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We cook real, real Thai food from Thailand.
(Kitchen Sounds)
Fry bread's our featured item.
Done the way our people do it.
The chicken fajitas. They are really good. And they are fast.
We cook them exactly the way they do in the Middle East.
All the recipes are from India. The food tastes the same.
This University of Montana School of Journalism production is made
possible with support from: The Greater Montana Foundation.
The Greater Montana Foundation benefits the people of Montana by
encouraging communication, with an emphasis on electronic media,
on issues, trends and values of importance
to present and future generations of Montanans.
And by the University of Montana.
(Kitchen Sounds)
There are more than 2,000 places to eat in Montana.
But while there are a diversity of restaurants,
barely 10 percent of the state's population is ethnically diverse.
Hi. I'm Eric Clements.
And I'm Anna Cole. Welcome to Montana Journal: Ethnic Flavors.
We traveled across the state and spent time with the owners of ethnic restaurants.
We learned what it takes to run a restaurant serving food
unfamiliar to Montanans and the ups and downs these restaurants
face within traditional Montana food culture.
Our first item on the menu is the baba ganoush from the Chickpea Cafe in Bozeman.
There, a husband and wife work together to bring
authentic food from the Middle East to the Big Sky.
Montana Journal's Brendan Brown has the story.
We make our own pickles, those pink pickles that you see on the sandwiches
and on some of the plates. We actually make those in the restaurant.
It's called Turshy. Sumac is one spice that we use. It's a really good spice.
It's kind of like a lemony flavor and it's really bright.
In a bright corner shop in Bozeman, with her blonde hair and blue eyes,
Jennifer Jento doesn't look the part to be an expert in Middle Eastern cuisine.
We try to make sure that everything is the way you would have it if you
went to Iraq or you went to the Middle East.
Jen grew up in Ohio, where, like Montana, ethnic food was scarce.
But 20 years ago, she met the man who would become her husband,
Hamed Jento, who had come to the U.S. from Iraq.
Hamed would give Jen a different perspective on food.
I had never tried any kind of ethnic food or anything different,
other than what I had grown up with, until I met my husband.
It was hard in the beginning.
I think if she wanted to take adventure it was go
to Italian, you know, to have pasta.
One day I told her, "Oh, lets go to Arabic place."
She was hesitant in the beginning, but she was a good sport.
She said, "Oh, lets try it."
And, of course I fell in love with, you know, all kinds of different foods.
It's our passion now whenever we travel that's the first thing we do is,
you know, go find a really good ethnic restaurant.
Hamed's job lead them to Montana, and Jen, who had taught for 10 years,
wanted to turn her love for cooking into a career by opening a restaurant.
But Hamed, who had 20 years of experience in the restaurant industry,
had his reservations about Jen's idea.
I was worried about it more than anybody else
because I know what it takes to run a restaurant.
You need to be able to work 17, 18 hours, you know, to survive.
It's a labor of love. That's probably why our family cares
about it so much because it's been blood sweat and tears.
Chickpea opened in 2011, with the hope that people will step
out of their comfort zone and into the café.
Iraqi food still sounds uncomfortably exotic to many Montanans.
Customer -"I will just have the chicken shw...the number 21."
Sometimes a hurdle that we have is trying to get people to just come in and try it.
We have customers who come in every day who are kind of apprehensive.
They're not really sure, because some of the words, you know, are in Arabic
and they don't really know what everything is.
We try to help them and guide them along and, you know, help them with ordering.
Hamed recently returned from Iraq, where his
family showed him the latest way to make Turkish coffee.
All right, we're gonna do, a new version of sweet Turkish coffee.
Just because I think it's strong, it's very strong.
It's good? It's good, yeah, it's strong.
So, my job is just to come in and try things.
Making sure everything is done right.
Hamed is always looking for that authentic flavor he remembers from his childhood.
I think we need to add to it more olive oil.
Only now you could go to the store and find hummus with this, hummus with that.
You could go and find 50 to 60 recipes,
different recipes, but what's the original recipe?
For me it's just very important to say this is how it should be.
Because you're presenting my family, you're
presenting my country, you know, that's our food.
Another food from Hamed's childhood is Kishmish.
