Feast Whitefish begins today with Distiller's Fest

The fourth annual Feast Whitefish starts today, offering a full week of food and drink events, highlighting the best the Whitefish dining scene has to offer.

The Distiller’s Fest, an opening night cocktail party at Grouse Mountain Lodge, is today, Saturday, featuring specialty cocktails (and spirits) from 10 different Montana micro-distilleries and an all-star line-up of appetizers from top Whitefish eateries.

Monday through Friday, May 13-17, it’s Feast Restaurant Week, a five-day culinary affair with locally owned-and-operated restaurants offering incentives for patrons to revisit their favorite restaurants and experience new ones. Each night participating restaurants will offer a special, fixed-price Feast Week dinner menu.

Tuesday, May 14, is the Feast Grand Gala Dinner, this year hosted by Latitude 48. The Grand Gala is a one-of-a-kind dining experience with top local chefs collaborating to present a six-course dinner, each course paired with award-winning wines from the West Coast and beyond.

In addition to host Chef Melissa Mangold from Latitude, this year’s “team” includes Andy Blanton of Café Kandahar, Tim Good from the Last Chair, Jeremy Grossman of Tupelo/Abruzzo, Michael Cartwright of Cartwright Catering, and special guest chef Shane McAnelly, executive chef at a pair of outstanding Healdsburg, California, restaurants, The Brass Rabbit and Chalkboard.

Round 3 is Burger Battle.

On Saturday, May 18, the focus shifts from fine wine and food to burgers, barbecue and beer, as the Pine Lodge hosts this year’s Burger Battle at its beautiful riverside lodge on Spokane Avenue. Local restaurants and bars will try to “wow” the crowd – and the judges – with their take on the “ultimate” burger. Great Northern Brewing Co. will help keep you hydrated as you sample burgers from Piggyback BBQ, the Boat Club, Craggy Range, Mudman and a handful of others.

Feast Whitefish is presented by the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce, the Pine Lodge, the Flathead Beacon and Great Northern Brewing Company, and supported by dozens of local restaurants, catering companies, bars, micro-distilleries and distributors.

Visit the event website at www.FeastWhitefish.com to purchase tickets, or call the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce, 862-3501.