Restaurant Roundup: Food trucks downtown, new drinks, skillet dishes
May 26, 2022
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the correct place teachers can get a free beer! And it notes there will not be final weekend hours for Twisted Sisters Sweetz.
After a two-year break because of the pandemic, a weekly downtown food truck gathering is returning. Fridays on the Plaza resumes this week on the 12th Street Plaza outside the Dakota News Now studio and runs through Sept. 9. Each week features a half-dozen food trucks and live music from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Here’s the lineup for the kickoff: The Big Orange Food Truck, Black Iron Waffles, Curbside Delights, The Hangover Hut, Krazy Concessions and Let Me Be Frank. James Dean Acoustic will provide the music. Find the weekly lineup here.
Watecha Bowl has added a pop-up beverage stand in the restaurant that could become a standalone concept someday. Tea-Pi offers flavored teas and lemonades, iced coffee drinks, cappuccinos and hand-crafted sodas. “It’s just like an old-fashioned soda bar,” said Lawrence West, who owns Watecha at Burnside and Madison with his wife, Sophie. “We can add flavorings, fresh fruit and top it with whipped cream.” The iced teas and hand-squeezed lemonades features flavors such as lavender, hibiscus, pomegranate and cherry lime, he said. Eventually, customers will be able to create customized hot tea drinks with botanicals such as dandelion, chamomile and raspberry. They’re hoping to hire baristas and add morning hours with a walk-up window for ordering drinks and breakfast sandwiches. For now, hours are noon to 6 p.m. Sunday and Monday and noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
212 The Boiling Point in Brandon has several new menu items. Skillet dishes that come with garlic toast include Spicy Vodka With Sausage, bacon mac-and cheese and chicken alfredo. A new buffalo chicken dip comes with pita bread and tortilla chips. Bang Bang Shrimp and pork belly burnt ends come with a choice of side.
Chef Ellen is adding breakfast items to its take-and-bake meal offerings. They’re available Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays. Choices will vary but include dishes such as ham and cheese egg bake, blueberry baked French toast and banana bread baked oatmeal. Order them online, or stop by the shop near 69th and Western to see what’s in the refrigerated case or the freezer.
Fresh Oyster Fridays are back at Carpenter Bar. On the last Friday of the month, enjoy a selection of freshly shucked oysters curated by chef Matthew Reigner from sister bar The Treasury. Serving begins at 4 p.m.
Sunny’s Pizzeria created a special pizza for Downtown Restaurant Week earlier this year, and it has become a permanent menu item. The Tyler Roney Pizza is named after the Dakota News Now meteorologist. It has ranch, mozzarella, pepper jack cheese, pepperoni, sausage, tomato, hot giardiniera mix and a basic presto drizzle.
And to thank teachers for their hard work all school year, they get their first beer for free with their ID card through Tuesday at Sunny’s Pizzeria.
Flyboy Donuts has a new special treat on Wednesdays. The Guatemalan bakers on staff have started making conchas, a Mexican sweet bread also known as pan dulce. Find them in the case at all four locations or order online anytime for pickup or delivery that day.
It’s a sign of summer: Fernson Hard Slushies have returned to the lineup, and they’re now available to go at Fernson Downtown. Flavors will change throughout the summer, but watermelon and blue raspberry are available now.
And Fernson Brewing Co.’s annual Zoo Brew with the Great Plains Zoo is being released today. This year’s offering is a lime grapefruit Skip Day hard seltzer. A portion of sales will help benefit the West African Slender-Snouted Crocodile. The zoo’s ambassador animals will be at Fernson Downtown from 6 to 8 tonight.
Tropical Sno opens Saturday with a twist to its menu this season. Rotating flavors will be the draw this summer at the Hawaiian shaved ice trailer that’s based in the parking lot of Suburban Lanes at 35th and Spring. Leah Orlog, who manages the trailer for her mom, Shiloh, wanted to give it a “Crumbl Cookine” twist. Twelve of the 25-plus flavors will be available every week. Five favorites will always be there, and the other seven will switch out every week, Orlog said. The treats, some of which include ice cream, come in three sizes. Hours will be 4 to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday, noon to 9 p.m. Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Tropical Sno also has a stand at Sioux Falls Canaries games, and it has added boozy shaved ice to the offerings there. They’re made with Mike’s, White Claw, Naturly and Truly.
Swamp Daddy’s Cajun Kitchen is putting on a special brunch Saturday. The Vibes N’ Brunch buffet includes a meat-carving station and a brunch bar with breakfast foods and Southern classics such as chicken and waffles, scrambled eggs and pancakes. There also will be a dessert bar with Swamp Daddy’s flapjack cake as the centerpiece. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased at the restaurant. Bottomless mimosas are an additional $18. Meal tickets for kids age 4-12 are $16, and younger ones eat for free. Serving is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. RSVP online by clicking here.
Safari Bar & Grill in Renner has opened its patio for dinner and drinks. New adult beverages this season include the Safari Dreamsicle, Safari Root Beer Float and Spicy Pineapple Margarita.
MacKenzie River Pizza, Grill & Pub is encouraging customers to order directly from its website for delivery instead of using a third-party service with free delivery through June 5. The restaurant said diners will find more menu items and lower prices compared with other services.
Changes in hours, service
Twisted Sisters Sweetz is closing its downtown bakery but will continue to do limited custom orders. Owner Nikki Wallenberg planned to have a “last shebang” Friday through Sunday at the shop at 317 S. Phillips Ave. but ended up canceling.
The Breaking Burrito food truck is closed through June 9.
M.B. Haskett Delicatessen is open now on Tuesdays. Hours are 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
CherryBerry at 57th and Louise has started summer hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
Here are other food and drink headlines from the past week.
New food truck focuses on local ingredients, sustainability — and chislic
Chef April to relocate, expand bakery to include event venue
New owners of former Cody’s building confident in finding next restaurant
When the executive chef is away … the team creates its own menu
