Marvelous Meals in Medora

 

The always busy Cowboy Cafe. Photo by Judy Wells.

One of the best ways to start a day on the road is to breakfast where the locals go.  If by chance you find yourself in Medora, North Dakota, you should try the Cowboy Café. 

It’s located around the corner from the post office and offers quick and friendly service, reasonable prices and good food.  I ordered two eggs with toast priced at $4.95 and they arrived in perfect sunny-side-up style.  The coffee was pretty good but not great.  I never realized how discerning I was about coffee until this trip.  Seems many Dakotans prefer weak coffee.

The walls are a history of North Dakota ranching and rodeoing. Photo by Judy Wells.

The Café walls are covered with cattle brands and photos of famous regional cowboys.

The North Dakota "six-pack" of champion cowboys. Photo by Judy Wells.

To learn more about these wranglers visit the Cowboy Hall of Fame a few streets over. 

Stick the steaks on pitchfork tines and time carefully once they hit the boiling oil. Photo by Debi Lander.

Medora is known for Pitchfork Steak Fondue dinners served in a pavilion on a hill overlooking the town.  The view is spectacular with nearly 360 degrees of open sky.  

Pull 'em out at just the right time. Photo by Debi Lander.

Cowboy cooks spear steaks on pitchforks and thrust them into vats of hot oil.  Don’t get too close but it’s quite an operation to watch.

Start with sides on the buffet. Photo by Debi Lander.

You may feel as if you are in prison when given a partitioned metal tray but the food is a LOT better. Select your sides - baked beans, baked potatoes, salad options, coleslaw, Texas toast, and fresh fruit – from the buffet then let the guys slap on a perfectly done medium rare steak.  Wine and beer are available for an extra fee.  Musicians from the Medora Musical serenade diners and dessert, brownies and cake, is served later.   

On our first night in town we delayed dinner and chased the magic hour light before sunset and during moonrise in Teddy Roosevelt National Park. The scenery jumps with vivid gold, green and amber hues. Unfortunately no photo can capture the awesome view like the naked eye.

By the time we left we were more than hungry, however, we really weren’t really dressed appropriately for upscale dining.  Nonetheless, we decided to peek into Theodore’s, the restaurant attached to the famed Rough Riders Hotel. 

Real salads, at last. Photo by Debi Lander.

Their menu looked divine and the staff welcomed us, even dressed in shorts and sneakers.  We splurged for the best dinner of our trip starting with a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.  Next, came our salad- hooray, no iceberg lettuce.  We were thrilled to see dark green fresh spinach leaves with Feta cheese, almonds and cooked fresh beets.  Yum, both healthy and delicious.

Debi's bison osso bucco. Photograph by Debi Lander.

My entrée was Braised Buffalo Osso Bucco and Judy ordered the Bourbon glazed pork chop.  The plates arrived looking picture perfect. The meat was fork tender, no knife needed, and served along with mashed potatoes or cheddar polenta, vegetables and the most delicious sauce. 

 We loved and are still raving about this gourmet meal and had so much left over, we asked for boxes and ate the remainder for lunch the next day.  Thus the savings on lunch and the splurge became less extravagant-about $60 dollars each with wine and tip included. 

Judy's pork chop. Photo by Judy Wells.

No doubt Medora is North Dakota’s prime vacation spot and the food is mighty fine, too.

Medora: The Marquis' city

The Marquis de Mores.

The Marquis de Mores, a French aristocrat married to the beautiful and well-educated daughter of an American magnate, had a grand plan. To save the stress, weight loss and death of cattle shipped from the west to meat processors with eastern stockyards, he would corral and process the cattle near their home in North Dakota then ship the results east.

Medora, the Marquise de Mores.

With the financial backing of his father-in-law,  the marquis jumped in, founding Medora which he named for his lovely bride, building a 26-room summer home, the Chateau de Mores, and an enormous abattoir and packing house.

The smoke stack is the only thing left of the Marquis' abattoir. :Photo by Judy Wells

The man was ahead of his time and also spared no expense entertaining guests from abroad. The Armours and their ilk didn't like being moved in on and the Marquis' plan failed.

Teddy Roosevelt attired in New York version of buckskins.

However, he left behind a town in the beautiful northern badlands that became famous for another visitor, Theodore Roosevelt,. They said he arrived in buckskins tailored by Brooks Brothers, a knife and silver spurs fashioned by Tiffany's. His spectacles earned him the nickname four-eyes, but his grit, riding ability and personality earned him the respect of all around.

