Funny enough, I had an amazing eating experience here, but a not-so-great dining experience here…read more Why 4 stars? Let me tell you all about it!
We did a run down to Sweetgrass this weekend and we were hungry and looking for something more "cafe" like as opposed to "truck shop" like, and from the outside, Tanjo's Cafe fit the bill.
When you walk in, the atmostphere is inviting and it was PACKED! Every table was full (which is always a good sign of fantastic food!). They had a french toast and bacon special written on the chalk board for $7, which you can't complain about either. So far, it's looking like its worth the wait.
Mirraculously, the wait was less than five minutes and we got a seat. We got a coffee right away, placed our order (we both got ham and cheese omelettes with "lots of veggies" and proceeded to chit chat while we waited for our order.
After some time had passed (lots of time) it was obvious that this little place was in a crisis. People who were there ahead of us still didn't have our food, and one guy beside us started making idle chit chat with us, and revealed that he was waiting over an hour.
Fast forward over 45 minutes, and we got our order. And it was FANTASTIC. What we learned, is that this was likely an isolated incident. They absolutely got slammed with customers and they were short staffed. What was cool about it, is that the girls working literally called their friends in this small town of Milk River to come and help, and once those girls arrived, tables that were piling up were cleared, so that the staff could get the orders out. And there was certainly no quality issues under the circumstances. I even overhead that some of the people who waited exceptionally long got their food on the house.
Short story, I would stop here again, and I would recommend to anyone going by Milk River to stop in as well. The reality is, under the circumstances, the staff reacted, were gracious and apologetic and the food was outstanding. The only reason I even told the negative part of the experience is so that you could see how they reacted under duress and make it right with the customers there, and thought outside the box to get it resolved. If I owned that business, that is exactly the type of staff I would hope for.
Further, they have free wifi and they have fax service (send or receive) for $1, or free if you are dining in.
This is a great little cafe and worthy of support.