It's chutney made of butter, raisins, onions and spices.
So they cook down and they're really sweet and just adds good flavor to our rice.
Just something different that you wouldn't be able to find anywhere else.
In bringing true Middle Eastern flavors to Bozeman,
Chickpea's process is also important.
It shows in the café's most popular dish. The kabob.
We grind our own meat, do our own spices in there, and then shape them out on
the skewer and grill them just like they do in the Middle East.
My husband actually brought those skewers that we use from Iraq.
You know, we don't cut corners.
We just try to keep it authentic, and the best quality that we can get.
With family recipes as their inspiration, Jen and Hamed Jento strive to
share an authentic Middle Eastern experience with their customers.
Bozeman costumers are amazing.
They're just so supportive of local business and they know how much we care and
so they try really hard to help support our business.
And just try something different.
It's really good. The flavor mixtures are really nice.
After three years in the business, Chickpea still sees its ups and downs,
but both Jen and Hamed are committed for the long haul.
You can find Mexican food in nearly every city in Montana.
But if you really want the traditional food,
try the ceviche at Fiesta Mexicana in Dillon.
There, a young brother and sister work hard to make fast food,
even though the wheels they make it on are not.
Montana Journal's Sergio Gonzalez has more.
Dillon, Montana. A small town of 4,000 people in the southwestern corner of the state.
Not the first guess for ethnic food.
But these people know a little secret about good food hidden in Dillon.
Delicious! But everything's been delicious.
We recommend it to everyone.
Unbelievable. It was so good.
Recomiendo de los restaurants.
These hungry customers are talking about 18 year old
Victor Montaño's authentic Mexican cuisine.
The only other cook is Victor's little sister Maritza.
Family is important to Victor.
That's a good thing, because these two are working in very close
quarters, preparing a different kind of fast food.
The chicken fajitas. They are really good.
Because you are always grabbing them and
they are really good. And they are fast.
The tacos. They are the fastest.
Both Victor and Maritza's favorite dishes to cook are ones that can be done quickly.
And for good reason. This bus gets busy.
♪
Wait. A bus?
Yeah, a bus.
Fiesta Mexicana has been serving authentic
Mexican food out of a bus for seven years.
It's kinda awesome that it's in a bus.
I mean, where else can you go in Montana where you're eating Mexican food out of a bus?
Fiesta Mexicana is owned by Victor's uncle, Alejandro Pelayo.
Seven years ago, Pelayo opened Fiesta Mexicana.
Pelayo chose to use a bus because the overhead was lower and because a bus is unique.
Around lunchtime on a daily basis, a steady crowd streams into the bus.
"Dos Tacos" "Thank You"
But the lunch rush is no match for these two.
Victor and Maritza prepare an authentic Mexican meal in under five minutes.
Maritza is up in Dillon helping her brother at
Fiesta Mexicana during her vacation from school.
Victor and Maritza learned to cook from their mother back in Jalisco.
She taught them how to cook authentic Jaliscan food,
like this torta, or Mexican sandwich.
Fiesta Mexicana prepares it with radishes and carrots,
the way it is traditionally prepared in Mexico.
Pablo Guillen, who immigrated from Mexico himself, can vouch for this.
How it compares to food from Mexico?
Oh, it's the same. Naturally, it's the same.
Anything else? That'll be it.
The lunch rush continues at Fiesta Mexicana.
Maritza is preparing ceviche.
It's a dish made with fresh raw fish marinated in citrus juices.
Traditional Mexican ceviche is accompanied by slices of raw onions and
served on tostadas, or toasted tortillas, as Maritza prepares it here.
It was really good, really good.
A lot of food. More than I could eat.
The bus is open and serving food seven days a week, ten months out of the year.
Victor works ten hours a day, every day the bus is open.
He's only 18 years old, and he's already working
longer hours than most kids his age.
But he doesn't keep the money he earns.
Well, you can earn more than in Mexico.
In Mexico you earn 20 dollars a day.
Here you can earn around 100 dollars.
You can earn 5 times more or 3 times more.
It's necessity. There is more money here than in Mexico.
Victor earns more money working at Fiesta Mexicana,
but he sacrifices by being so far away from his family.
