Monday Mug Shot

  The Red Cabooses
Whitefish, Montana

In October 2007, David and I went on a train trip to Montana for Altamont Weekend, a railfan weekend near Columbus Day. We flew in to Washington and rented a car to drive the rest of the way to Essex, Montana and the Izaak Walton Inn. Our first morning in Montana, we just HAD to go to The Red Caboose for breakfast! The Red Caboose was a 24/7 diner on the main street of town built into a caboose! You couldn’t miss it when you drove through town!

The interior had a rustic feel and all sorts of train décor. There was even a B&O light switch plate in the ladies room. There were just railroad details everywhere! It was just a perfect breakfast stop for us! We’d decided to have breakfast there the night before, so we made a point of waking up earlier.

 Ladies room light switch

The menu offered several railroad named dishes, which made my decision rough! Usually, a themed restaurant will serve in specialty with an appropriate name and in the spirit of things, I always get that dish. When we ate on Amtrak, I had the dish named after one of the trains that was easy. But at The Red Caboose, where their breakfast specialty was hash browns or home fries loaded with breakfast tasties, there were several railroad ways to have breakfast! I chose the Switchman breakfast; spicy breakfast sausage, onions, bell peppers and mushrooms over hash browns with cheese. YUM! It still sounds like an awesome breakfast!

We stopped again on the way back through Whitefish for lunch and to buy my coffee mug and a shirt for David. It was a memorable and very good breakfast!

 Update!

Just this very month, The Red Caboose has reopened under new owners after renovation. It’s a frozen yogurt and coffee bar now! They didn’t change the landmark outside, but I think we need to go back and see what it’s like now! Um, frozen yogurt and coffee? Yes, we definitely NEED to go back and check it out!