Even as a travel writer it’s hard sometimes to look at the place you’re from — your hometown — as a travel destination. I know Whitefish, Montana, is a great place to live and a popular tourist resort town. When I see gardens like this one at a local cafe, I tend to take it for granted. That’s just how we do things around here. But it takes some change of perspective to see it from a travel writer’s point of view.

When it comes to eating out, though, the only effort required is deciding where to go. The Buffalo Cafe has been around for 30 years and is really the only place to get breakfast if you want to pretend to be a local. Lines can be long-ish for weekend brunch, but it’s worth it. I always get some form of Heuvos Rancheros and a big pot of Buffalo Blend coffee, roasted specially by Montana Coffee Traders.

Speaking of Montana Coffee Traders, they’re local, too. Since 1981 they’ve been providing Northwest Montana with some of the best coffee you’ll ever taste (I still order it from New York — locavore that I strive to be, you gotta draw the line at poor-quality coffee). You can visit their roasting station in a restored farmhouse on Highway 93, or get coffee, pastries, and sandwiches at one of their three coffee shop locations in Whitefish or the neighboring towns of Kalispell and Columbia Falls.

For a change of pace on brunch, or a late lunch or fantastic light dinner, the Rising Sun Bistro has had me hooked for years. They closed shop at a previous location due to inflated rent (why are landlords so shortsighted sometimes?), and even then I kept scouring the area to see where they’d open up again. Their food was too good to be gone for long. Sitting out in the peaceful gardens or deck area, eating way too much of the berry breakfast parfait and Eggs Benedict, you can pretty much fill up your afternoon with great food, fresh air, and classic Rocky Mountain views.

Or you can go really local and check out burgers, beers, and the bathrooms (unless you’re scared of porn on the walls … lots and lots of porn on the walls) at The Bulldog, a downtown saloon since 1983 in a building over 100 years old. The name of their website (fart-slobber.com) gives away the atmosphere, as does the writing on the wall: “This Ain’t No Country Club.” The burgers are awesome.

Post-hike, middle of the day slumps usually call for a coffee cure, but sometimes what you really need is ice cream and milkshakes. Mrs. Spooners ice cream is located kitty-corner from the Central School, and is open until 9 p.m. After a long trip up to the top of the ski mountain (via gondola, granted), my 5-year-old niece was ready for some rainbow sherbert, which gave me an excellent excuse to guzzle a huckleberry milkshake.

You can find a more high-end meal at Tupelo Grille, which has been around for about 15 years. I sorely miss the bakery and sub shop it replaced (home of many cash-poor high school lunches), but love it now that I can afford the food. And, also, now that I have the palate to appreciate the many kudos the restaurant has garnered from Wine Spectator over the years.

Along the same lines, Pollo Grill just outside of the main part of downtown got a great review from The New York Times, which praised the tasty food and wine list. I have a nostalgic affection for the place, as that’s where my husband and I took my family for a post-courthouse-wedding dinner, but the food was just as good when we went again recently.

And of course, you can’t wine and dine in Whitefish without stopping off at the Great Northern Brewing Company. Located right on the main drag, this brewery produces excellent craft beers that could leave you addicted. While they don’t carry my favorite beer (Moose Drool, which comes from a brewery in Missoula, Montana), the Wild Huckleberry Wheat is a longtime preference. Take a free weekday tour of the brewery, and end your day with a few tastings in the upstairs beer bar.

There are plenty other places to eat in and out of town, of course, but these are a few of my favorites. Whether you go for the Tupelo Grill for dinner or the Mackenzie River Pizza Company followed by a latte to go from the historic train depot, it’s hard to go wrong eating out in Whitefish.

Related posts:

1. At the whim of mountains: driving Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park, Montana
2. Update on where to eat in Whitefish, MT: sushi, Mexican fusion, and more Moose Drool
3. Northwest Montana: Summertime for the Sedentary Traveler
4. Eating Wild Montana: High-Country Huckleberry Hunting

This entry was posted on Friday, August 7th, 2009 at 6:28 pm and is filed under Antonia projects, food & drink, US travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.