Teddy, on the other hand, credited Medora and the North Dakotans with teaching him enough about his fellow man while making a man out of him to enable him to be a successful president.

Ranch cabin from the Maltese Cross Ranch. Photo by Judy Wells.

He owned two ranches, the Maltese Cross and the Elkhorn, neither of which ever turned a profit except in molding his character.

Debi and Teddy, alias Joe Wiegand, chat. Photo by Judy Wells.

Debi slept where Teddy did. Photo by Debi Lander.

You can tour the Marquis' chateau, see an excellent one-man portrayal of Roosevelt by Joe Wiegand or, as Debi did, stay in a room at the Rough Riders Hotel where the man himself slept.

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Rough Riders Hotel. Photo by Judy Wells.

Lobby of Rough Riders Hotel. Photo by Debi Lander.

Speaking of the hotel, it's a delight. Wonderfully located in the middle of town, well equipped and with an extensive library on the region and former president that guests are welcome to use during their stay.

Audience participation is a small part of the musical. Photo by Debi Lander.

The annual Medora Musical is hailed throughout the area as the highlight of every summer. The productions cater to audiences who like all-American, Up with People-type musical reviews with country western music. It doesn't start until 8:30 p.m. and kids may get antsy before all is done.

Wishful cowboys and girls will love the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame.

North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame. Photo by Debi Lander.

The town itself has a few touristy spots, but places like the

Post office and bank. Photo by Debi Lander.

• post office,

• bank,

Town Hall. Photo by Judy Wells.

• old Town Hall theater,

Firehouse. Photo by Judy Wells.

• firehouse

make up for any hints of phoniness.

The locals welcome you without a false note.

Just like Teddy, we thought it a bully good place.

We'll show and tell you more about why in our next posts.

Heading to Medora, North Dakota

To paraphrase the old saw "It's a long way to Tipperary" It SEEMS like a long way to Medora, a charming town in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Spearfish Canyon - the light was wrong too. Photo by Judy Wells.

We took a detour to see Spearfish Canyon which we had been told was spectacular. Normally it would be but in this year of drought there was very little water to race down the mountains. Also, having loved the vistas in Custer State Park, we were spoiled so we cut short the detour and headed north again.

Belle Fourche, center of the United States. Photo by Debi Lander.

Then we came to the geographic center of the 50 states and a hidden gem, the Tri-State Museum, in the Belle Fourche Visitor Center.

Debi stands on and at the center. Photo by Judy Wells.

Buckskin Johnny's cabin. Photo by Judy Wells.

Most visitors take photos standing in that center spot and look inside the 1876 "Buckskin" Johnny Spaulding log cabin and perhaps go as far as the restrooms in the visitor center.

Big mistake.

Do a little old time styling. Photo by Debi Lander.

Both of us are museum enthusiasts and agree this is one of the nicest ones we've seen.

Curly hair, anyone? Photo by Judy Wells.

Take a "ride." Photo by Judy Wells.

Kids will like the hands-on, mount-up saddles, as Judy did.

That's a rodeo queen wave. Photo by Debi Lander.

Unfortunately, you can look at but not borrow the appropriate riding attire.  Photo by Judy Wells.

Excellent artifacts handsomely displayed and identified tempted us to linger much longer than anticipated.

They were on the trail, too. Photo by Debi Lander.

A good thing we lingered as it turned out, because we caught the annual Medora to Deadwood wagon train, a parade of riders and buckboards, as they passed through. Great fun to watch.

Photo by Debi Lander.

Belle Fourche used to be pronounced the French way but locals have turned it into Bell-Foosh.

The prairies rolled and the road stretched. Photo by Debi Lander.

This is ranching country and spaces between inhabited houses are vast.

We drove, they grazed. Photo by Judy Wells.

Hay rounds, Steers and cow/calf combos were our roadside companions.

No food here. Photo by Judy Wells.

Come lunchtime, there wasn't a diner, cafe or even mini-mart in sight.

Buffalo bar/cafe. Photo by Debi Lander.

An hour later we encountered a bar/cafe in Buffalo, population 309, where the dust was as thick as the burgers. It hadn't killed the locals so we downed a burger and headed on to the town made by a marquis and named after his marquise.