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Grand Forks: A History of American Dining in 128 Reviews
A legendary 86-year-old food critic brings together a collection of the best down-home, no-nonsense restaurant reviews-from Red Lobster to Le Bernadin-culled from her fifty year career
Writing for her local North Dakota newspaper, the Grand Forks Herald since 1957, Marilyn Hagerty went from obscurity to overnight sensation in 2012 when her earnest, admiring review of a local Olive Garden went viral. Among the denizens of the food world-obsessive gastronomes who celebrate Alice Waters and Michael Pollan, revere all things artisanal, and have made kale salad a staple on upscale urban menus-Hagerty's review ignited a fiery debate over the state of American culture. Anthony Bourdain defended Hagerty as an authentic voice of the larger American culture-one that is not dictated by the biases of the food snobbery that define the coasts.
In this refreshing, unpretentious collection that includes more than 200 reviews culled from a voluminous archive spanning over fifty years, Hagerty reveals how most Americans experience the pleasure of eating out. Bourdain hails Grand Forks as, "a history of American dining-in the vast spaces between the jaded palates and professional snarkologists of the privileged coasts-as told by one hard working small city journalist. . . . We watch American dining change over time, in baby steps. Traditional regional Scandinavian giving way to big chains, first iterations of sushi, early efforts at hipster chic. Part Fargo, part Lake Woebegone. It's the antidote to snark. This book kills cynics dead."
Writing for her local North Dakota newspaper, the Grand Forks Herald since 1957, Marilyn Hagerty went from obscurity to overnight sensation in 2012 when her earnest, admiring review of a local Olive Garden went viral. Among the denizens of the food world-obsessive gastronomes who celebrate Alice Waters and Michael Pollan, revere all things artisanal, and have made kale salad a staple on upscale urban menus-Hagerty's review ignited a fiery debate over the state of American culture. Anthony Bourdain defended Hagerty as an authentic voice of the larger American culture-one that is not dictated by the biases of the food snobbery that define the coasts.
In this refreshing, unpretentious collection that includes more than 200 reviews culled from a voluminous archive spanning over fifty years, Hagerty reveals how most Americans experience the pleasure of eating out. Bourdain hails Grand Forks as, "a history of American dining-in the vast spaces between the jaded palates and professional snarkologists of the privileged coasts-as told by one hard working small city journalist. . . . We watch American dining change over time, in baby steps. Traditional regional Scandinavian giving way to big chains, first iterations of sushi, early efforts at hipster chic. Part Fargo, part Lake Woebegone. It's the antidote to snark. This book kills cynics dead."
256 pages, Paperback
First published August 27, 2013
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December 1, 2013
Marilyn Hagerty is not a remarkable food critic, and Grand Forks, North Dakota is not really a hub of restaurant culture. But what makes this book so interesting is story that is captured over time - twenty five years of reviews are included here - about dining in America.
In the early years, it's all about Blue Plate Specials, pot pies, and local specialties of Norwegian and Germanic cuisine. [I freely admit to being previous unaware of lefse (a soft flat potato bread) and lutefisk (fish steeped in lye?!) before I picked up this book.] Then, slowly, the names of chain restaurants begin to encroach. Taco Bell (a cool pastel oasis, per Mrs. Hagerty), Subway (where you have to make too many choices), and Dairy Queen are among the first to appear. They are later joined by McDonalds, Red Lobster, Wendy's, Arby's, Applebee's. The heartbreaking element of this picture is written in the epigraphs following each review, how many of the small family owned businesses are no longer in business, and how many of the chains are still operating and thriving in the area.
Marilyn Hagerty reviews every new restaurant in town. She goes to the chains, she revisits old favorites, she looks into the restaurants that operate out of truck stops, meals served at the VFW, local dinner theater offerings, and everything in between. Her writing style reminds me of Dot Weems' bulletins in Fried Green Tomatoes and the Whistle Stop Cafe. (Sample observation: "Pretty good. That's exactly what Constant Companion says when he is pleased with something. Men don't get exuberant." ) She is folksy and plain spoken. She tells you what she likes (white table linens, cloth napkins, servers who do not swoop in to clear your plates before everyone in the party is done eating) and what she doesn't (spelling errors on menus, overly salty soup, plastic silverware).
Through it all, she has a politeness that I associate with my grandmother's generation, a desire to accentuate the positive in any experience, instead of dwelling on the minuses of any particular restaurant experience. She's also not a genuinely adventurous eater (if a Rueben or a club sandwich is on the menu, she may not need to look further for her order) but she is genuinely engaged in the enterprise of food reporting as she tries lavosh bread for the first time, or orders a chickpea curry, and even - towards the end of the book - octopus while in New York. When she doesn't seem to like the food she might describe it as "good enough" or "adequate" and then quickly move on to describing the restaurant's decor in detail.
The book also winds up being an unintentional chronicle of life in Grand Forks both before and after the flood that ravaged this area of North Dakota in 1997. And a chronicle of Marilyn Hagerty's life before and after the death - during the year they spend in Bismarck while Grand Forks was recovering from the devastation - of her husband and Constant Companion. You get a sense of her pluck as she goes out for new meals with friends old and new after she gets back to town. Although this is a book that is composed entirely of restaurant reviews, it captures so much more in its pages.
The only reason that I am not giving this book five stars is that I think less might have been more in terms of some of the inclusions here. Her unaffected style is great, but over the course of 128 reviews, starts to seem a bit repetitive towards the end.
But, as we are likely to see the end of daily printed newspapers in my lifetime, it makes me unaccountably happy that Marilyn Hagerty and her Eatbeat column can still exist in this world. She is one of the last of her breed, and I really enjoyed her company over the course of this collection.
In the early years, it's all about Blue Plate Specials, pot pies, and local specialties of Norwegian and Germanic cuisine. [I freely admit to being previous unaware of lefse (a soft flat potato bread) and lutefisk (fish steeped in lye?!) before I picked up this book.] Then, slowly, the names of chain restaurants begin to encroach. Taco Bell (a cool pastel oasis, per Mrs. Hagerty), Subway (where you have to make too many choices), and Dairy Queen are among the first to appear. They are later joined by McDonalds, Red Lobster, Wendy's, Arby's, Applebee's. The heartbreaking element of this picture is written in the epigraphs following each review, how many of the small family owned businesses are no longer in business, and how many of the chains are still operating and thriving in the area.
