Bigfork
Bigfork, MT · Food & Drink
familyvacationsus.com
10 Montana Roadside Grills Where Elk Burgers Are the Main Draw
In Montana, the open road comes with a side of wild flavor. Forget fast food—out here, grills crackle with elk burgers so juicy and smoky they could stop traffic. It’s rugged, it’s real, and it tastes like pure Big Sky Country. These roadside spots aren’t fancy, but that’s the beauty of it. You’ll find picnic tables, mountain views, and burgers that remind you why Montana does things its own way. Every bite tells a story—part wilderness, part tradition, all heart.
Bigfork Eagle
Bigfork Tamarack Time! winners announced
The fall-favorite event Tamarack Time! took place Oct. 11 in downtown Bigfork. Established in 1988, this long-running amateur food competition offered a chance for residents to see how their favorite recipes stack up against their neighbors. For the past several years, Toot Sward has led the charge in organizing the event. Last year, she passed the reins to Janine Beaubien and the Bigfork Area Chamber of Commerce. Participants entered dishes in 13 categories ranging from pies and breads to chili and casseroles. A public tasting drew over 200 hungry tasters ready to sample their way through Bigfork’s best homemade creations. 2025 Tamarack Time! Winners BREADS – SWEET 1st – Rum Punch Bread – Marie Brancaccio 2nd – Banana Chocolate Chip – Jeannie Ulrick 3rd – Pumpkin Raisin – Jeannie Ulrick BREADS – TRADITIONAL 1st – Sourdough Round – Don Dinkel 2nd – Rosemary Garlic – Kali Tholen 3rd – Sourdough Dinner Rolls – Britt McGillvray CASSEROLES 1st – Stuffed Bell Pepper – Lucy Williams 2nd – Italian Pasta Bake – Shelley Anderson 3rd – Ranch Bacon Bake – Bethany Smedley CHILI 1st – Choteau Chili – Micki Janesse 2nd – Montana Magic Chili – Rebekah King 3rd – Elk Chili
Flathead Beacon
New Hungry Horse Restaurant Aims to Satisfy
As the story goes, back in the winter of 1900 two freight horses named Tex and Jerry wandered away one day from the logging sled they’d been pulling in the area of the South Fork of the Flathead River. A month later, they were found alive, albeit starved and...
montanarightnow.com
West Valley Fire Department hosts community BBQ event in Kalispell
KALISPELL, Mont. – The West Valley Fire Department is inviting the community to a BBQ event on Saturday, October 11, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at 2412 Farm to Market Rd. The event will feature burgers, hotdogs and family-friendly activities. Attendees can support local firefighters while enjoying fire safety demonstrations and a kids firefighter obstacle course.
Lake County Leader
Lutheran Women: Serving meatballs for 55 years
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Women have been making Swedish meatball dinners for more than 55 years, and this Oct. 14 is no exception. According to Lynette Rundell, planning meetings start in August for the annual Harvest Dinner. Church members are recruited to help make meatballs and gravy, peel, boil and mash potatoes, shred cabbage for coleslaw and help with cleanup and washing dishes. Until COVID hit in 2020, the dinner was prepared and served as a buffet-style feast, alongside various salads, relishes and pies. Inside the church's fellowship hall, located at 409 4th Ave E. in Polson, church members, along with youth, filled coffee cups and water glasses and visited with the diners. But in the wake of the pandemic, the decision was made “to simplify and prepare the meals as a takeout, which has been very successful so far,” says Rundell. Each year the church women select one or two local organizations to be the beneficiary of the dinner proceeds. This year, funds raised go to Loaves and Fish Food Pantry and the Polson Rural Fire District. Orders may be placed in advance at 406-883-5864, and dinners will be available from 4-6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14.
