Smaller Plates, Bigger Flavors
Text by Colter Pedersen | Photography by Jacqui Smith
Taking on Tapas in a Steak and Potato Town
Black and white pictures, neon signs, a King Kong poster just past a wooden horse, walking through the front door of Bert & Ernie’s presents a kitschy, eclectic combination of keepsakes and Helena history, 40 years in the making.
Then a quick look to the left delivers a different take entirely, upscale, refined, ringed in glassware and borderline bougie. That’s the original wine bar, opened 11 years ago, and the gateway to the restaurant’s deeper dichotomy, two fully functioning operations offering distinctly different, yet completely complementary experiences, all under one roof.
Both recently renovated, each creates its own ambiance, with familiar family fare (pizza, burgers, beer) on one side and a decidedly more experimental menu on the other.
Anchored by the 24 tap wine bar and ever-evolving tapas menu, the Tuscan room is the newest addition. It reimagines old world wine tasting with modern technology, creating an intimate environment based around kegs rather than bottles.
Owner, manager, and second-level sommelier, Toby DeWolf takes his wine seriously. A special nitrogen generator on the taps keeps the wines pristine. “Every single glass we pour is just like you opened the bottle fresh,” he says. And it’s an entirely green, zero waste system. Each completely disposable keg holds the equivalent of 26 bottles (keeping glass out of the landfill).
And while the tap system removes a bit of the ritual, it replaces it with a fresh experience, like getting your wine growler filled to go.
The amount of wines on tap allows a near endless amount of indulgence, but the true star isn’t the vino, but rather the vittles. Bold, brazen, a bit risky even, the tapas menu challenges you to taste outside your comfort zone.
Chef Sean Ehlert believes you eat with your eyes first, so he places an emphasis on plating. “There’s a certain aesthetic when it goes to the right plate, if it’s white or if it’s black or if it’s on a piece of wood. It’s a whole package deal. It’s like the frame on a painting, it can kill it or it can accentuate it.”
“Learning how to cook tapas and the style of it really changed my approach,” begins Chef Sean Ehlert. “I fell in love immediately.” The style of food is so much more fun, instead of getting just one entrée you get three or four or five, on smaller plates with bigger, stronger flavors. “You can pack so much flavor into two bites of food,” he says. “Eating a ribeye is great, I love ribeye, but if you’re going to eat 12 ounces of it you kind of get bored.”
Tapas allows you to order a little more recklessly, as you only have a few bites on the line. It takes the pressure away, encouraging a bit more edible adventure. “The goal is to get you to the point of wanting one more bite. And then leaving you there,” says Sean.
He understands the importance of great ingredients, focusing on fresh and local as much as possible. All their breads come from the bakery across the street, their beef from Montana ranches and their herbs from their own window garden.
He uses local honey as well, preferably from his kids Gavin and Aiden who raise bees in their backyard in Lewistown. “I buy as much of it as they let me before they take it to the farmer’s market,” says Sean. He tries to feature it as it’s own stand-alone ingredient or as a simple drizzle over something like smoked salmon. “It’s just kind of a weird little way to keep them hanging out with me cause I’m here all day,” he adds.
For Sean, every plate’s a journey. “You’re putting your heart and your soul and yourself into that food, and as it hits the window you are so proud of it, almost cocky and arrogant, and as soon as that plate disappears you get scared. You go from this high to this crushing low, and then you wait,” he adds.
Luckily he rarely has to wait long. His food has been a hit for downtown Helena, and his boss may be his biggest fan. “His ability to put flavors together is the most remarkable thing I’ve ever seen,” says Toby. “He brings the customers to us.”
And he’s always working on the next thing, the next evolution, keeping the choices fresh. “We’re going to kind of take the training wheels off the menu,” says Sean, which means stronger flavors and bolder combinations. “People are coming along for the ride.”
Perhaps it’s for the Truffled Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese. With bread sliced thin then toasted with lots of herbs and cheese, it’s “a nontraditional take on a really familiar dish,” he offers. The first bright orange bite fills your mouth with a deep earthiness from the truffle, cut by the salty, herby crunch of the crostini to balance out the rich, creamy soup.
Coming in at a half pound and filled with bacon, bleu cheese and gouda, the Stuffed Burger is the biggest burger on the menu.
Next might be Bone-in Lamb with Cherry Chipotle Polenta and Apple Ginger Coleslaw. Looking like a tiny lamb tomahawk, a nice creamy heat from the polenta plays with the tart, cool and crisp coleslaw to accentuate the succulent, medium-rare meat.
Then maybe something even more creative, like Five Spice Seared Tuna with a Wasabi Potato Croquet, Pickled Brussels Sprouts and Root Beer Reduction. The outer croquet comes crisp and golden brown while the inside hides rich and velvety potato with a big wasabi bite. The slight sweetness from the reduction and tanginess from the sprouts round out the dish.
A sweet and savory combo could finish the meal, like the Chicken and Waffle. A classic Southern course, slow braised chicken with shallot and garlic piles atop a fluffy buttermilk waffle finished with a mustard maple glaze.
When Toby says they have a little bit for everybody, you believe him. “We’ve got a state of the art sports bar, the best wine bar, a great family-established 40-year-old restaurant and outdoor dining to boot.” But the tapas clearly stands out as the most interesting option.
What do you want for dinner? Or perhaps more importantly, what do you want from dinner? When you’re ready for something a little different, something more social, more exciting, track down some tapas.
“It’s what you want and what you crave, just done ridiculously well,” Sean says. “I think Helena was kind of begging for it, and we’re building a community around it.”
Bert & Ernie’s
361 N Last Chance Gulch
Helena, MT 59601
406-443-5680