Marilyn Hagerty reviews every new restaurant in town. She goes to the chains, she revisits old favorites, she looks into the restaurants that operate out of truck stops, meals served at the VFW, local dinner theater offerings, and everything in between. Her writing style reminds me of Dot Weems' bulletins in Fried Green Tomatoes and the Whistle Stop Cafe. (Sample observation: "Pretty good. That's exactly what Constant Companion says when he is pleased with something. Men don't get exuberant." ) She is folksy and plain spoken. She tells you what she likes (white table linens, cloth napkins, servers who do not swoop in to clear your plates before everyone in the party is done eating) and what she doesn't (spelling errors on menus, overly salty soup, plastic silverware).
Through it all, she has a politeness that I associate with my grandmother's generation, a desire to accentuate the positive in any experience, instead of dwelling on the minuses of any particular restaurant experience. She's also not a genuinely adventurous eater (if a Rueben or a club sandwich is on the menu, she may not need to look further for her order) but she is genuinely engaged in the enterprise of food reporting as she tries lavosh bread for the first time, or orders a chickpea curry, and even - towards the end of the book - octopus while in New York. When she doesn't seem to like the food she might describe it as "good enough" or "adequate" and then quickly move on to describing the restaurant's decor in detail.
The book also winds up being an unintentional chronicle of life in Grand Forks both before and after the flood that ravaged this area of North Dakota in 1997. And a chronicle of Marilyn Hagerty's life before and after the death - during the year they spend in Bismarck while Grand Forks was recovering from the devastation - of her husband and Constant Companion. You get a sense of her pluck as she goes out for new meals with friends old and new after she gets back to town. Although this is a book that is composed entirely of restaurant reviews, it captures so much more in its pages.
The only reason that I am not giving this book five stars is that I think less might have been more in terms of some of the inclusions here. Her unaffected style is great, but over the course of 128 reviews, starts to seem a bit repetitive towards the end.
But, as we are likely to see the end of daily printed newspapers in my lifetime, it makes me unaccountably happy that Marilyn Hagerty and her Eatbeat column can still exist in this world. She is one of the last of her breed, and I really enjoyed her company over the course of this collection.
August 3, 2018
** 1/2
Like many recent reviewers/readers, I picked this up after the death of Anthony Bourdain. I didn't know the book existed but it was the first one he published with his eponymous HarperCollins imprint and I remembered Hagerty's 2012 review of Olive Garden well. It went viral, with lots of derision, and Bourdain came to Hagerty's defense.
This book has some touching moments (the death of Hagerty's husband and the ND floods) and Hagerty's style is charming--the things she picks up on are some of the same things I pick up on, too--but over all the book gets bogged down in repetitiveness. How many reviews do you need of the same restaurant especially when they all basically say the same thing? Yes, these are newspaper columns put into book form (more on that later) but the collection could have been much better edited to pull only the best review (or maybe two) of Whitey's or Kon Nechi Wa's. You don't need four of them.
The subtitle on this one really over-promises. Sure, you can see the low- non-fat trend develop and wain and you can see an increasing interest in ethnic foods but the only context provided is in the all-too-short foreword written by Bourdain.
And the format of this book made it a bit uncomfortable to read. Yeah, these are restaurant reviews published originally in a newspaper. We get that. There was no need for the two-column layout which isn't at all comfortable for reading in book format for nearly 200 pages. It was a distraction and not an asset.
Probably my favorite part of the book was getting to the end to find out if the restaurant is still in business or not. I don't know why that struck me so much but some of these now-closed places sounded really great though it's unlikely I'll make it to Grand Forks anytime soon. Just 2 1/2 stars on this one--it was really a slow read for such a short book and I would have abandoned it about 2/3 of the way through but that always seems too far to get into a book to put it down unless I really hate it, which of course I didn't.
Like many recent reviewers/readers, I picked this up after the death of Anthony Bourdain. I didn't know the book existed but it was the first one he published with his eponymous HarperCollins imprint and I remembered Hagerty's 2012 review of Olive Garden well. It went viral, with lots of derision, and Bourdain came to Hagerty's defense.
This book has some touching moments (the death of Hagerty's husband and the ND floods) and Hagerty's style is charming--the things she picks up on are some of the same things I pick up on, too--but over all the book gets bogged down in repetitiveness. How many reviews do you need of the same restaurant especially when they all basically say the same thing? Yes, these are newspaper columns put into book form (more on that later) but the collection could have been much better edited to pull only the best review (or maybe two) of Whitey's or Kon Nechi Wa's. You don't need four of them.
The subtitle on this one really over-promises. Sure, you can see the low- non-fat trend develop and wain and you can see an increasing interest in ethnic foods but the only context provided is in the all-too-short foreword written by Bourdain.
And the format of this book made it a bit uncomfortable to read. Yeah, these are restaurant reviews published originally in a newspaper. We get that. There was no need for the two-column layout which isn't at all comfortable for reading in book format for nearly 200 pages. It was a distraction and not an asset.
Probably my favorite part of the book was getting to the end to find out if the restaurant is still in business or not. I don't know why that struck me so much but some of these now-closed places sounded really great though it's unlikely I'll make it to Grand Forks anytime soon. Just 2 1/2 stars on this one--it was really a slow read for such a short book and I would have abandoned it about 2/3 of the way through but that always seems too far to get into a book to put it down unless I really hate it, which of course I didn't.
Read
July 19, 2020Marilyn Hagerty is the first to say she's not a reviewer or a food critic. Her Eatbeat column in the Grand Forks Herald is just that, a recounting of her culinary encounters in and around Grand Forks, North Dakota. She visits each restaurant a few times, usually with friends in tow. She doesn't hide who she is--in a town of 55,000, she probably couldn't--but she doesn't accept free meals, either.
Marilyn's writing is straightforward and factual. She lets you know her opinions about oversalted soups and sloppy coleslaw, but she doesn't pretend that these are anything more than her opinion. You taste the food with her tastebuds and see everything with her eyes.
It's easy to see why Internet snark police thought Marilyn's polite but unenthusiastic column on Grand Forks's first Olive Garden was hilarious. If you don't get that it's a personal experience column and not a review, it seems weird to devote ink to the Olive Garden. In context, near the end of these 128 chronologically arranged reviews, you can see that her writeup damns it with faint praise.
