The Parrot Photoshoot

I've shot over 1000 images in two days. 750 in store photos and more than 250 individual candy shots. It's been a bit monotonous, but I get to devour the candy when I'm finished. More TK in the new year.

Coney Island's Philly Cheese Steak

One pound of meat on a 12 inch bun with peppers and onions. (Hold the mushrooms, please.) Also a side of fries with fry sauce and Coney Island steak sauce (Heinz 57 and BBQ).

Hardwood Burgers: Spec Idea

As The Sun Revolves Around The Earth

It's been a long and challenging couple weeks here, hence the lack of posts, but Montana Eats is trying to get back on track. Tonight is my second anniversary (and my dogs' 4th birthday), and Aimee and I are going to veg out in the basement with some crap food and watch "Inglourious Basterds" tonight. Best wishes to all this season and remember to take time to love your food and appreciate all we have.

Thank You,

Montana Eats

Fried Burger

Burger deep fried in Bacon fat with ketchup, mustard, lettuce and chopped onions with horseradish cheddar cheese. Amazing.

AJ eats all the CB's in H-Town Part 5: Riley's Irish Pub

I've eaten at Riley's numerous times, but for some reason, had never tried their Cheeseburger. Now I'm glad I have.



BUN: A lovely ciabatta bun.

MEAT: A nice thick and juicy patty. They didn't ask how I wanted it cooked though...

TOPPINGS: Red onion, green leaf lettuce, tomato slice and a pickle spear (No mayo?). They do have a burger called the Knuckle Sandwich, which is a burger stuffed with bacon and cheese topped with the norm plus mayo and a chopped hard boiled egg.

CONSTRUCTION: The leafy green lettuce was above the burger, but it wouldn't have done much good. The bottom ciabatta bun started soaking up the juices, but never fell apart.

FRIES: Thick cut pub chips. (Jo-Jo's)

FINAL GRADE: B+. Great ciabatta bun, juicy burger, decent toppings and good fries makes Riley's Irish Pub worth a stop. (Plus the have beer!)

AJ eats all the CB's in H-Town Part 4: McDonald's

I wasn't planning to hit up McDonald's quite this early in the exploration, but Aimee wanted McD's.



BUN: Fake. Like a replica of a Bun

MEAT: Thin and dry

TOPPINGS: 2 Pickles, chopped onion, mustard and ketchup

CONSTRUCTION: Far too much bun for the burger. (Or too little burger for the bun? I guess it was only $1)

FRIES: Long, thin, salty and delicious

FINAL GRADE: D. Reminds me of a burger you would find in a high school cafeteria. Stick with a Big Mac.

A Very Montana Thanksgiving

Glazed Turkey my day cooked perfectly!



The Thanksgiving lineup. I made the mashed potatoes and Aimee and I made the White Wine Gravy. My mother made everything else, all are adapted from this years Gourmet Magazine Thanksgiving Issue. This was one of the most delicious and wonderful Thanksgiving meals I've had. My mom didn't think anybody would like the Cornbread Muffins, but they turned out to be a huge hit!

AJ eats all the CB's in H-Town PT 3: Hardee's

I hadn't had a Hardee's Cheeseburger for a long time. I've tried their Big Hardee, Hot Ham & Cheese and others, but I had steered clear of the regular Cheeseburgers for some reason, and I was pleasently surprised.



BUN: Standard fast food seasame seed bun.

MEAT: A nice thick patty with that charbroiled flavor, reminded me of Burger Kings meat a bit.

TOPPINGS: Pickels, ketchup, mustard, chopped onion and cheese.

CONSTRUCTION: Better than most fast food. The lettuce was above the burger but the pickle base provided support for the bottom bun.

FRIES: Good, extra crispy with a nice breading. Nothing fancy.

FINAL GRADE: C. Better flavor than I thought, good fries, something I would grab on a road trip.

AJ eats all the CB's in H-Town PT 2: Gold Bar

Part two of the never ending epic of me versus every burger in Helena stops in at another favorite of mine, The Gold Bar.



BUN: Bought from the Grocery Store. Okay.

MEAT: Fresh, never frozen, hand formed patty. Juicy and flavorful. One of the best in town.

TOPPINGS: Mayo, Ketchup, Mustard, fresh onion, tomato, lettuce and pickle. You can add Bacon or Jalapeno for a bit more.

CONSTRUCTION: Proper placement of lettuce ensures no soggy bottom bun.

FRIES: Hand cut fries that are hit a miss. Sometimes a bit limp, other times just right.

FINAL GRADE: B+. I think if they stepped up the fries to a consistant crispy finish it would push them into A grade territory.

AJ eats all the CB's in H-Town PT 1: RB Drive In

This is how often I come to RD Drive-In. I found this picture on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/84346589@N00/

That's me, my car and the space I prefer to order from, all from an Oregon photographer who happen to catch me on my RB run. UPDATE: Actually it's HIS car, but it looks just like mine AND he's in MY SPOT!

RB -DRIVE IN MONTANA EATS GRADE:

The grades for my Helena go-to burger stop. Part one in what seems to be a never ending saga.

BUN: Nothing special, store bought, but it works.

MEAT: Seems to be frozen, very thin fast food like patty with an excellent flavor.

TOPPINGS: Lettuce, Tomato, Pickle, Onion and RB Sauce (A fry sauce with choppped relish)

CONSTRUCTION: Depends whose working, but works well to keep off soggy bun.

FRIES: Standard pre-frozen fries.

