259381 Sat Jun 10 10:21:11 -0700 2006 18 25 Elsewhere In America 0 1371448 I will be visiting Helena, Missoula, and Bozeman Montana for a week next month. I am looking for suggestions for lunch and dinner. Any cuisine...all price ranges. It is my first visit to Montana so your suggestions are greatly appreciated. Sat Jun 10 10:21:11 -0700 2006 0 Joan Wallace 1 1371450 Joan, I know you've had a hard time getting responses to your requests. Same thing happened to me last year before our trip, so I just started googling around "Montana". I found this site about Big Sky (Montana) bloggers--maybe try contacting some of them for more specifics about dining. Plus you'll learn a bit about Montana. (consider the fact that for that huge state, there's only one area code. For all telephones, faxes, computers, etc. Not a lot of folks up there!) I posted about our experiences but they were all in western Montana. (none in Missoula) Good luck! tj Link: http://bigskyblog.com/index.php?p=199 Sat Jun 10 11:24:04 -0700 2006 1371448 0 toodie jane 2 1371452 Thanks...I appreciate your help. I will post when I return. Sun Jun 11 23:34:37 -0700 2006 1371450 0 Joan Wallace 1 1371457 You may also want to try the Pacific Northwest board, as I have sometimes seen reviews of Montana restaurants posted there. Mon Jun 12 21:14:22 -0700 2006 1371448 0 spicygirl 1 1732963 The Depot in Missoula is a favorite of ours! Great steaks and local trout. I am sure local beef! Nice dining experience. Sat Jul 08 04:15:11 -0700 2006 1371448 11408 melly 1 1743143 Be sure to drive over to Livingston from Bozeman (20 minute drive) for dinner at Russell Chatham's place. Ask anyone where it is...amazing food, and Russell is known to work the door sometimes! Also in Livingston, there's a hotel that has a new restaurant on the bottom floor...I'm blanking, but it's great! Thu Jul 13 19:33:58 -0700 2006 1371448 18261 aaustin 1 1744475 I do not have my travel notes or my guidebooks with me. However, there is an EXCELLENT old-fashioned soda fountain located in the downtown Helena area. Fri Jul 14 14:08:22 -0700 2006 1371448 12471 jlawrence01 2 1768341 The soda fountain in Helena is the Parrot. It is a great, very old place. Actually a candy store with a soda fountain. Next door, or a couple of doors away, is a bar that serves great lunches and hamburgers. In MT, often the best food comes out of the old bars. Off Broadway in Helena is a good choice for dinner, as is the Windbag Saloon on The Gulch. In Bozeman, I wouldn't miss John Bozeman's Bistro, along with the other fine suggestions from this group. If you drive from Bozeman to Helena, be sure to stop at Wheat Montana. Missoula has so many fine places to eat I can't even start to list them. Wed Jul 26 15:07:19 -0700 2006 1744475 16407 Jane917 1 1750511 An interesting lunch choice (there's one in Helena and one in Missoula) is the Staggering Ox, where what they call sandwiches could just as easily be called salads in bread bowls -- they come in hollowed-out loaves in the shape of tin cans, the lettuce and cheeses are shredded, and there's a choice of sauces that might as well be dressings. In Bozeman, the "Roadhouse" branch of the MacKenzie River Pizza chain has a signature flank steak served with horseradish butter and blue cheese that I quite enjoyed. Tue Jul 18 01:45:36 -0700 2006 1371448 17813 Bill on Capitol Hill 1 1768357 I forgot to recommend the Cateye Cafe in Bozeman for breakfast. It is open for other lunch and dinner, but I have only been for breakfast. Wed Jul 26 15:12:11 -0700 2006 1371448 16407 Jane917 1 1771992 See the post on this board about Bozeman and Missoula. Some good reviews on places. It was posted by Tripper. Thu Jul 27 22:29:57 -0700 2006 1371448 11408 melly 1 1772061 I'm a native who lives outside MT now, but goes back. My suggestions for Bozeman may be a little dated... First, Bozeman's a college town, so a lot of the best eats are geared towards that crowd. One of my favorites is the Mackenzie River Pizza chain, the original of which is in downtown Bozeman. Very decent "creative pies". The local favorite is Columbo's Pizza on College between 10th