I was surprised that the frequently snippy Anthony Bourdain loved Marilyn's Eatbeat columns so. His introduction talks about watching the lutefisk and walleye gradually disappear from menus, and seeing chain restaurants such as Red Lobster and Ruby Tuesday overtake the mom-and-pop lunch spots. He seems to understand that the Eatbeat columns make a time-lapse movie of dining out in a Midwestern university town. He seems to respect them, and Marilyn, for that.
The form of the book disappointed me. I didn't expect the multiple-column newspaper layout to remain, but the articles feel sort of dumped into the book. Editorial notes follow some, but not all, of the articles. It took me a while to realized that the notes appear only after the last article about a given restaurant. The notes aren't consistent, either. Some have quotes from Marilyn, some give details about business closures, and some just say that the restaurant continues to operate or no longer operates in Grand Forks. It feels uneven.
The biggest disappointment for me was the lack of any kind of index or table of contents. I realize that few people will use this as a guidebook to eating in Grand Forks, and that's fine. But that inconsistency in the notes wouldn't have bugged me so much if it were explained in an editor's note, or if a TOC or index could clue me in that I'd see another article on the same restaurant later in the book. It doesn't seem like a serious treatment of a book that's billed as a historical document.
All in all, Grand Forks: A History of American Dining in 128 Reviews is a pleasant read and an interesting series of snapshots. It's nostalgic for small-town Midwesterners and an education for anyone who considers the Midwest a flyover zone.
Marilyn's writing is straightforward and factual. She lets you know her opinions about oversalted soups and sloppy coleslaw, but she doesn't pretend that these are anything more than her opinion. You taste the food with her tastebuds and see everything with her eyes.
It's easy to see why Internet snark police thought Marilyn's polite but unenthusiastic column on Grand Forks's first Olive Garden was hilarious. If you don't get that it's a personal experience column and not a review, it seems weird to devote ink to the Olive Garden. In context, near the end of these 128 chronologically arranged reviews, you can see that her writeup damns it with faint praise.
I was surprised that the frequently snippy Anthony Bourdain loved Marilyn's Eatbeat columns so. His introduction talks about watching the lutefisk and walleye gradually disappear from menus, and seeing chain restaurants such as Red Lobster and Ruby Tuesday overtake the mom-and-pop lunch spots. He seems to understand that the Eatbeat columns make a time-lapse movie of dining out in a Midwestern university town. He seems to respect them, and Marilyn, for that.
The form of the book disappointed me. I didn't expect the multiple-column newspaper layout to remain, but the articles feel sort of dumped into the book. Editorial notes follow some, but not all, of the articles. It took me a while to realized that the notes appear only after the last article about a given restaurant. The notes aren't consistent, either. Some have quotes from Marilyn, some give details about business closures, and some just say that the restaurant continues to operate or no longer operates in Grand Forks. It feels uneven.
The biggest disappointment for me was the lack of any kind of index or table of contents. I realize that few people will use this as a guidebook to eating in Grand Forks, and that's fine. But that inconsistency in the notes wouldn't have bugged me so much if it were explained in an editor's note, or if a TOC or index could clue me in that I'd see another article on the same restaurant later in the book. It doesn't seem like a serious treatment of a book that's billed as a historical document.
All in all, Grand Forks: A History of American Dining in 128 Reviews is a pleasant read and an interesting series of snapshots. It's nostalgic for small-town Midwesterners and an education for anyone who considers the Midwest a flyover zone.
July 20, 2025
A little goes a long way! Whew. It's fun reading these old reviews of restaurants in a small town in North Dakota(small to me though Professor Google tells me that at a population of 50,000 Grand Forks is the third largest town on the state. Size is relative, huh?). However, is it nearly 250 pages of fun? Not for me. My fun-o-meter petered out at about 100 pages and then I skimmed the rest. Reading a 30 year old review of a diner, or even better, of MacDonalds and Taco Bell, is interesting. I liked the author's pieces. I just ran out of steam. Once you've read a hundred of her reviews, you've read them all. No need to keep going.
January 15, 2014
The sameness grew tedious and I resorted to skimming towards the end.
February 20, 2016
I lived in Grand Forks for about five years after I got out of college, and subscribed to the Grand Forks Herald. I recalled Marilyn Hagerty's name from the paper, and was delighted to see her review of the new Olive Garden in Grand Forks go viral a few years back.
This book consists of her reviews of various restaurants in and around Grand Forks, and they are a complete hoot, because she is so honestly guileless and kind in her words. "Minnesota Nice" has got nothin' on Marilyn. She reviews everything from Sanders 1907 (probably the nicest restaurant in Grand Forks) to the east side Dairy Queen and Wendy's. She is always honest in her assessments, but her criticisms are said in a very kind way. She really appreciates glasses made of actual glass, cloth napkins or thick paper napkins, and she doesn't like it when the wait staff is TOO attentive.
I remember a few of the restaurants from my time there, but many of them were wiped out in the flood of '97. You might recall stories on the news that showed downtown Grand Forks flooded but on fire. It was horrible, but no one lost their life in the flood. It was a little heartbreaking to read about so many places lost to the flood waters.
Marilyn continues to write, and Grand Forks continues on. I plan on keeping this book handy for when I need a little pick-me-up on a bad day. I don't know how anyone can read her reviews without being totally charmed.
This book consists of her reviews of various restaurants in and around Grand Forks, and they are a complete hoot, because she is so honestly guileless and kind in her words. "Minnesota Nice" has got nothin' on Marilyn. She reviews everything from Sanders 1907 (probably the nicest restaurant in Grand Forks) to the east side Dairy Queen and Wendy's. She is always honest in her assessments, but her criticisms are said in a very kind way. She really appreciates glasses made of actual glass, cloth napkins or thick paper napkins, and she doesn't like it when the wait staff is TOO attentive.
I remember a few of the restaurants from my time there, but many of them were wiped out in the flood of '97. You might recall stories on the news that showed downtown Grand Forks flooded but on fire. It was horrible, but no one lost their life in the flood. It was a little heartbreaking to read about so many places lost to the flood waters.
Marilyn continues to write, and Grand Forks continues on. I plan on keeping this book handy for when I need a little pick-me-up on a bad day. I don't know how anyone can read her reviews without being totally charmed.
