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Ennis Cafe, Montana
The Ennis Cafe in Ennis, Montana, is a good place to go for good food and quiet company when you're traveling through southwest Montana.
Sat Nov 14, 2009
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My wife bought a beef pastie, one of southwestern Montana's specialties. A pastie is an English dish, consisting of beef, potatoes, carrots and other vegetables cooked isnide a dough crust dripping with gravy. My wife found it a bit salty, but still at the whole thing.
By Brian Davidson
When we can find a place to eat when we're on vacation that has no connection to the golden arches whatsoever, we're pretty happy. Thanks to a grandpa who frequents McDonalds so much we were able to convince the kids he lived there, they're prety monolithic when it comes to picking a place to eat out.
Luckily for us, the Ennis Cafe in Ennis is easier to find than McD.
The restaurant, at 108 West Main Street, serves fonderful food, including authentic beef pasties, which are apparently a local specialty. A pastie, originating in England, is a mix of beef, potatoes, carrots and other vegetables cooked in a pastry crust and smothered with gravy. My wife, who lived in England for nearly two years, knows a good pastie from a bad one. She liked what she found in Ennis -- though it was a bit salty for her taste.
Me, I'm a sucker for a patty melt. I don't know why. My Dad, who grew up in The Netherlands and thus introduced me to pickled herring with chopped onions as garnish, would be appalled. But patty melts and I get along pretty good. The patty melts at the Ennis Cafe are tasty. The beef is fresh, the cheese is the real stuff, not that processed, extruded stuff that passes for cheese.
And the French fries. Heavenly. Not salty, not greasy, but crispy, like a French fry should be. I don't know what it is, but some days I feel like I have to leave Idaho to get a good French fry. The Ennis Cafe doesn't disappoint.
Getting there: The cafe -- with its unmistakable 3-D sign -- is hard to miss, at 108 West Main Street (Montana/US Highway 287).
What to know: Though Ennis is in the center of tourist territory, the food is better than most and less expensive than most you'll find in the area. We fed our family of five for less than $30.
Where to go in the neighborhood: This is a relative term, as you're smack in the middle of nowhere. It's a scenic nowhere. Head north for two hours to get to Lewis and Clark Caverns, a massive limestone cavern, or 45 minutes west to get to Virginia City, an authentic cowboy town.
