Morning Light Message

And speaking of coffee, if you’re a Morning Light fan, be careful tomorrow (Monday, May 12): after 10:00 am, they will not be making any “fancy” drinks for the rest of the day. I assume that things will be back to normal on Tuesday.

Read The Whole Thing >>>

May 11, 2008 | Filed Under restaurants | Leave a Comment

Cool Beans

The reference to Cool Beans Coffee Pub in the entry about local favorites reminded me that if you want to enjoy some good brew there, you better do it real quick: Cool Beans is closing up shop and selling everything. Very sad. Although I’m mostly a Morning Light guy, I did enjoy Cool Beans (and their website) the few times I ventured in, and I know that having a “regular” place means so much to coffee lovers. A message from the owners:

COFFEE SHOP FOR SALE: $25,000.00
Cool Beans Coffee Pub will close Friday, May 23, 2008. We are offering the shop as a turnkey business for $25,000. The sale includes all furnishings, equipment, recipes and inventory. The sale does not include the space. Buyers can contact the building owner to discuss leasing the space.
Contact Les at the shop for more information.
On Saturday, May 24, 2008 we will begin selling everything. The sale will begin at 9:00 a.m. at the shop’s location at 512 Central Ave, and will end when we are tired and ready to go home.
If there is something from the shop that you would like to purchase you can make an offer. If your offer is accepted you will be able to pick up your item after we close.

I’m sure that news of Cool Beans closing will be particularly sad for one true believer; on her visit to Great Falls in 2006, Cool Beans was her salvation, and her tale of discovery is a testament not just to the good folks at Cool Beans, but also to Great Falls.

May 8, 2008 | Filed Under restaurants, business | 1 Comment

Mother’s Day…Dinner?

I know that most people enjoy taking Mom out for a Mother’s Day brunch, but check this out: the good folks over at the Park-n-Ponder are offering a Mother’s Day dinner! Choice of bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin, steamed shrimp, or lobster tail, served with all the trimmings. I like this idea - let Mom sleep in on Sunday, serve her breakfast in bed, and then out for a good dinner with a view of the geese and swans. Maybe they’ll even brew up a batch of their second-to-none Lobster Bisque (normally served only on Fridays) if you ask nicely! Give Fred a call at 453-3448 to make your reservations.

May 7, 2008 | Filed Under restaurants, events | 2 Comments

Local Flavor

In the realm of dining, some things are universal: everybody loves McDonald’s french fries, for instance. Other things, however, are strictly local, as evidenced by GeeGuy’s endorsement of Taco Treat: “Since I am a local, born and raised, I have been a Taco Treat fan since before I can remember.” Amen. Just about everybody that I know that is a true “local” feels the same way about Taco Treat. My girlfriend, for instance, who is also a true “born and raised” local. Case in point: when her high-school buddy came back to visit Great Falls for New Year’s Eve, the first thing that they did when he got off the plane was head to Taco Treat.

Me - well, despite the fact that I now consider myself a true citizen of Great Falls (approaching 6 years!), the wonders of Taco Treat still elude me. I’ve tried it - and the Amigo, too. I just don’t get it. To be honest, I’d rather grab some Taco Bell. But fortunately, I have found ONE thing at Taco Treat to enjoy: Krust-Os! Crispy, cinnamony, snacky; and with a name like that, what’s not to love?

The only other place that I can think of that falls into this same “gotta be raised on it” category is Borrie’s, with the pasta sauce that only locals can love (I’m learning to love it). OK, so let’s hear it: what other eateries around town fall into this category?

May 5, 2008 | Filed Under restaurants | 28 Comments

Random Pix

Some recent pix - click one to see it full-size.

This person is looking for some donations to file a lawsuit:

The folks at Good Eats have expanded AND re-designed their menu!

Seen at the Home & Garden Show last weekend. Spot the errors!

April 11, 2008 | Filed Under around town, restaurants | 7 Comments

Dining Options

Even in a town as small as ours, the restaurant scene is never static - things are always changing. The latest moves that I know about involve a partnership, and a consolidation of sorts. First up: The Udder Factory, which has been closed for the winter, will be re-opening in April with a new partner: Marie Louisa’s, which used to be housed (IIRC) over near Malmstrom. That’s a winning combo, I think: Italian food plus ice-cream!
And over at Holiday Village Mall, it looks like we are getting just a bit closer to having a food court, of sorts: Subway apparently relocating downstairs near the Orange Julius, and an ice-cream parlor is opening up soon nearby. Now if Posh Taco and the coffee bar would move to that area, we would be all set. So what other food choices would you like to see at the mall? I wish there was a burger joint. Maybe Zandy’s could open up an outlet, like they used to have in the Holiday station on Fox Farm & 10th Avenue, when I first moved here. UPDATE: oops - can’t forget about The Sting moving to the location currently occupied by Legends!

