Description: A General Delivery mail pickup at the post office brought us to East Glacier village on the Blackfeet Reservation. As it turned out, it was fortunate that we forgot to pick it up on the way to St. Mary, because there’s lots to see and enjoy in this little town that we might have missed otherwise. Walking on the main street through town, I almost succumbed to the huge pieces of pie in the window of a hole-in-the-wall diner, but Bob didn’t want any right then. Glad of it, because if he had, we wouldn’t have eaten at Glacier Park Lodge that evening.
Great Northern Steak and Rib House at historic Glacier Park Lodge, its window tables with Glacier peak views, is open May-September for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Already hungry from the pie I didn’t get to eat, it was easy to work up an appetite wandering around Glacier Park Lodge, outside in the gardens, then indoors, buying books at the gift shop. Somehow, weird as it sounds, reading a book about bears eating people in front of the blazing fireplace didn’t spoil my appetite.
The restaurant is at one end of the huge high-ceilinged lodge. A blackboard easel advertised tonight’s dinner specials, beginning at 5:30 PM. The dining room is attractive, with glossy hardwood floors, rough log beams, and Western décor. A huge brick fireplace hung with old skillets, big black cooking pot sitting on the hearth, and antique hutches and other furnishings create a homey feel.
We were first in line when Great Northern opened. Since they don’t take reservations, we got our pick of tables, and selected a windowside table with a fine view of Dancing Lady Mountain and other further-away peaks, enshrouded in mists. We were pleasantly surprised to find most of the dinner entrees, including barbecued steaks and pork ribs, between $15-20. Broiled rainbow trout with crab and shrimp stuffing was the tantalizing special, but we selected to split their combo dinner: beef brisket, barbecued pork ribs, and smoked sausage, served with cornbread, coleslaw, and ranch beans. Cost: $22.95.
While gazing out over the back lawns of the lodge to the misty mountains, we sipped White Zinfandel, and munched on delicious freshly baked buns. We each ordered tossed green salads and soups
du jours, a light tasty cream of vegetable soup. With all that, the big combo dinner was more than enough for us both, the meats very tender, topped with sauces and onions.
The Great Northern has some unique special drinks. Among them, non-alcoholic
Red Jammer sodas, choice of root beer or crème soda. For something fruitier with a kick, their huckleberry house drinks feature daiquiris, margaritas, and martinis, all livened up with blends, splashes and dollops of huckleberries. But it was cold outside; we wanted something to further warm our stomachs. Chief Mountain Nudge is a delectable concoction of brandy, kahlua, crème de cacao and coffee, topped with whipped cream, a perfect ending to a superb meal.
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