Muddy Moose reopens to ‘brisk’ business

By Matt Bewley | The Daily Journal

Published Tuesday, April 17, 2007

The Moose is on the loose again in Pelican Rapids. After being in hibernation since October, the Muddy Moose Coffee and Wine Bistro is again serving fine food, coffees and wines.

“We ended last season on a high note,” owner Patty Dahl said, “and re-opened on Easter Sunday.”

The Moose looks much the same as it did last summer, and still offers some of the best coffee for miles. But there have been several changes, particularly to the lunch and dinner menus, courtesy of a new chef.

“His name is Brian Morrison,” Dahl said. “He does a variety of styles, from Tex-Mex to French pastries.”

His candied brandy sauce is already creating quite a stir at the Moose, as patrons who were lucky enough to try the porterhouse pork chop have reported.

“This sauce is good with any meat,” Morrison said. “It was a blue-ribbon winner in four out of five meat categories in Kansas, and probably would have won the fifth, which was the chicken, if I’d remembered to enter it.”

Morrison is a culinary veteran of 16-years, trained at the Houston Art Institute and has recently been applying his talents at the Grand Forks Hilton. He plans to begin offering the sauce on other dishes, such as their chicken Marsala in the summer.

“I cook everything to order,” he said. “So the sauce takes about 15 minutes to prepare. You don’t just make a big batch of it in the morning.”

The dinner menu has 10 new entrées, including another of the southerner’s creations, the Shrimp Diablo.

“This is eight jumbo shrimp wrapped in julienne seedless jalapenos, Swiss cheese and bacon,” he said.

There are eight new sandwiches for the lunch crowd to try, including a BLT on focaccia bread, a French Philly dip on ciabatta bread and a chicken Caesar wrap.

“It’s a nice, diverse Americano menu with some Italian,” Dahl said. “Before long, we’ll be featuring ‘Brian’s Bistro Specialties’ each week with something of his that’s not yet on the menu.”

The Muddy Moose has not only returned, as promised, but has put more on the table for its patrons to enjoy. Given the already fine atmosphere and delicious coffees, the new menu is bound to round out a fine dining experience.

Call 218-863-2900 for more information.