My Montana Prime Ribbon

Ted's Montana Grill
Bozeman, Montana

"Hard work is it's own reward."  That's how that old saying goes anyway.

My guess is whoever came up with that ridiculous statement was a vegetarian because -- for Suit 69 anyway -- rewards are prime rib.

After a brutal two weeks of mind-mangling hard work in Montana -- topping off over a year of feeling my soul getting ripped out of me bit by bit, I was ready to go home.

I was also ready for a pat on the back in the form of a nice dark beer and big slab of meat.

A few minutes of searching the internet didn't really yield much, so I just headed to a little area in downtown Bozeman where I had seen several bars and restaurants.

It was early Sunday evening, however, and many places were closed.

But Ted's Montana Grill wasn't, and the buffalo head outside was calling my name.

I obliged Mr. Buffalo, sat at the bar and ordered a beer -- a Bozone Plum Porter from the local Bozeman Brewing Company.  It was a pretty good, pretty smooth dark beer.

Perfect to compliment a nice steak which is what I had my heart on.  I won't say Ted's had an impressive beer list.  They didn't.

But at least there was only one American puke beer on tap -- Bud Light.

Perusing the menu, I looked at the appetizers.

There were many nice choices -- including the Bison Nachos.

But I decided against it.  I wanted to make sure I had plenty of room in my stomach for steak.

I settled on a 16 ounce prime rib -- rare.

And instead of a side salad, I ordered a cup of the bison chili.

The chili was good.  A tad sweet for my taste, but still very good.  I kicked up the heat a tad with some Tabasco.

The best part was the fresh jalapeno in the middle.  It had a really good crisp heat without sending me scrambling to down my beer.

 Of course, on a Sunday evening, I was all about football, but there was only one TV, and it wasn't really easily seen from my seat at the bar.

It was that "dead" time in between the late afternoon game and the evening game anyway so the TV was turned to the news.

It was the Sunday before Election Day and the pundits were talking about how badly Democrats would suffer at the hands of the American people with Obama somehow managing to be a worse President than George W. Bush.

I finished my chili and my beer and ordered another Bozone Plum Porter and waited about 30 seconds for my steak.

And then it arrived.  16 ounces of perfectly-cooked awesome.

It had a nicely seasoned, crisp edge to it.  And warm pink goodness throughout.  To be honest, I was in heaven with every bite.

The au jus was also pretty good.  It could have stood a tad more salt, but since I like dabs of horseradish on my prime rib before I dip into the au jus, there was no complaining.

As far as the baked potato and the green beans?  They were eaten, but they were like the homely 5th bridesmaid at a wedding.  You forget she was there until you go back and look at pictures.

I ordered one more beer, finished my plate and somehow managed not to fall off my seat at the bar after the orgy of meat, bear and homely bridesmaid vegatables.

The task at hand was done.

My work was over.


Good job, Suit 69.  Good job.

Now get ready for a big pile of crap in the morning.

Rating:  Seriously Thought About Buying the Shirt