What makes 320 Guest Ranch something folks round here often call “uniquely Montana” is not just its setting.  It is also the food.  And, with the Thanksgiving holiday mere days away, visions of wholesome, delicious food are dancing in all of our heads.  Our restaurant, McGill’s Dining Room & Saloon, not only serves up such wholesome deliciousness, but also honors the namesake of a true pioneer woman.  That woman is Dr. Caroline McGill. And, not so long ago, we endeavored a rebranding of McGill’s Restaurant & Saloon so as to evoke in its name and atmosphere the important role Dr. McGill  plays in our heritage.  320 Guest Ranch would not be what it is today had Dr. McGill never set eyes upon it.  The list of reasons why she deserved to play centerpiece to the Restaurant’s rebranding could go on and on.  However, we wanted to share our top three reasons behind what convinced us no name but Dr. McGill’s could possibly be right for our restaurant:

  1. She was a woman far ahead of her time.

In 1910, Dr. Caroline McGill became Montana’s first female physician when she accepted a position as a Pathologist at Murray Hospital in Butte, MT.  Like McGill, our Dining Room & Saloon is constantly striving to maintain forward momentum by always pioneering new flavors.  One area in which we do this best is in the craft cocktails served up in the Saloon.  A particular favorite of ours among our cocktail selection are any of those which are house-made barrel aged.  With these, we again break traditional norms just like Caroline McGill would want us to.  The norm in most barrel-aged cocktails you’ll find out there is that they’re made with whiskey.  But, why limit our options?  We make barrel-aged cocktails out of rum, gin, vodka, and tequila too!

Reid Morth – Morth Photography – @morth_photo

  1. She introduced electricity to Gallatin Canyon.

McGill made her next memorable mark in 320 Ranch’s history by being the first to introduce electricity to Gallatin Canyon.  She did so by trucking a Cadillac engine onto the Ranch.  This happened 10 years before any other part of the Gallatin Canyon would even see electricity.  So, we have Dr. McGill to thank for the fact that our guests never need worry about eating dinner in the dark.

  1. She had a heart as big as 320 Guest Ranch.

Reid Morth – Morth Photography – @morth_photo

Being that her career was in medicine, it only makes sense that Caroline McGillcared deeply for the wellbeing of the guests who came to stay on her ranch.  In fact, she wanted 320 Ranchto function as a place of healing.  A place where friends, family, and her patients could come and experience the healing powers innate to time spent outdoors.  The level of care she provided to her guests was no less when it came to her staff.  Her staff so appreciated how well they were treated by McGillthat they repaid her by building a cabin which they presented to her as a Christmas gift.  Adequately, the cabin became known and remains known as the “Christmas Cabin”. To this day, 320 Guest Ranchprovides the same level of care to our guests and staff as Dr. McGilldid in her time as owner.

 

McGill’s Restaurant & Saloon is where that pioneering spirit held by Dr. McGill continues to live on.  In fact, one of the most notable ways in which the Restaurant upholds that old west lifestyle is by local sourcing of the food we serve.  This sustainable way of doing things presents itself in the form of mouthwatering meals like Blood Orange Saffron Trout caught fresh from Montana’s Flathead Lake.  During the summer, we pay further tribute to those ways of old by hosting outdoor dining events such as our Chuckwagon BBQ and our Pig Roast.  Altogether, the food you’ll find at McGill’sacts as an embodiment of the authenticity of a pioneer spirit which you can only find at 320 Guest Ranch.