October 31, 2022
June Miron, an experienced waitress, served us unobtrusively and efficiently. In other words, she didn’t ask us six times if everything was all right.
notes: i love this book. as bourdain says in the foreword, a tonic against snark and yet extremely dry and funny:
The Pantry has some shortcomings. With Thursday’s lunch, I was served a rather ordinary iceberg lettuce salad with too much creamy dressing on it. At times, the service seems disorganized. On Thursday, there was an unusually long delay in serving one of the two blue plate specials we ordered. But then, in France, things are a bit disorganized and everything always works out.
it’s true!
So, I got in the car and drove down to The Pantry for dinner Saturday evening. When I walked in at 5 P.M., I was the only person in the restaurant. I was pleased the waitress refrained from asking, “Are you alone this evening?” That always bugs me when I happen to be eating by myself. And actually, I sometimes enjoy being alone.
preach, mrs. hagerty.
notes: i love this book. as bourdain says in the foreword, a tonic against snark and yet extremely dry and funny:
The Pantry has some shortcomings. With Thursday’s lunch, I was served a rather ordinary iceberg lettuce salad with too much creamy dressing on it. At times, the service seems disorganized. On Thursday, there was an unusually long delay in serving one of the two blue plate specials we ordered. But then, in France, things are a bit disorganized and everything always works out.
it’s true!
So, I got in the car and drove down to The Pantry for dinner Saturday evening. When I walked in at 5 P.M., I was the only person in the restaurant. I was pleased the waitress refrained from asking, “Are you alone this evening?” That always bugs me when I happen to be eating by myself. And actually, I sometimes enjoy being alone.
preach, mrs. hagerty.
February 17, 2019
This was just a wonderful, lovely read. I even got a little sad when I reached the end. The thought of reading a book of restaurant reviews from a small town I've never been to didn't seem appealing to me but my husband loved it so much I had to check it out, and I'm glad I did!
October 17, 2019
This is a collection of short articles written by the author for her local paper. She reports on local restaurants, and has since the 80s. This collection, arranged chronologically, ranges from columns written in 1987 up to 2012. Many of the restaurants are long gone, but some are still hanging on. She reviews local places, as well as chains. She is always positive but does point out negatives where she sees them - mainly too much salt in the soup, flimsy napkins, misspellings on menus, and servers who check in too often or remove plates too quickly. She says she doesn't see the point in tearing a person or place down - if she can't find anything positive to say, she will just not write about it.
In 2012, her positive review of the new Olive Garden in Grand Forks went viral. I guess people thought it was funny that she approved of the chain. By the time I got to the Olive Garden review, I guess I understood her style, and I don't see what's funny about it. It's written just like all her other ones - it's a straightforward description of the decor, the servers, and the food.
I might have preferred a different organization. She visits several locations more than once. It might have been more to my liking if those had all been arranged together, to better see their evolution. It felt a little repetitive at times. There is also one column about how she tends to work and think, that may have been better earlier in the book, to kind of set the tone.
I'm not sure I'd call it "a history of American dining" but it probably does capture a history of North Dakota dining. They sure ate a lot of walleye.
In 2012, her positive review of the new Olive Garden in Grand Forks went viral. I guess people thought it was funny that she approved of the chain. By the time I got to the Olive Garden review, I guess I understood her style, and I don't see what's funny about it. It's written just like all her other ones - it's a straightforward description of the decor, the servers, and the food.
I might have preferred a different organization. She visits several locations more than once. It might have been more to my liking if those had all been arranged together, to better see their evolution. It felt a little repetitive at times. There is also one column about how she tends to work and think, that may have been better earlier in the book, to kind of set the tone.
I'm not sure I'd call it "a history of American dining" but it probably does capture a history of North Dakota dining. They sure ate a lot of walleye.
February 14, 2019
2019 bk 55. Interesting, in a good way. Not a book to sit down and do in one read. I ended up reading one or two of the restaurant reviews a day. This book is not only reviews, but also describes the history of Grand Fork, North Dakota's restaurant industry from the mid 1980's through 2012. If I were to go back and read it again, I would pick Whiteys or Sanders 1907 and read each of the reviews of that restaurant through the years. I really enjoyed her reviews of Olive Garden and other food chains that I recognized. I picked it up because it was An Anthony Bourdan Book - I didn't realize he had selected books for print/re-print. Now I have to find the others, or I have to go to Grand Forks and seek out some restaurants.
June 17, 2018
As I was mourning the death of Anthony Bourdain, I read the story of the woman who wrote a review of the new Olive Gardens in Grand Forks, ND and was brutally mocked on the internet. Somehow, Bourdain came to her defense and ended up editing and writing the forward of a collection of her reviews. This could of been a one trick pony book, but it is surprisingly compelling. Because ND is small, she finds out that the owner sunk every penny into a new restaurant and it brings a sadness I just wasn’t expecting. And it made me that much sadder for Bourdain’s passing.
September 30, 2020
Marilyn Hagerty is a local legend for writing positive, constructive reviews of restaurants in Grand Forks, ND. At first I found her columns to be on the tedious side, but I grew to appreciate her charm and straightforward earnestness. Her Olive Garden review exemplifies her honesty and most of all her love for Grand Forks.
June 28, 2018
Light and enjoyable. Made me long for some of the older 'basic' restaurants we had growing up in the prairies.
August 11, 2025
Definitely the kind of reviews my Mom and Dad would have appreciated when trying to decide where to go out to eat in Pittsburgh. This book captures well a place and time.
July 6, 2015
In early 2012 something extraordinary happened in Grand Forks, North Dakota. After a long wait, residents were treated to the opening of their first Olive Garden. For the town of 55,000 that was a big deal. The Grand Forks Herald thought the same and dispatched their 85-year-old columnist, Marilyn Hagerty to provide a review. This is something she had been doing since 1957.
That review went viral. Soon she was attacked online by the jaded and snobby for what is described in Anthony Bourdain's Foreward, as a "guileless" review. That review is included in this book and my summation is it is helpful, fair, quaint but entirely innocuous. It was hardly deserving of such spiteful criticism so it was wonderful when others rose to support her with "an even stronger antisnark backlash". This attention led to TV appearances and a publishing deal. I am so happy this happened for her.
I have a small connection to Grand Forks. Having grown up in Winnipeg, my family would often to travel to Grand Forks (and Fargo) for exotic winter getaways and luxury shopping at Target in the 1970's and 80's. We would often eat at the John Barleycorn restaurant in Columbia Mall (I remember the mall's advertising jingle..."Meet me in Columbia Mall!"). Mrs. Hagerty mentions that dining spot and another I discovered later when I took a date down to Grand Forks for a romantic weekend around 1998 (yes I am cosmopolitan). We visited the Red River Cafe which would subseqently be flooded as would much of Grand Forks by the namesake river. There I had the best sautéed mushroom appetizer I have ever eaten.
