Ritodhi C.
Yelp
The Belton Chalet is a historic rail-side lodge that opened to the public in 1910. The dining and tap room came highly recommended and are open to non-hotel guests, so we made reservations for an early dinner. The indoor space was relatively casual with dark wood and sterile overhead lights, but there is also a patio overlooking the train tracks with distant mountains forming a majestic backdrop. It was near sunset and, though the blinds were drawn, the whole room was filled with a soft golden light.
We kicked things off with cocktails, and they were all amazing. My wife had a dirty martini that was clean and refreshing. The Northern Lights, a fascinating concoction pairing absinthe, rosé, firneedle simple syrup, and cucumber, was well-balanced and unique. The Huckleberry Habanero Margarita was a playful sequence of sweet then tart then spicy. Finally, the Hearth Stone Old Fashioned with maple simple syrup and chocolate bitters was truly exceptional, earthy and sweet-but-not-too-sweet.
For starters, we chose the Thai Salad and Cheese Board. The salad was a decent palate primer, with flavorful peppers, fried shallots, julienned veggies, and a light punchy dressing. The board was fantastic and, on this particular occasion, with a toned-down blue cheese, smoked gouda, a house-made ricotta that was sweet and flavorful but on the liquidy side, a mild giardiniera, honeycomb, and huckleberry jam. Moving on to main courses, we opted for fish and pasta items. The Flathead Lake trout was well seasoned and juicy, but the skin wasn't as crispy as I would've hoped. The accompanying butternut squash pureé was alright; the buttered broccolini was better. The roe was entirely superfluous, and at $32, I found this dish unjustifiably expensive. The Fusilli with roasted garlic cream sauce, ricotta, lemon, and leafy greens was rich and delicious. The sauce clung lovingly to the twisty pasta and all the flavors worked magically together. We also added the elk sausage (+$8), which was good but nothing special. We topped the meal off with the Huckleberry Cheesecake Beignets, three decadent fried pillows that, despite not having too much cheesecake essence that we could detect, were great. In terms of taste, I would pin huckleberry as a cross between a blueberry and a raspberry.
While not perfect, our dinner at the Belton Chalet was one of the best meals of our week-long trip to Montana: incredible cocktails, solid service, and excellent food, though perhaps a tad overpriced.