Victor's family lives in Jalisco, a Mexican state
located on the western coast of the country.
Victor was born in the states, but grew up with his family in a small
village, where many of the residents are poor.
By working at Fiesta Mexicana, Victor makes more money,
but he's not earning the money for himself.
Family to me is something very special. We need to help them.
Because it's not easy to be in Mexico.
In the village where we are from, there are poor that a lot of time have nothing to eat.
Sometimes we help people more.
Despite the distance between their hometown and Montana,
Victor and Maritza bring a small piece of Jalisco to Dillon.
It's authentic.
This is better than most of the Mexican food I've had in my entire life.
The lunch rush is slowing to a trickle.
Happy customers leaving with bellies full of Mexican food.
Best in the state.
The breakfast burrito with chorizo again and it was fabulous.
The lunch rush comes to an end.
But this isn't the end for Victor and Maritza.
Maritza will return to Jalisco once her vacation from school is over.
And Victor? He'll keep working long hours at Fiesta Mexicana,
sending much needed money to his family back in Mexico.
♪
The Renegade Grill in St. Ignatius adds a special twist
to their burgers, hot dogs and tacos.
This relatively new business relies on their community's support to
bring traditional food to their customers and traditional values to their family.
Montana Journal's Rachel Leathe reports.
Every morning, Robert Matt opens the Renegade Grill
with a ceremonial burning of sweet grass and sage.
First the sweet grass to bring in the good.
Sometimes I don't even notice he's doing it.
Then I'll smell it and I'm like "Oh, I'm getting smudged.
Right on." It feels good you know.
And then the sage to rid the restaurant of bad.
I like to look it at as bringing old traditions
into the workplace, so it's important for us.
The Renegade Grill on the Salish Kootenai Reservation in
St. Ignatius is a family owned restaurant with a unique mission:
to practice the language and retain the culture of their people while serving good food.
In the nineteenth century the U.S. government
began relocating Native American tribes to the West.
Due to the lack of resources, Native Americans created fry bread out of army rations.
The thing that really puts us above the competition is our fry bread.
And so we base a lot of our product around fry bread.
Like, we have the renegade burger, which is a Jesse James,
but instead of buns, it's two pieces of fry bread.
And we actually make fry bread buns, not just two huge pieces of bread,
we actually make fry bread sized buns.
And then we got a rez dog, a rez pup and those are fry bread corn dogs.
Instead of using actual batter we use fry bread. And they're a real hit.
And so most of our recipes we come up with are just ideas about how we can
expand, you know, the peoples love of fry bread.
Sharlene Matt, Robert's wife and co-owner of the Renegade, takes pride in
her traditional fry bread recipe, using baking powder instead of yeast.
Currently, fry bread is the only Native American food that the Renegade serves.
However, in the spring, Robert plans to join local groups in harvesting
native plants, such as the bitterroot, which is a part of Salish tradition.
I want to start studying traditional foods, and begin to maybe try to
infuse those flavors and styles into some of what we're doing here now.
Of course, it will be mostly contemporary.
The Matts began serving the community in 2007
at festivals and powwows vending out of a food cart.
Their products were so popular among the locals,
they decided to open a more permanent establishment.
We basically decided in about 10 minutes to just go ahead and take this opportunity.
And I took my retirement and just threw it at it and said, "Let's do it."
So it was a family decision though.
We all decided, you know, to do it.
The word of their opening spread quickly around the community.
We just opened. And word of mouth, it was amazing.
All the people that ended up here, all the people that came in.
It was humbling that we had people thanking us for doing this.
In a typical day at the Renegade, the Matts see very few walk-ins because
most of their business is done through the drive-thru.
And there ain't nothing cooler than going into a restaurant and saying,
"I want my usual. Give me the usual."
And we know exactly what it is.
People go to McDonalds and say, "Ah I went to McDonalds but I didn't like it."
But you know what, for every one person who doesn't like
a McDonalds burger, there's 20 people that do.
Over here, if one person doesn't like one of our burgers,
that's one of a thousand people who might not come back.
So we strive to do the best that we can.
It's just a friendly place and a good place to eat.
They've got good food.
And we like it because they're locally people and it's locally operated.
