BROOKINGS – The Pheasant Restaurant & Lounge was the only South Dakota eatery to make the list in O The Oprah Magazine’s “The U.S. of Yum” article in the July issue.

The writers of the article said the goal was to let folks know where the best food was while they were vacationing, and they included places from Alabama to Wyoming.

“You know, several of the states had two or three establishments showcased and South Dakota had one, which was us,” said Michael Johnson, head chef and general manager.

“We’re totally honored because there are some really great restaurants in Sioux Falls and Rapid City and all over the place, so we were a little shocked in that sense that they chose us,” he said.

The Pheasant got a nod in the article for their Dakota game dishes, specifically the pheasant salad sandwich, but Johnson shied away from agreeing his restaurant has a unique specialty.

“We haven’t always historically been known for, like, a signature game dish,” he said.

The Pheasant has been known to serve duck wings, South Dakota grass-fed bison, goat and venison, lamb, wild-caught walleye and, of course, those pheasant sandwiches and pheasant salad wraps, but they also have whipped up some vegetarian curry, Thai and French food.

“But we always sort of keep it grounded in what we find interesting about authentic South Dakota cuisine,” Johnson said.

In that, he’s keeping alive the legacy of his grandparents Ron and Georgie Olson, who owned and operated The Pheasant through most of its 68-year history.

“My grandparents have always been very innovative with food,” Johnson said.

Before owning The Pheasant, the Olsons opened a pizza place in Madison “when most people in this part of the country had never heard of pizza,” Johnson said. They featured “rattlesnake meat and salted cherry blossoms, just funky interesting things.”

They brought their unique style to Brookings and, over time, “The Pheasant was a reflection of what people wanted in the area,” Johnson said.

“When I took the reins, about 10-ish years ago is when we started realizing there was something of value in the history of this place and of this area,” Johnson said. “A lot of other restaurants were trying to replicate what they thought was happening elsewhere and we wanted more to show honor to things that we feel eastern South Dakota could contribute to the growing interest in culinary culture.”

Johnson is acutely aware of the Pheasant’s balancing act of honoring the past and looking toward the future.

“When you’ve been here so long, rather than using your venue as your own mouthpiece, you find yourself feeling like a steward of a tradition or an institution. We try to honor that as much as we can, as well as keep it interesting for ever-changing tastes,” Johnson said.

“We will always stay true to our roots and because we’ve been shown so much love by the community, it’s really part of our concept to show the love right back,” Johnson said.

“I always have a sense of direction in my head, but sometimes a spontaneous notion will hijack the show and who knows what will happen,” he said.

Contact Jodelle Greiner at jgreiner@brookingsregister.com.