Day 5 – The Airport and Dinner at Silver Star

Montana Capitol

This was a pretty relaxing day….I started off by going for a run across town with one of our dogs. Grandma Don lives right down the street from the Montana State Capitol, which is also where MT’s father works, and I get to run by the gorgeous building any time I please. The campus is so pretty at this time of year, with beautiful red and white flowers spelling out “Montana” in front of the statue of Thomas Meagher (pronounced Mar) on his horse, tall green trees towering over to provide shade for pedestrians, and the every so lovely (snow free) lady Montana that stands on top of the capitol’s large copper dome looking down upon us. It’s a beautiful sight to see! Then, I keep running and reach the other side of town where I trek up the big hill in Reeder’s Village and turn around at the top……ahhhhhh……what a spectacular view of Helena! When I return to the house, we get ready because MT’s uncle is flying in from Salt Lake City via Dallas, TX, which is one of maybe 3 flights that day at Helena Airport. When we arrive the place is packed and it’s not hard to locate MT’s uncle with his bright red hair near the one and only gate at the airport. One of MT’s aunts, which is his uncle’s twin, is also there with him to pick him up. We make our greetings and leave the airport within minutes. I think our trip to, from, in and out of the airport was a total of 15 minutes, where as in Dallas it would have taken at least 1 ½ hours. By now, I’m thinking Helena is not a bad place to live…..but then I remember the cold winters…….Brrrrrr. The next few hours will basically just sit and visit with everyone, and finally we make our way to dinner at another nice establishment in Helena, Silver Star Steakhouse. Needless to say, it was a very un-rushed day. One of many in this town!

Silver Star Steakhouse

Rating: Hmmm…..Not too shabby

Location: 833 Great Northern Boulevard, Helena, MT 59601

Category: Steakhouse

Favorites: Filet, Outdoor Seating, Wine List

Pricing: Pricey

Comments:

Silver Star had been our go-to restaurant in Helena, since I made my first trip here about 5 years ago. It’s located in the newest section of downtown right next to the Great Northern Hotel and the movie theatre. They also have a fantastic patio for outdoor seating and the night was perfect for just that. We ordered a bottle of wine and then pondered over an appetizer, choosing the Seafood Tower. My initial thought before reading the description was an assortment of oysters, shrimp, crab claws, and clams brought out on a cascading ice tower, but then I looked at the low price, and considered there was a catch, but in actuality it is more like a crab, shrimp, avocado and egg salad shaped into a cylinder. Not a tower at all……they need to rename this dish. I wasn’t too sure about the egg in this before I tried it, and my instincts proved me right because it really wasn’t too appetizing. I had one bite and pushed it aside to MT, who proceeded to eat most of it. He loved the eggs in it. I advanced on to deciding on our main course…..the filet, which this time we ordered rare and blackened on the outside, with a side of white plate screaming for some sort of garnish, but after cutting into the beautiful piece of meat and tasting the wonderful blackened crust….I was in heaven…..mmmm…..I don’t understand vegetarians! The mushrooms were not bad, but the broccoli was boring. Just steamed and no seasoning in sight. I had to order a little side of dressing to make them edible. No dessert. Overall, I wasn’t that impressed with this round of Silver Star, but at least they are still getting their meat right.

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Filet with Mushrooms and Broccoli

Seafood Tower???