A Polished Fargo-Area Dinner Worth Dressing Up For

An elk tenderloin is not the usual opening move for a Fargo-area dinner, and that is a good indication of the kitchen’s range. This is an upscale restaurant where a celebratory steakhouse meal can share the table with game, seafood, rich sauces and a few unexpected combinations.

The setting has polish without the stiffness that can make a special-occasion dinner feel like work. It is comfortable enough for a birthday gathering, anniversary meal or lingering date night, with a dining room that is often quiet enough to let conversation carry easily across the table.

From the outside, the restaurant’s shopping-center-style setting can be easy to pass by. Inside, the mood changes quickly: indoor dining, a bar area and a private dining room give the place more of a composed evening-out character than the exterior might suggest.

Steak remains a major reason to come. Filet, ribeye and wagyu have all appeared among the choices, and the cooking is treated with the attention a splurge-worthy cut deserves. Mashed potatoes alongside a ribeye make a familiar, satisfying companion when the table is in the mood for classic comfort.

But the menu does not stop at familiar beef cuts. Elk tenderloin is one of the most talked-about entrées, and boar chops give adventurous diners another route through dinner. Bison meatballs offer yet another flavor direction, served with a savory sauce suited to the meat’s robust character.

That breadth is handy for a mixed party. One person can settle happily into a filet while someone else orders game, and nobody has to make dinner into a negotiation over a narrowly focused menu.

The seafood side of the menu goes well beyond a token salmon option. Chilean sea bass has appeared with a macadamia-nut crust and lobster risotto, a generous pairing that turns an entrée into a full occasion on its own.

Another sea bass preparation has brought coconut rice and a subtly sweet sauce to the plate. Those details suggest a kitchen willing to take a vacation from standard butter-and-lemon territory without abandoning the luxurious character people want from sea bass.

Salmon with pesto and blackened walleye with a flavorful sauce offer two different moods: one herbaceous and familiar, the other with more spice and regional appeal. A lobster-and-shrimp paella broadens the seafood choices still further.

There is plenty to investigate before the entrée arrives. Escargot and crab cakes bring a traditional upscale-dining note, while ribs with blueberry compote take a more unexpected turn. That sweet-tart fruit element is the sort of detail that keeps the menu from reading like a standard list of steakhouse obligations.

Sweet potato bisque makes a quieter but worthwhile beginning, especially for diners who would rather start with something warm than commit to a heavier appetizer. An artisan cheese plate also works nicely as a shared first course, giving the table something to linger over with wine or cocktails.

The food is presented with care, and sauces, toppings and seasonings are treated as more than afterthoughts. A meal here is built in courses, not simply around a protein dropped onto a plate.

The indoor bar provides a less ceremonial way to visit. A gourmet Max Burger has been served there with quality meat cooked to a precise medium and finished with flavorful toppings, plus fries that have earned their own loyal following.

That makes the restaurant useful on a night when a full formal dinner is not the goal. You can settle in with a burger, fries and a drink while still getting the same polished food-minded approach that defines the broader menu.

The cocktail list has its own personality, and the bar can accommodate a customized order. A martini made to a guest’s preferences is a small service touch, but it says plenty about the level of attention behind the counter.

An extensive wine selection gives steak, game and seafood plenty of possible partners. The menu’s range is broad enough that a good recommendation can be useful, particularly when one diner is looking at elk and another is considering sea bass.

Servers are known for being personable and well informed about the food and beverages. They help explain unfamiliar choices, suggest dishes and drinks, and keep courses moving at an unhurried pace.

That pacing matters on a milestone dinner. The meal has room to unfold from a starter through dessert, rather than rushing guests through a quick turn of the table.

Dessert is not a courtesy final course here. Carrot-cake-based sweets have shown up in more than one form, including carrot cake bread pudding and carrot cake banana pudding. Both take a familiar spice-cake idea in a more playful direction.

Chocolate lava cake with vanilla bean ice cream is available for diners who prefer the dependable pleasure of warm chocolate and cold ice cream. It is rich, straightforward and well suited to splitting after a substantial entrée.

Then there is s’mores crème brûlée, a dessert that takes the campfire flavor profile into more polished territory. It is a fitting last course for a restaurant that is comfortable mixing approachable pleasures with a little flourish.

This is an upscale dinner destination rather than an everyday budget stop. Dinner commonly lands in roughly the $50-to-more-than-$100-per-person range depending on drinks, starters, entrées and dessert, so it makes sense as a place to mark an occasion or simply decide dinner should be the evening’s main event.

A reservation is a sensible idea for a weekend celebration, though the restaurant is not presented as a place where every visit requires one. Parking is free and plentiful in the lot, an unglamorous convenience that is especially welcome when the evening calls for a relaxed arrival.

For a larger gathering, the private dining room adds another option beyond the main dining room and bar. For two people, the formula can be pleasantly simple: a cocktail, an inventive starter, one steak or game dish and one seafood entrée to compare, then a dessert that nobody intended to order until the menu came back around.