On Main Street in Yampa, the historic Antlers Cafe remains closed. That’s highly regrettable, because many a feisty beer and plenty of tasty meals have been had there over the years. But there’s still one great reason to make a culinary expedition to this tiny town on the edge of the Flat Tops Wilderness: Montgomery’s General Store.
Montgomery's general store in Yampa, Colo. Photo: Jennie Lay
Montgomery’s has been selling a little bit of everything since 1890. Foodies on a mission can bypass the hunting and fishing supplies, groceries, hardware, clothes and kitsch and head straight for the meat counter at the back of the shop. That’s where Ken Montgomery, the general store’s proprietor and butcher, makes sausage. Seven styles of pork sausage are wrapped in white butcher paper and burst with seasonings like maple and sage, or less definable varieties bare a simple stamp like “Ken’s Sausage #6″ or “Ken’s Sausage HOT” which merely denotes the fire power in that particular package of deliciousness. Ken makes it right there in the store in 60-pound batches. He wraps it up for $2.89 a pound.
Ken's makes seven varieties of his fresh sausage. Photo: Jennie Lay
My favorite is Ken’s sage sausage. Patty it up for breakfast…scrumptious. I’m officially stockpiling it in my freezer.
Breakfast, thanks to Ken's sage sausage. Photo: Jennie Lay
But the real coup came when my husband heaped Ken’s sage sausage on homemade pizza along with mushrooms, mozzarella, sliced heirloom tomatoes from our CSA and a thick homemade herb-intense tomato sauce. Yum!
Homemade pizza starring Ken's sage sausage and the week's brilliant heirloom tomatoes from my CSA. Photo: Jennie Lay
Insider tip from my pals in Yampa: Ken also cuts a mean steak (or whatever slice of meat you need) – always to order.
