MARCH 24, 2000
Usually I pay as much attention to the price column as I do to items listed on a menu. But one night in March, I settled into a roomy booth at the Blue Moose in East Grand Forks and decided I would have the most expensive entree on the menu. After all, I had a $25 gift certificate as thanks from people who went on our last Sioux Booster basketball bus. So did Rose Skyberg (RS), who coordinates the bus trips with me, and we were winding up another good winter of basketball.
I ordered five jumbo prawns prepared scampi style ($17.99), and it turned out to be the best dinner I have had in a restaurant all winter. The prawns were huge and broiled with crunchy Japanese bread crumbs as a coating—a unique and most tasty approach. Halfway through the meal, I realized I could have settled for a three-piece order for $11.99.
Meanwhile, RS was enjoying walleye, which is a Blue Moose specialty ($13.99). She said it was excellent. Entrees are served with a choice of soup or salad and bread. In this case, it is soft French bread, with little pots of butter whipped with garlic.
Because of extra touches, the Blue Moose is easily one of my favorite spots for dinner. The place is arranged in comfortable seating areas. There is a pleasant hum of conversation, but no overbearing music. There is an inviting veranda where you can linger over drinks or have a meal in good weather. You look out over the Red River and Grand Forks.
Sometimes the entryway seems congested, but I find little to criticize and lots of pluses at the Blue Moose. Pluses include the ice water in carafes they leave at tables. I like the way they bring the check in a folder and tell you they will pick it up. And when they return your change, they bring an individually wrapped mint. The Blue Moose definitely is a hot spot on the Grand Forks/East Grand Forks dining scene.