OCTOBER 19, 1994
Gordon and Sandi Schnell of Dickinson, N.D., walked by our table at Sanders 1907 Friday evening with happy—almost smug—smiles on their faces. They had eaten at Sanders, and they were more than pleased with themselves for thinking far enough ahead to make a reservation three months ago.
They knew the past weekend, which was homecoming at UND, would be booked at Sanders. Gordon had eaten the Swiss Eiger beef, Sanders’s version of prime rib, and Sandi had enjoyed walleye meunière, with the fish crisply sautéed.
We, too, were complimenting ourselves for having made reservations in August for Sanders. With us were our favorite judges—our son-in-law, Dale Sandstrom, and daughter, Gail Hagerty, from Bismarck.
Constant Companion knit his eyebrows as he studied the description of split beef ribs. He was happy when our waiter announced that the ribs, instead, were pork that night. CC said, “Good, I never order beef ribs.”
Ocean scallops were one of the specials, and DS decided to ask for them. For him, it was a tough choice because he has on previous visits enjoyed the Eiger beef. I followed suit with scallops. GH went the Maryland crab cakes route because, as she said, you don’t often find them on menus.
After making the tough decisions, we sat back and enjoyed the ambience. There’s an intimacy and feeling of friendly camaraderie about the place. The good feeling comes from the anticipation of good food, talk and laughter.
A basket of coarse, crusty bread that is a trademark of Sanders arrived before the salads. We all dug in and commented about the cranberry-pecan bread. It’s one of the new creations of Kim Holmes, who is going on 10 years at the helm of the small cafe on Kittson Avenue in downtown Grand Forks.
Then came the salad. I had ordered the Greek version, which I enjoyed to the last piece of crumbled feta cheese. It was a fine salad, with Greek olives, a cucumber spear and a slice of a big, fresh-tasting tomato on greens. DS also had the Greek salad; CC and GH chose the Italian salad.
When our entrees arrived, I was reminded once again that presentation is everything. Our scallops were served on a bed of wild rice with asparagus spears arranged wagon wheel fashion, and a side garnish of lemon and lime wedges. The scallops were just right. Too much heat, and you get rubber. Too little heat, and you get squish-squish. These were done to perfection, and there were at least a dozen of them. They were served with Sanders prairie sauce, described by our waiter as “a little sweet with a lot of heat.”
CC was well-pleased with his ribs and rosemary potatoes, although he wasn’t able to finish the whole serving. We helped him out by sampling. GH was reinforced in her opinion that Sanders crab cakes with remoulade sauce are the ultimate.
It was enough already. But then came the dessert suggestions. We decided to order just one dessert—the pecan torte—so that we could all take a taste. That was working quite well until I found the dessert so compelling I finished it off while the others were chatting.