The Fainting Goat Pub
Livingston, Montana
What: The Fainting Goat Pub
Where: Livingston, Montana
How Much: ~ $20/person
Rating: 4 out of 5
Who’s It For: Anyone looking for high quality food and drinks, especially after a few hours on the river.
Review: Where in the hell is Livingston, Montana? 30 minutes east of Bozeman, right on the Yellowstone River. It’s cold, and windy, and a must if you like good food, craft beers, and the outdoors.
Picture this. It’s Friday afternoon and you’ve had it up to here with office bullshit for the week. You yearn to feel the sun on you face and the wind in your hair. You need a break from all the chaos. It’s time to take a trip, nothing that’s going to kill your wallet, just something to help you relax and reset. You pack a duffle bag of essentials, clothes, toiletries, grab some road snacks in the kitchen, fill up a couple of Nalgene bottles with water, then jump in your sweet 1977 Trans Am and hit the road for Livingston, Montana.
Livingston is an easy, eightish-hour drive from Salt Lake City, traveling up I-15 past Pocatello, then through the gorgeous Targhee National Forest (if it’s winter, then you’ll need to swap the Trans Am for an AWD or 4WD vehicle because sections of highway will be snow packed). Situated on the gorgeous Yellowstone River and surrounded by rolling hills dotted with towering pines and oaks, Livingston has a great small mountain town vibe to it. Its walkable downtown district is home to variety of eateries, from steak, to sushi, to sandwiches. It offers more than a few coffee shops, art galleries, and jewelry shops. Most importantly, for this article, it’s got the Fainting Goat.
As lunch approached, the Livingston local I was visiting suggested the Fainting Goat Pub for a meal and a drink, as it’s one of his favorite places in town. It was hard to say no to that, so we jumped in the truck and headed downtown.
Just off of Main Street, the Fainting Goat is a gem of a drinking hole and restaurant. In addition to its fantastic food menu, it boasts a robust offering of, beers, spirits, and wines, all at reasonable prices.
Inside was all hard wood floors, wood paneling, and old timey pictures, with a large, rectangular bar and seating all around it. A mounted goat head wearing an Irish flat cap loomed over the fireplace near the entrance, offering a fun vibe to the place. Modern rock filtered from the overhead speakers. Basketball played on the handful of TVs.
It’s always nice to see all sorts of people in a place. A young couple with a toddler. A group of three sixty-something couples. A handful of singletons at the bar shooting the shit with the bartender. The Fainting Goat’s atmosphere made it exactly the kind of place you’d want to go after work for a drink and a bite.
At my table, the local who suggested the Fainting Goat ordered his go-to meal of Bangers and Mash, and holy smokes, it looked amazing. A pair of albino bangers on a bed of mashed potatoes, garnished with a long sprig of fresh rosemary. It smelled like heaven, and will be something I order the next time I find myself in Livingston.
The other person I was with ordered The G.O.A.T burger. The burger was a gooey stack of bacon and cheddar, Jameson BBQ onions, baby greens and house dijonnaise. He said it was one of the best burgers he’d ever had, and I have to say, it looked amazing. In between his bites, I noted the thick, clearly homemade patty’s perfectly cooked pink center.
As for me, I settled on the Smokey Sausage and Eggs.
My first impression, visual-wise, was “Really? $19 for this?” The dish just didn't look all that impressive. My first bite, however, went like this: “Holy fuck this is good!”
A sautéed cabbage base made up the bulk of the dish. It was a simple, light green and purple mixture of cabbage and onions lounging in a ladleful of broth. It was really frickin’ good. The cabbage offered a satisfying crunch and came with a luxurious butteriness. Diagonal slices of barely smoky, light red sausage mingled with the cabbage, blending perfectly with the buttery flavor. The sausage was as mild as it gets without being boring, which was clearly what the chef was going for. The sausage served to prop the cabbage up, rather than overtake it. The star of the dish here was definitely the cabbage, not the sausage or eggs. Two poached eggs as fluffy as marshmallows sat atop the mixed cabbage and sausage. The egg white portions were smooth and their runny yolk melded with the sausage and sautéed cabbage for a divine mouthful. I appreciated that I never tasted any salt. Either it was perfectly salted, or not salted at all, though I bet there was a pinch in it to bring the flavors forward.
I will absolutely revisit the Fainting Goat Pub next time I’m in Livingston. As for you, dear reader, if you find yourself sitting at home after work, dreaming of a gorgeous drive and a good meal, consider a road trip to Livingston, Montana, and a bite at the Fainting Goat Pub.
