By Rachel Hergett EBS COLUMNIST
It seems every writer and publication even tangentially connected to the food scene in Montana has written about one of the state’s most iconic foods — the Butte pasty. For the visitors and truly uninitiated, a pasty is a simple hand pie. The Butte version features mostly beef and potato enclosed in a flaky pastry. It is usually served with a hearty side of brown gravy.
The pasty’s oft-covered history speaks to the packable ease of the meaty hand pies that originated on the British Isles, eventually working their way into the lunch pails of Butte’s miners thanks to immigrants from Ireland and Cornwall (the southernmost of the six Celtic nations). I won’t dive further into it here.
It is, however, important to note that the Butte “pasty” is pronounced like the word “past” and the letter E, differentiating it from a “pasty” worn by burlesque performers to maintain a tiny bit of modesty. That “pasty” is pronounced “paste-E,” referencing the adhesive that secures the nipple covers to performers’ breasts.
Because of the deluge of place-based reporting and historical information on the humble pasty, I would not normally have considered it good column fodder here. That is until last week, when a friend ordered us dinner from Bitterroot Bistro and chose the “Butte style” pasties from the menu.
There is some argument as to what constitutes a Butte-style pasty. Should it have ground or cubed beef? Should it contain rutabagas alongside potatoes like Cornish pasties and as seen in a recipe in “Butte’s Heritage Cookbook,” first printed in 1976 in celebration of the U.S. Bicentennial. That recipe was submitted by Maureen Mansfield, “the gracious wife of the Senate majority leader,” Mike Mansfield. Maureen Mansfield, it says, “was raised in the shadow of the Anselmo mine.” Most I have had are ground beef and potato, but I am not prepared to speak to their superiority without further research.
Menu descriptions for Bitterroot Bistro’s version vary slightly between online, main and happy hour menus, but each touts a pair of “Butte style” pasties stuffed with Montana Wagyu ground beef, fingerling potato and onion and served with a side of house-made brown gravy.
Bitterroot Bistro opened at 19 S. Willson Ave. in Bozeman in 2024. The menu, crafted by executive chef Gabriel Lopez, is small and simple, with recognizable bistro fare. For entrees, it features a couple of steaks, roast chicken, a burger, a pasta dish and a vegan option. Honestly, I have never eaten in the restaurant. I am, however, now a devoted patron of the pasty, secured through the online ordering system at bitterrootbistro.com.
If I had to attribute my continued desire for the Bitterroot Bistro pasty to a specific trait, it may be the quality of ingredients. Ingredients matter. The beef is from the Montana Wagyu Cattle Company, based in the Gallatin Valley. Though “wagyu” has become synonymous with highly marbled and extremely tender beef, the term simply means “Japanese cow.” Montana Wagyu’s beef is from a specific breed of cow, the Japanese black, and even more genetically specific, the Tajima Wagyu. Montana Wagyu breeds Taijima bulls with Black Angus cattle. The result is simply the juiciest pasty I have ever consumed.
Another contributing factor may be size. The pasties of Butte’s lore were large and hearty. Think a brick of meat and potato encased in pie crust. Same is true with every other version I have tried in Montana — from Butte’s famed pasty shops to out-of-the-way dive bars. Bitterroot Bistro’s pasties are small, about the size of hockey pucks.
“All I can think about is pasties,” I texted when the same friend inquired about sharing a meal later in the week.
“Sooo good,” was the reply, so I gave into my stomach and sprang for two orders of two pasties each. As I waited in Bitterroot Bistro’s entryway for my pick-up order, a couple walked into the restaurant. They stopped at the door to note the small “best of” award signs, and I overheard a comment on how that is a positive indicator of restaurant quality. But sometimes it is best to hear it from a real person.
“Try the pasties,” I told them.
