How about Bozeman, Montana???

I'm heading up to Bozeman in a couple weeks and was wondering if there were any recommendations as to some interesting/good eats up in Big Sky country?

Any help would be great...

We didn't spend much (sober) time in Bozeman proper, but if you're at Big Sky resort they pretty-much own you. There /is/ a steak joint (I don't recall the name) just S. of the main entrance to BS that is definitely worth a visit. It had a good bar and a big (choice) steak. The area has been taken over by branded beef (Black Angus) so that may be what you get there now. As for downtown Bozeman, it rings more true to 'college town' than 'wild west'.

trent

Are you going to Bozeman exclusively or will you be driving around Montana? I have some ideas for other Montana cities.

Actually we're driving all around Montana (not staying at Big Sky ranch, by the way)...

Haven't been there before and open to any suggestions...

jlawrence01 wrote:Are you going to Bozeman exclusively or will you be driving around Montana? I have some ideas for other Montana cities.

When I get back home to my desk, I will have a few good ideas. One place to avoid at all costs - a place called Pork Chop John's in Butte, MT. And the food was pretty awful to boot.

I can't remember the names of the good places but the bad ones are NEVER forgotten (g).

Where will you be heading from Bozeman.

We're staying in Bozeman and using that as the hub to our day travels.. Helena for sure and pretty much anywhere else that is driveable.

On the way back to Chicago, we're heading thru all of the typical places: Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, Badlands, etc.

I hope you like chicken fried steak and don't care if the only vegetable you see for the whole trip is iceberg lettuce. We just came back from the Chicago to Yellowstone leg of your trip. We had a vegetarian with us for most of the trip and let me tell you, she didn't have it easy.

In Cody I can recommend Maxwell's (on Sheridan Ave) and the Beta coffee house (right across the street from the Irma hotel). There's also a gas station in the middle of nowhere, maybe 15-30 miles west of Cody on the road to Yellowstone that has a) cheap gas and b) ice cream cones that start at 35 cents. Both advertised so you can see it from the road.

From Cody to Buffalo, I recommend the route that takes you through Worland and Tensleep Canyon, despite the road construction delays, because Tensleep Canyon is one of the most beautiful places you will ever see. We also found surprisingly good Mexican in Worland at the Ranchito, 544 Big Horn Ave.

We did eat a lot of buffalo on the trip. The best was a burger in the Star Family Restaurant in Murdo, South Dakota. They also had good looking pies, though we didn't indulge.

And if the recent Time Magazine article inspired you take up letterboxing--we planted some great ones just off I-90. http://www.letterboxing.org

In Helena, the state capitol. There is a place called Parrot Confection that makes its own candy and ice cream. It is a well preserved soda fountain from the turn of LAST century and serves whatever you would like. It has some great stuff but has a pretty limited menu beyond ice cream.

In my opinion, the most memorable thing that we saw in Montana was the Charles Russell Museum and Studio in Great Falls which is several hour north of Bozeman. His artwork is outstanding and we spent a lot more time there than we planned. We stayed at the Great Falls Inn which is affiliated with Montana's largest hospital, The Great Falls Clinic. The rooms were large and very reasonable.

I would recommend Jaker's for their steaks, chops and fish, generally trout.

In Butte, the "hometown specialty" is the pasty, yes pretty similar to what you'll find in the UP. Why not? They were both areas settles with Cornish miners.

If you are expecting Chicago variety in Montana, I think that you'll be very disappointed with your time in Montana. On the other hand, I have yet to find as good of pie in Chicago as I had throughout Montana.

In Big Sky, I would definitely recommend Buck's T-4 located on Hwy 191. From the outside this place does not look like much at all and the fact that there's a Best Western attached to it doesn't really get your hopes up. However, the food is truly outstanding and the wine selection is great. If you're anywhere in the vicinity, give the place a try.



http://www.buckst4dining.com/index.html