We were bummed due to Hell's Backbone Grill being closed while we were in the area, but then found…read moreout about Little Bone, their food truck in the parking lot that serves breakfast and lunch every day. Arriving on a snowy Tuesday morning in April around 11:15 AM, the parking lot was completely full and there was a sizable line waiting to order. We ended up having to park on the gravel next to Highway 12! The line took about 20 minutes and when we ordered, the cashier guessed the food would take about an additional 20 minutes. It took around 25 in the end.
Since it was so cold out, the staff allowed us to eat in the patio area of the main Hell's Backbone restaurant. They only had a couple of the outdoor heaters on, but it certainly beat sitting at the benches outside in the wind and cold!
Little Bone Smashburger ($19) - This is a high quality burger. I think they make most of the ingredients in house. There are two smash patties, smashed relatively thin, cooked through, with a tiny bit of gaminess from the elk meat mixed with grass fed beef. The patties are lean, but I wouldn't characterize them as dry. While cooked until well done, there isn't any particular charring or lacy edges to speak of. The burger is dressed with some luxurious, fluffy butter lettuce. It's crisp and sweet with no bitterness to speak of, and is cut into perfect sized leaves to fit in the burger. Gooey cheese is melted on each patty to add moisture and fat. Underneath are a couple of pickle rounds, clearly made in house. They are quite tangy and actually still have some of the base cucumber taste to them. For some reason my wife got some fermented notes, although I couldn't detect them. Unfortunately, they are a little on the limp and soggy side, really missing that pickle crunch. Both buns are slathered with what seems to be homemade ketchup. It's strongly tomato flavored, very tangy, sweet, and has a more coarse and watery texture compared to commercial ketchup. Unfortunately, since the ketchup is watery, it really soaks into the bun on both sides, creating a certain mushy quality that detracts from the eating experience. Otherwise, the bun is nicely fluffy, slightly yellow from being enriched with egg yolk. It's only toasted on the outsides, not the inner edge, which might have helped prevent things from getting soggy. Little Bone uses really high quality ingredients, but man that mushy bun gets to me. (4/5)
Juniper Pork & Pickle Sandwich ($18) - This is another sandwich with some really high quality ingredients. They include a mound of pulled pork, clearly marinated and seasoned well with a salty and savory spice mixture, then tossed in an apple cider vinegar based sauce. This gives the requisite acidity and slight fruitiness to cut through the pork, which is moist and mixed with plenty of fat. They claim the pork is juniper smoked and spiced, but I don't have enough experience with that particular hardwood to discern. Buttery and gooey Havarti cheese is melted on top, followed by what seems to be homemade mustard spread on both halves of the bun. The mustard is really interesting because while having the correct flavor, there's some grit or sand mixed in that creates a somewhat unpleasant mouthfeel. I have no idea how that occurs, but I've also never tried making homemade mustard before. The bun is a really soft ciabatta and doesn't seem to be toasted much, if at all. As with the smashburger, this sandwich has a major issue with moisture. We found the bottom bun to be completely soggy with grease, with an entire puddle of grease underneath, making a mushy bottom. Bleh. (4/5)
Entrees come with a side of slaw or Himalayan Pink Salt Kettle Chips. We went with one of each. The former is a really fresh mix of peppery and spicy leafy vegetables, only very lightly dressed in a slightly peppery and mustardy mixture. The latter are the branded chips from the large Costco bags, salty and crunchy.
Overall, I found the food served at Little Bone to be extremely high quality, with almost everything seemingly made in house, from the meats to the condiments to the buns. It is unfortunate that construction is an issue, with the homemade condiments completely soaking through the bun on both items we ordered.