So this collection of reviews was a treat to read. Hegarty visits specialty restaurants, chains, fast food and everything else. As she points out, over her career single location restaurants have been pushed out and chains now dominate the food landscape in her fair town. Her column is called Eatbeat and it sets out to tell her readers the basic facts about her dining experience. It is factual and politely conversational. Her prose is sparse and to the point. She often brings pals who she names. Consider the following examples:
- I like the menu. It's varied. It's clever. And it's easy to read.
- It's fun sitting in a place where truck drivers mingle as they wait for a load of potatoes to carry south, or east.
- On my second visit to Red Lobster, I met Gladys Keig for lunch. We both ordered soup and Caesar salad.
- We were glad we approached Applebee's at 5 P.M. for supper rather than waiting until 6 P.M. By then it was buzzing, and people were waiting for tables.
- I ordered the walleye ($7.25), the reason why many people go to the Ramada.
You may have gleamed from these charming, small town snippets that Hegarty often reviews the same restaurants, that truck stops to hotel dining are included, and that chains most of us find unworthy of a review get her same treatment. Reviews include those for the Chuck House Ranch Restaurant in the Westward Ho Motel, Sonja's Hus in the Regency Inn, the Tomahawk Cafe, Big Sioux Truck Stop Cafe, Big Al's Pasta Parlor, Red Lobster, Quizno's, Stormy Sledster's, Great Wall Buffet, and KFC. Perhaps my favourites were her review of the East Side Dairy Queen and the Royal Fork Buffet. I once experienced the latter and consider Hegarty's review as generous as the portion sizes you could serve yourself.
To be a bit snarky, it is ambitious to call this "A History of American Dining in 128 Reviews" but it is definitely great source material for such a history. And it is gratifying to see a woman who worked diligently and accurately for both restaurant and patrons to receive this attention and acclaim. Finally, could the town's name not fit better for such a book?
That review went viral. Soon she was attacked online by the jaded and snobby for what is described in Anthony Bourdain's Foreward, as a "guileless" review. That review is included in this book and my summation is it is helpful, fair, quaint but entirely innocuous. It was hardly deserving of such spiteful criticism so it was wonderful when others rose to support her with "an even stronger antisnark backlash". This attention led to TV appearances and a publishing deal. I am so happy this happened for her.
I have a small connection to Grand Forks. Having grown up in Winnipeg, my family would often to travel to Grand Forks (and Fargo) for exotic winter getaways and luxury shopping at Target in the 1970's and 80's. We would often eat at the John Barleycorn restaurant in Columbia Mall (I remember the mall's advertising jingle..."Meet me in Columbia Mall!"). Mrs. Hagerty mentions that dining spot and another I discovered later when I took a date down to Grand Forks for a romantic weekend around 1998 (yes I am cosmopolitan). We visited the Red River Cafe which would subseqently be flooded as would much of Grand Forks by the namesake river. There I had the best sautéed mushroom appetizer I have ever eaten.
So this collection of reviews was a treat to read. Hegarty visits specialty restaurants, chains, fast food and everything else. As she points out, over her career single location restaurants have been pushed out and chains now dominate the food landscape in her fair town. Her column is called Eatbeat and it sets out to tell her readers the basic facts about her dining experience. It is factual and politely conversational. Her prose is sparse and to the point. She often brings pals who she names. Consider the following examples:
- I like the menu. It's varied. It's clever. And it's easy to read.
- It's fun sitting in a place where truck drivers mingle as they wait for a load of potatoes to carry south, or east.
- On my second visit to Red Lobster, I met Gladys Keig for lunch. We both ordered soup and Caesar salad.
- We were glad we approached Applebee's at 5 P.M. for supper rather than waiting until 6 P.M. By then it was buzzing, and people were waiting for tables.
- I ordered the walleye ($7.25), the reason why many people go to the Ramada.
You may have gleamed from these charming, small town snippets that Hegarty often reviews the same restaurants, that truck stops to hotel dining are included, and that chains most of us find unworthy of a review get her same treatment. Reviews include those for the Chuck House Ranch Restaurant in the Westward Ho Motel, Sonja's Hus in the Regency Inn, the Tomahawk Cafe, Big Sioux Truck Stop Cafe, Big Al's Pasta Parlor, Red Lobster, Quizno's, Stormy Sledster's, Great Wall Buffet, and KFC. Perhaps my favourites were her review of the East Side Dairy Queen and the Royal Fork Buffet. I once experienced the latter and consider Hegarty's review as generous as the portion sizes you could serve yourself.
To be a bit snarky, it is ambitious to call this "A History of American Dining in 128 Reviews" but it is definitely great source material for such a history. And it is gratifying to see a woman who worked diligently and accurately for both restaurant and patrons to receive this attention and acclaim. Finally, could the town's name not fit better for such a book?
September 20, 2013
If you think her name sounds familiar, it might be because she wrote a review of the Olive Garden in Grand Forks in 2012 that went viral. This book is basically what it says: 128 of her reviews, including that infamous Olive Garden one. :) However, it really isn't a history of American dining: I'd say 80% of her reviews are on American-focused cuisine at Grand Forks (or area) restaurants. Others are a smattering of Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Native American reviews. There are also reviews from MN and NY, but those are very few.
It's not great literature, but that's the point. I really found her style of reviewing refreshing: it was like talking to someone who might be a friend instead of a food critic in say The New York Times or The Los Angeles Times, etc. She goes to a restaurant, quite often with a friend (initially her husband, but after he dies and even before then other family and friends often join her), orders food, talks about the prices and quality, and often makes observations about the other diners, wait staff and even the owners.
It was more personal and less pretentious. It strikes me as a contrast with former food critic Ruth Reichl, who wrote 3 hilarious books about her journey as a food critic and personal life. I love Reichl's books, but she was obviously reviewing for a very different set of restaurants for a very different audience. Marilyn really lets her reviews do the talking and that's nice.
What I found both hilarious and sad was how she relates the prices. Although I've never been to Grand Forks or North Dakota, I almost wanted to laugh and/or cry at how cheap eating out used to be, chain stores or otherwise. Around the mid to late 90's did I start seeing prices for items that seems more reflective of prices today.
