Feast Whitefish week showcases culinary highlights
The fourth annual Feast Whitefish returns on May 11-18 with a full week of food and drink events highlighting the Whitefish dining scene.
The Feast kicks off on Saturday, May 11 with the 2019 Distiller’s Fest, an opening night cocktail party at Grouse Mountain Lodge featuring specialty cocktails (and spirits) from 10 different Montana micro-distilleries and an all-star line-up of amazing appetizers from top Whitefish eateries.
Distilleries already confirmed from across western Montana that will participate include, Spotted Bear Sprits, Glacier Distilling Co., Whistling Andy, Headframe Spirits, Bozeman Spirits; Montgomery Distillery, Dry Hills Distilling, and Willie’s Distillery.
The list of restaurants already confirmed for this year includes the Firebrand Lodge, Ciao Mambo’s, Logan’s Grill and MacKenzie River Pizza, with more to be added as the event gets closer.
Running May 13-17 is Feast Restaurant Week, a five-day culinary affair with locally owned-and-operated restaurants offering incentives for patrons to revisit their favorite restaurants and experience new ones. Each night participating restaurants will offer a special, fixed-price Feast Week dinner menu.
On Tuesday, May 14 is the Feast Grand Gala Dinner, this year hosted by Latitude 48. The Grand Gala is a one-of-a-kind dining experience with top local chefs collaborating to present an amazing six-course dinner, each course paired with award-winning wines from the West Coast and beyond.
In addition to host Chef Melissa Mangold from Latitude, this year’s team of chefs includes Andy Blanton of Café Kandahar, Tim Good from the Last Chair, Jeremy Grossman of Tupelo/Abruzzo, Michael Cartwright of Cartwright Catering, and special guest chef Shane McAnelly, executive chef at a pair of outstanding Healdsburg, California, restaurants — The Brass Rabbit and Chalkboard.
On Saturday, May 18 the focus shifts to burgers, barbecue and beer, as the Pine Lodge hosts this year’s Burger Battle at their riverside lodge on Spokane Avenue. Local restaurants and bars will try to impress the crowd and the judges with their take on the “ultimate” burger. Great Northern Brewing Co. will serve refreshments while attendees sample burgers from Piggyback BBQ, the Boat Club, Craggy Range, Mudman and a handful of others.
Feast Whitefish is presented by the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce, the Pine Lodge, the Flathead Beacon and Great Northern Brewing Company, and supported by dozens of fine local restaurants, catering companies, bars, micro-distilleries and distributors. For more information, call the chamber at 862-3501, or visit the event website at www.FeastWhitefish.com. Tickets for all Feast Whitefish events are limited, and on sale now.