Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A • FA L L 2 0 1 8 48 Jim Tracey's upbringing introduced him, albeit marginally, to the food world. His family owned (and still does to this day) a candy store in Sea Isle, New Jersey. What's remarkable about this chef is that he is almost entirely self-taught. He had been a finance major in college, but decided in his junior year that college and finance weren't for him. So he went to work in restaurants in Colorado where, through observation of what was going on in the kitchen, he developed the impetus to learn everything he could about producing good food in a com- mercial setting. His wanderlust brought him to Missoula in 1995 and his first job was in the kitchen at the Old Post, one of the town's venerable watering holes. Working with the tutelage of Christine Littig, he began learning food preparation technique. When Christine left the Old Post to start Red Bird, Tracey soon followed. Her menu had Italian influences which she brought to Missoula from New York. It was a stab at fine dining, matching its then neighboring restaurant, e Alley Cat and its chef, Pearl Cash (featured in this magazine in 2016). Mutual friends introduced him to Laura and the two hit it off almost immediately, soon forming a partnership that would lead eventually to marriage, but first the purchase of Red Bird. (Littig went on to found Missoula's now well-known and highly respected Bernice's Bakery.) By this time, he had learned enough about creating restau- rant quality entrees and sides and the pair knew right away that they wanted Red Bird's cuisine to be fine dining, a chancy leap in the Missoula of 2002. Much of the inspiration for their menu items came from the couple's extensive travel, sampling food from restaurants in major and not-so-major cities around the U.S. Diners in Missoula soon discovered Tracey's innovative dishes, while Laura guided their customers through an eclectic but approachable wine list. e restaurant's slogan of "Edible Artwork" is probably the most accurate descrip- tion of what comes out of that kitchen. by JIM GRAY W HEN JIM TRACEY AND HIS SOON-TO-BE WIFE, LAURA WATERS, TOOK OWNERSHIP OF RED BIRD RESTAURANT IN 2002, IT WAS HARD TO FIND, AS THE ENTRY WAS OFF AN ALLEY THAT WAS REDOLENT IN DUMPSTER AROMAS. Red Bird's located on the main floor of the Florence Hotel, Missoula's most prominent example of Art Deco architecture. e building hasn't been a hotel for decades, but it's still referred to by its older name. The restaurant's slogan of "Edible Artwork" is probably the most accurate description of what comes out of that kitchen. Chef Jim Gray makes apple lasagna as dessert www.distinctlymontana.com/apple184 DISTINCTLY MONTANA | DIGITAL Jim Tracey, chef of the Red Bird in Missoula M I S S O U L A ' S R E D B I R D : C H E F J I M T R A C E Y

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