Pasties and Noodles in Butte

Butte's food story is the story of its immigrants. Cornish miners, nicknamed Cousin Jacks, brought the pasty, a hand-held pastry filled with beef, potato and onion that kept well in a lunch pail and stayed warm underground. Butte still takes the pasty seriously, and shops such as Joe's Pasty Shop, a stop that trolley guides mention, serve it with gravy or ketchup, depending on your loyalties. It is cheap, filling and the most authentic meal in town. The other signature is Chinese food, rooted in the community that arrived in the late nineteenth century. The Pekin Noodle Parlor, next to the Mai Wah museum on Mercury Street, is described as one of the oldest continuously operating Chinese restaurants in the country, now run by the fifth generation of the same family. It occupies a historic building with an upstairs dining room of private booths, and it typically opens in the evening. The menu leans on classic American-Chinese comfort dishes, and visitors often praise the curry. Steep stairs lead to the entrance.

Plan a pasty for lunch and noodles for dinner. Pasty shops are casual, often open early and close in the afternoon, so go before three if you can. Order one to share if you are not very hungry, because they are large. For the Pekin Noodle Parlor, expect a short wait on summer weekends and festival nights, and consider arriving when it opens. The upstairs rooms feel like a time capsule, which is part of the appeal.

Uptown also has bars with long histories, bakeries and steakhouses, and the town's Irish pubs are famous around St. Patrick's Day. Local microbrews and distillery drinks are part of the revival of Uptown dining. If you like to eat with the locals, ask the staff at your hotel or the museum for current favorites, since small restaurants change hours and ownership often.

Dietary needs are easier in larger restaurants than in old-school spots, so call ahead if you have allergies. Vegetarian options exist but are limited at traditional places. Cash is wise at some small shops, although most take cards. Prices are modest by Western standards. Children usually love pasties, and the noodle parlor's booths make a fun family dinner.

Make the meals part of your itinerary: after the trolley tour, grab a pasty near the museum, and after the Mai Wah visit, walk next door for noodles. It is the quickest route to understanding how the town's cultures fed each other, and it will leave you full and happy.

It helps to plan around opening hours, which vary by season and by owner. Check each place before you set out, and have a backup in mind, because a closed door on a Monday or Tuesday is common in small-town Montana. A gas-station breakfast sandwich is not a bad plan B, but a pasty bought the day before and reheated at your hotel is better.

Food is also part of the culture of the trolley and walking tours. Guides will point out where generations of miners ate, drank and argued, and they will tell you which bars and diners are worth a stop. Ask them where they eat on a day off, and follow the advice. That is how many visitors find their favorite meal of the trip.