and 11th Streets -- they have red, white, pink and green. You might also try Pickle Barrel sandwhiches (College and 8th Street); I don't actually care for them, but they are a local legend. Very big with lots of fillings. There are also independent burrito places, a decent cajun place, etc., so you can eat fairly cheaply and well. Second, the nicest spots for dinner in Bozeman are probably John Bozeman's Bistro and perhaps Boodles (though Boodles is priced very high). Downtown's Plonk is the most yuppie spot in Bozeman; it has a great wine selection and "small plates" -- tapas -- that are popular at places like LA's AOC and Seattle's Lark. It's currently my favorite place in town. You might also consider the "Mint" in downtown Belgrade -- 8 miles west of Bozeman. I've also heard the Gallatin Gateway Inn has made a resurgence and it's probably the nicest room in the area. Gallatin Gateway is about 15 miles to the southwest of Bozeman, but a very nice old railroad hotel. Thu Jul 27 22:59:10 -0700 2006 1371448 22177 brownhound 2 3334474 I tell you what. If I visit Montana again, particularly NW Montana or Lincoln County, I would consider my time well spent to scour each little town for a soda shop. Ask for a huckleberry milkshake. It's not usually why I look into Chowhound, but there isn't anything better than a freshly made huckleberry milkshake from Montana. Fri Jan 25 23:08:08 -0800 2008 1772061 139264 will bass 3 3429863 huckleberry lemonade Hamilton is pretty great, too ditto huckleberry gelato in Kalispel huckleberry pie, oh my, ANYwhere you can find it. Sun Feb 24 11:25:10 -0800 2008 3334474 11234 toodie jane 2 3836007 Although I am from Upstate NY, I went to college at MSU-Bozeman in the early 1970's. Just by your post I can see things have changed a lot in 35+ years. But I am glad to see the Pickle Barrel is still around.Yes, the subs are HUGE, and at that time, they were very inexpensive, good for college folk. There was also a Montana-based pizza chain called "Little Big Men" named after the Dustin Hoffman movie. They made deliveries in these little VW dune buggies called the "Pizza Ponies". At that time, there were no McD's, or BK. There was a Big Boy in town, A Sambo's and a couple of small western-based pizza chains and that was about it. Bozeman is a great town, I hope you enjoy your trip. Thu Jul 03 08:10:59 -0700 2008 1772061 183407 mack184 3 3873584 Pickle Barrel hasn't changed much at all. Little Big Men has been gone since, I'm speculating now, about 1990. It was killed off by Pizza Hut, Dominos and Godfathers. The Village Inn stuck around until it turned into a casino around 2005 or so. I think Big Boy's still there, but Sambo's is, I believe, dead and buried. I suspect there was an A&W you may have patronized at the corner of 11th and College. It's now a mini-mall with a Kinkos, coffee shop, etc. Wed Jul 16 08:35:16 -0700 2008 3836007 22177 brownhound 1 3659520 I just have to chime in to say that Missoula is actually a real hotbed of grubshedding and there are several really excellent restaurants that pride themselves on using almost exclusively locally produced ingredients-- no small feat given the short Montana growing season! The Red Bird and Scotty's Table both serve delicious and special food; Bernice's Bakery and Le Petit Outre are two incredible local bakeries-- the first for treats like turnovers and bars, the second for artisan breads. In any case, I had to add the thought that Montanans enjoy good food of many types-- it's not all about venison steaks and huckleberry shakes. Mon May 05 17:13:08 -0700 2008 1371448 189827 missoulagrace 2 4762011 Well, perhaps for us folks who are visiting Montana from other parts of the country, maybe it is all about Venison Steaks and Huckleberry Shakes and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. I can get artisan breads and turnovers locally. Wed Jun 10 20:10:46 -0700 2009 3659520 172515 ohso 1 3796777 Joan: In Bozeman try Plonk on Main Street also on Main John Bozeman's Bistro. In Belgrade t(8 miles west of Bozeman) The Mint Bar has great food. Fri Jun 20 05:08:06 -0700 2008 1371448 202389 Newblom