It's a fixture here. Everyone comes here.
You get tired of the same thing all the time, so you mix it up.
(Salish greeting). Welcome to Renegade Grill
Hi, can we get....
Well there's one word to describe it in Salish, its called kwamkwamps.
And it's just a feeling that's just great.
Just being together is really important to us.
We've always been really tight knit like that you know.
Even today we're still living in the same home together.
The big thing in our tribe and our culture is family.
And right there just when you walk in we epitomize the idea of family.
We're all trying to learn Salish, my kids are actually in immersion school.
All three of my kids go to Indian school I guess you could call it.
They're learning how to speak the language and preserve the culture.
They're coming home and they're actually teaching me words that I never knew.
In a sense, you should be learning that from your grandparents and your parents.
But in this case, I'm learning it from my
grandchildren as I'm learning as well. So it's pretty neat.
(Salish language)
The Renegade has had success because of the Matts' ability to work well together.
Their restaurant allows them to connect with both
the community and their Salish heritage.
The India Grill in Billings uses a classic Butter Chicken recipe to spice things up.
The restaurant owner has learned to integrate his Indian culture into
Montana by teaching others about it through the food he makes.
Montana Journal's Nina Sveinson has more.
Bhupinder Singh prays in a separate room in his home.
Sikhism is the majority religion in India where Bhupinder is from.
Since he has moved to the United States, he has continued to practice Sikhism.
If somebody comes to your door hungry, give him food.
Treat him nicely this is the main teaching.
Don't let anybody walk from your door if he is hungry.
He has realized a successful business
serving traditional food and sharing culture.
Welcome to India Grill.
Opening an Indian restaurant in Billings was a way Bhupinder
could fuse Western and Eastern cultures.
We came here because Billings had no Indian restaurant.
So we came here to, let's see how people like the food.
And we got pretty good response.
Long before the customers enter India Grill, Bhupinder and Gurme Singh
are in the kitchen preparing Indian dishes, one of them being their
most popular dish: butter chicken.
Gurme Singh is Bhupinder's long-time friend from India.
He has helped Bhupinder create the authentic Indian food customers
can't get anywhere else in Billings.
Everything comes from the fresh, and we cook everything there,
all the vegetables are cooked right there.
I have a long time experience. That's why everybody likes my food.
So almost I'm 17 years old, then I start cooking. I make all sweet Indian,
all everything I make myself. So that's why.
They love their food. I mean every time he's cooking he's excited about
the food, his chefs are excited about the food.
Oh can you smell this, come and have a bite, taste it, isn't it delicious?
So they have a lot of passion for everything that they do.
Bhupinder says cumin powder, red chili, ginger, garlic, and dry fenugreek
leaves are a few of the spices that are essential in Indian food.
But in order to appeal to current American taste, they have to lighten the
amount of oil used and cut down on the level of spice.
People are scared to try the food.
Their first impression is spicy.
But we are not making spicy food.
And some people think, "Ah I don't know how the food is going to be."
Because they never had the experience of trying Indian food in Billings here.
But with his intense flavors and variety of dishes, Bhupinder's
efforts to appeal to American taste buds have been well received.
The spices are delicious, and we're not use to the spices that we have here.
I come because I love the flavors and I can't get them anywhere else.
I'm thrilled I would miss it if it was not here. Yeah, I would miss it.
I have brought friends here, we've brought our book club here when we
were reading a book about India.
I can't get it where I live. And it's one of my favorite ethnic foods.
The butter chicken is amazing.
And it's good, the spice is good.
I probably could go for a little bit more spice.
But yeah, it's ranked up there.
Aside from altering the spiciness of the food for Americans, Bhupinder has
also come up with a nickname for himself since his name can be hard to say.
Even they ask my name over and over, and over and over.
So I just have my nickname Roger Singh and my real name is Bhupinder Singh.
Some people have a hard time pronouncing it.
It's not only me, it's happening to everybody from that region.
People come here and they want to know about my culture.
We sit down, I spend the time explaining to them.
Yeah, I think I find it a little bit important to
teach them or tell them where I come from.
But I've been here in the United States for 20 years actually.
Still I want to tell them my roots are in India. This is where I was born.
