Montana’s New Most Iconic Restaurant Is One You’ve Maybe Never Heard Of

Remember that scene from the movie Elf, when he goes into the diner in New York and tells everyone, "You did it! Congratulations!" because the restaurant had a sign on the front that said, "World's Best Cup of Coffee?"

Sometimes, I think lists on the internet that name the best restaurant in every state are like putting out a sign saying "World's Best Cup of Coffee."

But then, I also appreciate how Buddy the Elf responds with absolute elation.

The latest list that had me both raising an eyebrow and appreciating the shout-out for a place that may get a lot of attention was the list of the most iconic restaurants across the country from BabbleTop on YouTube.

The wordsmith in me wants to point out the definition of iconic before we reveal the restaurant in Montana that earned the title:

iconic: 1. relating to or of the nature of an icon; regarded as a represntative symbol or as worthy of veneration 2. (of a classical greek statue) depicting a victorious athlete in a conventional style.

Given the definition, you might think a restaurant that gets written about all the time, or has earned awards, or is frequently visited by Montanans from all over the state would be dubbed "iconic." We've already written about Montana's most iconic restaurant. For that list they used "famous" as a stand-in for "iconic" and it was a place called Lucca's in Helena according to Love Food.

But BabbleTop gave the distinction to a restaurant in Miles City instead.

Have you ever visited the Black Iron Grill and Rotisserie in Miles City?

Even if it isn't widely known or has numerous accolades, it has some serious Montana cred. They work with local ranchers, farms, and breweries, they've got steak on the menu, and they've included a little Montana history in the actual restaurant.

Their website says, "The Beams located over the bar were reclaimed from the Old Milwaukee Roundhouse" and "The 1910 steam-powered iron bender located at the front of the Black Iron Grill was also reclaimed from the same historic railroad building."

As Buddy the Elf would say, "You did it! Congratulations!"