By Tanya Manus

There I was, basking in the glow of a golden sunset, listening to the drumming of a merry band of musicians who lingered near the palm trees, gazing at the odd camel here and there.
And I was doing it all in downtown Rapid City.
The opening of Ifrits, the state’s only hookah lounge, seems to be a fairly well-kept secret, at least among several people I’ve talked to. The lounge is Middle Eastern oasis on the prairie, and it’s well worth the trip.
Ifrits burst onto our local entertainment scene last weekend with live music, belly dancers, henna artists and an uber-hip, alcohol-free atmosphere. And, despite the hookah pipes lighting up around me, surprisingly, the air was not smoky.
Being a lover of lovely details, I appreciate that everything from the mural-adorned walls to the glass in which I was served raspberry tea looked like a bit of the Middle East. Walking into Ifrits will make you feel like you’ve wandered into some sun-drenched vacation getaway without really having gone far at all.
The only thing missing from Ifrits’ opening weekend was their menu of finger foods, which debuted this week - pita bread, hummus and baklava. I’ve dabbled in making hummus and baklava myself, and I can’t wait to try Ifrits’ versions of these classic Middle Eastern foods.
Ifrits is at 725 St. Joseph St. in Rapid City. For information, go to ifritshookahlounge.com.

Meanwhile, here’s a classic Moroccan drink to put you in the mood for a night of Middle East-inspired fun like you’ll find at Ifrits. Mint tea isn’t just a drink in Morocco. It is a sign of hospitality and friendship and tradition. Because this drink is so popular, it is served all day long, after every meal and with every conversation. Moroccans take great pride in their tea and will often ask a visitor who among their group of friends makes the best cup of mint tea. This recipe comes from Recipezaar.com.

Moroccan Mint Tea
10 sprigs fresh mint, plus extra for garnish
3 teaspoons green tea
3 tablespoons sugar (or more to taste)
4 cups water
Boil the water and pour a small amount in the teapot, swishing it around to warm the pot.
Combine the mint and green tea and sugar in the teapot, then fill it with the rest of the hot water.
Let the tea brew for three minutes.
Set out glasses for the tea.
A shot-glass is close to the slender glasses used in Morocco.
Fill just one glass with the tea, then pour it back in the pot.
Repeat.
This helps to dissolve and distribute the sugar.
Pour the tea.
You want a nice foam on the tea so always pour with the teapot a high distance above the glasses.
If you do not have at least a little foam on the top of the first glass, then pour it back into the teapot and try again until the tea starts to foam up nicely.
Garnish with the remaining sprigs of mint. Serves 6.
 

Okay, it’s here. The “Sex and the City” movie is opening tonight. Unfortunately, my girlfriends and I won’t be able to go out and paint the city pink for the occasion. We are all busy with other things…but we might go next weekend.

I’ll just have to convince them it’s a good idea.

Honestly, I’m relieved. This way I won’t have to stand in line on opening night and I might even get to pick where I sit in the flick. But one question about the evening out remains: Where will we go to dinner before the flick?

Normally this wouldn’t be a tricky one. But It looks like we will all be dressed up. And I mean cocktail dresses and high heels dressed up, not just jeans with no holes dressed up.

It may be clear from my past blog about dining out that I am the CASUAL dining type. So I don’t really have any ideas. I realize that if all else fails the Colonial House will work. In fact, the Besharas (the owners of the Colonial House) are eccentric enough that it might be especially delightful to go there.  But I thought I’d let all of my food friends weigh in…

Just be nice.

By Crystal Hohenthaner
Rapid City Journal staff

Earlier this week I was talking to a colleague who was visiting the area. She asked me about a good place for her and her husband to eat while in Rapid City.

I didn’t answer very quickly because I think it all depends on what you’re looking for in a dining experience. The woman sitting next to me, however, didn’t hesitate to answer, “The Corn Exchange.”

I was planning on saying something like the Firehouse or the Colonial House. Then I started thinking about all the different places to eat in Rapid City. We have a great selection of locally owned and operated restaurants in town. Including almost every type of cuisine I can think of: Mexican, Chinese, Italian, Home-Cooking, Sushi, we even have a Russian restaurant.

The more I thought the guiltier I felt. I have a confession to make: I go to the same restaurants all the time. In fact, I haven’t visited the majority of Rapid’s local restaurants. I have been a bad, bad girl. I have given a lot of my eating-out dollar to franchises.

So, I have adopted a new goal. I’m going to try to go to all of these local places I’ve long been ignoring, like Curry Marsala, Ichiban, At Tatianas, The Corn Exchange, Delmonico Grill, and on and on and on. And I want to know which ones you guys recommend.

So, now the big question: What’s the best restaurant in town and why?

Every now and then I find myself hit with a twinge of nostalgia for eras of the past – and usually they’re eras I didn’t even live through! If I miss the ’80s (which I did actually live through) I have myself a John Hughes movie night. When I have a hankering for the ’70s I can watch “Dazed and Confused” or “That ’70s Show.” If I need a ’60’s fix I listen to a little Janis. And every now and then I’ll watch “Forrest Gump” to satisfy my nostalgia for all those time periods.  

But besides music and movies there’s not much I can do to squelch my nostalgic bursts, and it gets tough when I have the 50’s on the brain. I mean they don’t even play the ’50s music on the oldies stations anymore. But last night I discovered a great place to go get my ’50s fix – Arnold’s.

Arnold’s is a new diner in Rapid City tucked into the parking lot of a hotel near the intersection of East North Street and I-90. I went there last night for the first time and the experience was all of my “’50’s diner” dreams fulfilled.

Now, it certainly wasn’t a perfect experience. To start off with, I don’t think it’s in the best location. I got lost looking for it and even after I spied it from across the interstate I had a hard time figuring out how to get to it. Plus, parking sort of stunk because the door is on the opposite side of the building from the parking lot. So, as I opened the door I was thinking, “This might not be as good as I’d hoped.”

