Glamping: A Backwoods Gourmet Experience
Glamping, or glamourous camping, is a kind of camping that comes with heated and air conditioned "tents," which look like the tents at the Triwizard Cup in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (shout out to all of you Potter fans). These tents have heated floors for the winter months and luxurious bathrooms with Jacuzzi tubs (yes you are supposed to be camping but who says you can't also have a bubbly soak?). If all that doesn't win you over, maybe all the incredible gourmet food will.
Photo by Paws Up Resort
I went to Greennough, Montana, about 30-45 minutes outside of Missoula, to the Paws Up resort to "glamp" this summer and was not really feeling it until I heard the resort was known for their food. I was not disappointed. Every night we had dinner in a outdoor pavilion with the other groups of people who were on the glamping grounds. With a beautiful view of a river, Pomp served us a gourmet five course meal that definitely canceled out any and all exercise we had done that day.
Photo by Paws Up Resort
Dining at Pomp is the reason why we packed a nice outfit next to our hiking boots and fishing shirts. Located on the main grounds of the resort, Pomp was something I knew we had to try at least once. Their menu was small but everything on it looked amazing. Highlights of our meal include the king crab Niçoise salad, the corn lobster bisque, the elk loin entree and halibut (try cooking that over a campfire).
Photo by Morgan Katz
The Niçoise salad was different than anything I'd seen before with an elegant presentation. Pomp put a twist on the salad by substituting king crab legs for seared tuna, and quail eggs instead of a regular hard boiled egg. The heirloom tomato and watermelon salad was a perfect cool summer treat.
Photo by Morgan Katz
The corn lobster bisque was poured into my bowl at the table for a presentation flare and was rich and hearty. Instead of little bits of lobster knuckle or little bits of tail meat, Pomp was generous and gave me an entire claw in the middle of my bowl.
Photo by Morgan Katz
We'd been told that the elk loin was something incredible and a must-try because it's not gamey or tough. Let me just say, I'm glad we listened to the many recommendations we recieved. It was extremely tender and tasted more like pork rather than a relative of the deer.
Photo by Morgan Katz
The halibut was cooked in parchment paper so the fish would stay as moist as possible through steaming. The halibut was good, but next to the elk and the ribeye there was no competition.
So, this whole camping thing can be a glamorous ordeal after-all. If you have the chance to go glamping at the Paws Up resort in Montana, don't say no. You may see Gwyneth Paltrow riding horses!
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