Visitor from Sacramento, CA…read more The night of my trip to the Lucky Dog, I was having a Bass Ale at Jim's Tap in brookings and catching up with my old friends. My buddy told me that a mutual acquaintance had been scouring the area within a half hour to find the best hamburger. "Interesting," I said, "what did he find?" "Well," my buddy replied, "he has it narrowed down to two places. The first is the Lucky Dog in Volga." "That's where we had lunch," I said. "The other is Lemke's in Aurora," he replied. "And that's where we had dinner." (My parents have been retired for years and share the passion for a great burger. This was their go to spot as well. Make no mistake. The cover does not match the book here.) The Lucky Dog is relatively small. It is a bar and grill. The dining/ bar area is is functional, adorned with the typical football schedules and happy hour announcements, but I wouldn't say cluttered. Everything appeared to be clean and well-maintained. Service was cheery and brisk. I ordered a Cowboy burger, mi esposa ordered the (basic) hamburger, add cheese. There are a couple of reasons I'm giving this place a five star review. The first one is that, other than this place being located in Aurora, I couldn't find anything wrong with it all. Clean restrooms, comfy seats, decent beer selection, kitchen looked clean. And the only reason I dislike it being in Aurora is that I can't get the delicious burgers they sell here more often. I suspect that the beef in the sandwich was either hand ground or at least very high quality and hand cut from a roll of beef (if you know, you know). I would guess it was a little over a 1/3 lb patty, but as it was cooked immaculately to a touch under medium and lost zero moisture to the flat-top, hard to say. The bun was tidy and perfectly performed its function of allowing me to hold the sandwich without making a mess. It was fresh and pillowy. The onion ring was crispy and delicious. The barbeque sauce rich and intoxicating. To an extent, there was a factor of more is less. The sandwich was neither too big nor too small. Just tidy, efficient and a bulls-eye shot to my happy place. You don't have to rewrite culinary history when you make a menu item. You need to honor its ingredients, and this sandwich absolutely did just that. Thank you so, so much Lucky Dog.

Pretty solid place for pub grub. I typically grab a burger and a beer. Servers are nice and prompt.read more

Best brisket sandwich I have ever had. Hands down. Jamie took great care of us. Very attentive…read more It's now called " The Half Pint"

You know that feeling -- when you take a chance on a 'dive' bar and discover friendly servers,…read moresuper cold beer on tap, AND THE BEST WINGS EVER! We tried plain wings and Carolina Tangy Gold. Both were outstanding. The outside of this building looks like an accountants office. But inside is clean and fun. TVs and lots of locals. So glad that someone recommended Grumpy's.

Classic local watering hole. Having the Vikings game from the UK on was a bonus! A very unique…read moreexperience.

Originally established as an auto repair shop the Bushnell Garage has gained a second life as a…read moremust visit social watering hole. Start off your visit with a shot at the Shake a Day pot then settle down to share a brew and chat with new found friends and neighbors. Bring along your favorite canine friend to serve as the evenings "Bark-tender" and don't forget to stop back for Sunday Church. The Bushnell is a not to be missed slice of Americana.

The food is great here but it's very loud in there - I'd suggest that they do something to absorb…read moresome of the sound . Maybe the thing that hangs on the wall, like some churches have on the platform walls

Bar food done right. Less fancy and more like old school childhood memory food, just better. All…read moreserved with delightfully friendly service and ice cold beer. We liked it here immediately and ended up staying longer than we'd planned because it felt just right. Check it out if you're in town.

Great food and friendly staff at the small town gem. We rode a couple hours on the motorcycle to…read morethis destination for dinner and it did not disappoint. Great little salad bar on the weekends. We haven't been there for the rib nite but I hear that's great too. We will be back.

arrived a little before 7.We felt rushed staff cleaning by us talking to co- workers across the…read morerestaurant. The food represented open just couple hrs YOU wILL FEEl LIKE YOUR IN A SLAUGHTER HOUSE!,,,Doors are locked. So if you want a regular hr business open Drive 15 minutes to Luverne MN to the Bull Pen.Happy environment no rush food is excellent service excellent .

This place is amazing! They have it fit for hunters to come and relax with deer, bison, mountain…read morelions and others on the wall. They have a great selection of whiskey including some harder to find stuff like Blantons and higher Crown Royals. The salad bar is one of those great salad bars in roadside steakhouses. The potato salad was great. If I was hungrier I would have gone for the Oreo fluff and a couple other things. I ordered the NY strip steak and fries. The steak was delicious and the fries were good, as well. The bartender and I talked about the area and discussed the bad weather they've been having lately and I asked about Castlewood. One of those great Midwest places!

