Granola Bars: The new obsession

I was entranced by Grizzly Bars in our travels to the National Parks and Jackson.


Think of a crispy rice and oat bar, with peanut butter and chocolate, and dried fruits such as banana and apricot. Held together with a rice syrup. All organic. No preservatives. From what I read online, it is the brain child of a woman who got tired of waiting in the long lunch lines in Teton after skiing on the trails and feeling starved while coming down the slopes.

While I don't ski, they are unbelievably yummy, chewy, and not candy-store sweet. It is the breakfast I can only dream of having. I bought a ton and handled them gingerly on the way back in my carry-on luggage. Their shelf life is only about 30 days, so I've frozen my extra to bring out and thaw on worthy occasions.

They are only available at about 9 stores in and around Jackson, or online. Once my stash runs out, I will be willing to pay exorbitant shipping fees. Visit here if you want to learn more about them (or share in a shipment): http://www.trambars.com

Our Jackson, Wy dinner... al fresco

We took the opportunity to grill out for our dinners in Jackson, WY. Our rental cabin was outfitted with a great grill and plenty of deck space.


We bought some excellent steaks and sides from the local markets. Even the barbecue sauce has huckleberries in it! It was wonderful. It's a simple place setting, and the temperatures in the 60s couldn't have been better.


We enjoyed excellent an excellent beer and wine --- Eric's beer was the Sweetwater XX from Grand Teton Brewery in Victor, ID. My pinot was from Chehalem in Oregon. Both are unavailable in Georgia, so this was a real treat.

Grand Teton Dinner, Take Two

On our second night in Grand Teton NP, we had dinner at the premier restaurant in the park's Jackson Lake Lodge, called the Mural Room. One side, floor to ceiling windows for diners to enjoy the sunset. The other side, a 80 feet of painting depicting the fur trade in Jackson during the 19th century. Its a neat space and a great environment to enjoy a wonderful dinner in Teton.

A touch of butter whimsy with fresh baked gluten.


I had the quail as first course. Stuffed with a soft, gooey fig and wrapped in prosciutto.

Eric had a mushroom "cappuccino" soup with a herb biscotti.


My entree was the rack of lamb with local greens and a Cabernet sauce.


Eric's entree was the winner, a filet with truffled butter, wilted greens, and homemade sweet potato chips.

A tall mountain range + a 50's diner

Onward to Grand Teton National Park, we checked into Jackson Lodge and had a casual dinner at their 1950's diner - called the Pioneer Grill. It's more Dick Clark, than Lewis & Clark.


The walls and counter are posted with pictures from the beginnings of Grand Teton Park and thick, rusty tools hang on the walls. Of course we don't know what these tools did, so they were nice enough to hand out a typed description of each tools' purpose, whether it be farming, or trapping animals, or dealing with the copious amounts of snow.


The diner itself is upkept very well and the laminate counter snakes through the space as one continuous tabletop.


Eric ordered a bison burger, fries (which didn't compare to those in Idaho), and I had a salad with roasted poblano chiles and grilled chicken. Iced tea was pretty decent, considering.


After dinner, we went outside on the landing, and caught sunset over the Tetons.

Antelope sausage?

Yep, that's right. Antelope!

We had one of our last dinners at Old Faithful's Snow Lodge - right next door to the Old Faithful Inn. The Snow Lodge being the all-season lodging at that end of the park. The Obsidian Dining Room offers a bit more complex offerings than, say, the original Dining Room at the Inn. Nothing crazy, but enough unique entrees to keep the mouth-breathers away.

We started with antelope sausage doused with caramelized onions and tiny bits of smoked bacon.

I ordered the Alaskan salmon, with a white wine dill butter compound. I tasted more butter than dill, and I'm not complaining. The potato, again, made its entrance. And it was superb. I love those fat pieces of salt barely hanging onto the crispy skin.

Eric ordered the bison short ribs, braised in Moose Drool Ale (by Big Sky Brewery), and served with mashed potatoes. He was in heaven with this dish.

Historic breakfast

We had a long night. A long drive to get to Yellowstone. A challenging approach to the Old Faithful Inn wherein we were ambushed by some 100 bison.

Once at the Inn, we carried our over-stuffed luggage up numerous flights of wooden stairs that creaked and cracked with every step.

We woke up knowing we have 8 hours of hiking ahead of us. We needed fuel.

The easy choice was a great breakfast in the Dining Room on the first level of the Inn. It's hard to truly describe this space, pictures simply do not do it justice.

We each ordered egg dishes, accompanied with thick-cut smoked bacon and the best coffee I had since we left Georgia. Fluffy eggs, salty bacon, and hearty dark coffee.

And we didn't need our Swedish-Army flint to fix this great meal.

Somethin's Brewing in Idaho Falls

Once we landed in Salt Lake City - and took a gander of our long road trip through Idaho (and a bit of Montana) to get to Yellowstone - we knew we had to stop for a good dinner somewhere. But where? We're passing through areas where, if there are any populations, the cities come with the standard chain-restaurant fare. (Lord, no more Denny's!) Luckily, we had great service to our Blackberrys and were able to look up information and reviews.

We found a place called Brownstone Restaurant & Brewery in Idaho Falls, ID -- it had a decent menu and good selection of beer.

The view of the falls from your table just can't be beat.


Eric was pleased with the beer selection and picked a great pizza to go with his sampler.


I saw 'local Idaho trout' on the offering list and there was no turning back for me. I just had to have this fish. It was so fresh, a rosy hued flesh, perfectly cooked with garlic and lemon.


I must say, though, the french fries were amazing. This is the land of potatoes, afterall, but we were scarfing them like we had never had french fries before. We don't seek fries, unless the potatoes are gathered fresh from Maryanne's garden, or cut and cooked in rendered goose fat. These fries rivaled both preferences.

Simply put, they were amazing. And a worthy stop in this town.