In Punjab, northern part of India.
Roger makes some of the last food orders of the night before being able to
close the restaurant and head home.
Hi.
Roger strives to serve good quality food for his customers,
but it is his family he cares most about.
How's everything? How's mommy? How's mom?
Roger hopes his family's annual trips from Montana
to India will hold onto his traditions.
While filming with Roger, his family was on
a five-month trip in his home of Punjab, India.
Roger would like to see his newfound success of his restaurant continue,
striving for customer satisfaction, authenticity and supporting his family.
I'll talk to you guys. Love you. Bye.
The curry at Sa-***-Dee in Missoula is the talk of the town.
But it wasn't an easy path.
The owner took risks that paid off because of
her culture's support of family bonds.
Montana Journal's Keith Mcglothlin has the story.
It's not actually the sort of food you'd expect to get in western Montana.
Sa-***-Dee is busy. It's Saturday night.
The line is almost out the door.
But it wasn't always like this.
And it would have never happened, had owner Sumalee Tdim Foy not
risked it all to open Sa-***-Dee.
We just, "Oh boy, what it going to be?"
Tdim runs Sa-***-Dee with the help of her three daughters Am, Tao, and Mahlinee.
Sa-***-Dee starts with lunch.
Thanks, Mahlinee. Welcome.
Am, the oldest of the three, is just finishing up the deli's most popular
dish: deep-fried chicken with ginger and a side of rice,
while the youngest, Mahlinee, serves customers at Sa-***-Dee's lunch deli.
Tao, Tdim's second daughter, comes in after lunch to start prepping for dinner.
Before Tdim opened Sa-***-Dee, there was a small Thai deli that served lunch.
When it went up for sale, Tdim wanted to buy it, but was unable to get a loan.
He said, "I sell it to you."
I have no money, and he said, "You can make a payment."
To make that payment, Tdim risked everything and sold her house in Thailand.
She then was able to take out a loan.
Sa-***-Dee then opened for business in June 1996.
Despite the downtown location, business was slow at first.
The first open, we made 300 dollars. Oh we so happy.
Sa-***-Dee is a family run restaurant.
Over the years, Tdim has built up Sa-***-Dee with the help of her three daughters.
You know, when your parents open a restaurant you have to come and help.
Because that's basically, that's what your job to do, is to help them.
But when it comes down to it, Thai families, our culture's to help each other out.
Our culture is to be there for your family,
and that's how Thai people are, so, pretty much, here I am.
Am is mixing up the base for the coconut milk, she adds one and a half cups
of water and two and a half cups of lemon juice, a secret sauce,
and then waits for it to boil.
The coconut milk is used in a variety of items on the menu.
Sa-***-Dee strives to use as many traditional ingredients from Thailand as possible.
The food tastes as good as it smells, and it definitely packs a punch!
Is it curry, it's spicy and when they like it they'll tell their friend.
"Oh, you had better come and check it out, you better come and check it out."
And we cook real, real Thai food from Thailand.
We do not cook Thai food American flavor. It no.
Tdim tries to keeps the menu as traditional as possible, but Sa-***-Dee
is unable to get a few vegetables used in authentic
Thai food due to the limited access in Missoula.
Am is making a Thai salad, though unlike a traditional Thai salad,
she's using carrots instead of green papayas.
Dinner for this group of friends starts with the Thai salad as an appetizer.
Over the years, Sa-***-Dee has relied on word-of-mouth advertising,
building a loyal customer base.
I try to come here about once a month. It's delicious.
Nice to get some good spicy food in western Montana.
There's not a lot of competition and it's very good.
Tdim's hard work and dedication has transformed Sa-***-Dee from a small
lunch deli to one of Missoula's most award-winning restaurants.
But 17 years later, what does the future hold for Sa-***-Dee?
Right now I'm 65 years old right now, and I cannot work forever.
I'm gonna retire in 5 years when I'm 70 years old.
If we have the heart and the will, this restaurant can probably go more.
And I would love to say "Oh my gosh, Sa-***-Dee has been here 30 years!"
With continued hard work and dedication Sa-***-Dee will continue to thrive in Missoula.
In a state where ethnic food is hard to come by,