Very disappointed in this place now, from a year ago. Six of us came for supper. Ordered burgers &…read morefries, and a patty melt and fries. All the burgers were charred and terrible. Fry portions were pathetic. The other disappointment was the service. Our waitress never checked on us, didn't care to ask how everything was, and would rather stand at the bar socializing.

Jake makes theeeee best food every time we come to visit. He's a wizard in the kitchen! His…read morehospitality is top notch and he makes everyone who walks through the door feel like family!! His sweet girlfriend is his Juicy Queen and together they make this ambiance the best place to be for a long weekend in Brookings during the summer! Such a great experience & we love them so much!!

Ultra friendly service in a rare combination of sports bar, tavern, casino, food stop…read more As an out of Towner I wasn't only treated well by the locals here but everyone went out of their way to make me feel welcome. If you are visiting from out of town, this is the best place to relax, drink a beer, get some food and play some casino games in a bright clean and friendly atmosphere. (Great place for parents dropping their kids at college or visiting their kids!)

Sorry to say that the deep fried appetizers, onion rings and mini corn dogs, looked burnt and…read moredidn't taste good. I sent them back and they came out just as bad. One cost $7 and the other one $8. After that I changed my mind and did not order an entree. I had to go back on my word that I was taking my grandson out for lunch. The place could have been a whole lot cleaner. I wouldn't say it was filthy but I wouldn't say it was clean. The menus were actually sticky and had food and gunk stuck to them. The waitress was perky and friendly and running around doing her best to keep everyone attended to. When I told her that the food she brought out was subpar and I wasn't happy with it, she said that it was fine but she would get me replacements. It was moments later she came back with food that looked exactly the same. I told her that I wasn't convinced it wasn't the same food... I swear it was just a burnt as burnt looking as before but it turned out she was right. This time the mini corn dogs were burnt on the outside and still frozen in the middle. My son-in-law, the chef, tells me that it was because the oil was old and rancid. Apparently this gives all food the appearance of being burnt with a bad taste. What I didn't appreciate was that I was asked to pay for food that anybody would have raised an eyebrow at and treated like I was the problem. The cook even came out of the kitchen and tried to nonchalantly check out who I was. When I met her I she gave me a dirty look and marched back off into the kitchen. Not recommended. I won't ever go back. If they don't know enough to know that they're serving people bad food or have the professionalism to own up to it when they have, then I have no time for them.

We stopped by Cubby's while passing through Brookings, and it ended up being a great choice. We…read moreheaded upstairs to the deck, which has a really nice atmosphere and was a great place to enjoy dinner. Our waitress greeted us almost immediately and was friendly and attentive throughout the meal. We ordered the nachos, chislic, and a Cobb salad, and everything was spot on. The Cobb salad was fresh, and the blue cheese dressing was especially good. The nachos were a pleasant surprise--they use real melted cheese instead of queso, and they were loaded with toppings. Being from out of state, we were told we had to try the chislic since it's a South Dakota staple. It reminded us a little of Chinese-style spare ribs in flavor. It was definitely tasty, though a bit chewier than we expected. Even so, we're glad we tried it and would recommend it to anyone wanting to experience a local specialty. Overall, great service, great food, and a fun atmosphere on the rooftop deck. We'd definitely recommend Cubby's if you're in Brookings.

We stopped at Cubby's for a snack following a visit to one of the local breweries,Eponymous…read moreBrewing, which I would also recommend for brewery fans. They have great beer! Cubby's has a rooftop and I'm a sun lover so that's where we sat. We ordered Thai nachos. They were delicious! Service was fantastic, fast and friendly. They have a lot of televisions if you're into sports and a wide variety on tap. It's a fun, energetic bar-restaurant!

Excellent food and beer on tap. The unique handmade pizzas are incredible. They also offer great…read morewings in several sauces and, in a delicious and unique twist, they serve a meatball version they call "beefies". I still haven't had everything on the menu, but what I've had hasn't disappointed. The environment is a great small town dive bar scene that is a South Dakota staple. You'll see locals, families, and the vacationing hunters here. Everything is clean, the people are great, and the beer is cold. This place has a lot going for it.

Great service and amazing food, hometown atmosphere they want me to write more stuff, but when it…read moresays good, no more words are needed.