A few weeks ago I had a behind-the-scenes tour of Cory Block Bakery in downtown Great Falls. I had eaten lunch there a few times and I suppose I should admit that I had found my way there for a breakfast pastry a time or two. Manager Alyssa Storrusten learned her culinary skills in Canada and her favorite thing to make is cupcakes. Beautiful cupcakes! She uses locally grown and milled organic grains and local … Read more
The other day I joined friends for lunch at a restaurant named Fire, located in downtown Great Falls. We assumed that Fire was named for the wood-fired method of cooking pizza and then it started a discussion among us. One of my lunch buddies owns a restaurant and tavern, and another is a kitchen designer. The restaurant owner said she had often thought a wood fired oven would be a fun addition to her restaurant. … Read more
Here’s the beginning of the story – I simply HAD to eat one more piece of pie to keep my record of “verifying” every pie location on Central Montana’s pie trail, Pie a la Road. There was no long road trip for this one. In fact, I could have (should have) walked to Roadhouse Diner in Great Falls. Roadhouse Diner is known for several things – their amazing and unique burgers, delicious fries, large portions, … Read more
You can call it a music festival (and it is) but it is so much more! It’s a celebration of rural life, of family, of small and big towns, all happening in the middle of a pasture just outside of White Sulphur Springs. The town of White Sulphur Springs has almost a thousand people living there but attendance at Red Ants Pants Music Festival tops 16,000. Just a few good folks over for a visit! … Read more
When I first heard about the event called Montana’s Longest Table I couldn’t quite visualize how they would structure it, but I knew I wanted to attend. What is it? Two city blocks in Lewistown were closed off and long tables were placed down the middle of the streets. Area restaurants were contacted and eleven of them agreed to each make 200 samples (200 tickets were sold). The best part…they needed to use a product … Read more
Lewistown’s Montana Winter Fair definitely qualifies for having unique events. My favorite yodeler is Wylie Gustafson of Yahoo fame and he and his band, The Wild West, were performing an evening concert to kick off the Montana Winter Fair weekend. That was enough to get me to pack my bags and drive to Lewistown. The concert was held in the Grand Hall of the Eagles on Main Street. Thank goodness I had a ticket because … Read more
The other night I took my two granddaughters out to dinner and I thought they might enjoy going to Tracy’s Restaurant in downtown Great Falls and playing the jukeboxes in the booths. I eagerly told them where we were going to go for burgers and fries and said we could play the jukebox. Jukebox? They looked at me and said “what’s a jukebox?”. So much for my big surprise – they didn’t even know what it … Read more
When I first heard about a new saloon, a restaurant and a small motel being built in the little community of Dupuyer, Montana I had my doubts. I wondered if it would really happen and if so, how would it turn out. A few weeks ago I was able to see the finished products of this huge investment in Dupuyer. In fact, I had lunch at the restaurant and thoroughtly enjoyed it. US Highway 89 … Read more
I stopped at Tall Boys Tavern in Hobson last week to check out this new business. It is more than a tavern, much more, because they are also serving lunches and dinners daily. The name is unique and it comes from the owners’ sons being, well, tall boys! The next thing I found that was unique was their slogan – fancy BUT NOT FANCY. I wasn’t quite sure what that meant but I figured it … Read more
When you mention the town of Highwood not everyone knows the location. They may have heard of the nearby Highwood Mountains which are easily viewed from the town or, some folks may have heard of their high school football team. Well, Highwood is about 32 paved miles east of Great Falls. There is a little creek that runs through the community (Highwood Creek) and the highway pretty much cuts through the middle of town. The … Read more