Montana Ale Works

After spending a morning in Glacier, having a nail in a tire, and trying, and failing to out run a storm, the tofu and soba noodle stir fry/salad really hit the spot. Being in northern Montana vegan options are hard to come by, so having a tasty meal full of veggies was great.

On a trip to Bozeman in January 2015, I expected there would be few vegetarian/vegan options in the land of elk/bison. The Montana Ale Works was quite a surprise. It's a normal restaurant (with elk/bison burgers on the menu) but the staff were well aware of what vegan meant and knew which items could be modified. They have quite a few vegetarian selections that don't require modification. The food was very tasty. Best of all was the very wide selection of local beers. The place is very hip - it would survive in Brooklyn (meant as a compliment). I'll definitely be back to the Montana Ale Works on my next trip to Bozeman. I would give it 5 cows, but the happy cow site only allows 4 for restaurants that serve meat. But considering it's in Montana, it deserves 5 cows for having vegetarian choices with vegan options.

We're from Missoula, where the Good Food Store makes a mean veggie burger, but we just can't seem to find a good vegan one anywhere else in town. However, when dragged to Montana Ale Works (with memories of bison burgers in our minds) at a family gathering, we were pleasantly surprised to find they had a veggie burger that could be made vegan by being served without the bun (I think the bun is Wheat Montana and has whey in it), and they even offered us a side of steamed veggies. The veggie burger itself was very tasty, a totally new take on veggie burgers. I would stop in here again when in Bozeman to appreciate their vegan fare. The staff were also totally knowledgeable about what vegan meant, and when they didn't know they quickly went and asked the chefs to make sure. No guessing here: they take care of you and your dietary needs.