10 Well-liked Montana Meals & Drinks (You Should Attempt!)

Prepare for a style of the wild in Huge Sky Nation. Montana’s delicacies displays the various landscapes and love of custom within the Treasure State. From native substances to scrumptious dishes at eating places, listed here are 10 standard Montana meals and drinks you could attempt. I wager a few them will shock you!

This story is delivered to you in partnership with Go to Montana and is predicated on my household’s adventures within the Huge Sky State.

This web site generally receives compensation, hosted journey, or merchandise associated to weblog posts. This text could embrace affiliate hyperlinks at no additional value to customers. As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn cash from qualifying purchases.

1. Huckleberries

Huckleberries are one of the vital well-known meals in Montana, and for good cause. These vibrant berries are usually not solely a scrumptious deal with but in addition 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. Present in mountainous areas and infrequently in areas which have just lately 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 a number of packaged huckleberry treats in native shops, too. So, choose up some huckleberry jam, pancake syrup, candies, or different goodies to carry the style of Montana residence!

2. Steaks & Burgers

Indulging in a steak in Montana celebrates the state’s wealthy ranching heritage. In actual fact, Montana ranks #7 within the U.S. for beef cattle manufacturing. Consuming locally-raised beef ensures a tasty farm-to-table expertise. 

Burgers are additionally a giant deal in Montana. Along with 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 residence, however my efforts don’t evaluate to the over-the-top deliciousness served at this Townsend restaurant.

3. Farm Recent Produce

Montana grows greater than huckleberries and cows. With over 58 million acres of farmland, Montana is a treasure trove of agricultural delights. Widespread crops embrace wheat, lentils, peas, and potatoes.

Discover 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. Domestically grown fruits embrace 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 too can style the state’s farm contemporary goodness in native eating places. Are you able to 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 tremendous eating.

4. Rainbow Trout

The most typical fish in Montana is the rainbow trout. Freshly caught from the state’s pristine rivers and lakes, this standard Montana meals is a staple on many restaurant menus. This culinary delight is cherished for its delicate, flaky texture and delicate, barely nutty taste. Usually, 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 Lodge Restaurant in Huge Timber. Served with an enormous baked potato, greens, and salad, until you’re a giant eater, you possibly can undoubtedly 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 luxurious meadows, the state of Montana gives the proper backdrop for a memorable picnic. You may order boxed lunches from cafés and delis close to Glacier Nationwide Park, Yellowstone Nationwide Park, or Montana’s plentiful state parks.

My household picked up made-to-order sandwiches from Huge Timber’s Earth Clever Common Retailer, the place the main target is on sustainable, native meals. We ate our meal on the close by Lions Membership Park with its lovely Montana-themed playground. Even higher, you possibly can drive 25 miles south from Huge Timber to Pure Bridge Falls within the Gallatin Nationwide Forest for a gorgeous picnic spot.

There are additionally eating choices inside Montana’s state and nationwide parks. For instance, we obtained 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 gives a bevy of craft brews for beer connoisseurs and informal imbibers. Lots of Montana’s breweries welcome children and a few provide stay music. Most provide non-alcoholic choices like sodas or juices, too.

The preferred native beer is Moose Drool. Missoula’s Huge Sky Brewing Firm 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 Firm in a historic 1888 financial institution constructing in Philipsburg, or Blackfoot River Brewing Firm, a taproom that serves free popcorn alongside their handcrafted beers in Helena.

7. Barbecue

You is perhaps stunned to be taught that BBQ is without doubt one of the hottest meals within the Huge Sky State. Montana ranks as the U.S. state that loves BBQ greatest, primarily based 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 notably tender and attractive. There are a bunch of sides to select from, like fried okra, mac and cheese, or coleslaw. Better of all, although, is their inexperienced chili cheese grits. The onsite One Satisfaction Brewing serves all types of suds on faucet, too.

For a Huge Sky Nation twist, Montana Metropolis Grill & Saloon is famend for its hen or pork ribs slathered with huckleberry BBQ sauce. It’s situated simply three miles exterior Helena in Montana Metropolis.

8. Hearty Breakfast

In a state identified for its farming, cattle ranching, and outside 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. One other 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. Espresso

Whether or not you need a terrific cuppa joe to assist wash down your large morning meal, otherwise you’re searching for 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.

Search for regionally roasted coffees in Montana eating places and occasional outlets. Montana Espresso Merchants is probably the most extensively supplied model. They’ve their very own coffeehouses in White Fish, the place the corporate launched in 1981. You may purchase their beans on-line, too, like their Montana Mix and Grizzly Bend.

My household was keen on The Espresso Cease‘s intensive menu that includes coffees, teas, smoothies, and “Foo Foo Drinks” just like the Candy Kiss made with white chocolate and strawberry. Pull by means of the drive-through or head indoors for a breakfast sandwich or burrito to get pleasure from together with your drinks.

10. Pizza

Do you know pizza is without doubt one of the hottest Montana meals? In actual fact, 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, constantly exhibits up on lists of one of the best pizza within the state. A favourite is the Salsiccia Pizza, that includes Italian sausage, roasted purple peppers, and mozzarella and mascarpone cheeses.

Finest identified for his or her selfmade cinnamon rolls and different baked items, it ought to come as no shock that Huge Timber Bakery in Huge 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.

Deal with your tastebuds to a different tempting choice at Deep Creek Pizza Co in Townsend. Their crispy skinny crust is made with Kamut Khorasan Flour, produced from historical grains grown in Montana and praised for its ease of digestibility even by gluten-sensitive of us like me. (A gluten-free crust is obtainable, too.) Their pies jogged my memory of the genuine pizzas you’ll discover in Italy — by no means what I used to be anticipating. Then once more, possibly that’s precisely the caliber of delicacies I ought to have anticipated to search out in a small city in Montana!

Style Extra Scrumptious Meals

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For excellent meals at residence, learn these useful ideas for internet hosting a yard BBQ with out stress.

Save These Well-liked Montana Meals

For future reference, save this listing of what to eat in Montana. Merely pin one of many pictures above or beneath to Pinterest. Go forward and comply with me on Pinterest when you’re at it!

Once you consider Montana meals, what dish do you consider? Tell us within the feedback beneath!

A Be aware from Colleen: Go to Montana sponsored this weblog publish about Montana meals and drinks. Comply with @visitmontana on Instagram for extra inspiration. All opinions are mine, as all the time.

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