Stella Fong:
This James Beard Foundation recognition is given to a restaurant that demonstrates exceptional care and skill in the presentation of wine and other beverages with food along with outstanding hospitality and service that helps inform and enhance a customer’s appreciation of the beverages.
Kat Porco:
I guess our hope was always that our hospitality would be what drove everything, creating community and making people feel welcome and seen and like that they had a place to be and then everything else would rise to that same level and so for us being recognized for a component of this project that we’re working on is really exciting.
Stella Fong:
Although the Porcos finds excitement in being recognized,
Mike Porco:
We appreciate the James Beard Foundation not because of, not necessarily because of the award that they provide, but what they do for independent restaurants and they’re really valuable resource that I think goes unrecognized for most people so the foundation has been super supportive of independent restaurants, so we appreciate that first and foremost. For the award, I think it’s a starting point for us knowing what we can do and what we’re capable of, encourages us to really dig into that and really turn every page in terms of our beverage program and how we treat hospitality.
Stella Fong:
Hospitality is defined as the friendly and generous reception to guests, visitors and strangers. For the Porcos, this has been foremost in their minds for transforming the iconic Bull and Bear Saloon into the now renewed restaurant, bar and event venue.
Kat Porco:
We got a nod to one part of who we are and now it’s like, ‘Okay, how do we bring everything to that same place?’
Stella Fong:
So how did the Porcos discover they were a semifinalist for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverage Program from the James Beard Foundation?
Kat Porco:
We just got inundated by texts from other people, like we didn’t know or hadn’t seen any emails. I didn’t know anything. We started getting text from all over. It felt so surreal. ‘What is everybody talking about? Like what is this?’
Stella Fong:
And who does Kat credit for their success?
Kat Porco:
I feel like we have been really lucky in that our foundation is always our locals and I think of local as being Cody, Powell, Billings and Red Lodge like that’s the circle for us but any give night when you walk in, I feel you recognize the majority of tables and that’s always our goal is that we create a space that people want to come home to.
Stella Fong:
The Porcos spend much of their time and energy in continually making that home more comfortable.
Kat Porco:
Every single project that Mike and I have been involved in has been a pivot project. We have our original idea and then pivot until we figure out what it is that people are looking for and what makes them feel like they’re seen and so for us we started with cocktails and we thought that was going to be the thing.
Stella Fong:
Since the Bull and Bear Saloon was a popular watering hole, they continued its legacy but ramped up not only the spirited beverages.
Kat Porco:
But also adding on the NA and having that really robust and elevated zero proof program has been something that we have really also become known for and really inspiring way like that’s a part of who we are and the wine obviously something we really focus on in partnership with Lieu Dit.
Stella Fong:
Lieu Dit is a Red Lodge-based boutique distributor of fermented beverages, specializing in avant-garde and classic wines from around the globe so, a perfect partnership for One Legged Magpie’s wine program. Over the years, playful menus have been presented with creative cocktails
Mike Porco:
There’s an old English poem so we started with that. That’s actually in our beverage menu that Kat wrote up.
Kat Porco:
It’s just an invitation of how to be able to be present when you join us at the Magpie, an invitation to just slow down and be with the people you are with.
Stella Fong:
Other themes for the cocktail menus have included
Mike Porco:
Divas of the past: Jane Mansfield and Elizabeth Taylor, Rita Hayward. That’s was probably our most fun menu in terms of the theme and I guess currently what we’re doing is when Rosy took over the naming of the menu we wanted to bring it back it to our guests and he developed the cocktails with some of our regulars in mind.
Kat Porco:
… honoring these people that continue to really grace us with their presence.
