Weddingbee

Our taste-testing adventure continued in Polebridge at the Northern Lights Saloon. The saloon is Polebridge’s one and only restaurant, run by the daughter of the merc’s owners. Occasionally, they hire an outside chef for the season, but this summer it looks like she will be the one cooking for us.

The Northern Lights is another of Polebridge’s great vintage buildings, complete with a front porch for kickin’ up yo heels:

You can’t see it in that photo, but there is a sign on the porch that says “unleashed dogs will be eaten.”

Inside, there are a few tables and a tiny bar. Check out the woodstove!

The walls are lined with local art and some good old Western kitsch.

The saloon keeps a few beers on tap (served in mason jars, of course) and provides a menu with both bar snacks and dinner entrees.

When we first decided on Polebridge as our venue, we didn’t know if the saloon would be able to cater for us, or if they did any catering at all. That’s when we started working with Cimmaron Cafe for catering in Columbia Falls, as I mentioned in my last tasting post.

Our contact with Polebridge during the Winter was rather limited due to off-season and record snowfall, but at some point we established that they did provide catering and we started to work with a seasonal chef through the saloon. But a few weeks of non-returned phonecalls and emails later, we found out that the chef had not in fact been hired for the season and we were back at square one.

We had assumed that Polebridge would work with us on food, but as we were closing in on our date and didn’t have any real confirmation, we kept Cimmaron on the hook as a backup plan. Honestly, with some of the miscommunication that happened before I went out to Montana, it seemed like Cimmaron was looking like our first choice.

As part of our visit to Polebridge, we talked food with the owner of the saloon. She was more than happy to commit to catering our wedding with fresh, local, and organic cuisine. The menu will be something similar to what we tasted at Cimmaron but with different local flair. Again, we’re opting for a grill menu, as it’s easiest to make for a large number of people. Our menu will be something similar to the following, with some flexibility allowed for food shortages and price fluctuation:

• Fruit, cheese, crackers and (maybe?) quesadillas for appetizers
• Wild Alaska salmon with fruit chutney or marinade
• Montana buffalo tri-tip with marinade
• Grilled organic veggies and fingerling potatoes
• Vegetarian rice pilaf or mushroom dish
• Fresh greens with strawberries and homemade vinaigrette

Before our trip to Montana, I asked Polebridge about doing a tasting. But that’s not really their thing, so we decided we’d just stay for dinner at the saloon and see what it was like.

Can you say yuuuummmm-eeeey!

Chicken, cheese, and black bean quesadilla:

Wild salmon with grilled veggies, salad, rice pilaf, and fresh-baked bread. In the background a pork chop with morel mushroom sauce and grilled potatoes:

It may not be “gourmet” or have haute-couture food presentation, but I’m quite pleased to say that we expect our wedding meal to be delicious and homey, beautiful and colorful. Just the way we want it!

Is anyone else opting for down-home cooking for their wedding?

Oh, and before I close the curtains on my Super Wedding Weekend in Montana, I want to share one last story…

On our way back down the North Fork road, we stopped because there was a large dog standing in the road. After a quick double-take, we realized it wasn’t a dog… it was a WOLF! I’d never, ever seen one in the Park before and they’re pretty rare!

It stopped and regarded us from the road for a few long seconds. Then, as a car came barreling from the other direction, it retreated into the brush. My damned memory card was full, so this was the only picture I got, but here she is… isn’t she beautiful?

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