Stella's

2525 1st Avenue North, Billings, MT - (406) 248-3060

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Posted By Michael Stern on 6/21/2007 9:02:00 AM

If you like cinnamon rolls, you need to know about Stella’s, where one roll pretty much fills a normal-size plate and makes breakfast for two or more hungry people. The rolls are made fresh each day in the big back room that is Stella's bakery, but when you order one, it is microwaved so a big glob of butter set atop it is melting when the roll arrives at the table. Heating also tends to give the caramel glaze on top a good, chewy texture that makes it a fork-and-knife pastry. Even bigger than the cinnamon roll is Stella's giant white caramel roll – 14 ounces of sweet dough served with a small tub of whipped butter.

Everything is large at Stella’s, especially pancakes. “You’ve got to see ‘em to believe ‘em” the menu boasts of the “monster cakes,” created many years ago when Stella had a cook who simply could not pour a normal-size pancake. So rather than change cooks, she changed pancake descriptions and monster pancakes were born. Each one is a good twelve inches, edge to edge. You have your choice of buttermilk or wheat batter; and if you can polish off four of these cakes in a single sitting, you get just what you need after a five thousand calorie breakfast … a free cinnamon roll! We are especially fond of the very small print underneath the pancake listing on the menu: "Diet Smuckers jelly & syrups available upon request." So these would qualify as diet food??

There are normal-size breakfasts at Stella’s: omelets, hot cereals (oatmeal, 7-grain, and Stella's homemade grits), and egg sandwiches; and the lunch menu includes such regular-size items as club and sub sandwiches, chili by the bowl, and a French dip as well as hamburgers that range up to the half-pound Ziggyburger, served on an outsized bun to match.

For dessert? Bread pudding made with Stella's homemade breads, please.

Note: Since this review was written, Stella's moved from 29th St. to its current address on 1st Ave. Buffetbuster reports the place is as good as ever.

Scorecard

Overall: One of the Best - Worth a Trip

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Reviewers Photos [Upload Your Photos]

"Goo City: a big messy breakfast that requires multiple cups of coffee alongside. I had to take this picture fast before the melting butter globe slid completely off the hot roll."
Michael Stern

"Even at 6:00 in the morning, Stella's will be happy to make you a thick shake, like this huckleberry one."
Cliff Strutz

"A single Monster Cake. Size is not its only virtue. It is crisp-surfaced with a nice light texture that makes it easy to eat a couple, or maybe even three. Please pass the syrup!"
Michael Stern

"This mesa of pastry is twelve giant white cinnamon rolls. One person needs to be a monomaniac to finish a single one."
Michael Stern

"Stella's baked goods are available at the local CostCo, but there's no substitute for having them here at the source. In addition to the breads and rolls tasting freshly-made, the aroma in the lunch room, which shares space with the back room bakery, is intoxicating."
Michael Stern