There is also sometimes a sad little note at the end of some of the reviews that discuss the fate of the restaurants. Many close, some due to a flood in 1997 and a few due to health code violations. However, some have no note and it is unsurprising to see many of the chains she wrote about in the 90's are apparently still operating.
Perhaps the author has had her 15 minutes, but I was happy to support her in buying this book. However, it's probably not of much interest unless you happen to live and/or will visit the area or for those who want to look at restaurant reviewing as a profession. Browse at the bookstore or library first.
It's not great literature, but that's the point. I really found her style of reviewing refreshing: it was like talking to someone who might be a friend instead of a food critic in say The New York Times or The Los Angeles Times, etc. She goes to a restaurant, quite often with a friend (initially her husband, but after he dies and even before then other family and friends often join her), orders food, talks about the prices and quality, and often makes observations about the other diners, wait staff and even the owners.
It was more personal and less pretentious. It strikes me as a contrast with former food critic Ruth Reichl, who wrote 3 hilarious books about her journey as a food critic and personal life. I love Reichl's books, but she was obviously reviewing for a very different set of restaurants for a very different audience. Marilyn really lets her reviews do the talking and that's nice.
What I found both hilarious and sad was how she relates the prices. Although I've never been to Grand Forks or North Dakota, I almost wanted to laugh and/or cry at how cheap eating out used to be, chain stores or otherwise. Around the mid to late 90's did I start seeing prices for items that seems more reflective of prices today.
There is also sometimes a sad little note at the end of some of the reviews that discuss the fate of the restaurants. Many close, some due to a flood in 1997 and a few due to health code violations. However, some have no note and it is unsurprising to see many of the chains she wrote about in the 90's are apparently still operating.
Perhaps the author has had her 15 minutes, but I was happy to support her in buying this book. However, it's probably not of much interest unless you happen to live and/or will visit the area or for those who want to look at restaurant reviewing as a profession. Browse at the bookstore or library first.
December 31, 2024
"What point, I wonder, is there in tearing down some hardworking restaurant people? Sometimes I point out pluses and minuses. And if a place is just too bad, I move on. I don’t write about it."
Marilyn Hagerty is a national treasure, a five star gem, in a world of Negative Nancys. I imagine her column is enjoyable to read in the local paper but, a compilation of these reviews is a bit much.
The most interesting thing here is following the dining and financial trends through the years as local gives way to big chains. See, the apparently (in)famous Olive Garden review that led to this book.
Marilyn Hagerty is a national treasure, a five star gem, in a world of Negative Nancys. I imagine her column is enjoyable to read in the local paper but, a compilation of these reviews is a bit much.
The most interesting thing here is following the dining and financial trends through the years as local gives way to big chains. See, the apparently (in)famous Olive Garden review that led to this book.
June 11, 2018
This was great, And not just because she's a North Dakotan! I really enjoyed her writing style, and am only disappointed that I can't check some of these places out.
September 3, 2013
Haters to the left. Marilyn is a treasure.
September 4, 2021
In 2012, a restaurant review by newspaper reporter Marilyn Hagerty went viral. Hagerty has written, glowingly, about the new Olive Garden that had opened in the town of Grand Forks, North Dakota. Facebookers and others thought the review hilarious as it praised the chain restaurant so highly, and they repeatedly made fun of her for treating Olive Garden like it was a five-star restaurant. The late food expert Anthony Bourdain joined the fray, but he soon realized that Hagerty, with her Grand Forks column Eatbeat was writing about the food in her small community, doing a service to the citizens there. He met and was enamored of Hagerty, finding that she was not some addle-brained yokel, but rather a woman who had been a reporter for decades and had traveled the world. Bourdain and Hagerty became friends, and he published this book, Grand Forks: A History of American Dining in 120 Reviews. It seems odd that anyone would want to read reviews of restaurants—many of them they have never heard of nor will ever go to. But Hagerty’s reviews are filled with charm and insight into a community’s restaurateurs and that community’s eating preferences and habits. Her reports cover not only the finer dining establishments of Grand Forks but also the local McDonald’s, Applebees, Red Lobster, etc. because these are places that her readers will likely eat at and perhaps want to know more before going there. She fills her reviews, which she maintains are not reviews but simply reporting, with her own likes and dislikes and prejudices. She tolerates paper napkins if they are sturdy; she hates a server to come to a table multiple times to check on the diners; and she particularly hates empty plates removed before all at the table have finished eating, claiming that makes all the diners self-conscious as the tardier among them continues to finish. Her writings are breezy and fun with very few criticisms, and those are only gentle and offered as constructive. Hagerty’s mission is to inform local readers, not to destroy local businesses. I use the present tense here deliberately, for Hagerty is still reporting at age 95. She is a hearty soul who knows what she likes, plus she strives to give her readers knowledge to make their culinary decisions.
December 31, 2025
After reading about Marilyn Hagerty's death in the New York Times this year, I had to learn more about her. She lived to be 99, and I wish I could have known her personally. I would have enjoyed going out to lunch with her, for sure. I'd never heard of her until this year, but I was interested in how her very sincere, straightforward, positive review of the new Olive Garden restaurant in her hometown of Grand Forks, North Dakota, went viral in 2012. All sorts of snobbish, snarky folks made such fun of her for writing positively about a chain restaurant. Well, then Anthony Bourdain stepped in and defended her from the "snarkologists" (including himself) and later published her book, Grand Forks. And by the way, what a great name of a town for a local restaurant reviewer!
Well, Marilyn Hagerty was a small-town woman who wrote about simple food for the local newspaper. She admitted that she wasn't a foodie but just doing her best to tell her hometown readers about the food choices available in Grand Forks and neighboring towns. She did it for more than thirty years, and she did it with humor, generosity of spirit, and an honest love of food and eating out with her husband, family, and friends.
It was fun to read her reviews about basic places (yes, Olive Garden and even chains like Taco Bell, Dairy Queen, and others) and about mom and pop restaurants that remind me of something in my own hometown. Simple food, yes, but some of it sounds quite delicious. It was also very fun to read the prices of the meals, going back to her reviews in the eighties and working her way up through the 2010s. I enjoyed reading about Norwegian foods which are popular in North Dakota, especially lefse (which sounds good) and various types of fish, including the disgusting lutefisk. Hagerty definitely warns others about that one. I enjoyed going back in time and visiting a small, unpretentious Midwestern college town, with a delightful lady sharing her down-to-earth food reviews.
