While you’re shopping for Yellowstone guide books, pull up a sofa and linger a while at Tumbleweed Bookstore & Cafe, a snug one-stop-shop for souvenirs, reading material, and sour cream coffee cake. Much more than your typical morning cafe, Tumbleweed rounds out its coffee and pastries with a full slate of breakfast and lunch fare, like breakfast burritos, hummus wraps flecked with sunflower seeds, falafel pita pockets, and triple-decker PB&Js with raspberry jam on whole wheat. The shop has an inviting living room for lounging and reading and an expansive wooden deck.

Nestled in the town of Gardiner, Montana, the gateway to Yellowstone’s north entrance, the Wonderland Lodge houses guests in rooms with apt names like the Grizzly Den, Buffalo Suite, and Wapiti Room. Downstairs, the all-day cafe and restaurant is all about scratch cooking and local ingredients, doled out in dishes like elk chili with jalapeño cornbread and maple mascarpone, bison bolognese heaped over angel hair pasta, and poutine slathered in oxtail and rib-eye gravy from Montana ranches. To drink, there’s a full wine list, several local beers, and a surprising cocktail selection incorporating things like sake and kombucha.

Located just outside the iconic Roosevelt Arch that signals the northern entrance to Yellowstone National Park, Yellowstone Pizza Company slings some of the best slices in the area. The relaxed dining room is pretty frills-free, with picnic tables and photos of the park’s famed wildlife, but the food exceeds expectations thanks largely to a stone-fired oven turning out thin-crust pies with a pleasant crackery crunch and toppings like roasted yellow tomatoes, elk, and chicken alfredo. One of the best house specialties is the Hayden Valley Bison pizza, strewn with crumbled bison sausage, caramelized onions, mushrooms, roasted red peppers, and fresh spinach. 

In case you didn’t see enough wildlife in the park, the Buffalo Bar delivers on its namesake with hulking taxidermy decor and a menu to match.There’s buffalo in the tacos, burritos, chili, meatballs, and meatloaf. The convivial lounge is anchored by a central bar and casino machines, and there’s a pool table and dart board. To drink, the bar has a broad selection of local beers and a whiskey-centric drink list, including pours from nearby distilleries like Wyoming Whiskey.

To find some of the best smoked meats near Yellowstone National Park, just follow the aroma of brisket and buffalo sausage. This popular go-to in charming West Yellowstone, Montana, is the kind of place that slings meat until they sell out for the day, which happens often. Show up early to sample the goods: smoked brisket platters with marshmallow-soft white bread, pickles, and onions; pulled pork sandwiches; plump pork ribs; white cheddar mac and cheese; and snappy buffalo sausage links, ideally with a side of creamy chilled corn salad. With picnic tables inside and out, the homey counter-service joint has a farmhouse feel that matches the meaty menu perfectly.  

West Yellowstone’s Beartooth BBQ isn’t just another barbecue destination with a saloon-like facade and antler-clad dining room. It’s the quintessential mountain town restaurant, where you can tackle burly plates of ribs, chopped beef brisket, and heady sausages. Check out the Mad Dog, a smoked hot link smothered with chopped brisket on a hoagie; sliced turkey dinners served with pickles, onions, and thick-cut wheat bread; and atypical barbecue sides like green chili creamed corn, baked cheese grits, tabouli, and cowboy caviar: a lemony chilled salad of black-eyed peas, black beans, and corn.

The straightforward Starbucks coffee selection at this bucolic daytime cafe belies the fact that Mountain Mama’s has some of the most interesting breakfast items in the region. Wild game breakfast burritos are the specialty, featuring ground elk or bison rolled inside tarp-sized tortillas, but you can also opt for pheasant pot pies, elk bratwursts, and bison pasties. The sweets are equally impressive: blackberry-rosemary turnovers, huckleberry scones, and lemon-blueberry cookies. Whether you’re fueling up for a day on the trails or winding down with an afternoon treat, this place fires on all cylinders.

