Fargo From the Inside

Santa Lucia is a charming, family-owned Greek and Italian restaurant. Tucked away off of main shopping areas in town, it has a wonderful sense of intimacy and seclusion. The owners are often on site and are friendly and helpful. The food is delicious authentic Greek, and vegetarians actually have options.
A lot of lamb and chicken dominate the menu: chicken souvlaki, moussaka, pasticcio; but there are more than the usual vegetarian options. Tzatziki, hummus, spanakopita, greek pita pizza, and dolmades, and that's just the appetizer menu. I usually get the vegetarian sampler which includes spanakopita, dolmades, veggies, rice, and greek potatoes. The greek salad is also excellent. Other vegetarian options include: vegetarian gyro, cheese mannicotti, fettuccini alfredo, zorba the greek pizza, spanako-pizza and make-your-own pizza.
It's always a little expensive for me to eat here because everything is so good, and I overdo it, but it's worth it. The decor is simple but greek-influenced with a fountain and columns. The space is very small, but not crowded and it feels more luxourious than the price indicates. Dine-in, take-out, or delivery are available. Delivery does cost an extra three dollars, however, and I've never gotten my food in less than an hour, but it always tastes good.
Fargo is a city where it seems like everything is a chain: stores, restaurants, coffee shops etc. It becomes very depressing to think that the place you live in have nothing of its own to offer. It's very refreshing to find smaller, family-owned businesses that actually have character. Unfortunately, they are disappearing quickly, not just in Fargo, but everywhere. Santa Lucia is one of the good ones, and I hope it's around for a long time.

The Green Mill is a small Midwestern chain restaurant with locations in Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Kansas. The food is exceptional and varied, with an impressive number of vegetarian options.

They're probably best known for their pizza, which won Fargo-Moorhead's best-tasting pizza three years in a row. The pizza comes in thin crust, regular, and deep dish. The deep dish is phenomenal, with a chunky tomato sauce that I would eat by itself. They have a variety of specialty pizzas: Romano, Caprino, Hawaiian, The Big Meaty Pizza, Il Primo, Margherita, etc., and the option of designing your own. When designing your own, it costs $2 to $3 per topping, depending on the size you order, but they do really pile it on, so it's worth it.

In addition to pizza, they serve calzones, "award-wining" wings, burgers, salads, sandwiches, steak, and a wide variety of pastas. I have never been disappointed with the service or the food, and it's one of the few restaurants I've visited where, being a vegetarian, I don't have to get the same thing every time. Sometimes I feel like I go here too often, but like I said, I've never been disappointed.

The atmosphere is comfortable and relaxed. There are a lot of booths, and the dining room is broken up by a couple of walls, so, despite the size, it still feels intimate. On the weekends there's usually a wait of about 20 minutes, but during the week there's rarely a wait. The bar area has an outdoor patio in the summer and full menu available.

They do dine-in, takeaway, and delivery.

Before I'd ever visited the Red River Zoo, I asked a friend of mine who worked there what it was like. She said, "It's small but good." That pretty much sums it up. This is not a large zoo, but it's not trying to be anything it's not. On a summer day, you can walk from end to end twice and not feel exhausted or like you missed something. There is enough to see that you don't get bored, but it's not overwhelming. I remember going to larger zoos when I was a kid and coming out exhausted, but this is just the right size.

There is a wide variety of animals, and everyone who works there is friendly. Grab some Dippin' Dots ice cream and enjoy watching the goats fight in the petting zoo or the RED PANDAS lounging on their branches. The MEERKATS, RUSSIAN RED SQUIRRELS, and PRARIE DOGS are frantic treats to watch, and the WHITE-LIPPED DEER and SICHUAN TAKIN are calm and majestic. You can finish off the day with a CAROUSEL RIDE for only a dollar and still have enough energy to go inside and look and the TAMARINS, COCKROACHES, SEA TURTLES, and a multitude of lizards and snakes. Visit redriverzoo.org for everything you need to know, including a calendar of events.