I know that Ted’s Montana Grill is small(ish) chain, but since he owns so much land in our area, I consider it a kind of local place. The restaurants are mainly in Colorado and Georgia, sprinkled in some others on the East Coast and with one actually in Montana.

Ted’s aims to have that western feel with bison on the menu (and on the wall), resulting in an overall atmosphere that is very hunting lodge meets family restaurant. One of my favorite features is that you can call ahead to get on the waiting list – very necessary on Friday or Saturday nights.

We recently had a 10 year old’s birthday to celebrate, so we met my parents at Ted’s for dinner.We were all famished so we put in an order of their Chips and Dip, which is homemade kettle chips and ranch dip. Very creamy, and very good. Warning: this goes really fast with six people, so grab some early. (We saved the rest of the ranch to dip fries in…solid choice.)

My husband ordered a cheeseburger with fries. Their cheeseburger is by far one of the best in town. They sear fresh ground beef on a well-seasoned griddle and then steam the burger by covering it with a bowl and spraying liquid under the rim. The burger is incredibly juicy and you can taste the high quality of the beef. (The bison burger is excellent as well.) The french fries are freshly hand cut – if you eat at the bar, you can watch them cut the potatoes.

I attempted to order something new, but I just could not get the Red Rock Chicken Sandwich out of my head. This sandwich comes with grilled chicken breast, Pepper Jack cheese, fresh jalapeños, cilantro, fried onion straws and their signature Z-Sauce. The combination of the Z-sauce (kind of bbq sauce), the fried onions and jalapeños really enhances the chicken. And I love the ciabatta bread – they toast it on the interior side so that the outside isn’t too hard (which happens often with ciabatta.)

You can have the hand-cut fries, but I attempted to be healthier by getting a side of broccoli. They steam it till it is just barely tender, ask for it to be cooked longer if you like the broccoli more tender (as I do.)

B (the birthday girl!) got the Angus Sliders app and K got the kid’s menu steak and fries. The kid’s portions are no joke. Great size – I have even ordered the kids Salmon entrée for myself once and it was plenty.

My mom got the short ribs and mashed potatoes (looked amazing) and my dad got the same sandwich as I did. All were very pleased and we got boxes for the leftovers from the girls’ meals.

Last, but not least, we ordered birthday dessert. The official birthday dessert is a large homemade cookie and vanilla ice cream. Both girls got the chocolate chip. Once again, the portions are huge. The cookie was almost the size of B’s face! The vanilla ice cream was flavorful and creamy, a perfect foil to the immense cookie.

This was a great meal and I love bringing my family here. It is more expensive than most fern bar/restaurants, but the quality of the food and service make it worth it.

And get the burger. Do it.