Entry No. 7
When you’re on the road for hours feeding from a cellophane sack you can be pretty desperate for a meal. That was the case on a stop between Boise and Lewiston at Shelly’s Back Eddy Grill and Ale House in Riggins. A sign advertising “great food” and a variety that included elk, buffalo and salmon called.
Choices included a chicken pesto sandwich ($8.95) and salmon salad, but Shelly’s specialty is items like elk tacos ($9.95)and burgers like The Outlaw and its posse of fries (1/3 beef patty topped with bacon, two onion rings, mild or spicy BBQ sauce, and your choice of cheese, $9.95). A sign inside informs customers, “We do not color elk and buffalo, it will be red in the center.”
This is food for empty-bellied rafters and fishermen who seasonally fill the town. Milkshakes come in all flavors. A placid dog greets customers. The dog conveniently has a red, white and blue fire hydrant on the front dining patio.
I ordered the salmon salad ($9.95). While remote grills usually take great pride in their meat the same can rarely be said for their vegetables. It was a pile of iceberg lettuce, tan tomatoes, purple onions and cheese with two salmon fillets imported from Oregon. Unfortunately, the salmon was not pulled from the nearby Salmon, where hundreds of fishermen plied the river that day. That is not allowed by the health department, we were told.
Shelly’s Back Eddy Grill and Ale House is at 533 N. Main St., Riggins, (800) 925-9257.
Each week we feature an area restaurant’s specialty. Restaurants can nominate their unique dishes at jkbauer@inland360.com.