Although I loved Marilyn Hagerty, I couldn't read every review in its entirety because they got pretty redundant after a while. I did some skimming and enjoyed what I did read. I just took it for what it was.
Well, Marilyn Hagerty was a small-town woman who wrote about simple food for the local newspaper. She admitted that she wasn't a foodie but just doing her best to tell her hometown readers about the food choices available in Grand Forks and neighboring towns. She did it for more than thirty years, and she did it with humor, generosity of spirit, and an honest love of food and eating out with her husband, family, and friends.
It was fun to read her reviews about basic places (yes, Olive Garden and even chains like Taco Bell, Dairy Queen, and others) and about mom and pop restaurants that remind me of something in my own hometown. Simple food, yes, but some of it sounds quite delicious. It was also very fun to read the prices of the meals, going back to her reviews in the eighties and working her way up through the 2010s. I enjoyed reading about Norwegian foods which are popular in North Dakota, especially lefse (which sounds good) and various types of fish, including the disgusting lutefisk. Hagerty definitely warns others about that one. I enjoyed going back in time and visiting a small, unpretentious Midwestern college town, with a delightful lady sharing her down-to-earth food reviews.
Although I loved Marilyn Hagerty, I couldn't read every review in its entirety because they got pretty redundant after a while. I did some skimming and enjoyed what I did read. I just took it for what it was.
September 20, 2019
An interesting snapshot into the cuisine favored by the residents of Great Forks and East Great Forks, North Dakota as told by reviewer Marilyn Hagerty.
Lots of Norwegian fare - I didn't really want to know what lutefisk was - as well as some German and other regional favorites - like a Denver sandwich. Didn't know that one either but then, I'm not a personal fan of cooked green peppers. A great deal of walleye and fish - must be a personal favorite. A few franchise visits but mostly just local businesses attempting to share some wonderful flavors and tastes. Hagerty not only comments on the food but the owners, the prices (that is a revelation to see how prices changed over the decades), the decor, appearance of the wait staff - she consistently comments on not liking to be disturbed by wait staff asking multiple times if everything was 'all right' as well as the dishes being 'whisked' away before everyone is done.
Then there are the bottom notes - whether the restaurant has survived. Many of them were devastated in the flood of 1997 and never re-opened. Or re-opened in a new location and were never able to lure their clientele back. Restaurant ownership is a hard business to succeed in and that one line - still serves or closed - tells a huge story.
The worst thing I can say is that sitting down to read this book from cover to cover is not a good idea. The restaurants and the reviews sort of blur together and her commentary gets repetitious. But that's mainly due to reading - basically - 128 reviews covering 1987 -2012 or nearly 25 years of eating.
I will end this review with a saying she included with her July 4, 1994 review of Kaffe Huset: 'It doesn't pay to hurry when you are on the wrong road.' Something to think about in many areas of our lives. And maybe it's time for me to investigate one of the local eateries instead of the massive franchises. . . .
2019-133
Lots of Norwegian fare - I didn't really want to know what lutefisk was - as well as some German and other regional favorites - like a Denver sandwich. Didn't know that one either but then, I'm not a personal fan of cooked green peppers. A great deal of walleye and fish - must be a personal favorite. A few franchise visits but mostly just local businesses attempting to share some wonderful flavors and tastes. Hagerty not only comments on the food but the owners, the prices (that is a revelation to see how prices changed over the decades), the decor, appearance of the wait staff - she consistently comments on not liking to be disturbed by wait staff asking multiple times if everything was 'all right' as well as the dishes being 'whisked' away before everyone is done.
Then there are the bottom notes - whether the restaurant has survived. Many of them were devastated in the flood of 1997 and never re-opened. Or re-opened in a new location and were never able to lure their clientele back. Restaurant ownership is a hard business to succeed in and that one line - still serves or closed - tells a huge story.
The worst thing I can say is that sitting down to read this book from cover to cover is not a good idea. The restaurants and the reviews sort of blur together and her commentary gets repetitious. But that's mainly due to reading - basically - 128 reviews covering 1987 -2012 or nearly 25 years of eating.
I will end this review with a saying she included with her July 4, 1994 review of Kaffe Huset: 'It doesn't pay to hurry when you are on the wrong road.' Something to think about in many areas of our lives. And maybe it's time for me to investigate one of the local eateries instead of the massive franchises. . . .
2019-133
June 30, 2019
Grand Forks was a fascinating look at food in the heartland over the course of 128 restaurant reviews spanning Oct. 7, 1987 until April 4, 2012.
Author Marilyn Hagerty thinks of herself more as a reporter than a reviewer. She also has noticeable quirks. She is very particular about her coleslaw and really likes vegetable soup. She will often take notice of the decor, service and restrooms. She doesn't like to be asked more than once if her meal is okay and she doesn't want the waitperson to clear plates off the table until everyone has finished eating.
Because she lives in Grand Forks, ND, population 55,000, she often visits the same restaurant more than once either to eat an old favorite or to try some new menu item. What I noted as I read through the reviews was the uncertainty of the restaurant business as restaurants and restaurateurs come and go over the 25 years. I also noted that some menu items that were popular, like levosh and duck, are unknown in my part of Minnesota just a couple hundred miles away.
It was also interesting to watch as mom and pop diners gave way to chain restaurants and to see how the Red River Flood in 1997 changed the food landscape in Grand Forks.
Author Marilyn Hagerty thinks of herself more as a reporter than a reviewer. She also has noticeable quirks. She is very particular about her coleslaw and really likes vegetable soup. She will often take notice of the decor, service and restrooms. She doesn't like to be asked more than once if her meal is okay and she doesn't want the waitperson to clear plates off the table until everyone has finished eating.
Because she lives in Grand Forks, ND, population 55,000, she often visits the same restaurant more than once either to eat an old favorite or to try some new menu item. What I noted as I read through the reviews was the uncertainty of the restaurant business as restaurants and restaurateurs come and go over the 25 years. I also noted that some menu items that were popular, like levosh and duck, are unknown in my part of Minnesota just a couple hundred miles away.
It was also interesting to watch as mom and pop diners gave way to chain restaurants and to see how the Red River Flood in 1997 changed the food landscape in Grand Forks.