I was wrong.

All of my high hopes were met with the charm of days gone by. The sweet music, the faintly flickering neon and the adorable monogrammed costumes/uniforms of the staff were all great. But they were nothing compared to the food.

We started off our meal with an adventurous appetizer – breaded, deep-fried pickle spears. Now I’m a big pickle fan (in fact, I’m eating one right now as I write this blog), and I like them with just about everything. But I usually eat them cold – unless I just have to break into a new jar before it’s chilled. So I didn’t have much hope that I would enjoy these deep-fried versions of my friend the pickle.

Again, I was wrong.

The pickles were lightly battered, warm and crispy on the outside. On the inside they were filled with all of the salty vinegar I love. We dipped them in ranch dressing – another combo I was suspicious of. My suspicions were laid to rest with the first creamy, tangy bite (and I’m starting to think my Southern friends are right that almost everything is better deep-fried with a side of ranch dressing).

To be honest, I probably should have stopped after the pickles, because I really wasn’t that hungry. But the burgers all had such charming names: the Ferrari burger, the Stingray burger and the burger I ate – the Corvette burger.

Now that is what I call high-performance food. It came on a buttered, toasted bun with sautéed mushrooms, grilled onions and a slice of delicious, melted Swiss cheese – and I slathered mine with pickle chips, tomatoes and some A-1 steak sauce.

Now, until last night I wasn’t much of a burger fan – but that was probably the best burger I’ve had in my entire 28 years of life. I am now an official Arnold’s burger fan. Furthermore, I am incredibly picky about my French-fries, and Arnold’s passed my picky fry test. Those thick, square-cut taters tasted great. Now, if you must to have crunchy fries these fries aren’t for you – but they are definitely for me.

I only have one regret about my visit to Arnold’s. The burger was as big as my head and I could only eat three-fourths of it. Normally that would be a good thing, but I was so full by the time I got through my burger that I didn’t have room left for one of their shakes.

I’ll have to go back another time to test Arnold’s ice-cream prowess.

Our waitress, Debbie (who was fantastic, by the way), told us that she normally works the breakfast shift. Arnold’s serves breakfast?! That means I’ll have to go back for some ’50s-style breakfast too. We’ll just see if they pass my picky hash-brown test.

So if you need a ’50s nostalgia fix – or a fried pickle and burger fix – Arnold’s is a great place to go.

So, several fast food chains have recently started selling breakfast in the area. All I can think is that some super-secret information has been leaked from McDonalds about how profitable their breakfast endeavors have been.

Just a few short years ago Hardees expanded it’s breakfast menu. Since then Arby’s has joined in. And recently Taco Johns has joined the breakfast action.

That’s right. You can now get tacos for breakfast.

Well, they aren’t really tacos, they’re burrito thingies. Personally I don’t do spicy food for breakfast. My German heritage and my Irish stomach can’t handle it. But this morning I did go to Taco John’s for breakfast because I had an insane craving for Potato Ole’s.

Now I didn’t have much hope that they would have the lovely golden bits of potato goodness available before 10 a.m. – I mean, McDonald’s doesn’t serve French fries in the morning – but I was pleasantly surprised! I got my Ole’s and started the day off with a kick. Well, as much of a kick as my South Dakotan digestive system would allow.

I don’t think I’ll do that very often, but it’s great to know that the option is there. How about all of you? What do like to eat for breakfast? Does anyone out there gett a craving for fast food items in the a.m. – or is it just me?

I went to Cold Stone Creamery last night. I have never had their stuff before and as a result I went a little overboard. I tried almost every flavor and I bought not only an insanely large ice cream treat for the night but a pint to take home too.

Laurel, the adorable ice cream girl behind the counter, helped me taste at least 10 flavors and then mixed me up a delicious ice cream treat. Among the treats I tasted: Sweet Cream, Dark Chocolate, Peach, Black Cherry, Coffee, White Chocolate, Chocolate Cake Batter and Cake Batter.

I know there were more but those were the most memorable ones. I ended up getting Dark Chocolate with marshmallow cream, pecans and a brownie mixed in. It was amazing. I could only eat half of the medium-sized treat. The rest is resting sweetly in my freezer next to the pint of Cake Batter ice cream I bought to take home.

Apparently, Cake Batter is one of their most popular flavors – and I can tell why. It is delicious.

Of course – as a food enthusiast – I had to try to figure out what made the ice cream so good.

Right before I went to bed last night, I took a final trip to the freezer to take a final bite of the Cake Batter ice cream – I must have needed fodder for my dreams. As the sweet and delectable treat melted over my tongue I was thinking to myself, “I wonder how they make this.” And I had an epiphany! It’s so simple, so amazing and so going to save me a lot of money.

I’m pretty sure it is just their Sweet Cream ice cream mixed with dry cake batter. Now, I probably won’t be able to find plain sweet cream flavored ice cream in the grocery store freezer section, but I suspect a mild vanilla mixed with white cake mix will be almost the same.

Now that I’ve figured this out I find myself daydreaming about other combinations of ice cream and cooking mixes to try. This weekend I think I will be mixing some chocolate ice cream with some brownie batter in the secrecy of my own kitchen. In fact, I may even make brownie batter and eat it – oh, but that’s another blog.

By Deanna Darr

My college kids will be home for Christmas and I’d like to take them out to lunch a time or two. Any suggestions? I’d like to stay away from the chain restaurants. My son, in particular,  likes to believe that the chains are better than anything locally run; I’d like to prove him wrong by finding a couple of great eating places here in Rapid City. I’d appreciate any recommendations from our bloggers. Tell me what’s good to order, too!