Hungry Horse News
Tex and Jerry’s has some great tacos, sandos
Mike Scallen brings years of experience — and years of tacos — to Hungry Horse’s newest restaurant, Tex and Jerry’s Eatery. Scallen and his wife Andrea ran the kitchen at the old Columbia Bar for years in Columbia Falls, heralding a reputation for good food and a much-celebrated weekly taco Tuesday, a tradition the pair carried over to Tex and Jerry’s Eatery this summer. The Hungry Horse restaurant, which owners Steve Arons, Neil Curtis, Ted Thovson and Jeff Johnson acquired last summer, opened at the beginning of July. The bar and grill, located next to Bob’s General Store and the Hungry Horse Liquor Store, is operating on a limited menu for now, but still serving up the dishes people love. The name of the restaurant comes from two local legends: Tex and Jerry, freight horses who vanished in the winter of 1900-1901. They wandered the wilderness for a month until locals found them starving, but still alive. Nicknamed the “Mighty Hungry Horses,” their story is the namesake for the town of Hungry Horse. “At Tex and Jerry’s Eatery, we honor their hungry spirit,” the restaurant’s website says. Scallen described one taco featured on a recent Tuesday, made with braised and
The Western News
Libby Senior Center Menu for October 2025
Here is the menu for October at the Libby Senior Center. Staff asks those that want to reserve a meal call the center 24 hours in advance. The number is 293-7222. Meals are available in house, home delivery or grab and go. Meals are ready from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday and Friday or 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. Wed. October 1: No Meal Served Today Fri. October 3: No Meal Served Today Tues. October 7: breaded fish fillet, macaroni & cheese, green beans, apricots, cornbread, Jell-O salad, lemon bar, milk. Wed. October 8 : hamburger w/bun, tomato, onion, lettuce & dill pickle chips, minestrone soup, crackers, pears, M&M cookie, milk Fri. October 10: Swiss steak – beef cubed steak with onion, green pepper and tomato sauce, rice pilaf, peas & carrots, peaches, kaiser roll, salad -– lettuce, tomato, cucumber & carrot, peanut butter and chocolate brownie, milk Tues. October 14: oven cooked breaded chicken breast fillet, biscuit, mashed potatoes made with sour cream & country white gravy, corn, peaches, salad – lettuce, tomato, cucumber & carrot, spice cake with cream cheese icing, milk. Wed. October 15: ham & cheese w/mayo, lettuce & tomato on sandwich bread,
Fairfield Sun Times
West Valley Fire Department hosts community BBQ event in Kalispell
KALISPELL, Mont. – The West Valley Fire Department is inviting the community to a BBQ event on Saturday, October 11, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at 2412 Farm to Market Rd. The event will feature burgers, hotdogs and family-friendly activities. Attendees can support local firefighters while enjoying fire safety demonstrations and a kids firefighter obstacle course.
Whitefish Pilot
Council’s approval of bar a bad precedent
The Council’s approval of a bar in Kemo Sabe sets a bad precedent. Council members Ben Davis and Guiseppe Caltabiano said at a recent candidate forum that they supported approval of the conditional use permit because they don’t want to pick “winners” and “losers,” and they feel obliged to approve most CUPs to avoid lawsuits. Candidate Nathan Dugan expressed a similar sentiment and said he would have approved the CUP. These comments demonstrate a fundamental misunderstanding of the City’s responsibilities. A CUP is not a property right. Activities not listed as permissive uses are either prohibited entirely or allowed only if identified as a conditional use and approved by Council. As such, a CUP is an exception to property restrictions. It is a special allowance the City has broad discretion to deny or approve, so long as the City does not act in an arbitrary and capricious manner. Having set this precedent, the City could face lawsuits if other retail stores seek to operate a bar but are denied. Under Whitefish Code Section 11-7-8(J)(7)(e), the Council must find that the proposed use is compatible with the established community character. Whitefish’s established community character is not one of combination retail stores/bars.
Lake County Leader
Ascendria specializes in tea, crystals
Ascendria, a new shop on Main Street in Polson, has a deep blue butterfly decorating the front door. “It’s a new venture and a dream come true,” Katie Hedeen said of the mother/daughter collaboration. As they began their new business, Katie and her mother, Jill, painted the walls...
Flathead Beacon
When the Going Gets Good
Most people want to know where they’re going and how they’re going to get there. Brad Beardall was writing a travel guide when he arrived to Whitefish in January of 2020, so that basic human instinct must have been apparent to him. His plan was to ski for a winter while finishing the book, but when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, he recalls, “I kind of got stuck.”
Flathead Beacon
Fine Dining to Take Center Stage at Second Year of Whitefish Food & Wine Festival
The Whitefish Food & Wine Festival starts next week in Whitefish, and the multi-day eating extravaganza will give Flathead Valley food lovers a chance to experience partnerships between local chefs and festival guest chefs, themed events, multi-course meals, tastings and more. The festival debuted in Whitefish in 2024, and was...
NBCMontana
FVCC Foundation to host 18th annual Grand Wine Tasting
MISSOULA, Mont. — The Flathead Valley Community College (FVCC) Foundation will host its 18th annual Grand Wine Tasting on Saturday, November 1, at 6 p.m. in the Wachholz College Center on the FVCC campus. The event will feature more than a dozen local chefs, over 75 wines provided by Summit Beverage, and a live auction with unique packages, all in support of FVCC student scholarships.
pmq.com
From Near Catastrophe to Pizza Brand: The Story of Ranger Joe’s Pizza
Few pizzerias have a brand as distinct as Ranger Joe’s Pizza, which opened its first shop in Kalispell, Montana, in 2021. From the cartoonish logo of owner and operator Joe Ledwidge as a park ranger gear to the shop’s tagline—“adventure is not complete without pizza”—the brand is being built for a long-term connection with its customers.