March 23, 2023
Maybe I enjoyed this so much less because I love a fancy meal and more for being a product of a similar place: the rural upper midwest town full of tried and true mom & pop places and that one fancy restaurant where you make a reservation for a special occasion, where we got excited when Taco Bell and Subway came to town and went to chains like Applebee's and Texas Road House before the Homecoming dance. It's not fine dining, but it can still promote an appreciation of good food.
Marilyn contends she's a food reporter, not a critic, and reading this collection of past Eatbeat articles you can see that: more often giving facts about the menu, pricing, and napkin quality than making comment on the quality of food (beyond whether she/her dining partners thought what they ordered was good, very good, or maybe the soup was too salty). Presented in chronological order from the late 80s through the viral Olive Garden review (and resulting trip to Le Bernardin) in 2012, it also reads as a bit of local history and study in changing tastes and dietary concerns.
A delightful read that I'm glad I finally pulled off my library wishlist. Made me want to go out to enjoy a meal with friends and almost makes me want to check out the food scene of greater Grand Forks.
Marilyn contends she's a food reporter, not a critic, and reading this collection of past Eatbeat articles you can see that: more often giving facts about the menu, pricing, and napkin quality than making comment on the quality of food (beyond whether she/her dining partners thought what they ordered was good, very good, or maybe the soup was too salty). Presented in chronological order from the late 80s through the viral Olive Garden review (and resulting trip to Le Bernardin) in 2012, it also reads as a bit of local history and study in changing tastes and dietary concerns.
A delightful read that I'm glad I finally pulled off my library wishlist. Made me want to go out to enjoy a meal with friends and almost makes me want to check out the food scene of greater Grand Forks.
December 7, 2018
I finished half of this book. I picked it up at a Dollar Tree and read it after Anthony Bourdain died. He wrote the introduction.
This is a very quiet, gentle book. If you’re looking for the kind of food critic who leaves her victims in shreds and tatters, Marilyn Haggerty is not your gal. She is objective and fair. She looks for the positive while pointing out what needs improvement.
But you get a glimpse into the culture of a small Midwest community. There is a homogeneity to the restaurants she visits and a friendliness. She is often accompanied by her husband whom she refers to as CC (Constant Companion), which I think is sweet. He always orders the special.
I used this book as my right-before-bedtime book because it was so calming, but ultimately there was just a sameness to each entry that made me decide to stop.
This is a very quiet, gentle book. If you’re looking for the kind of food critic who leaves her victims in shreds and tatters, Marilyn Haggerty is not your gal. She is objective and fair. She looks for the positive while pointing out what needs improvement.
But you get a glimpse into the culture of a small Midwest community. There is a homogeneity to the restaurants she visits and a friendliness. She is often accompanied by her husband whom she refers to as CC (Constant Companion), which I think is sweet. He always orders the special.
I used this book as my right-before-bedtime book because it was so calming, but ultimately there was just a sameness to each entry that made me decide to stop.
December 13, 2020
You can tell Marilyn Hagerty takes her job seriously to report on the little details of a restaurant and what she happened to eat, and she seems to be kind and fair in her reviews. This book was extremely repetitive, though. I lost track of the times she said, "In the first place..." or "Of course, with the pluses there are minuses..." or "This soup was too salty." The ending was very abrupt, just concluded with one of her random (though still keeping to the chronological order) write-ups. I think there would have been more purpose to this collection had Hagerty written a conclusion reflecting on her many years as a restaurant critic, the patterns in small(er) town American dining, and what she thinks it all means for who we are as a people who enjoy good food and sharing eating experiences with folks we care about.
August 30, 2018
Marilyn Haggerty is an admirable person. She is a fair, polite, sincere, and humble restaurant critic, balanced beyond what I thought is humanly possible. On the day of judgment, I would like to have my life assessed by Marilyn Haggerty.
Her book has a problem, though. The restaurants she reviews are not the most exciting ones -- the book is a collection of her reviews of Grand Forks, North Dakota, restaurants from the years 1987 to 2012, originally published in the Grand Forks Herald.
I thoroughly enjoyed the first dozen or so reviews that I read, but 240 pages of them is just too much.
(I wish I could have reviewed this book like Marilyn Haggerty would have done. She deserves better than this.)
Her book has a problem, though. The restaurants she reviews are not the most exciting ones -- the book is a collection of her reviews of Grand Forks, North Dakota, restaurants from the years 1987 to 2012, originally published in the Grand Forks Herald.
I thoroughly enjoyed the first dozen or so reviews that I read, but 240 pages of them is just too much.
(I wish I could have reviewed this book like Marilyn Haggerty would have done. She deserves better than this.)
January 23, 2023
I heard about the author from the news. Apparently, she'd gone viral after a review of Olive Garden.
I did not read the book straight through. I stopped and took breaks when the restaurants began to run together.
I enjoyed the book. It's life in the small cities of the Midwest. It's simple and sweet. I became emotionally invested in some of the restaurants because the author researched the stories behind the restaurants. I was touched when the author's husband died; the effects of the Great Flood on the small cities was more devastating then I realized when they occurred.
This is a sweet read for those who enjoy reminiscing.
I did not read the book straight through. I stopped and took breaks when the restaurants began to run together.
I enjoyed the book. It's life in the small cities of the Midwest. It's simple and sweet. I became emotionally invested in some of the restaurants because the author researched the stories behind the restaurants. I was touched when the author's husband died; the effects of the Great Flood on the small cities was more devastating then I realized when they occurred.
This is a sweet read for those who enjoy reminiscing.
October 27, 2024
Marilyn Hagerty is a charming local restaurant reviewer (she’d be the first to say she’s no critic) and this book puts together many of her reviews from the 1980s - 2010s. While the reviews are charming, they did get a bit repetitive, but were still fun to read. However, I do wish there had been a bit more of the subtitle, with some sort of analysis either throughout or even at the end of how the dining landscape has changed in the United States. Overall, I had a pretty good time reading this, so if you enjoy restaurant reviews you should give this a try.
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March 9, 2021Marilyn Hagerty has written for the Grand Forks Herald since 1957, but it washer column about the arrival of the Olive Garden restaurant that made her an Internet celebrity. In this book, 128 of her restaurant reviews are collected and they provide a fun view into Midwestern tastes over the decades. Marilyn is consistently kind, even when the food or service is less than stellar, and you know from her conversational tone she'd be fun company for lunch.
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