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A
Diamond in the Rough
Located
just outside the east entrance to Glacier National Park
is a small, cozy, rustic lodge known as St.
Mary's Lodge. The large log cabin style structure
houses a lovely hotel with rooms decorated in an impressive
"upscale rustic" motif. The room had a majestic
view of the mountains with a lovely running stream outside
our window. The entire St. Mary's Lodge complex is made
up of several buildings, one containing the hotel check-in
desk, a lovely gift shop and the Snow Goose Grille…a
diamond in the rough if ever there was one. The other
building has a café, a t-shirt shop and a gas
station. Located only 1/3 of a mile from the park's
entrance, this lodge was one of the nicest and loveliest
places in the area.
On
arrival, we went to the Curly Bear Café and were
immediately attracted to the offer of a "Buffalo"
burger. We weren't sure what to expect but it turned
out that Buffalo meat is not only delicious but very
low in fat as compared to beef. The Buffalo served in
St. Mary's is range Buffalo, which are brought up on
a natural diet. The fat content of Buffalo tenderloin
is around 1.9% compared to 23% for beef. It had a wonderful
meaty taste but not gamey at all.
We
toured the park that afternoon and decided that Glacier
was the most beautiful of all the national parks we
had seen, including Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and Banff.
That evening, we went to the Snow Goose Grille and were
seated in a lovely restaurant with a huge window looking
out on the bordering stream and the mountains beyond.
After the delicious burger that we enjoyed at lunch,
we had to have the "Buffalo Tenderloin". It
was an excellent choice as the meat was tender, cooked
to perfection, and topped with a delectable wine sauce.
It was served with au gratin potatoes and fresh asparagus.
The next morning, we had breakfast in the Snow Goose
Grille and enjoyed the "famous" St. Mary Lodge
Skillet breakfast, which was two eggs cooked as ordered,
with sausage or ham and a scone served in a skillet.
The
St. Mary Lodge was started in the mid to late 1920's
by Hugh and Margaret Black. Over the years the lodge
has evolved and in 2000 the Snow Goose Grille was completely
remodeled with the new "mountain lodge" décor.
The large building we stayed in is called the "Great
Bear Lodge" and opened in June 2001. We loved the
room decor, size and layout. If you are considering
a trip to Glacier National Park, keep in mind this lovely
lodge with its "Diamond in the Rough"…the
Snow Goose Grille.
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