Tuesday 27 February 2018

The Ruminations of a Gourmet in Montana

Exploring Mesmerizing Montana

Loving every minute of a passionate adventure through the food trails around the globe and being an ardent and avid gourmet, I decided to treat my palate to a spin around Montana to discover the health and the wealth of bison steak. With thoughts of food fit for the adventurer and being an intrepid traveler, I dreamt of traversing the diverse terrain of Montana to indulge in a treasure trove of the most authentic and delicious dishes to add to my repertoire of food tours. With the awakening of exotic appetites and the deliciously colorful carousel of the food train, my taste buds took me across the diverse terrain of Montana to capture the love of food and the pleasures that it offers to a passionate soul.

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Who can suppress the spirit of an adventurer who can carve eternal solace with a delightful spread of food trails? The aspiring chef in me brought out a way to soar to the highest pinnacle of ecstasy while choosing a culinary adventure. Vast and wild, Montana displays wide-open spaces with the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountain, the Glacier National Park and uncultivated regions which offer the essence of adventure. There is nothing like wide open spaces which celebrate the spirit of freedom and Montana perfects the art of diversity with its snow-called peaks and innumerable hiking trails that whip up the appetite to a crescendo of palate-pleasing experiences.

All for the Love of Bison Steak

My culinary journey yearned for the aroma, the texture of flavors and the fragile yet fresh natural ingredients that go to conjuring up a masterpiece. Born of the desire to taste and relish bison meat and its various concoctions, my travel through Montana took my taste buds across a heritage of a rich agriculture and products grown locally. I looked forward to the delicious treats that lay ahead of me as I went touring across the famous ghost towns for Bannock State Park, Virginia City and Nevada City with its 19th century structures and incredible artifacts. Perfect and pleasurable, Montana offers hot springs, wineries, scenic drives and great activities. Yes, in-between sight-seeing and quenching my thirst with awesome wines, I took off to enjoy the much-sought after Bison steaks, Bison burgers and Bison meatballs.
While the gourmet and the foodie in me sampled delectable Huckleberry macaroons, steak and potato pasty, breakfast frittata, Rancher’s pizza, elk burgers and Lifty Dog, I wallowed in the delicious dining scenario. My taste buds crackled and I heard a distinct echo of my stomach congratulating me when I spent considerable amount of time relishing Bison steaks at the popular historic Montana Lodge and Bison Potstickers. Dating back to well over a thousand years, bison meat is nutritious and tasty and has become an authentic American food. The Native American tribes used almost all parts of the bison with the bladder being transformed into medicine bags and the bones becoming shovels.

Discovering the Brilliant Bison Food Tour

You can almost predict my culinary travel through Montana which is one of the best bison meat producers in the U.S.A. Every nerve in me declared that I should take the food trail in Montana which leads to the best bison meat restaurants. Off I went through beautiful scenic sights which took me to the popular Cafe Kandahar which served game sausage, game paté and grilled bison tenderloin. The Andiamo Italian Grille at Big Sky Resort took me over the moon with their special Montana Osso Buco or the Chianti Braised Bison Shank which is a slow-roasted bison dish. You can imagine my delight as I discovered many other Montana restaurants which served bison entrees with the taste buds tingling from the lasagna to burgers.
While the traveler in me took off to enjoy great sights, Butte beckoned with its jaw-dropping adventures through underground tours and a much-talked about history. My innate talents as an aspiring Chef were inspired as I tasted the Montana favorites such as sausage onion soup, the famous Sleigh Ride Dinner, Buckwheat pancakes, the twice-baked potato casserole and a kaleidoscope of delightful dishes. Making a vow to visit mesmerizing Montana, I made notes in my journal for a future date to rediscover the pleasures of the palate with the brilliance of bison meat delectables.