The game plan–
Graduate College, and between job seeking, take care of some much-needed gardening. blogging, and life “stuff.” Get a job, live happily ever after. The beautiful state of South Dakota had other plans. Yesterday, May 22nd…it snowed.

The rain is relentless. Last week though, my husband and I had a daytime opportunity to try out Harriet & Oak, an adorable cafe/coffee shop tucked in the rising East of Fifth neighborhood of Downtown Rapid City.

The best way to explain “East of Fifth” is the weird, natural ending to Main Street’s walkability right around Que Pasa Mexican Restaurant. The intersection is ridiculously large and busy, and more often than not, I don’t see anything immediately visible. Eh, VFW and a Furniture Store. So…we go home.

I’m a huge fan of community development, so taking some time to explore the East of Fifth area was long overdue. Also: Harriet & Oak is often recommended via word of mouth, so I figured it was time to check it out.

The Food:

I wish I had taken a picture of the menu–it’s pretty extensive. Simple items like waffles, pastries, and snacks complemented more fun things like Acai Bowls and breakfast wraps.

My husband opted for the Breakfast Burrito with sausage, and no cheese (because he’s picky *eyeroll*). The tortilla was perfectly crispy, with a nice and floury taste. It was a pretty simple burrito (probably due to my husband) but was well filled with mild and crumbly sausage and egg mixture.

I had heard that Harriet& Oak is one of only a few places in town that offered Acai Bowls. Now, I had no clue what an Acai Bowl actually contained, nor did I actually even know what “Acai” was or what it tasted like. But, you only live once, right?

I’m not a big bird food eater, but I did enjoy the Acai Bowl. All of the fruit (strawberry, blueberry, and banana that I could identify) was sweet and soft. It’s an interesting meal, sort of like a parfait with an acai blend instead of yogurt.

The Drinks–were good.

Solid, well blended. These people know and appreciate their coffee. I absolutely hate drinks that collect syrup at the bottom, and this passed the test. Forgive me though–I forgot what I had. My husband had a Spicy Honey Chai (Latte?) and it was also good. Not too bold, but not watery.

On a Similar note: The vibe

I mentioned earlier that Harriet & Oak is nestled in a fairly muted building. But it is far from ordinary on the inside.An open floor plan, clever design, and to my surprise–a lofty second floor are what make this little spot worth the stop. It truly reminded me of the random coffee shops in Philly. Yes, you can apparently eat inside of the bus, too.

I’ll definitely be back, that’s for sure.

For Directions, hours, and more on Harriet & Oak: click here.