Blues Festival Weekend - A 3-Day Funk

The Fargo Blues Festival begins this weekend and is now in its 14th year of pulling quality national acts into town. That's 14 years well spent, in our book. This year, the Blues Fest brings in slide virtuoso Sonny Landreth and the pyrotechnic blues/rock of Indigenous, among others, and promises another quality year of entertainment.

We're putting on a weekend of blues in the HoDo Lounge to compliment the festival. Thursday at 8:30 p.m. and Friday at 10:30 p.m., come out to see our old friends the Blue Wailers. Saturday at 10:30 p.m., Stage Door Johnny (featuring members of the Deb Jenkins Band) will rock the joint the day after their afternoon show at the festival. If blue is your favorite color, this is the weekend for you. All shows no cover, 21+.

*RSVP for these events on Facebook here, here, and here.

*Learn more about the blues at Allmusic.com.

Lunch Specials, July 27 - August 1

(lunch specials available in addition to our all-day menu 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.)

Spinach Salad with prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms tossed in a garlic-parmesan vinaigrette - $9

Shrimp Mac & Cheese - cheese sauce with shrimp and cavatappi - $9

Hot Beef & Sausage Sub - Roast beef, Italian sausage and giardiniera with provolone cheese on a baguette, served with sweet potato chips* - $10

Tuna Melt - Tuna salad with Wisconsin cheddar on sourdough, served with sweet potato chips* - $9

(*sub fries, cup of soup, side salad or fruit, +$1)

Lunch Specials, July 20 - 25

(Lunch specials are available in addition to our all-day menu from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.)

Chevre Medallion Salad with caramelized onions and confit tomatoes tossed in a raspberry vinaigrette - $8

Elk Patty Melt on sourdough with black garlic aioli, sherried red onions and havarti, served with sweet potato chips* - $12

BBQ Beef Brisket Sandwich - open faced on sourdough with red cabbage slaw and topped with onion straws, served with sweet potato chips* - $9

Asparagus & Ham Pizza topped with tomatoes, caramelized onions and fontinella cheese - $9

(*sub fries, cup o' soup, side salad or fruit, +$1)

This Weekend: A Trailer Park Musical?

So, you're in downtown Fargo for the street fair. You had your cheese curds, your lemonade and you browsed all of the goods. What next?

Domres Productions, a local, independent theatre group, presents "The Great American Trailer Park Musical" at the Fargo Theatre, and it might prove to be what completes your street fair experience. A little tawdry and a lot of fun, "Trailer Park" offers a taste of life in - you guessed it - an American trailer park and promises both humor and dimension. The show has received raves around the world and the local production should be a natural accompaniment to the festivities of the weekend. Show times are 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $18 and the show is recommended for mature teens and older. Call (701) 235-4152 for advanced sale.

There was a nice John Lamb piece about the show in today's Forum. Read it here. (Photo via the Forum)

Roster McCabe - A Dalefest Sneak Peak

Roster McCabe brings a lot to the table. They practice a tight and infectious meld of reggae, funk and rock, a sound that has them tearing up the summer festival circuit and keeping audiences on their feet at every stop. They cover a lot of tonal and rhythmic ground and find a nice home between booty-shakin' and ear candy. See them in the HoDo Lounge tomorrow night at 8 p.m.

Roster also will headline this year's Dalefest on August 14th, making this an excellent chance to give them a sample. No cover, 21+.

Izakaya (Japanese Pub) Night - July's Flavor of the Month

(photo via Wikipedia Creative Commons)

Tomorrow night, the July installment of our Flavor of the Month series hops a plane for Japan, where pubs called "izakaya" serve from a menu of small plates shared by everyone at the table while sipping after-work drinks (think happy-hour appetizers).

Our version recalls the simplicity and fresh tastes common to izakaya menus through five prix fixe courses with two choices for each course. Bring a few friends and give them all a taste. $40/person. Seating is limited, so please make reservations by calling 701.478.1000. The menu is available from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.; click here to see it.

(Every third Wednesday of the month, the HoDo Restaurant creates a special menu united around a different cuisine. In the past, we've done French night, Danish night and BBQ night, to name a few. Watch our website at www.hoteldonaldson.com or our Facebook page for updates.)

Dalefest is Just a Month Away!

Save the date! Dalefest returns August 14th at 7 p.m. with another round of music and art on Broadway. There will be live art demonstrations from the Upfront Gallery crew and music from Post Traumatic Funk Syndrome and Roster McCabe. And, Hawaiian shirts? You better believe there's gonna be Hawaiian shirts.

Details to follow. In the meantime, check out last year's Dalefest. It was a hoot.

Lunch Specials, July 13 - 18

(Lunch specials available in addition to our all-day menu from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.)

Chicken Saltimbocca - Prosciutto and sage-wrapped chicken with mushrooms and vegetable - $10

Panzanella Salad - Greens with roasted vegetables, grilled bread, chevre cheese and sherry vinaigrette - $9

Wild Mushroom & Havarti Burger - Natural beef burger with black garlic aioli and balsamic reduction, served with sweet potato chips* - $10

Ham and Pear Sandwich - Open-faced on sourdough with arugula, whole-grain mustard and gruyere cheese, served with sweet potato chips* - $8

(sub fries, cup of soup, side salad or fruit, +$1)

Charlie Parr: To Quote Mason Jennings...

"Nobody says the things he says, nobody moves like he moves."

Jennings may have written the song "Duluth" about the love between a well-meaning girl and an absent railroad man, but he could have been talking about Duluth native Charlie Parr, a musician whose fingerstyle blues invoke a similar working aesthetic and solemn power. If you haven't had a chance to see Charlie, come on out. He's tremendous. The show starts at 9 p.m. in the HoDo Lounge tomorrow night. $5 cover, 21+. Seating is limited, so come early to get a good view of the action.

Lunch Specials, July 6 - July 11

(specials are available in addition to our all-day menu from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.)

Grilled Bleu Cheese & Bacon Sandwich - St. Pete's bleu with havarti and tomato on sourdough, served with sweet potato chips* - $8

Chipotle BBQ Pork Sandwich on a toasted hoagie with avocado, roasted red pepper salsa and cheddar, served with sweet potato chips* - $9

Meatloaf - Bison and beef with house demi, buttermilk mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetable - $10

Wild Mushroom Cavatappi with onion, spinach, parmesan and a cognac pan sauce - $8

(*sub fries, cup of soup, side salad or fruit, +$1)