And speaking of the mall dining…I still miss Neon Pretzel…anyone want to open a new pretzel place? And I’m glad that Little Athens has more space since they relocated following the creation of Scheel’s. For “fancy” Greek food, Dimitri’s is great, but for the best gyro in town, Little Athens can’t be beat.

March 27, 2008 | Filed Under restaurants | 4 Comments

Starbucks Hiring

Some Starbucks news: they are going to have a “job fair” on Tuesday, March 11th, from 3:00 pm until 5:00. Click the picture to read the details. And here’s my two cents about Starbucks: normally, I’m not a big fan of their coffee - that is, I rarely order drinks in there. On the few occasions that I do, I’m usually mildly disappointed. You might recall that I’m a pretty loyal Morning Light guy. But I do buy my beans at Starbucks - French Roast, please!

But remember that they closed down a few days ago for three hours to conduct a “back to basics” training session (here in GF and nation-wide)? Well, I’ve been there three times since then, and I kid you not: I enjoyed the best damn Americano that I’ve ever had at Starbucks, and the service on all three occasions was truly superior. Good job, Starbucks.

March 10, 2008 | Filed Under restaurants | 1 Comment

Park-n-Ponder Update

Nifty - one of my favorite places has a new look! The Park-n-Ponder has updated their look, somewhat, and now sports some spiffy new booths and some fresh paint. The booths provide just enough “privacy” to make a difference, as opposed to the previous all-open seating. Much cozier. And after enjoying some banter with manager Fred and lead server Lionel yesterday, I learned that the Park-n-Ponder has a MySpace page!

And here’s two friendly reminders: first, if you like Lobster Bisque, you absolutely won’t find any better than at the Park-n-Ponder. Second, there is no restaurant with more entertainment value in Great Falls!

February 25, 2008 | Filed Under restaurants, business | 1 Comment

Belly Up

If you’d like to enjoy a great meal and some unique entertainment, this sounds promising: belly-dancing at Dimitri’s! I’ve written about Dimitri’s Greek restaurant and how good the food is (try the fried cheese!), and if you couple that with professional belly-dancing, you’ve probably got the makings of a memorable evening.
The entertainment is courtesy of Aithne and her team of dancers; the performances are at 6:30 pm and 7:45 pm tomorrow night (Saturday). By the way, Aithne also teaches belly-dancing, if you’re interested.

Dimitri’s Greek Restaurant
1919 3rd St NW; phone 452-5774

February 22, 2008 | Filed Under restaurants, events | Leave a Comment

Chili’s Is Open!

Back in May I said: “Not having a Chili’s in Great Falls was never a ‘negative’ for me, but having one here will be a ‘plus.’ I can’t wait to tear into one of their steaks and the chips-n-queso!” Chili’s has always been one of my favorite places to eat, whether I was living in Texas, Oklahoma, California, or visiting other places.

Aside: to those who criticize any chain restaurant and proclaim that only local diners are worthy - or to those who hate the local choices and would trade their first-born for an Olive Garden - take my word on it: there is room for BOTH in Great Falls! It does not have to be an “either/or” proposition - I enjoy 3D and Eddie’s and Good Time Charlie’s and Howard’s Pizza, AND I enjoy Tony Roma’s and Chili’s.

And so tonight, with the grand opening upon us, I snuck in between the lunch and dinner rushes - good timing, no waiting at all. Ordered some chips and queso dip, which didn’t seem to have quite the “kick” that I remember from years ago, but still better than just about any in town. Cheese sticks - delicious! And the seasoned ribeye steak, with corn on the cob and mashed potatoes (with cream gravy) was just perfect! The atmosphere was lively, but not too loud or overwhelming, and the service was good…not great, as I think that some of the staff were still experiencing some jitters, and it seemed that a few of them weren’t quite sure what to do with themselves…it looked like there were about five servers per table, and with only one server needed per table at a time, the others just hovered somewhat nervously around the bar and the kitchen entrance. Can’t blame Chili’s for preparing for an onslaught, so it was better to have too many wait staff on hand than not enough, on opening day.

And by the time we left - around 5:20 - the joint was indeed jumping, with empty tables becoming pretty scarce, pretty quickly.

Overall, I’d give the visit this evening a rating of A-. We’ll be back!

Chili’s, located at 1420 Marketplace Drive; 406-452-6700
Open Sunday through Thursday from 11:00 am until 10:00 pm
Open Friday & Saturday from 11:00 am until 11:00 pm.

UPDATE: Rob and his wife were arriving at Chili’s at just about the time that we were leaving. Sounds like they really enjoyed it!

February 11, 2008 | Filed Under restaurants | 2 Comments

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