try Moe's Southwest Grille (a national chain, you probably know), we finally stopped by the Fargo location this afternoon for lunch.

The food, it was good. Perhaps my brother hyped it up a bit TOO much, but I didn't think it was outstanding. The husband concurs.

The problem is not that Moe's is not great. The problem is that we have a non-national chain Mexican fast food (ish) restaurant here in Fargo. It is called Juano's. Juano's is fantastic. The portions are huge. The prices are reasonable. Everything is delicious and tastes authentic. And there are five locations around Fargo-Moorhead, so it's much more convenient to go there.

We had a nice time at Moe's. It was Sunday, and on Sundays kids eat FREE with an adult purchase. This was a good deal for us. Our 15-month-old didn't know what to do with her burrito (Moo Moo Mr. Cow), so she poked it a few times and dubbed it inedible. She feasted on the oatmeal raisin cookie and enjoyed her milk on the way home. (The burrito came home with us -- oh yeah.)

The husband tried a Joey Bag of Donuts burrito, and I brought home most of my Billy Barou nachos -- enough for lunch tomorrow and then some. I had desperately wanted to order the Art Vandelay, but I felt an intense meat craving that overtook my desire to order a vegetarian dish named after a Seinfeld joke.

At any rate, Moe's is not in a convenient location to stop by often.

I think instead we will go to Juano's.

Now I must educate my brother about the wonder that is Juano's. I plan to do so...relentlessly.

Santa Lucia Greek and Italian Restaurant

Santa Lucia is authentic Greek and Italian food. Just stepping through the front doors into the foyer is proof of that!

We picked Santa Lucia in West Fargo for our anniversary. I liked the atmosphere, especially the Greek music playing as we ate. There was a pretty good selection, and we enjoyed excellent service during the course of our meal.

The prices are medium-high ($10 for a wrap...), but you get quite a meal for your money. Gourmet food. Delicious! In addition to the wraps, they have a variety of interesting entrees, appetizers, and desserts. They also serve different types of pizza. Lots of reasons to return to Santa Lucia and sample some more of their menu.


Left: Greek potato soup; right: Athenian wrap with Greek salad.


Aside from restaurants in Manitoba, Santa Lucia has a second location in Fargo on South University where they sell take-and-bake pizza. A sign in the window yesterday announced a pizza for $8.99, which sounds pretty good to me!

Passage to India

I thought Passage to India, an Indian restaurant in West Fargo, would be somewhat like fast food or a Chinese restaurant buffet. It was not.

We went to Passage to India on a Saturday during lunchtime. It was pretty quiet inside, except for the Indian music videos playing fairly quietly from a big screen television. There were not that many patrons. The restaurant was fairly dim. There were tables and booths, authentic artwork and decor. I asked the owner (I think?) if it was okay to have our infant in the restaurant, because the place looked so fancy I almost wasn't sure if it was okay that we were wearing jeans.

The owner spent some time at our table with us, talking about our baby. Then we went to the buffet.

I tried various things. The goat curry was delicious. I have never had goat before. The baby liked the naan bread, pictured at the top of my plate (and she also liked the cantaloupe). I tried a cold dip that was made of potatoes and chickpeas (at about 11 o'clock in the photo). There were some very yummy (and not spicy) veggie appetizers. Those were very good, almost like egg rolls. Of course, the desserts were my favorite part. There was a custardy mango cake. And then these little honey pastry balls called gulab jamoon. Mmmm.

So, this restaurant is quite a bit different. First, the only table service is water refills. And there were a LOT of water refills. They also took our plates the second we showed signs of being done. At the end of the meal, we went up to the register and they had our ticket waiting for us with our table number on it. By this point, there were plenty of customers, several of whom used high chairs to sit next to the table. So I would say the environment is certainly family friendly.

The only negatives I would mention about this place are that 1) they do not label the ingredients for all of the foods (some they do, some they don't), so if a food has an Indian name, it is a gamble; 2) their website keeps resizing my browser, which I find very annoying; and 3) they are not open on Mondays (we stopped by on a Monday and were quite disappointed).

If you have never tasted Indian food before, I definitely recommend Passage to India. Buffet style ($8.95 for lunch) is the perfect way to sample different foods (alternatively, you can order off the menu). The staff are extremely friendly, and they even do special holiday foods for various Indian holidays. It is quite the experience.

West Acres Mall

Billed as a bonafide tourist attraction, the West Acres Shopping Center is the central retail mecca of the Fargo-Moorhead area. As with all good malls, for miles and miles surrounding West Acres the landscape is dotted with box stores and chain restaurants. You will have to travel more than a hundred miles away from Fargo to find another TGI Fridays or Dress Barn.

The mall itself contains all of the standard fare -- even a Macy's -- but with that certain Fargo flair.

Where else but at West Acres would you find a Scandinavian import store nestled between an ice cream parlor and a cell phone retailer?

Before you leave, don't forget to stop by the Roger Maris Museum. Just take a right at Spencer Gifts.

If you time your visit to Fargo just right, you can stop by during one of the coldest months of the year to partake in the Cookbook Festival!

And the movie theater? Well, they boast the biggest traditional screens in all of North Dakota.

See you at the mall, kids. Look out for this guy. He may -- or may not -- be giving out samples. Eh?