Harvest Restaurant Mandan

See that handsome fella?  That's my brother.  Smart, sweet...and newly single!  As his big sister, I will commence taking applications for his new girlfriend, as of course they must have my stamp of approval first.  Right bro?  Right?  ...Dude?

Whenever a new restaurant opens in town, there's an audible buzz. "Have you been there yet? What's it like? Is it good? How much does it cost?" During a family gathering last night, some were talking about the new Harvest Brazilian Grill opening on Main Street on Mandan. In case others are wondering the same thing, I was there on opening night, and I'm here to tell you - it's good. Really. Go. Try it. Please.

I've been a big fan of Harvest ever since they opened their original restaurant in Linton. The restaurant in Linton was like a secret treasure, with warmth and surprising elegance in a small rural town (you can read more about the old Linton location here, which has since closed for relocation to Mandan). Zila, a kind, elegant Brazilian woman, found herself in rural North Dakota after her husband took a medical job here and decided to open a restaurant, demonstrating an energy and zest for life that belies her age. Her son Edgar had the idea to add a Brazilian grill to the restaurant and it blossomed into what you'll find today on Main Street in Mandan.

The star attraction is the Brazilian grill.  It runs $30/person, but it's all-you-can-eat meat.  And we're talking top quality meat.  Steaks, chicken, sausage, parmesan pork, even pineapple are all brought to your table on big skewers and sliced off onto your plate.  The servers come around quickly and frequently to refresh your plate and offer different items to try.  If you need a break from the servers, just flip a card on your table to red and they'll stop coming to your table until you flip your card back to green again, indicating you are ready for more.

Of course, there is always room for improvement.  In my personal opinion, the salad bar is just average, I was hoping for more variety there - except for Zila's famous rice and black beans, don't miss those! And making the dining area more inviting will be a work in progress as it's a huge space, different from the cozy warmth I remember from Harvest in Linton (I missed the tablecloths).  But overall, it's new, it's different, it's locally owned - and it's delicious.

Postscript - I returned to Harvest for dinner in December 2011 and it was even better than I remembered.  The restaurant was bustling with customers, the service was smooth, the lighting was dimmer/better, the salad bar had a few upgrades, and the blank walls were filled with some nice prints.  Still $30/person, or you can do a mini version for $25, which is exactly the same meatastic experience except you don't get a couple of the red meats.  I had the mini version, my husband had the full version, and frankly, I didn't notice a difference. So glad to see fresh, innovative restaurants filling downtown Bismarck-Mandan!