Top Restaurants to take your Valentine in North Central Montana

With Valentine's Day only one week away from this coming Tuesday (2/7), I'd thought I would check out some of our area restaurants here in the Golden Triangle.
First stop was the C & L Cafe, home of family dining. Kathy told me that the C & L will be serving three different entrees. An 8 ounce tenderloin is on the menu along with three prawns. If prawns is your favorite, their second entree is five prawns (and these are huge) and for the chicken fan, the C & L will feature their infamous chicken picata. They all come with soup or salad, choice of potato, bread and dessert. C & L will be serving from 4 until closing on this special day.

What do you say if we keep heading west and pay a visit to the famous Izzak Walton Inn up at Essex. If you're a train buff like myself, you've probably been there numerous times and EVERY time is another great adventure. This grand whistle stop on the Great Northern line has a first class meal for your Valentine's evening. Their appetizer will be southwest shrimp cocktail or stuffed portabello mushrooms with choice of soup or salad and their soup is cream of walnut and the salad will be an orange fennel with spinach. You and your special one will have a choice of two entrees: (1) grilled lobster tail or (2) fillet Mignon with mushroom risotto and asparagus. Make sure you leave room on the side track for dessert, the Izzak Walton is featuring their world famous chocolate fondue. Later on, enjoy a drink in the "club car" downstairs.

Next stop is the Log Cabin in Jim Anderson's town...Choteau, of course. The Log Cabin on the Rocky Mountain Front has a special Valentine's menu. There's shrimp ala cupid, seafood extravaganza, cold water lobster tails, Alaskan king crab legs and the ultimate surf and turf for two. There will also be combination meals and other delicious entrees at the Cabin. And when you're talking a dessert menu, you're talking the Log Cabin. Now it's on to Valier and the enchanting Lighthouse. Bob and Sue will actually be serving their Valentine's menu from the 14th through Sunday, the 19th and I can see why. You'll need reservations for this one! The Lighthouse will feature New York strip with a pomegrante glaze, crab stuffed shrimp, or butter flied prawns filled with an herb crab stuffing baked in white wine butter sauce. Just when you think you are more than full, unlatch your belt another notch and get ready for the Lighthouse famous dessert platter. There's tiramisu, strawberry cheesecake, coffee ice cream topped with peanuts, caramel and sea salt.

Over in Conrad, Joe's Family Steakhouse is presenting their prime rib, escolar, shrimp scampi or beer battered shrimp and for a romantic feast like this, Joe is asking for reservations.

Back here in Shelby, Ringside Ribs is serving a romantic dinner for two Valentine's weekend, Friday, February 19th through Tuesday, the 14th. Ringside is featuring a seafood and steak platter for two. It's a 12 ounce English cut prime rib served with 8 ounces of King Crab Legs, two seafood and crab stuffed salmon fillets, 6 jumbo prawns, crab and shrimp cocktail, and your choice of potato, soup or salad and dessert. Barb says there are limited quantities available so it's best to reserve today.

Cut Bank, Choteau, Valier, Conrad, Shelby...we've got some of the finest dining in the great northwest, right here in North Central Montana.

Happy Valentine's Day from the Puffman Blog.