MONTANA,

Popular among college students and their visiting parents, Montana has undergone a new color scheme, with booth seats covered in aqua and royal blue and chairs covered in orange. Montana rounds up a Southwestern back-yard barbecue flavor that is spicy, but not overwhelmingly so. The "St. Louis Ribs" ($12.95) are lean, cooked in Montana Red Gold barbecue sauce, and served with two side dishes, perhaps a salad or a golden piece of warm corn bread. Montana's "Santa Fe Salad" ($5.95) is also an excellent choice. It comes in an edible bowl, a crisp, fried-tortilla that is filled with lettuce, tomatoes, shredded carrots, red cabbage, cheese, and spicy taco meat. The entire dish is so flavorful, it doesn't need dressing. For dessert, the "Big Horn Cookie Pie" ($3.95) is a deliciously rich, thick wedge of chocolate-chip-cookie pie, with the consistency of a gooey-brownie. At Montana, take a bite of the hickory barbecue flavor, and you'll feel like it's summertime in the back yard again.

Full review.