THIS SECTION CAME ABOUT WHEN someone visting Aberdeen asked me what there was to do in town in the middle of the winter, the middle of the week at the middle of the day. Beyond the Dacotah Prairie Museum and a few lunch spots, there isn’t much else that I know of. So this section is intended to root out things people like to do or show off to visitors on a typical weekday.

    Around Thanksgiving time, some friends visited us from Maine. After hitting Canterbury’s and Alonzo’s for unique downtown lunch experiences, we decided to hit the road on our third day. I had received an email on our A-List website from Kay Bowers, owner of a new bistro in Britton, SD. She invited me to come sample Britton’s newest restaurant. In an effort to grow a better regional economy, I thought we’d give it shot.

    Take one step in the Britton Bistro and you’ll see what a historic downtown restaurant should look like: tin ceilings, worn, but polished, hardwood floors, skylights, and classy little groupings of tables and chairs straight from the farm house. Not what I expected. Aberdeen has nothing like this space for a dining experience. The food is spectacular, and very reasonably priced. Four of us stuffed ourselves for $35 including two glasses of wine.

    I don’t have enough space here to describe the menu, but there’s definitely something for everyone. The Bistro’s chef, Taylor Vroman, a native from the region, came back to the area after working in Manahatten as a chef.

    I love sandwiches and am secretly shopping for the best reuben around. They’ve got one of the best, and it is stacked with corned beef. The french onion soup complete with Gruyere cheese baked on top was a perfect compliment. We wanted to hang around to see what dinner was like.

    I won’t take up space here with the whole story of how the Bistro came to be. I think leaning about it is half the experience when you visit there. Everything is done right. I was especially impressed with how many sandwiches and dishes are named for regional towns and places as well as the use of locally produced ingredients. Local pride helps create a positive, respectful image of a town and truly creates a one-of-a-kind experience. An experience with a story.

    The drive back was punctuated with the countless flocks of geese presented as only the Dakota prairie can.

    So make sure you’ve sampled Aberdeen’s unique dining spots then venture northeast to the little community we’ve been hearing a lot about. The people we talked to are on fire about their little town. It shows.

 
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