Reprinted from the Grand Forks Herald

THE EATBEAT: Cattails Bar and Grill opens with a bang in Bemidji
Marilyn Hagerty
- 08/29/2007

A basket of warm, thinly sliced cranberry-wild rice bread arrived shortly after we placed our order for dinner in Cattails Bar and Grill in Bemidji. It was an omen of a good meal to come.

In its first season, Cattails has become favorite place for eating out for many of the people who spend summers around Bemidji. This Sunday will be the last of the 7 to 11 a.m. breakfast service. But Cattails is looking ahead to fall and winter and will be serving $2 hamburgers in the bar Wednesday nights. Also waiting is an upstairs party room called "The Blind."

It was a Monday night in August when I had dinner in Cattails with a friend, Queenie Alphson (QA). We looked over the menu of steak, pasta and chicken and seafood.

It didn't take me long to order the walleye dinner. You get one large fillet for $15 or two for $20, and I knew that one would do because the entrees are served with choice of soup or salad, choice of baked twice or french-fried potatoes and bread. QA ordered chicken and broccoli Alfredo from the listing of three pasta dinners ($15).

The salads arrived. They were small and fairly standard, except that the sesame Thai dressing that came on the side lifted it out of the ordinary and added a nice lingering taste.

My walleye arrived with a crisp, gold coating, and I was glad I hadn't followed my first inclination to order it broiled, which is healthier but holds little appeal for me. The tartar sauce that came with it was light and lively tasting. The twice-baked potato was good, but I let it sit while enjoying a medley of carrots, green beans and peas.

Meanwhile, QA was amazed at the large portion of her pasta dish and surprised when the chicken breast was cut up rather than whole as she expected from the description on the menu. Our server said they cut up the breast to make it easier to eat but it can be served whole.

All in all, we agreed dinner in Cattails is a pleasing, relaxing experience. The place is rather small and intimate with seating for 80. The tables are covered with white, deep green and plaid tablecloths. Crisp white napkins await in goblets. There are small candleholders on each table. And the decor is northwoodsy with pine tree designs in the lamps and a feel of duck hunting.

Three servers were on the job, and the service was nicely paced. There were no long lapses of waiting and at the same time no feeling of being rushed.

Cattails opened in March, when Gretchen Fjerstad and her husband, Craig, took over the restaurant that had been Northwoods Steak House for the past few years. Before that it was Noel's.

Gretchen Fjerstad is encouraged with the business she has had during her first summer. A native of Fisher, Minn., she spent the previous nine years as food and beverage manager in the Town and Country Club in Bemidji. She branched out on her own with the help of her husband, whose full-time work is with North Star Materials. They have one daughter, Shelby, 5.

During the summer, the Fjerstads built a party room above the bar. It was space formerly occupied as an apartment and space sitting empty. Now, it is an inviting room with a hunting theme, and they call it The Blind. It reflects her interest in Ducks Unlimited. They hope to host private parties in The Blind during the fall and winter.

The menu includes appetizers, salads and sandwiches. Dinner choices are steaks, pasta, chicken and seafood. Prime rib, which is listed as a specialty, is available Fridays and Saturdays.

I didn't care much for the taste of the water in the carafe, but I liked the fairly large serving of vegetables because they were well done but not overcooked.

We had to ask the waitress to light the little candle on our table. Somehow, a flickering candle adds to the enjoyment of a nice meal. The restrooms are sparkling clean and attractive.

All in all, you leave Cattails feeling you would like to come back. For me, it might be this fall, and certainly next summer.