Playing With Our Food

“Do you want to go with us to Pocatello?” That was the question from my daughter, Aubrey. Her family, University of Montana football season ticket holders, planned to make the 375-mile trek to watch the Griz play at Idaho State. “Heck yeah!” He said: Aubrey, Kenny and the kids picked me up from work and brought me lunch for the drive - some apple slices and a thick slick of Papa Murphy 5-meat pizza, just like I had on a Clark River paddleboard outing with Lori. Nothing like getting a road trip off on the right food, er, foot.  The first stop on our trip was an overnighter with family in Rexburg, 80 miles from our game-day destination. As we rolled into town, we hit dinner at Millhollow, self-touted as the oldest homegrown restaurant and the first to bring both frozen yogurt and toasted sandwiches to town. Millhollow sandwiches are basically “build your own,” which I did – ham, banana peppers, EXTRA pickles (always!) and honey mustard. And I washed it down with a smooth Just Pe...

“Hey Mark,” a co-worker said as she popped her head into my office, “we’re all getting an early out today. Tell your crew to head home at 3:30.” Sweet! It was a Friday afternoon. And outside we had sunshine and early fall temperatures in the 70s. Now, what to do with that perfect weather to take advantage of a 90-minute head start to the weekend? One hour later, there we were in the mountains just above our house. He said: When you need a quick meal, you defer to a favorite – or in this case, two favorites and an all-time favorite side “dish.” For me, favorite number-one is what I call “salad pizza,” though this was a mini-version of my usual full plate mounding. That’s a base of lettuce and then all kinds of ingredients on top like white cabbage, red cabbage (yeah, I like cabbage), carrots, tomatoes, banana peppers, pickles, ham, cheese and slather it with a healthy dose of sweet and spicy French dressing just like you’d bury a regular pizza in cheese. (Side note: I’d usually inc...

One of best ways to pass a hot, summer Montana day is to head to the river. Lori and I love to paddleboard so we made an afternoon of it on the Clark Fork River that flows through our small valley. We have two floating options, seven miles or 12 miles, when dropping in at the fishing access in Frenchtown. On this day, we decided to float the shorter route to the tiny community of Ninemile. Of course, that meant packing a lunch, too. He said: From the access parking area, it’s at least a quarter mile walk to a slough that flows into the river. We put our paddleboards and paddles under our arms and started the hike in. Once we reached the slough, we put in and floated probably another quarter to half mile to the river. As we did so, I saw a trout that had to be at least 20 inches long. (Note to self: come back here to fish!) Since it was already lunch time, we didn’t want to waste any time to find a spot to grab a bite to eat. Once we met the main stem of the river, the current push...

As a “burger and fry guy,” there’s nothing like that meal before joining thousands of your closest college football friends on the opening Saturday of a new season. And when that means a pre-game stop at one of my favorite burger joints –Five Guys – man oh man, just BRING IT! He said: One thing I love about Five Guys is you can start eating without even paying for it. Standing in line to order, I scooped up a handful of peanuts and started cracking shells. Once at the counter, I went with my go-to: a (really not so) little cheeseburger loaded with extra pickles, BBQ sauce, ketchup, mustard, grilled mushrooms and grilled onions, regular fries and a cup of water. Normally, I’d go for a peanut butter shake to boot but given that it was already 80+ degrees outside and we expected temperatures in the mid-90s for game day, I wanted to get a head start on hydrating. I love me a napkin-a-bite burger, and Five Guys always delivers. After each bite of my burger, I had to use a napkin to clean...

Sometimes, simple is the best way to go, especially when you have a long ways to go. He said: When facing a long, winding, two-hour drive followed by a demanding but short (thank goodness) hike, you don’t need to get fancy with what you eat. Simple, filling and tasty works best. And on this day, that meant a ham, turkey and cheese sandwich with a large honeycrisp apple and a handful of Snickers bites. (Side note: Snickers of any size are my go-to when climbing mountain ridges and hunting elk and deer in the fall. They provide a sweet, tasty, nutritious pick-me-up.) She said: (out of state) By the way… located high above the Fish Creek drainage 23 miles south of exit 66 on Interstate 90 and about 65 miles west of Missoula, Montana, Surveyor Lake was the destination on this day. My brother, Alan, and I arrived at the unmarked trailhead at about 9:15 or so in the morning after a long, windy, dusty, bumpy drive. We pulled on our large, 40-pound backpacks complete with paddleboar...

Off the beaten path, laced with history and quality food. That about sums up Ekstrom’s Stage Station , 20 miles east of Missoula, Montana, off Interstate 90 and the Rock Creek exit. She said: This is just like eating in your grandma’s kitchen. And I mean that in the best of ways. Everything just tastes home cooked. My trout was perfectly cooked. It had a nice lightly breaded coating and was tender and flaky. The tartar sauce and my fish came out even—which is a thing for me. The mashed potatoes tasted just like home—not too smooth and not too chunky—but just right. You know your grandma wants you to get your vegetables so broccoli and carrots came on the side. They were also cooked just right. Did I mention that a salad bar came with the meal? It also was just like home. Not too fancy but did you right. The portion sizes were huge! Unfortunately, we didn’t have room for dessert but I think a return trip for huckleberry crumble might be in order. He said: “So tell me about the German s...