Eat in All 50 States Without Leaving the Valley of the Sun: North Dakota

North Dakota is located in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Canadian provinces to the north, the states of Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south, and Montana to the west.The state capital is Bismarck, and the largest city is Fargo.

North Dakota economy has developed in the early 21st century with a boom in natural resources, particularly a boom in oil extraction, which lies beneath the northwestern part of the state. This development has driven strong job and population growth, and low unemployment in North Dakota.

The Cuisine of North Dakota differs from average Midwestern cuisine in a number of ways. Though much of the Midwest has strong German influences, North Dakota also has strong influence from Norway as well as the many ethnic Germans from Russia who settled there. There is also a strong Native American influence on the cuisine of North Dakota. Perhaps one of the largest authentic Norwegian dinners is the annual Lutefisk Dinner hosted by the First Lutheran Church in Williston, North Dakota, every February. Lutefisk a Scandinavian dish prepared by soaking dried cod in lye to tenderize it, then skinning, boning, and boiling the fish to a gelatinous consistency. Some of the other Scandinavian influenced notable dishes found in North Dakota are Lefse, a traditional soft Norwegian flatbread. which is made with potatoes, flour, butter, and milk or cream; and Krumkake a Norwegian waffle cookiemade of flour, butter, eggs, sugar, and cream. Finding these authentic Scandinavian dishes served in restaurants in State of Arizona was impossible. Therefore, the second choice was to try the Buffalo Burger. One may ask how a Buffalo Burger is connected to the State of North Dakota?

The only connection North Dakota has to this dish is by offering the world's largest Buffalo statue. That is right, "The World's Largest Buffalo Status" is located in Jamestown, North Dakota. It was built in 1959 by Harold Newman, a local businessman who said he wanted "to create something so big and magnificent that passersby would have to stop in the city."The buffalo is built of concrete, 26 feet tall, 46 feet long, and weighs 60 tons.

The buffalo head trophy on the wall of Q Bar and Grill locate in Peoria, AZ is not nearly as large as the statue standing in Jamestown, ND. However, it represents a significant dish that the restaurant offers in its menu, which is a tasty buffalo burger. Buffalo burger is a lean and tasty burger made with meat from the American bison normally served with fries, a slab of raw onion. Early American settlers called bison "bufello" due to the similar appearance between the two animals, and the name "buffalo" stuck for the American variety. But it's wrong. The American bison lives only in North America, while the two main buffalo species reside in Africa and Asia

Last but not least, thanks to Erin, the awesome bartender whose strong and well made Long Island Ice Teas made the entire experience of dining in Q Bar and Grill a lot more pleasant.