Ted's Montana Grill

Every once in a while, I come across something different. We were in Atlanta for the day, enjoying Olympic Park and gaping at the height of the skyscrapers (we don’t have those where I come from) when we all decided our stomachs were rumbling. After a quick suggestion from the park visitors’ center, we were on our way to what would be a delightfully delicious experience.

Ted’s Montana Grill is an eco-friendly, always fresh, never frozen, honest-to-goodness, made-from-scratch restaurant. They claim a 99% plastic free establishment. Even the clear cup that held my daughter’s lemonade was made from corn. It is now my second favorite (next to Ruth’s Chris).

The atmosphere is similar to what you would find in a high-end steakhouse, yet more comfortable and approachable. If you just can’t wait, they serve a small appetizer of homemade pickles, which my my children devoured in short order. We also ordered the hand-dipped onion rings – which were fantastic – served with a slightly spicy ranch sauce. Highly recommended.

The portions are not going to be what you might expect to find in your average trendy Friday-Apple-Chili place. I count this as a good thing. We were more than satisfied, barely able to shove the last forkfuls in our mouths as we loosened our belts.

Give me a home where the buffalo roam. Yeah, but what about the bison?

It’s well known that Ted Turner owns approximately half of Montana and uses it vast expanses as a tax write-off and as a place to breed, raise, and preserve bison, the close cousin of the American buffalo who as we know gets all the good press – there’s the song, the buffalo nickel, Buffalo Bill, Buffalo Springfield, and Buffalo wings to name just a few. They’re even depicted on the football helmets of the NFL team in the city in New York that’s named after the beast! I reckon wordsmiths the world over thought the buffalo was a more syllabically attractive choice over the bison, and that’s why bison always got the short end of the stick. Well, ole’ Ted figured it was high time that bison got it’s turn in the spotlight, and what better way to do that than by eating them!

I had gone to Ted’s Montana Grill a couple of years ago when I was in Atlanta for a concert at The Tabernacle and really enjoyed it. Lo and behold, I was there again on this cold January night for the same reason and decided to stop in for another visit.

Having remembered all the excellent steaks and burgers on the menu, I looked forward to returning to Ted’s. Only one small problem… I wasn’t all that hungry. Not letting that stop me, I grabbed a seat at the bar, and after perusing the menu, I settled on a bowl of bison chili and an order of salt & pepper onion rings.

My drink order was taken and I was presented with a small bowl of house-made pickles that were thick-sliced, crunchy and delicious. My chili arrived a few minutes later, followed by the thick-cut onion rings. The rings were good, although every onion ring I try suffers from comparison to the best ones I’ve ever had which were at The Tavern at Phipps, but that’s another story.

The chili was a classic bowl of red, served with oyster crackers and topped with chopped red onion, shreds of cheddar, and a few sliced jalapenos. Chock full of meaty bisony goodness and not overloaded with beans, (a pet peeve) the chili was well seasoned, just right on the spicy, and was delicious. A bowl was more than enough to satisfy my limited appetite that night, and truth be known, I probably should’ve just ordered a cup as even that portion would’ve gone a long way. If you order the bowl, either be very hungry or have someone there with whom to share it.

Next time I go to Ted’s, I’ll be sure to bring my full-on food jones with me as there are a lot of entree choices worth trying. One that caught my eye was the Canyon Creek Burger. Served on either beef or bison, it has cheddar cheese, smoky bacon, fresh jalapeños, blackberry jam and a fried egg “over-easy”. I will have it next time for sure.

Distinctive American food with an approach to sustainability you can feel good about, Ted’s Montana Grill is worth checking out.