New Restaurant Featuring a Montana-Favorite Food is Opening in Billings

Pasties (pronounced "pass-tease," not "paste-ies") might be the original hot pocket. These hot, flaky pastries, traditionally filled with savory ingredients, weren't invented in Montana; they were popular in the upper Midwest before they made it to Big Sky Country. When Norwegians, Swedes, and Cornish immigrants started pouring into Butte in the late 1880's, and along the Hi-Line later on, they brought this popular food along for the ride.

Reportedly, the miners enjoyed the hearty pasties because they transported well in their lunchpails and were quite filling. Most were filled with minced meat, diced potato or rutabaga, and likely whatever other companion ingredients were available, in-season, or cheap... perhaps chopped onion or bits of other vegetables.

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The Upper Room is opening soon in Billings, and one of its signature dishes is those delightful pasties. The restaurant will occupy the kitchen at VFW Post 1634, located at 4242 State Avenue. Locals might remember when this spot was the Moosebreath bar.

Last week, I caught up with The Upper Room owner Carrie Minch, who told me how everything fell into place, almost perfectly, for her new restaurant venture. Minch has been a cook and chef at several restaurants, spanning over three decades, and is currently the director of the culinary program for Lockwood schools.

She had been running her bakery at home for some time now, utilizing Montana's cottage food guidelines. However, in order to expand with products containing meat, she had to find a commercial kitchen setup.

Minch has volunteered in the past, cooking free meals for veterans at VFW posts in other places. When she learned the kitchen was available at the VFW on State Ave, she said it was like it was meant to be.

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The Upper Room utilizes local ingredients almost exclusively.

The beef comes from Yellowstone Cattle Feeders in Shepherd (Minch joked that she can see the cows across the street from their home) and is processed at Stillwater Processing. Pasta for her pasta dishes comes from Yellowstone Pasta Company, and the flour for her pastries and pasties comes from Montana wheat.

More than just pasties.

The restaurant's pasties are an obvious fan favorite, utilizing an old Butte recipe she perfected, but her menu also includes a curated selection of other signature items, like a French Onion Smash burger, Chef's Beef Ramen, a Meatball Bomber sandwich, and several tasty pasta dishes.

The Upper Room's soft-opening is Thursday, February 26th, from 4 - 10 PM. For now, it will be open Wednesday through Saturday nights, starting at 4 PM, with plans to eventually open for lunch as well. They are planning an official Grand Open on March 14.

The dishes are served "to-go" style, but customers are more than welcome to pull up a table or grab a barstool and eat in at the VFW. Carrie said she plans to look for a downtown Billings location for the restaurant next year.