OVERALL GRADE: B. Quick, delicious burgers that are a bit better than expected and they make a decent milkshake and phosphates. There's a reason this is my go-to burger.

Spicy Pot Roast Sandwich

Pot Roast baked on a bed of onions bathed in Worcheshire, BBQ Sauce, Better than Bouillon Beef Base, Jalapenos with juices, olive oil, garlic, chopped green chilis with juices, a hint of curry, salt, pepper, a bay leaf and some chipotle for good measure baked at 300 for about 10 hours. Served on a steak roll with Amish Bacon Cheddar Cheese.

AJ eats all the Cheeseburgers in Helena.

This is the mission: To try every single place that serves burgers. Every fast food joint, bar, restaurant, bowling alley, ethnic places, fancy burgers, ghetto burgers and anything in between. I'm not sure how I'm going to tackle this epic undertaking, there are a few places I've been meaning to try and some classics to return to, but all will be graded on the following: BUN, MEAT, TOPPINGS, CONSTRUCTION, FRIES & OVERALL GRADE.

Godspeed.

Behind the Scenes: The Parrot - Helena, MT

Aunt Bev's Pasties

Filled with stew meat beef, potato and a bit of veggies. Originally made for miners that could take a self contained meal down under.

The Jonas Dog from Coney Island - Helena, MT

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"You can't beat our weenies!"

Hot dog with cheese, onion, relish and just the perfect amout of a fairly dry, yet flavorful chili. My favorite dog from Coney Island. (And with a side of fries, perfect. If you notice of their menu board they spell fries, FRYS.)
325 N. Last Chance Gulch
Helena, MT 59601
406.443.9664

Aimee's Banana Choclate Pecan Cookies

I'm not sure exactly what Aimee put in these other than Banana, Chocolate, Pecans and a binch of Cayenne.

Burger Bob's - Bozeman, MT

My favorite burger when I come to Bozeman is most certainly Burger Bob's, right downtown. I tried their Western Burger this time, BBQ sauce, Cheddar, Lettuce, Tomato and onion with their famous Waffle Fries. Be sure to pass up Ted's Western Grill right across the street and head over to Burger Bob's for a burger and a Trout Slayer Ale.

39 W. Main St.
Bozeman, MT 59715
406.585-0080
www.burgerbobs.com

Aimee's Fruit Salad Bowl

Aimee made this little ditty for our daughter. Strawberry, banana, red banana, apple, mango, papaya and kiwi berries with yogurt and a hint of mayo with a touch of cummin all stuffed into a half an orange.

The Parrot Confectionery Store

The Parrot Confectionery is an amazing local candy and soda shoppe. The make home made Ice Cream, Almond Roca, Phosphates, Milkshakes (they used to make them with a raw egg if you asked.), A delicious and unique chili and hand dipped chocolates. I remember growing up running around the back of the Parrot, Dave, then the owner, gave me fresh made caramel right out of the giant brass pot he made it in, scooping it into a bowl of cold water to cool it off and serving it to me pipping hot!

This is a hand dipped Chocolate Cover Cherry.

The Parrot Confectionery

42 N. Last Chance Gulch

Helena, MT  59601

406.442.1470

(You can phone in orders, but not online yet.)

Steak 'N Shake Round 2 - Medinah, IL

Gave Steak 'N Shake a second round. There was a White Castle up the road, but the guys I was with didn't want to go (Except Mario from NYC). At least I know White Castle is bad. So bad it's good. Seriously, it is so bad it's good, like a comedy that's not really supposed to be funny, that is White Castle. Steak 'N Shake, if a movie, is MEET THE FOCKERS.

The Western BBQ Burger was a bit off. I think they're using a low-rent BBQ sauce, WAAAAY too sweet. This time I went with the Guacamole burger. You can't tell from the photo, but there was a perfect amount of Guacamole on it. I did enjoy this burger much more than the last, but still an average burger, at best. 

Farina 00 - Executive Chef Recomended!

I was walking around Chicago with nothing to do and stopped in a place for a beer and some lunch. I struck up a conversation with a young guy named Joel, who turned out to be an Executive Chef for Wolfgang Puck. He had just stopped into Fox & Obel (A high end grocery store in Chicago) and picked up some of this flour, which was his favorite for baking thin crust pizza with, so I stopped in a got myself a bag to take back home and try out. With a big bag of white powder I have a feeling that my bag will be "randomly searched".

Ted's Montana Grill - Itasca, IL

I suppose it's a bit ironic that I travel to Illinois to eat at a Ted's Montana Grill. I had the Bison Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and steamed squash. The meatloaf was crap, the potatoes edible and the squah delicious. Our waiter, Will, was a top notch server but Ted is making a bad name for Montana Bison.

Colt 45 - It works every time!

OT: I Shoot Movies Too!

S

Shot this with Marshall, the director from Colorado, in the Bronx with Reef Hustle, the protege of Big Pun and a top notch dude. (I was the cinematographer)

Buesnos Dias Burritos - Itasca, IL

Chili Relleno. Yummy cheese stuffed pepper tostada.

With Hot green sauce. (Their red sauce was quite nice too.)

Tounge taco. ($1.70) A very soft and delicate meat that was much milder than anticipated.

One Tounge Tace, One Beef Taco and One Bean Taco. The Bean Taco was my favorite. The spice mix they used was amazing. Next time I think I'd get a Tounge and Bean Taco Mix. 

Buenos Dias Burritos

919 W. Irving Park Rd.

Itasca, IL 60143

(630) 250-7666