Pork Hash and Eggs Food p*rn

Breakfast: It's not just for, uh, breakfast* any more. Some leftover pork tenderloin inspired a dinner of hash with said swine along with mushrooms, onions and crispy potatoes, of course. All topped with poached eggs (freestyle, mind you...no little molds around here) and a Gruyere and cheddar bechemel (thank you JEN). SMACK!

the single

the double

the wide shot

Need more? Go here.

*fortunately, I made a bit too much last night...and this morning the leftover hash breakfast-dinner was actually breakfast-breakfast.

Welcome Back, Winter!

That's right: it was a big six degrees Fahrenheit this morning. Prompting this late winter Haiku, in an attempt to find beauty in the deep freeze:

Snow stinging face now

Reluctantly heading out
Leave the bike at home

Nope, that didn't do it.....still unable to locate any charm in this recent return to winter weather.

Spring, Yellowstone Style

Evidence of spring is just about everywhere today - although spring manifests itself differently in Yellowstone. It takes road crews about 12 weeks to plow Yellowstone's roads prior to the summer season. In March a few roads open up into the interior for bicycles only. Spring in Yellowstone means little canyons of pavement carved into the snowpack.

With mild temps and a chance to catch some sunshine my friend Rick and I decided to head to Mammoth Hot Springs for a launching point for a bike ride (the main attraction) and brief ski (clearly, the side show).

The road going south from Mammoth climbs about 900 feet onto the Yellowstone plateau; therefore a good workout is guaranteed. Also guaranteed is a screaming descent on the return trip. The multi-geared mountain bike and its low gearing is my friend today.

There is something wonderful about having this park to yourself - a place that can see 3 million visitors a year. The roads are so empty in fact, that like a lizard, I decide to take a seat in the middle of the road, soaking up the sun and its effects on the blacktop. Lovely.

The aforementioned climb out of Mammoth provides a brake-heating and near pedal-free return trip back to the car. The knobby mountain bike tires out of place here sound like a Hummer going down the interstate at 80mph.

Upon returning to Rick's well-equipped minivan, we make the quick change to x-country ski gear. I briefly think about trying to pedal my bike with skis on. Briefly. The skiing is pure spring: slightly damp and granular snow and the people walking on the trail around the Mammoth terraces outnumber the skiers (us). After a mercifully short climb to the top of a hill we call it good and proceed to flail to some degree down the winding path.

After this indulgent afternoon of Yellowstone recreation we bask in the exhaustion and celebrate the day Gardiner, Montana style with fried bar food and a beer at one of the few business open during the off season.

Two Wheels, One Gear and a Spring Day

I seem to recall posting something about "carbide studs of happiness" some time ago. That was at the outset of winter. Winter is on its way out now and this means wardrobe change, machina-style:
Good-bye carbide studs of happiness, hello simple machine of lightness. I knew this bike was coming out today, I knew it last night as I was chugging home on the Surly, I knew it this morning when I fetched the paper and heard birds singing and smelled dampness - winter is in retreat and the thaw has begun.

Surprised by how little air I needed to add to the 100 psi tires, and how easily the machine gets underway, I move off almost silent down the two lane road that goes into town from my house. The ride to work is largely downhill - and delightfully fast on my 1987 Schwinn Tempo.

This particular member of my two-wheeled family was rescued from a friend's garage and altered slightly with a Cinelli saddle, flopped-and-chopped handlebars and a 42x17 fixed-gear setup. It even came with some Benotto Cello handlebar tape. The whole bike transports me not only to work, but back to 1987 - when steel ruled the road and I spent most of my free time training on and racing two-wheeled machines.

Hello soft thrum of high-psi tires on pavement. Hello near-silent machine. Hello Spring.

Wounded Bozeman Featured in New York Times

On Tuesday, the New York Times ran a story about a Montana City Wounded to its Core. The story does a good job of capturing the thin dusting of angst that has settled over downtown Bozeman.
Most business not directly affected by the recent explosion have re-opened and traffic now flows (in one direction at least) on Main Street. But the explosion and the stinking economy have ushered in an unwelcome reality that even Bozeman isn't immune to the cold reality of the "outside" world.
In our building -located directly across from the blast- office workers whose interactions were once limited to holding doors open and the occasional hello - now make formal introductions. Jars of candy and small plants have been exchanged as gifts, conversations have moved beyond "where were you" to "how are you doing"...."when are they going to put your windows back - and take down the plywood?". People are noticeably coming into work just a few minutes later in the morning. I keep my keys, wallet, cell phone and camera all together now in my bag - next to my chair. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle published a story today about acts of kindness, including an unidentified man handing out $20 bills to downtown residents and businesses.
Beyond the shell-shock, the economy has helped shutter a few business on its own. As the NYT article states so well, just a few months ago, things couldn't have looked brighter for our little town. Now several already closed businesses downtown combined with the recent destruction give this city something it hasn't seen in a long time: an edginess that suggests even optimism has its limits.
More photos from the NYT artcle, here.

Why Hummers Are Awesome...

Because in what other vehicle might you think it was a good idea to drive to Old Faithful, YNP - in the winter - when the roads aren't open to cars, only to over-snow snowmobile and snowcoach traffic?
Between the soon-to-be-extended rental and a few fees to various federal agencies, this drive to the park just got a teensy bit more expensive.

Only in a Hummer.

Is it authentic?

This question came up while dining out with friends last Friday. I guess that depends on where you come from...I'm not sure exactly where this place comes from, but I must admit I kind of liked this new restaurant. The other night we drove out to Belgrade to give the Rio Sabinas South Western Grill a try. Always willing to give any new Tex-Mex, Mexican, South Western place a go, I was psyched and ready to dig in. The beans (two posts in a row going on about beans, mind you) were very good and in my opinion were the standout among the chow: fresh cooked pintos with a serious whack of bacon to round out the flavor.

Thankfully, the chaps that run Rio Sabinas have done this once or twice with the successful Rib & Chop House restaurants in Montana and Wyoming. That said, we're clearly a long way from the border, as the chips and salsa took a long time to hit the table; but the wait proved worth it. We were presented with two kinds of salsa, a bright red tomato based salsa that was spicy and good, the second a slightly creamy avocado-based variety with a mellow kick and plenty of cilantro. The chips themselves were thin, salty and warm. Yum.

The menu is huge and varies wildly from burgers (with some creative south-western-y toppings) to lots of Tex-Mex-y items, and a few creole dishes thrown in for good measure. Okay, I guess the logo is starting to make sense now...

I had the brisket Tacos, which were good, but the brisket had been braised. Look, don't get me wrong, the meat was tender and well seasoned, but if you braise a brisket in Texas you might not want to call it Brisket...try: pot roast.

Also around the table a bowl of chile con queso is lapped up with the now flowing baskets of chips. One of the oddball dishes, but quite good in a I-need-2500-calories-right-now kind of way, was a chicken dish (bad blogger, I forgot the name) that served fried cutlets topped with a ranchero sauce and served on a bed a sauteed onions - with beans and rice - and shooter of queso for good measure. Not only did this produce leftovers - but it did so - twice. Three meals, one dish. This is great recession dining.

While I am not going to declare my search for Tex-Mex in Montana over, Rio Sabinas does present a curious and tasty new option when seeking out the requisite chips/salsa/enchilada experience; especially if you have other diners in tow who aren't on the Tex-Mex bus.