jor, where are you?

Gotta say here....... "Fargo"....... one of my all-time favorite movies! Every winter, we watch it when we finally get a little snow or ice with some freezing temps in Raleigh! Geesh, Jwennig, maybe you could find some of those places that Frances McDormand pigged out at in the movie!

I live in Fargo and was wondering what kind of dining you liked, etc? There are lots of restaurant chains here -- some national, some regional. (The liquor licenses are extremely expensive for restaurants and usually only chains can afford them.)

Sometime you will end up on 13th Ave S, the busiest street in North Dakota -- which, if you live in any big city, isn't near as busy as you'd think There are a ton of restaurants in this general area.

Granite City is pretty good and is inside the West Acres Mall lot. Portions are big and everything I've had has been good. Santa Lucia is good if you like Greek food.

If you plan on a splurge, you could try Sarello's (food is great) in Moorhead, MN -- just across the river. Good wines, atmosphere, I think the food is the best in the area.

If you have access to a car, Victoria's in Wolverton, MN (about 20 min drive) is neat, also. Not a chain, very good food, a bit of a splurge. The town isn't much to look at so make reservations and no need to get there too early.

Otherwise, Monte's in downtown Fargo on Broadway is good. In general, anything on Broadway is pretty good, including Juano's authentic Mexican.

Hope that helps. As for what to see, the Hjemkomst center in Moorhead is pretty cool, or the Plains Art Museum in downtown Fargo. Sometimes there are dinner theater productions at either the Avalon (downtown Fargo) or even the Ramada Plaza Suites (in the conference center portion) that are pretty neat. The Fargo Theater has different events from time to time, too.

I'll be honest, I'm leaving for my own vacation that weekend, so I haven't been paying too much attention to what's going on

I am heading to Fargo in April. Any new suggestions for restaurants and places to see. Local favorites?

I have reason to go to Fargo a few times a year on business, and have really grown to like it. I'll give you my recommendations (by no means a complete list):

Restaurants:
- HoDo restaurant, in the Hotel Donaldson. Hotel, restaurant and bar was all renovated by a high tech tycoon. they did a great job with it, and have a nice, slightly upscale menu and very good food.
- Lauerman's Saloon, some of the best pub fare I've had. Great sandwiches.
- Granite City out by the mall - pretty good all around
- There is a steakhouse on south university... can't remember the name of it for the life of me, but I could drive right to it

Things to do:
- Fargo is a college town, through and through. I personally think the best activities are associated with the college scene. Concordia College is known for fine arts, so taking in a theater production or orchestra concert would be top tier. NDSU is known more for athletics, and you just might be in town for a football game. The football program has long been a star of D2 and recently moved up to D1.

Unfortunately, there isn't great hiking / scenery in the area, but there are tons of above average golf courses if that is your thing.

Sounds like you're set on lodging, but I've found the Hotel Donaldson (swanky), Ramada Suites (roomy), and the new Courtyard (clean and efficient) all to be very good places to stay.

How about the Roger Maris museum if your a fan of baseball. Is it still there; haven;t been to Fargo in approx. 15 years.

Here is a link to Roadfood.com where Fargo restaurants are discussed. Keep in mind, Roadfood posters are all about "cheap eats" and don't like upscale places like the HoDo... don't let that stop you from going there.

http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=16359&SearchTerms=fargo