Get prepared for a style of the wild in Big Sky Country. Montana’s delicacies displays the various landscapes and love of custom within the Treasure State. From native elements to scrumptious dishes at eating places, listed below are 10 widespread Montana meals and drinks you could strive. I guess a few them shock you!
This story is delivered to you in partnership with Visit Montana and relies on my household’s adventures within the Big Sky State.
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1. Huckleberries
Huckleberries are one of the vital well-known meals in Montana, and for good motive. These vibrant berries usually are not solely a scrumptious deal with but additionally an emblem of the state’s wild pure magnificence. Montana’s indigenous tribes have lengthy revered huckleberries, utilizing them in conventional dishes and for medicinal functions. Found in mountainous areas and infrequently in areas which have not too long ago burned, huckleberries are a prized discover.
Montana’s official state fruit tastes much like blueberries, however they’re a bit larger and extra tangy. You’ll discover huckleberries in sweets like ice cream, huckleberry pie, or huckleberry bear claws. Huckleberries additionally add zip to savory objects like meat glazes and salad dressings.
You’ll see numerous packaged huckleberry treats in native shops, too. So, choose up some huckleberry jam, pancake syrup, candies, or different goodies to convey the style of Montana dwelling!
2. Steaks & Burgers
Indulging in a steak in Montana celebrates the state’s wealthy ranching heritage. In reality, Montana ranks #7 within the U.S. for beef cattle manufacturing. Eating locally-raised beef ensures a tasty farm-to-table expertise.
Burgers are additionally an enormous deal in Montana. In addition to juicy patties produced from floor beef, search for elk burgers and bison burgers from sport meats on native menus.
I can’t cease interested by the Bacon Egger Burger at Bread & Butter Café. This 1/3-pound hamburger comes topped with bacon, cheddar cheese, hash browns, and a fried egg. I favored it a lot that I’ve tried to recreate this dish at dwelling, however my efforts don’t evaluate to the over-the-top deliciousness served at this Townsend restaurant.
3. Farm Fresh Produce
Montana grows greater than huckleberries and cows. With over 58 million acres of farmland, Montana is a treasure trove of agricultural delights. Common crops embody wheat, lentils, peas, and potatoes.
Find a colourful array of produce at farmers markets all through Montana. The state’s fertile soil makes it a terrific place to develop greens like tomatoes, squash, peppers, inexperienced beans, and leafy greens like lettuce and kale. Locally grown fruits embody apples, pears, plums, and apricots. Montana is legendary for its scrumptious cherries, particularly Flathead cherries that develop across the picturesque Flathead Lake, the state’s largest lake.
You also can style the state’s farm contemporary goodness in native eating places. Can you imagine I ordered the gorgeous backyard salad pictured above from a restaurant hooked up to a bowling alley? The Alley Bistro in Ennis prides itself on serving family-friendly superb eating.
4. Rainbow Trout
The commonest fish in Montana is the rainbow trout. Freshly caught from the state’s pristine rivers and lakes, this widespread Montana meals is a staple on many restaurant menus. This culinary delight is cherished for its delicate, flaky texture and delicate, barely nutty taste. Often, it’s served with lemon butter and ready grilled, baked, or pan-fried.
I loved a rainbow trout filet seared and topped with seasonings at The Grand Hotel Restaurant in Big Timber. Served with an enormous baked potato, greens, and salad, until you’re an enormous eater, you can positively cut up this dish.
5. Picnic Fare
If visiting Montana in summer season, then a picnic lunch is an absolute should. With its majestic mountains, serene lakes, and plush meadows, the state of Montana provides the right backdrop for a memorable picnic. You can order boxed lunches from cafés and delis close to Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park, or Montana’s plentiful state parks.
My household picked up made-to-order sandwiches from Big Timber’s Earth Wise General Store, the place the main focus is on sustainable, native meals. We ate our meal on the close by Lions Club Park with its cute Montana-themed playground. Even higher, you can drive 25 miles south from Big Timber to Natural Bridge Falls within the Gallatin National Forest for a ravishing picnic spot.
There are additionally eating choices inside Montana’s state and nationwide parks. For instance, we received salads and sandwiches from Caverns Café inside Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park. What a spectacular lunchtime view we had been handled to!
6. Craft Beer
Montana provides a bevy of craft brews for beer connoisseurs and informal imbibers. Many Montana breweries welcome children and a few provide stay music. Most provide non-alcoholic choices like sodas or juices, too.
The hottest native beer is Moose Drool. Missoula’s Big Sky Brewing Company brews this brown ale however it may be discovered at consuming and ingesting institutions all through the state.