Located a stone’s throw from the northwest entrance to Yellowstone National Park, this tiny coffee cabin is a morning staple for many park-goers. A simple setup with a simple menu, this takeout-only window offers a bevy of pick-me-ups, from coffee and Americanos to caramel macchiatos and chai tea. For snacks, there are thick wedges of banana bread, bagels, and jammy huckleberry bars with buttery crumble topping. Later in the day, they introduce ice cream and milkshakes in Yellowstone-appropriate flavors like huckleberry, Moose Tracks (vanilla ice cream with peanut butter cups and chocolate fudge), and Montana Moose Moss (mint ice cream with chocolate swirls and Peppermint Patties).

An hour east of Yellowstone National Park, the town of Cody, Wyoming, encapsulates the Wild West with the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, the annual Cody Rodeo, and a downtown dotted with saloons and chicken-fried steakhouses. Proprietress Market + Bar, however, is a creature all its own. Part shop and part cocktail bar, this boutique watering hole stocks its shelves with housewares and a dizzying array of esoteric spirits, local beers, and wines. Make your way to the rear of the space for bar snacks — smoked salmon bruschetta, pickled deviled eggs — and a cocktail program that’d feel right at home in a far more metropolitan setting. In addition to vibrant seasonal drinks, like a bourbon sour enlivened with stone pine liqueur, the barkeeps are adept at going off-menu for classic cocktails or dealer’s choice libations.

The most popular lodge in the park, overlooking its namesake star attraction, the Old Faithful Inn is a national historic landmark dating back to the early 1900s. A hulking marvel of immense logs and stone, it’s a great place to linger with coffee, snacks, a meal, or a drink in one of the hotel’s dining spaces. The bustling Old Faithful Inn Dining Room is a something-for-everyone people-pleaser, but it also gets pretty crowded. Skip it, and head for the adorably cozy Bear Pit Lounge, a comfy, wooden nook in which to snack and sip on things like huckleberry margaritas, trout cakes, and smoked bison bratwurst.

A short drive from downtown Jackson, Teton Village is a posh alcove of high-end resorts at the foot of the Teton Range. A haven for hikers and skiers, the all-season town boasts a cluster of destination-worthy restaurants and bars, providing upscale sanctuary after a day exploring Yellowstone or Grand Teton National Parks. The Handle Bar, located inside the Four Seasons Jackson Hole and owned by celebrity chef Michael Mina, does a great job capturing that relaxing lodge atmosphere while offering a contemporary take on mountain lodge flavors. Elk chili nachos, plump duck wings, elk meatball parmesan sandwiches, and chicken roti with mushroom bread pudding are all on offer at this glossy pub, alongside craft cocktails and a deep wine list. The sprawling space is also ideal for outdoor dining, with its massive stone patio, roaring fire pits, and incredible mountain views.

Serving as the primary hub for Yellowstone National Park, Jackson Hole is a Wyoming town just over an hour south of the park, world-famous for its ski slopes and chic lodges. It’s also a hub for restaurants and bars, like Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, which sits across the street from the Instagram-famous Jackson Town Square. Marked by a revolving neon cowboy sign, the festive bar is the kind of touristy staple that lives up to the hype, with its saddle bar stools, pool tables, larger-than-life taxidermy, and antlers that double as decoration and door handles. The main floor is the place to listen to live music while sipping whiskey-centric cocktails. Downstairs you’ll find a full-service restaurant called Paulie’s (formerly Million Dollar Cowboy Steakhouse), a more refined, upscale space where the bill of fare skews Italian with hearty portions of chicken cacciatore, herbed pork braciole, and wild game charcuterie boards.

With two cafes in Jackson Hole, Ali and Kevin Cohane — 2020 James Beard semi-finalists for Outstanding Pastry Chef — have earned high esteem among locals and visitors for their beautiful pastries, hearty breads, and wholesome brunch plates. The original location of Persephone, a block away from Town Square, looks like a swanky cottage, with a polished white motif, comfy seating nooks, and an al fresco deck. It’s a relatively small space, so you’ll want to arrive early to snag a table and tuck into warm quinoa porridge, everything-spiced avocado bowls, and scone skillets: cheddar-black pepper scones piled with fried egg, bacon-pine nut crumble, and red-eye sausage gravy. Whatever you do, don’t skip the pastries, which run the gamut from chewy ginger-molasses cookies and plum ricotta bread, to frangipane tarts and coconut-carrot cake.