Montana Rib and Chop House
Livingston, Montana
In my humble opinion, steak is the reigning champion of all grub.
Really, what can be better than a big, thick, and preferably rare slab of dead cow?
Well, there is something better, believe it or not.
It is buffalo steak, specifically buffalo ribeye, and Montana’s Rib and Chop House in Livingston, Montana knows it.
Once you try a buffalo ribeye, no longer do you have the champion of all foods – you’ve got the king of all steak.
Buffalo ribeyes don’t show up on menus in most states.
But this is Montana where you can still see bison roaming free, looking delicious.
So when I saw the buffalo ribeye on the menu at Montana’s Rib and Chop House, I didn’t hesitate.
I ordered the 16 ounce monster saying, “Make mine rare, please.”
On a suggestion, I ordered their wild mushroom stuffing for my side.
To drink?
Come on, this is Montana. I ordered a Moose Drool.
Like buffalo steak, Moose Drool isn’t something you’ll find most places. In fact, this beer almost deserves its own champion category.
It’s dark, and the color may trick you into thinking you’ll be brushing your tongue for a week after drinking it, but it’s not the heaviest or hoppiest beer in the world.
Flavor-wise, if you like medium-bodied beers, you’ll love Moose Drool. It’s smooth, smoky, with hints of dark chocolate. The perfect beer to accompany a nice steak.
There weren’t many folks in Rib and Chop when I showed up Friday afternoon.
In fact, tourist season — which is Livingston’s main industry — was long over. I’m sure the place is much busier during the summer months.
But having the kitchen and waitstaff virtually all to myself wasn’t going to get me down.
My buffalo ribeye arrived still sizzling and looked much thicker than I was expecting.
And the flavor was great.
I actually like the flavor of just meat, so I’m not one to drown my steak in a pile of different table sauces.
So I simply sprinkled it with some salt before chowing down.
Turns out, I probably should have asked for medium-rare instead of rare.
Because ribeyes are so fatty, they require cooking them for a few minutes at a maintained high temperature for all the fat and tendons to break down.
Usually, that’s not a problem with beef, but my guess is buffalo ribeye needs to be cooked just a few minutes longer to reach its best tenderness.
The wild mushroom stuffing? I got no beef with it!
You want to talk about perfection in a bowl? Well, this is it.
With the first bite, I could taste the mild flavor of the mushrooms, complemented with savory notes of butter and Parmesan cheese
It would stand fine as a meal by itself.
And since it also went really well with my Moose Drool, I had to order another beer.
All in all, I left Montana’s Rib and Chop completely stuffed and happy.
The only thing that kept me from buying the shirt was that buffalo ribeyes aren’t exactly cheap!
Rating: Seriously thought about buying the shirt.
