My son picked this place to try for dinner during our 1st visit to Billings. This frontier-themed sports bar supports local high school and college teams (but no Rocky Mountain College jersey on the wall??) which is great and plenty of tvs all around - making it easy for us to watch the National Championship game (which was a blowout by halftime #GoDawgs!).
Our party ordered 3 items and sides, which did come out promptly even during a major sporting event, albeit on a Monday night. The Grilled Chicken Breast sandwich was nicely done, where the chicken was not too dry, but also not extremely juciy either. They either bake their own buns or get them from a good local bakery fresh each day.
The double burger was big - 2 large, hand-formed patties which were really good and juicy, and it hit me... why are so many burgers places so good in Billings? Answer: Montana grass-fed free-range beef and a meat processing plant about 2 miles north of downtown. Freshness matters.
So why only 2 stars... here is where the experience and meal goes downhill... the AWFUL beef brisket. Experienced grillers know brisket needs to be slow cooked for AT LEAST 8 hours (preferably 12) and undercooked brisket is tough to bite off and far chewy-er than it should be. Another way to identify undercooked brisket is meat with lots of fat on it The reason for the slow long cooking time is to allow all the fat to melt, and infuse all the meat so that you get juicy tender, cant-be-sliced-because-it falls-apart brisket. Well, this beef brisket sandwich was served with uniformly sliced strips of tough, chewy and very fatty brisket. The meat was a MAJOR disappointment.
The side of Buffalo Tater Tots I tried were encased in a powdery, crunchy cocoon of Buffao Powder (no sauce) and NOT in a good way. The watery blue cheese was the only thing that made the tots edible.
With a half-eaten sandwich in front of me and most of the tots still on the plate, i politely let the waiter know that my meal was really not good at all and exactly what was wrong with the meal. He casually apologized, began clearing plates, and ask if anyone needed a refill on their waters or drinks. At a MINIMUM, I was hoping that he would speak to a Manager - that they would come talk to us to see what can be done. I was hoping he would offer me to order something else to replace the really bad meal. Or at least to take that meal off the bill. Nope... nada.
If you go to 406 to watch a game with some drinks, the burges seems to be the go-to menu item. Stay away from the brisket at all costs. They should remove this from the menu since they clearly don't know how to prepare it properly. Try the Buffalo tater tots at-your-own-risk, and don't expect anything in the way of customer service to attempt to right a bad experience. I I believe in supporting a business that supports the local community so I might stop in when I am in town looking for just a burger and a beer. And likely WILL seek out the owner next time to share my initial experience. Small businesses often never fix what they don't know is a problem. read more