Road Trip! Need suggestions for Dakotas, Montana, Northwest

We'll be taking a road trip through to the Pacific Northwest next month. Any ideas for eating? Out-of-the way dives would be great, as would fine dining options in the cities (Vancouver, Seattle, Portland).

Our general route will take us through South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Nebraska, and Iowa.

Post if you got 'em!

I lost the pictures of this place, but Maddox Ranch House is a great "family" steakhouse in the Brigham City, Utah area (IIRC no liquor license) if you are going through Utah up into Idaho or stopping at the Golden Spike National Monument. They serve house-made Parker House rolls (the like of which I had not tasted since about 1963 in a Northern Minnesota resort) and they raise bison. I have to say I couldn't tell the bison steak was not a beef steak, but it was really good. Maddox has a drive-in with vintage flourishes that would please Mike G, and there are two other good vintage drive-ins in Brigham City, which is an area with a lot of orchards. Peaches were in season when I was there one September, and the drive-ins were serving fresh peach shakes.

Maddox Ranch House
1900 South Highway 89
Perry, UT 84302
(800) 544-5474
(435) 723-8545

Back when I was a kid there was a little town near Alpine Montana where we used to go. My parents used to laugh because the town was so small that all it had was a post office cum gas station cum convenience store, but it had 3 bars. The best one was the Grizzly Bar with the bear over the door. It looks quite a bit spiffier now than it does in my memory, but below is a website for Montana taverns. I recall the day of the first moon landing as the day I saw Old Faithful and first ate antelope steak at the Red Lodge Cafe. Moose and bear were on the menu, but I was a kid and antelope seemed less intimidating at the time. I see the Sterns are fans, but their Roadfood review says nothing about game on the menu. In the eastern part of the state there used to be a great big old steakhouse with blackjack tables and rowdy cowboys in Miles City, Montana. I recall talking to someone on the board who used to stop there- please pipe up, whoever you are. There's not too much in that area of the state, so you might just drive into town and ask around.

The Grizzly Bar
Roscoe, Montana
Open seven days a week at 12:00 pm.
PHONE: 328-6789
http://www.montanataverns.com/_tavern.asp?id=21

Red Lodge Cafe
16-18 S. Broadway
Red Lodge, MT
406-446-1619

I did a post on North Platte, Nebraska, awhile back and you can check that out for some good fried chicken.

I suspect it's off your route, but if you are in Kalispell Montana (which is near Glacier National Park), Capers is a terrific casual, fine dining spot.

nix - this sounds like the same route my younger brother and I took in 1997 - you will love the sights. Unfortunately, we had little $$$ and ate our own food in campgrounds a lot and this trip was about five years before I started taking and keeping notes on restaurants/bars for future reference. So I'm going on total memory here:

The Ranch
Jackson, WY
Second floor tavern on southwest side of the square
We watched Jordan and the Bulls beat the Jazz for the NBA Championship at this place. Great pub grub and craft beers on tap

Milllion Dollar Cowboy Bar
North side of the square, ground level - can't miss the huge sign!
Jackson, WY
You gotta love saddles for barstools. It's worth it to have a beer in this place just to admire the knobby pine bar.

Cougar Bar and Grill
Cougar, WA
On highway 503 near the Lava Tubes at the base of Mt. St. Helens, this place served a cheeseburger that I can still taste. Of course, that might have been because we hiked up and down St. Helens that morning having eaten only a Snickers bar each. Man, that burger tasted good and the proprieter had just the right amount of surliness to make it memorable.

Montana Ale Works
Bozeman, MT
http://www.montanaaleworks.com/
I really liked their Montana meatloaf. The beer is top-notch too

Pyramid Alehouse - http://www.pyramidbrew.com/alehouses/seattle
1201 First Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98134
Telephone: (206) 682-3377
Good tour and samplings. Had my first-ever barley wine here. It's a short walk from Pioneer Square (Klondike Gold Rush Museum also very interesting stop) and close to the Ferry Terminal. There was also a little tavern on Alaskan Way - in a building like a small version of the Flatiron Building in NYC - that we liked a lot.

We stopped at Moab and did Arches National Park but didn't eat in town. We drove to Frisco, CO and dined at:

Toscato Ristorante Italiano
307 Main St
Frisco, CO 80443
(970) 668-3644‎
Solid Italian fare. I think there was an All-You-Can-Eat pasta, salad and breadsticks special that night, which was the main draw!

Have a wonderful trip! Especially take your time going through the Cascades in WA. The rainforest-like environment is lush and unlike anything I've seen anywhere else. They'd had 80 feet of snow at Mt. Rainier the winter before we trekked through so the snowmelt was massive. I believe we came up Route 410 from the SE and there were numerous picturesque waterfalls. I remember one portion that seemed to be a "company town" for Pacific Gas and Light.

Davooda

If you go through Cheyenne WY, there's a really nice Korean restaurant there. Although that might seem surprizing, it figures, given that there's lots of Air Force folks there at Warren AFB who've spent time in Korea.

Geo

Korean House Restaurant
(307) 638-7938
3219 Snyder Ave, Cheyenne, WY 82001