Finn and Porter, DoubleTree Hotel Missoula/Edgewater, Missoula, MT

BEAM ME UP TO MONTANA, SCOTTY!

by Ellen "EJ" Sackett

If I could snap my fingers and be anywhere, I'd choose Missoula, Montana. It's easy to get there. Just take a commuter plane out of Denver International and you'll land an hour and a half later. Make sure to nab a window seat so you can see the Rockies from the air and catch a glimpse of Missoula waiting in the valley for your arrival.

When (not if) you go, stay at the DoubleTree Hotel Missoula/Edgewater near downtown at the University of Montana. Not only is this Hilton-owned property conveniently located, but it has a first-class restaurant, the Finn & Porter. A close-to-perfect experience is sitting outside during the summer on the restaurant's deck, surrounded by potted purple pansies, overlooking the Clark Fork River. When it's cold, I sit by one of many tables next to the glass wall of windows. I can easily get lost in thought watching a fly-fisherman casting his line or a heron waiting patiently for his breakfast to swim by.

Speaking of breakfast, may I suggest the oatmeal with fresh mangos and fruit on the side? Or, for something a little more substantial, try the feta cheese omelet with asparagus. For lunch, I love to order the house-roasted ruby red beet salad or the grilled chicken cobb salad. It doesn't get much better—or healthier—than this. Blow the diet on the crispy calamari, which comes with carmelized lemons and peppers—rare fare that you won't find just anywhere.

You can't go wrong with a good steak at dinner, and my husband and I pair it with a bottle from the restaurant's full-page wine list. If we're in the mood to nibble, we sit at the large, circular bar in the center of "The Finn" and order a pick-and-choose anti pasta platter from the appetizer menu. I'm hungry just thinking about it.

Finn & Porter restaurants also exist in Austin, Texas, Alexandria, Virginia and Washington, D.C., but so far I've only eaten at the one in Missoula. Anyone have any info to share about the others?

BTW, when you call for reservations, book a room on the hotel's riverside. It's worth the price of the whole trip for the good night's sleep, snoozing to the soothing river rippling by, buried under the blankets while the chilly mountain air dances around you.

I could go on and on about Missoula and Western Montana, but if you start here, you'll discover your own version of this lil bit o' heaven on earth.

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Finn & Porter Missoula at the DoubleTree/Edgewater Hotel
100 Madison, Missoula, MT (406) 542-4660; www.finnandporter.com/missoula
Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, including holidays.