Order a beer flight to pattern a number of hoppy choices from beloved spots like the comfortable Burnt Tree Brewing in Ennis, Philipsburg Brewing Company in a historic 1888 financial institution constructing in Philipsburg, or Blackfoot River Brewing Company, a taproom that serves free popcorn alongside their handcrafted beers in Helena.
7. Barbecue
You could be stunned to be taught that BBQ is without doubt one of the hottest meals within the Big Sky State. Montana ranks as the U.S. state that loves BBQ greatest, based mostly on barbecue eating places per capita, plus search quantity for phrases like brisket, ribs, and BBQ sauce.
In Belgrade, Bar 3 BBQ combines two native favorites — barbecue and beer. I discovered their smoked half hen with white barbecue sauce to be significantly tender and attractive. There are a bunch of sides to select from, like fried okra, mac and cheese, or coleslaw. Best of all, although, is their inexperienced chili cheese grits. The onsite One Pride Brewing serves all kinds of suds on faucet, too.
For a Big Sky Country twist, Montana City Grill & Saloon is famend for its hen or pork ribs slathered with huckleberry BBQ sauce. It’s situated simply three miles outdoors Helena in Montana City.
8. Hearty Breakfast
In a state identified for its farming, cattle ranching, and out of doors actions, it is sensible that its residents gasoline up with a hearty breakfast for an energetic day. At diners frequented by a loyal native clientele, you’ll discover stick-to-your-ribs favorites, like hen fried steak, potato hashes, tacky egg dishes, and pancakes topped with huckleberry syrup.
Step again in time at Yesterday’s Soda Fountain in Ennis, the place photographs of native legends adorn the cheery yellow partitions. Their signature breakfast dish is biscuits and sausage gravy. Another buyer favourite is their Indian fry bread served with honey butter. Yum!
Faye’s Café in Livingston receives 5 stars on Tripadvisor for its welcoming vibe, scratch-made meals, and vegetarian choices. You’ll discover loads of American requirements like scrambles and tacky grits plus muchos Mexican dishes like huevos rancheros, breakfast tacos, and pulled pork enchiladas.
9. Coffee
Whether you need a terrific cuppa joe to assist wash down your massive morning meal, otherwise you’re in search of a day pick-me-up, you’re in luck. Montana boasts a thriving espresso tradition, with quite a few espresso outlets and roasters unfold throughout the state.
Look for domestically roasted coffees in Montana eating places and low outlets. Montana Coffee Traders is essentially the most extensively provided model. They have their very own coffeehouses in White Fish, the place the corporate launched in 1981. You can purchase their beans on-line, too, like their Montana Blend and Grizzly Bend.
My household was keen on The Coffee Stop‘s extensive menu featuring coffees, teas, smoothies, and “Foo Foo Drinks” like the Sweet Kiss made with white chocolate and strawberry. It’s one of many solely eateries open within the mornings on Sundays in Big Timber, so pull by the drive-through or head indoors for a breakfast sandwich or burrito to take pleasure in along with your drinks.
10. Pizza
Did you realize pizza is without doubt one of the hottest Montana meals? In reality, Montana ranks among the many U.S. states with the best variety of pizzerias per capita, with 25.8 pizza outlets per 100,000 individuals.
Biga Pizza in Missoula, identified for its handmade sourdough crust, persistently reveals up on lists of the perfect pizza within the state. A favourite is the Salsiccia Pizza, that includes Italian sausage, roasted crimson peppers, and mozzarella and mascarpone cheeses.
Best identified for his or her selfmade cinnamon rolls and different baked items, it ought to come as no shock that Big Timber Bakery in Big Timber makes one heckuva pizza dough. The puffy crust is a pleasant mixture of lightness and chewiness, baked to perfection in a wood-fired oven. What’s extra, the bakery’s personal gluten-free crust was simply as scrumptious.
Treat your tastebuds to a different tempting possibility at Deep Creek Pizza Co in Townsend. Their crispy skinny crust is made with Kamut Khorasan Flour, produced from historic grains grown in Montana and praised for its ease of digestibility even by gluten-sensitive people like me. (A gluten-free crust is offered, too.) Their pies jogged my memory of the genuine pizzas you’ll discover in Italy — under no circumstances what I used to be anticipating. Then once more, possibly that’s precisely the caliber of delicacies I ought to have anticipated to seek out in a small city in Montana!
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A Note from The Travel Mama: Visit Montana sponsored this weblog submit about Montana meals and drinks. Follow @visitmontana on Instagram for extra inspiration. All opinions are mine, as all the time.