Montana’s Cookhouse

Montana’s Cookhouse
Several locations across Canada
1046 – 2929 Barnet Highway (location visited)
Coquitlam, BC

After that hike in Diez Vistas, DVP couldn’t join me for dinner as she had to attend something unexpected. Alas, me “stranded” in the middle of nowhere and starting to get hungry (despite eating several handfuls of cashews before the last portion of the trail). So, while driving out of Buntzen Lake, I chose to drive through Coquitlam Centre rather than the “easier” route of Port Moody. Why? I have absolutely no idea… Could it be because I came driving that way? When I hit that mall, I remembered there was a Montana’s Cookhouse, as well as Chada Thai, I chose the former for one reason: Meat! I mean, I was darn hungry and all I could think of was meat… NOW!!!

At this point, if somebody is going to chastise me for going to Montana’s for their “BBQ”, please don’t. Me as a food blogger will go to almost any extent to try different restaurants, be it perceived good or perceived bad. To me, it is an adventure and a discovery process based on what I like (and dislike). Chances are, yours will be different than mine. The key here is enjoying the (eating?) process. But, back to Montana’s, the key here is that, unlike other restaurants, they don’t call themselves a BBQ place, instead it is family restaurant with emphasis in ribs and steaks. It won’t be that different from saying Red Lobster and a family restaurant emphasizing seafood or Red Robin emphasizing burgers. So, please, keep that in mind.

After being guided to a table and given the menu, my debate was… Should I go for the all-you-can-eat ribs or should I order one of their dishes? Now, had it been a heavy meat eater like Sherman, chances are both of us ordering the all-you-can-eat ribs (different types, of course) and sharing it. Had it been somebody lighter like Mijune or Anita, that might not necessarily be the case. OK, probably bad example with Mijune… She can be a heavy eater as any big guy! But, being by myself and despite I was really hungry, I chose the option of one of their ribs + other meat dishes mainly because I wanted variety. And that one “other meat” ended up being chicken:

Here, their beef rib + quarter chicken, and, for sides, I chose coleslaw and baked beans. One thing I am not sure if I should be surprised (or should have expected it) was the speed which this was served. I think it took them less than five minutes between ordering and serving it to my table. Truth is that is about right. I mean, it is not like some other cuisines that dishes are made to order. These dishes ought to be prepared in advance and, at most, a matter of plating them. So, from that perspective, they did what they were supposed to do…

The coleslaw was average but, then again, since chances are this came from a bag with some dressing thrown in, should I have expected anything else? The cornbread… Well, I will have to say it is among the worst I have ever had. It was too sweet for my liking plus it crumbled down way too easily. It was as if there wasn’t anything holding them together.

The other side, the beans, was a bit of a mixed bag. It wasn’t that sweet, didn’t have much of meat taste (actually, I don’t mind much this part); however, what detracted me was the fact it had a bit of a gritty feeling. It was fine as well but, again, I have had better. Oh, on that note, the sauce on the back was supposed to be Texas bold but… Aside from some odd taste, I wasn’t sure what to expect from it. Anyway, the proteins tasted fine without them.

And, talking about proteins, here is the chicken. I will have to admit it is quite decent. Now, not the best of this type but at least it had some unique characteristics still. For example, in no way it was dry and was brined long enough before cooking. But, then again, it is chicken… Oh, by default you get dark meat; if you want white meat (not sure why you would), it is extra.

Finally, their “BBQ” ribs. OK, there is no point on hiding this: if you don’t know by know, these aren’t really “BBQ”. Instead, they are boiled/parboiled/dry cooked/braised, probably grilled before serving/plating and then drenched in sauce. As a result of this cooking, the bone was literally falling off; however, the meat still had a “bite” in it. So, comparing this to any “real” BBQ might be comparing apple to oranges. However, I have absolutely no problem with these cooking methods because the result has qualities of its own. At least, in this case, the sauce served its purpose of “hiding” some imperfections associated to how they were cooked…

So, if you were going for “authentic” BBQ (whatever that means as everybody has his/her own opinion about this), don’t go to Montana’s. You will be disappointed. If you overlook that, what’s served is still edible.

Tagged under: BBQ • Beef • Chain Restaurant • Chicken • Coquitlam