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If you get out visit Mandan, ND, just across the Missouri River from Bismarck, Cappuccino on Collins (COC) should be a must on your places to visit. It was one of the first coffee shops in the Bismarck-Mandan area.
COC was started by Sharry Jo Ereth in 1994. In 2021, Patricia Camisa and her husband bought the coffee shop. That same year, they adopted their son. COC features an assortment of espresso and coffee beverages, tea, hot chocolate, and some sweet treats to go along with your drinks. Patricia works with a local coffee roaster, Coal Country Coffee Company, and he gets the beans he uses from South America.
Patricia strives to build a feeling of community and connection. I love this. There is a wall in COC that is devoted to featuring local artists. A Little Free Library is inside the store to use. Patricia offers used coffee grounds and plant cuttings to anyone who can use them.
While on our visit, I got to try the Caramel Coconut Cookie Mocha at COC. Patricia was a Girl Scout and her inspiration for this beverage and a few others was from the Girl Scout cookies. I love Caramel deLites and was excited to try this drink. It was yummy.
While at COC, we also got to hear from Marlo Anderson, the founder, and creator of the National Day Calendar, and also Matt Schanadore of the Mandan Progress Organization. Both gentlemen are local to the area.
Marlo Anderson started National Day Calendar about 10 years ago. It initially was 30-40 days that were recognized and has continued to grow over the years to over 1,500 National Days. Marlo has also been a blogger. He started writing about autonomous vehicles and the Autonomous Friendly Corridor. Now Marlo has his National Day Calendar that is known across the world and if you don’t catch him in the Mandan area, you might find him in Las Vegas as a personal tour guide on World Martini Day.
The Mandan Progress Organization, which Matt represents, came about to help keep the Mandan Rodeo. They help out with six signature events annually in Mandan. There is Touch a Truck, Buggies-N-Blues, Independence Day Parade, Art in the Park, the Mandan Rodeo, Haunted Fort in Lincoln State Park, and Holiday Lights on Main. Only the rodeo and haunted fort have a fee. The other four events are free to attend.
Fort Mandan of Washburn
When I was in elementary school, I remember researching and writing about Sacagawea. Her name is also spelled Sakakawea or Sacajawea. It was fascinating then and yet today to learn how she helped Lewis and Clark explore the lands of the Louisiana Territory and gather data that led them from the lands of North Dakota out west to the Pacific Ocean.
Their expedition got to what is Fort Mandan in the fall of 1804. The members of the expedition were living in it by November 16. It is believed that there were 48-52 people in their structure at any given time.
While there, there made six dugout canoes. They traded furs for food and also did blacksmithing for the trade of ag products with local tribes. For entertainment, they had backgammon and music from the jaw harp and fiddle. Gambling was considered contraband. When the time came, the expedition left with 10,000 pounds of provisions, and the structure of Fort Mandan was gifted to the local tribe.
Sacagawea was from the Mandan tribe but was taken captive by the Hidatsa tribe with other children when she was about 12 years of age. When she was 13, she was sold into a marriage with Touissant Charbonneau, who was a trapper and he also became an interpreter for Lewis & Clark. Sacagawea was a great asset to the group with being able to gather information from local tribes.
While at Fort Mandan, some members of our group got to try out playing Hoop and Pole. Then we visited the structure representing Fort Mandan. It was cool to see artifacts from the past and to learn more about the history in the area.
Not far away from Fort Mandan is the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center. There are many exhibits to see, art collections, and several artifacts from the 1800s too. It’s a beautiful building with so much to see and do. There is a deck to take in the natural beauty surrounding the building as well.
Did you know that Lewis & Clark had a Newfoundland with them on their expedition? I got to learn about their pet that went on the journey, Seaman.
We then traveled back to downtown Bismarck to have lunch at Craftcade. Video gaming reached mainstream popularity in the ’70s and ’80s so it is a nostalgic piece of my childhood and for many others. The Craftcade in Bismarck combines this nostalgic fun with food and drinks. Many of these games are free to play. There is a “self-pour” craft beer wall that has 20 taps featuring local and national brews, NY-style pizzas, baked sandwiches, and more to enjoy.
The menu here features some unique pizzas. One pizza I tried was the Neo Tokyo. It has chicken, carrots, green onions, red peppers, cheese, chow mein noodles with cilantro, and a peanut sauce-type glaze. It had an added crunch with this tasty glaze. Want something with a little zip at Craftcade? Karate Kid Kicks have a tangy seasoning to give your tastebuds a little knockout punch.
Colton Shoults, co-owner of Craftcade, took time from his busy day to sit down and chat with our group to share the idea behind creating Craftcade. Matt Schanadore of the Mandan Progress Organization was also able to join us again, which was cool.
Microbreweries are so fun to visit. Gideon’s Brewing Co. of Bismarck has so much to offer. They have released 600 different beers since opening in 2019 and I got to try some of the sours during my recent visit. They are big on cultural craft beer and pick often what is seasonal.
Gideon’s always has a wheat beer and a couple of IPAs available. The beer in the summertime is typically an easy-drinking beer. The body of the beer is then usually built up in the winter months.
This microbrewery strives to serve the locals as they want to be served and if you are a stranger, they hope to become friends. David Duma, the owner of Gideon’s, had served 20 years in the U.S. Marine Corps.
During our visit, Cody, the general manager, told us more about the brews offered at Gideon’s. The sours are made with purees from Oregon Food Co. Gideon’s typically brews three different sour bases that are lighter in the summer and with heavier body in the winter. To keep the sours crisp, sometimes lactose is added. Sours have a pH of approximately 3.5. The lower the pH, the more sour it is.
Gideon’s has a lifetime membership that is capped out at about 300 members. About 45 memberships are left. With membership, you get invited to parties that are held about four times a year and sample a never released beer at the event.
Gideon’s has a food partnership with a couple of businesses in the area. This includes Anima Casina and Fireflour Pizzeria and Coffee Bar.
For an elegant dining experience, we went to Pirogue Grille in Bismarck. Lewis & Clark’s Expedition used pirogues (long, narrow canoes) as one type of their vessels made from cottonwood trees while exploring the Louisiana Purchase and that is how Pirogue Grille got its name.
Pirogue has a menu that showcases local in-season ingredients as much as they can. The bison is sourced out of North Dakota. Walleye isn’t a native gamefish to North Dakota so that comes from Minnesota or Canada. The venison is sourced from a ranch out of Texas. Beef is a mainstay on the menu and is from Mandan.
Salads at Pirogue Grille change throughout the year. Watermelon was featured as the primary salad ingredient, but it will be transitioning to cucumber as summer continues.
With rhubarb being in season, I got to try a rhubarbtini for the first time. Refreshing! The Parmigiano Reggiano Crusted Walleye With Red Pepper Vinaigrette was excellent and the cheesecake was a perfect end to the evening.
The two images above are of beautiful commissioned artwork at Pirogue. Paul Noot, a local artist and Bismarck art teacher, is the creator behind these two pieces.
