Three Places To Tame Your Appetite in Columbia Falls, MT

During out visit to Columbia Falls, Montana we ate at three different spots in town. The town really is growing and the options are getting better. It has been eighteen years since I lived there and even though some things have changed, like more dining options, other things have stayed exactly the same. Which is sweet and idyllic and I wouldn't want any other way. The whole area looks right out of a storybook and when I visit, I feel like I'm stepping back into my childhood and saying hello again. So when I go back I get the best of both worlds. Tons of nice memories with lots of new spots to dine.  

Backslope Brewing

We took my parents to Backslope Brewing one night for dinner. My husband and I were impressed by the quality of the eats and my kids loved the play area. My parents had been before and liked the food so we knew it would be a tasty meal. They only have beer since they're a brewery so don't be like me and start asking about cocktails and wine and be disappointed. I ended up sharing a light beer with my mom and it ended up pairing well with our food.

We all shared the Fried Pickles as an appetizer to start. They came with a sauce, a Spiced Tomato Mayo, that we all loved with the pickles. For my dinner I had the Fried Chicken Sandwich which had pickle brined chicken, house slaw, aioli, and a spiced tomato glaze. The sandwich was huge and I only ate half. I really liked the flavors and how juicy the chicken was. The slaw and sauces were perfect with the chicken. The Parmesan fries that accompanied the sandwich were one of the best things ever. I could have kept eating them until they were gone but I don't like getting too full. My husband had a Thai Peanut Bowl which had sautéed tofu, red curry peanut sauce, spicy slaw, peanuts, and cilantro. He was really happy with his food and I was glad we checked it out.

Vaqueros

If you're feeling like some Mexican food head to Vaqueros on Nucleus Ave. I had eaten there a couple of times before on previous visits back, but I really wanted to go with my husband and have a Margarita. While my parents took our boys hiking, we headed into town and had lunch. We also walked around and took in everything, noting the changes and what was the same. Just for fun, we walked into the library and I was happy to see that it hadn't changed since I was little.

Since it was still early and we weren't super hungry yet, we ended up sharing a Chicken Chimichanga and a Cadillac Margarita. The food was just right and was standard Mexican food. We liked how the Chimichanga was deep fried and crispy, unlike where we've had it in other places in Seattle. And the margarita was sweet and refreshing, just the thing to sip before walking around in the summer heat.

North Fork Pizza

Columbia Falls has several pizza chains available and when I was a kid, Pizza Hut was my favorite.  Now there's a local pizza business on Nucleus Ave. North Fork Pizza looked worth checking out because of how many positive Yelp reviews they received and how good the pizza looked. It looked a little pricier than the chain pizza places but also seemed higher in quality. We called and placed a to-go order and it was ready in about twenty five minutes. We took it back to my parent's house and got our pizza on. We had garlic knots and a Greek Salad to start and we also had two pizzas. My parent's pizza was half pepperoni and mushrooms and half Hawaiian. Our pizza was a Four Cheese pizza called the Cosley. The pizza was interesting because of what the four cheeses were. Cheese Wiz and American Cheese, Mozzarella and Parmesan Cheese. Theses were some flavors on pizza I'd never eaten and it was quite good. Maybe to try once though, as I'd probably stick to something more classic next time.