Dining Out, the Journey to 100 acre Wood

a culinary refuge on the banks of Idaho's salmon river

By; Laura Zuckerman

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The influx of newcomers seeking vacation homes and retirement homes in the remote mountain towns, whose backdrop is the Continental Divide and whose foreground is the scenic Salmon River, has inevitably produced a palate seeking fresh seasonal fare, inventive sauces from fruits and berries and a figure who has earned the right to wear whites.

That was the clientele that 100 Acre Wood owners Jon and Nancy Cummings, a husband and wife team who serve as host and executive chef,sought to cater to when they opened the resort-cum-gourmet restaurant on the banks of the North Fork Salmon River in 1996. But the neo-day land rush that has ushered in hobby ranches and upscale housing developments had yet to hit and to bring with it a hankering for haute cuisine.

"People were not quite ready for it, but we made them ready for it," Jon Cummings says about the menu's variation on Caribbean, Asian and Italian themes and about a dining experience that is as much about the setting as it is about the food.

The window-to-window expanse that stretches across the 40-seat dining area looks out onto a river-fed trout pond enclosed by aspens and cottonwoods and framed by aquatic grasses that attract deer, elk and the occasional black bear. It is not every eatery where artfully arranged plates of mussels smothered in creamy basil and honey-stung chicken must compete for attention with a standoff between bugling bull elk or mule deer fawns frolicking with one of 100 Acre Wood's domesticated ducks.

There is an aura about 100 Acre Wood that lends itself to enchantment, from the moment guests step through the swinging side doors and hear the comforting creak of the painted wood planks that anchor the dining area's décor, which exemplifies rustic chic. Along log walls, antique outfitting equipment nestles next to custom-crocheted doilies and hand-painted china brightens sideboards and window sills.

Where urban eateries can count on a percentage of drop-in diners and where sheer numbers " in operating hours and population " bolster profits, 100 Acre Wood has sought to turn the strikes of a long drive, limited hours and pre-ordering into advantages by capturing a repeat audience that believes the food and atmosphere are all worth the effort.

The menu, which changes monthly, is a little bit whimsical and very refreshing. The starters, particularly the bite of Brie garlanded with roasted garlic and fresh fruits, whet the appetite without overwhelming it. Entrees are enlivened by Nancy's signature sauces, which marry such subtle flavors as pomegranate to robust partners such as ginger. Nancy boldly allows apple chutney to cozy up to prime rib of pork and infuses boneless breast of duck with chokecherry. She showcased fresh ingredients before they became derigueur at leading restaurants and emphasized presentation long before servings began to resemble edible art.

The restaurant, which operates side-by-side with the couple's bed and breakfast and outdoor adventure operation, is open Thursday through Saturday and closed entirely from New Year's to Valentine's Day. The community closest to 100 Acre Wood is Salmon, Idaho, 20 miles south on U.S. Highway 93; and while locals flock to the restaurant for special occasions,tourists driving from vacation valleys are vital to the 11-year-old

Of equal importance is the expertise Nancy brings to the eatery after 40 years in the business. She grew up helping her parents run the Salmon River Cafe, a Main Street landmark, and if there was a single lesson that stands out from the multitude she learned the old-fashioned way, it is that word-of-mouth reviews can make or break a family-run operation.

" When my dad heard we were planning to open a restaurant in the middle-of-nowhere Idaho, he said, "It had better be damned good because no one will drive all the way out there otherwise,"" Nancy recalls.

Tod Roemer, a retired insurance executive who owns three homes, one of which is located in western Montana's Bitterroot Valley, says the drive is not paramount in his mind when he and his wife book a table at 100 Acre Wood. "It's the best restaurant in Montana," he says, laughing. "The food is outstanding, Nancy's wonderful, and Jon's a character " any questions?"

The entrees and appetizers at 100 Acre Wood are consistently excellent, although chefs are here again and gone again because of the faraway location and because the restaurant serves for them as an ideal launching pad but less-than-ideal destination. What has allowed for such dishes as a wasabi touched salmon that every time is crispy on the outside, tender within and only as hot as an afterthought, is Nancy's oversight of the kitchen, come chef, come cook.

" After 11 years, we know what works and what doesn't," she says.

Credit is due to the school of hard knocks, which graduated Nancy Cummings with honors. In the early days, the couple struggled with a brilliant but troubled chef that Nancy had worked with in the lap of restaurant luxury in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Armed with her tenure in both the back and the front of the house, Nancy rose to become one of St. Croix's most celebrated dessert makers.

While vacationing in her hometown in the early 1990s she became reacquainted with Jon Cummings, whom she knew but barely acknowledged during their years at Salmon High School. The pair had occupied separate orbits, with Nancy Gott being the glittering star of the popular crowd and Jon surviving as one of Lemhi County's few long-haired hippies.

"She was always dating my friends," he recalls. And the prospect of sparking interest became more remote in 1978, when Nancy was named Miss Idaho. "Then it was, omigod Miss Idaho," Jon says.

When the two met as adults at a popular Salmon nightspot in 1994 it was love at first sight, Jon said.

At the time, the former promoter of such heavy metal acts as Ozzie Osbourne and Alice Cooper called California home, where he worked as a mechanical engineer. The life-changing encounter with Nancy triggered a change of residence.

For nearly 20 years Jon had worked on a three-story log house in Salmon without a compelling reason to finish what he originally envisioned as his private retreat. The couple had long-wished to return to Salmon, but as any native knows, the job opportunities are as limited as the namesake river is long. They married in 1995; one year and countless construction hours later, they opened 100 Acre Wood in the cabin that had remained unfinished for so long.

Nancy worked in the kitchen under the tutelage of her chef-friend from the Islands and Jon became the face of the front of the house and its unflappable arbiter. As a result, dining at 100 Acre Wood is anything but anonymous. The owners exude a sincere friendliness and their solicitude for guests has included adhoc laundry service when one diner toppled his merlot. Jon and Nancy are part comedy team, part dynamic duo and all sympathetic ears. "We've tried to create an atmosphere where everyone feels comfortable, whether they are wearing jeans or a suit," says Nancy.

And 100 Acre Wood is easy on the wallet. Dishes are mostly in the mid-teens and the wine list, which includes some of Idaho's finest, is upstanding without being pretentious.

With the vast majority of restaurants failing within five years of startup, 100 Acre Wood has sailed over obstacles that have proved insurmountable for some. "It's Nancy," says Jon Cummings. "She won't fail at anything; she refuses to fail."

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Laura Zuckerman lives and writes in Salmon, Idaho. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Wildlife Art and
Country magazines. In addition to the Big Sky Journal.