It’s Raining Huckleberries

During dinner at the Izaak Walton Inn in Essex last night, we found the menu dotted with tiny purple-green images of huckleberries, a kind of wild mountain berry native to the Pacific Northwest. Apart from being a favorite among the area’s bear population, these fleshy berries find their way into menus all over the region.

Each of us ordered something or the other with the berry in it. The beer was from Great Northern Brewing Co. in Whitefish, a pale brew with just the slightest hint of huckleberry. The six ounce boneless grilled chicken was deliciously tender with a generous drizzle of huckleberry orange sauce. And well, even dessert had the purple tinge of the local berry.

You just cannot avoid this berry in  Montana, and when not in food, it is found in lotions, candles and soaps!