Food! Glorious Food! -- The Back from Montana Edition

[lsanderson]

Chicago Chain Kept Other Hawaiian Restaurants From Using ‘Aloha Poke’ Name
A Chicago-based poke chain sent cease-and-desist letters to other restaurants using “Aloha Poke” in their names.
By Jacey Fortin

The Freshest Ideas Are in Small Grocery Stores
As big supermarkets struggle, a new crop of local groceries are innovating to serve niche audiences and advance social causes.
By Kim Severson

What Is a Genetically Modified Crop? A European Ruling Sows Confusion
In Europe, plants created with gene-editing technologies will be stringently regulated as G.M.O.’s. But older crops whose DNA has been altered will be left alone.
By Carl Zimmer

HEADS UP
Madrid Chefs Rethink the City’s Classic Cuisine
A strong contingent of rising culinary stars has emerged in the Spanish capital, adding a needed dose of personality to Madrid’s contemporary dining scene.


Triciclo is among a fresh crop of restaurants in the Spanish capital.
By Paola Singer

WHAT TO COOK
Peak Avocado


Breakfast salad.
By Sam Sifton

FYI: But on another note, the USDA also informs us that consumption of avocados has skyrocketed since 2000, from two pounds per person to seven pounds per person. Needless to say, the explanation for this is no mystery at all: avocados are delicious and everyone should eat more of them. Why Did We All Start Eating More Vegetable Oil When George Bush Was Elected President?
KEVIN DRUM

CITY KITCHEN
Not Your Childhood Chicken Salad
Paired with a miso dressing, this take on the classic is a far cry from those cafeteria versions, plopped on plates with an ice cream scoop.


This summery dish of chicken with miso dressing makes for a delightful cold lunch or supper.
By David Tanis
Recipe: Sesame-Miso Chicken Salad

A GOOD APPETITE
A Pizza That Lets the Mozzarella Shine
A pie as you may know it, it’s not. But good things happen when torn chunks of fresh buffalo mozzarella meet roasted eggplant.


This roasted eggplant pizza is topped with chunks of buffalo mozzarella, which soften with the pie’s residual heat.
By Melissa Clark
Recipe: Roasted Eggplant and Buffalo Mozzarella Pizza

FRONT BURNER
A Mild-Mannered, but Sophisticated Midwestern Cheese
Roth Monroe is creamy, with fruity notes that would pair nicely with a glass of Sauternes.


This cheese is named after the town where it is made.
By Florence Fabricant

Meet Caulilini, a Lacy New Cauliflower
This new vegetable has stems like broccoli and florets that are lacier than cauliflower florets.


By Florence Fabricant

Deep in the Birthplace of Cuban Rum and the Daiquiri
Far from the tourists in Havana lies Santiago de Cuba. There, rum became a refined drink, and its signature cocktail still thrills.


Eduardo Corona, center, is a bartender at El Traguito, a bar below the Museo del Ron in Santiago de Cuba.
By Clay Risen
Recipe: Santiago-Style Daiquiri

A Lesser Known Wine of Sicily Benefits From Globalization
By Eric Asimov

WINE SCHOOL
3 American Rieslings to Drink Right Now


By Eric Asimov

TRENDING
Four Wineries Bringing New Energy and New Design to Napa Valley
These new wineries are shaking up the tourist scene in Napa Valley, with interesting spaces, intimate experiences, and an emphasis on dining and culture.


The wine tasting lounge at The Prisoner Wine Company, newly renovated and appointed in modern, contemporary décor by architect Matt Hollis.
By Shivani Vora

Comments

[calimac]

"Back from Montana"? What did you eat there?

I was in Montana a few months ago and wrote about what I ate.

WoW! - nice piece

[lsanderson]

I was at a family reunion at Boulder Creek Lodge, south of Hall, Montana, so what I ate there was midwest Scandinavian potluck, with my sister's plum pudding (Xmas family tradition with a cinnamon brandy sauce amongst us old pharts), krumkake, rosettes, and sandbakkel. Hamburgers and sausage, sloppy joes, bacon, eggs, and pancakes, pulled pork, which kinda breaks the old midwest stereotype, potato salads and a few other salads not of the lettuce variety. The buns were homemade after my grandmother's recipe. We had one store-bought cake. It was all good, just not much different from a family gathering in New Rockford, NoDak in 1956 would have been.

My sister's husband drove and we dragged him to the Montana Brewing Company Sunday night in Billings. I wish I'd read your piece because the service was rather slow although the beer was rather good. He's a chain restaurant kinda eater, meat, potato, and no veg. He also doesn't drink. We ate at The Outback in Billings on the way out. Breakfast was at the Kelly Inn in Billings twice. Nothing at all exciting there. MBC was good and their French fries were excellent, but their beer was probably better than their food. Who knew huckleberries grew on evergreens?

We spent two nights at the Wagon Wheel Motel in Drummond, MT. Except for the a/c, leet password, and wifi, it was vintage 1954. I got two coffees in the morning at the cafe there. The gas station by the motel had a coffee machine that claimed it made espresso, but it was broken, and I suspect it made instant espresso. There was no Starbucks, and the main bar appeared to be for sale.

I dragged three boxes of beer from Minneapolis, in fear of an ocean of Budweiser, but there was a mixture of beers, although a lotta Budweiser & Bud Lite at the campground. Philipsburg, which was just down the road had a big weekend going on, but we didn't go there. They also had a brewery, which would have been fun. On the trip last year to Twin Falls, we ate at the Beartooth Grill in Laurel, MT, just down I90 from Billings. It's a bit more Montana than The Outback.