Our 2014 Dining Report

Have you had a good, bad or indifferent experience at a restaurant in the Glacier area? Let us know about it right here!

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llholmes1948
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Our 2014 Dining Report

Post by llholmes1948 »

Since I haven't yet gotten my act together sufficiently to post a real trip report I thought I would at least post a dining report from our trip to Glacier in July. Unfortunately we didn't really concentrate on dining out on this trip as opposed to some years so this report may not be that helpful. We only went out for breakfast once (Buffalo Café) but fortunately others have posted some good breakfast recommendations on the Chat to make up for our absence.

So for what it is worth, here it is:

1. Tamarack Brewing Co. - Missoula. Not exactly on the doorstep of Glacier but I thought I would mention this place. Our son, Martin, flew into Missoula on this trip so on the morning after our arrival in Spokane, we drove to Missoula to pick him up. We made an extended stop in Missoula while our daughter, Christi, visited with some Missoula friends. In the meantime, we checked out the new Tamarack Brewing location in Missoula. Their original place is at Lakeside as I understand.

http://www.tamarackbrewing.com/pdf/TPH_ ... 2_2012.pdf

The food and the beer were just great. I had the Bleu and Brie Burger which I really enjoyed. The only problem which I found was the choice of dining on the outdoor balcony which my wife, Carlene, and Martin wanted to do. It seemed like a nice choice at first. Martin, who lives in LA, and Carlene, a Kentucky native, were evidently relishing the 90 degree temperature in Missoula that afternoon. However, after a while, I, fresh from the cool and refreshing coast of Maine, thought I was going to croak with the heat and almost fled to the company of the crazed soccer fans in the air conditioned section of the restaurant. But I survived. Next time I will eat inside.

2. Buffalo Café - Whitefish. We were initially disappointed not to be able to find accommodations in West Glacier for our first night but then we realized that staying at the Cheap Sleep in Whitefish would provide a perfect excuse to have breakfast at the Buffalo Café. We were not disappointed. What a great place for breakfast.

3. Glacier Highland - West Glacier. We stopped in at the Glacier Highland late one evening about 9 P.M. Martin had a burger and the rest of us had various salads. They were delicious. So delicious in fact that I was looking forward to going back to the Glacier Highland on our last night in Glacier to have another salad but we were late leaving Many Glacier that afternoon so we did not have that chance. In the past we have also enjoyed the pizzas at the Glacier Highland.

4. Lake McDonald Lodge - The only thing we tried there was the centennial brew and it was great. Hats off to the Great Northern Brewing Company for this brew which is an honor to the Lodge.

5. Johnsons - St. Mary. Johnsons was a bit of a disappointment this trip. We went to Johnsons on the evening of July 14th when it was raining heavily. The place was packed and we were told that the wait list was an hour. It actually turned out to be about 25 minutes. They were out of a number of items. We were told that it was the first night of the season that they were really busy. Carlene and I had the meatloaf family dinner and Martin and Christi had the chicken family dinner. They were good but they just didn't seem to be as good as in the past. The place just seemed to be stressed. Maybe the heavy rain had propelled more people in from the campgrounds who decided not to cook out that night. Perhaps other people were refugees from the Park Café. Maybe all of those extra people added to the stress of the place.

Christi and I want to give Johnsons another try. Carlene has told me that she does not care to go back. Hopefully our experience was an aberration and I wonder how others have found Johnsons this year.

6. Two Medicine Café - East Glacier. The Two Medicine Café is the only restaurant open all year in East Glacier. We had burgers and salads there and they were very good as usual. An added benefit is that while you are waiting for your meal, you can go through an interior side door to the Trading Post and check out their large selection of Glacier t-shirts, other clothing, fudge, and gifts. (Just be careful of bear spray prices - in my 2007 survey, the East Glacier Trading Post had the highest price for bear spray in the area - $49.95. I don't know if that has changed.)

7. Two Sisters - Babb. This is a second-hand report because I didn't actually go there! I was not feeling well that afternoon so I rested at the motel while Carlene and the kids went on a hike to Iceberg Lake and out to eat. They returned to report that they checked out the menu at the Cattle Baron but decided not to eat there. They decided to eat at Two Sisters instead. They were absolutely effusive in their praise of the burgers and salads at Two Sisters. (Christi denied recently that she was that effusive in her praise of Two Sisters, but she lies - she was that effusive!) Carlene has told me that there is no question that she wants to eat at Two Sisters in the future instead of Johnsons.

So that is our report. I am especially sorry that we did not make it to the Back Room in Columbia Falls on this trip because that is one of my favorite places. Oh, and we did go to the Pizza Hut in Whitefish - good pizza and great salad.

Lyman
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