COLUMBIA FALLS – As a chef, Ian Moore’s talents have taken him throughout the Flathead and the United States, with stints at some of the most iconic restaurants in Whitefish and a background in Portland and Hawaii.
His most recent venture has taken him somewhere relatively new: to Columbia Falls, where he opened the Tea Kettle Café on Nucleus Avenue in the heart of the Gateway to Glacier National Park.
At the café, customers have a new option for Asian-fusion cuisine, with choose-your-own-adventure noodle bowls, curries, potstickers, bon mi sandwiches, barbecue, and Hawaiian, Indian/Pakistani, Thai, and Vietnamese flair.
The bowls start with a selection of noodles or rice, followed by a list of sauces and proteins.
“I’ve always enjoyed Asian food,” Moore said. “For prom my junior year, I made my date chicken yaka soba.”
Cooking since he was 16, Moore, now 43, went to school to study filmmaking, but the kitchen pulled him back in. In the Flathead, he worked as the head chef at Tupelo Grille for five years, and then worked at the Buffalo Café. He also provided dinners at the Iron Horse Golf Club, and started his food truck, called Ian’s Healthy Table.
His flair for Asian food only burned brighter while working at the Four Seasons Koele in Hawaii for three years.
The building in Columbia Falls has served as his commissary kitchen space during recent ventures, but this summer it was painted and buffed, and turned into the Tea Kettle Café, which opened on Halloween.
Opening a business in Columbia Falls made sense, he said, because the rent is lower than the rest of the valley and there’s a strong community here, one that is focused on the future potential of the area.
“There’s a younger community that’s trying to develop this area,” Moore said.
His menu tries to take into account all tastes in the town, with noodle bowls made to suit the customer and daily curry selections, as well as options like grilled cheese and quesadillas.
Moore grills, roasts, and slow-cooks all his meat, including smoked beef brisket, pork belly, island-style pulled pork, and seared chicken. There are also seafood options, as well as vegan and vegetarian choices, like tofu and tempeh bacon.
The menu is also marked with gluten-free selections.
“You can be eccentric with it or you can be simple,” Moore said of his menu. “You need something for everybody.”
It’s also important to Moore to be affordable; the noodle bowls start at $6 and may get a few dollars more expensive depending on the protein selected. Curry starts at $8, and has become so popular that Moore might add more options to the menu other than the curry of the day.
“I’m totally impressed with how well people have embraced the Indian curries,” he said.
He said his vision for the café was to have a lunch and dinner crowd, but his customers seem to be trending later in the evening, so he is changing the hours of operation to meet that need.
The café is open seven days a week, and now Sunday through Thursdays operate from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., while on Friday and Saturday it stays open until 9 p.m.
Moore also said he is considering special events, like sushi nights, as well as adding the Vietnamese soup pho to the menu, along with steamed buns.
The café also carries Asian cooking items, and art and crafts from local artisans.
The response from the community has been “fantastic,” Moore said, and he hopes to keep offering new and interesting menu ideas.
“I like giving people a different option,” he said.
The Tea Kettle Café is located at 420 Nucleus Ave. in Columbia Falls.