JACKSON, WY — The best food comes from unexpected places.
Amelia Hatchard and Marcos Aquino Hernandez came to that conclusion on an impromptu food tour of Italy. They etched it into their memories, and then into their menus. The couple wrote the lunch menu for Butter Café in Victor on that same food tour with no intention of turning it into an Italian eatery — but this summer, that’s just what they did.
Hatchard and Hernandez opened Butter Café in Victor last summer as a coffee shop and breakfast/lunch spot. But they carried a love of Italian food home with them, and struggled to find it here. So they made it themselves.
“If you make good food, people will come,” Hatchard said.
The couple’s first restaurant endeavor, Streetfood @ The Coach, was unexpected in the best ways. The Stagecoach Bar is an unlikely home to some of the best tacos, burgers, and fries in the valley.
Butter Italian achieves a similarly pleasant surprise. The atmosphere is far less divey than the Coach, but it feels like a coffee shop, not a fine Italian restaurant. And yet, from the first sip of Italian wine to the last bite of Tiramisu or Canolli, diners are temporarily transported to the same Italian countryside Hatchard and Hernandez fell in love with.
To start: a charcuterie featuring regionally-sourced cured meats and cheeses. The Mushroom Leek Jack and Mole Salami are perhaps a subtle nod to Hernandez’s Mexican roots, and are a delightful kick in the tastebuds.
Then there’s Marcos’ Mexican pasta, a far more obvious celebration of Hernandez’s heritage and palate. If your first thought is that Mexican and Italian foods should not mix, I’m here to tell you that you’re sorely mistaken. The Mexican pasta is made with chorizo, poblano peppers, and corn cream. It has an easily tolerable kick (though I love spice), but the corn cream makes it feel like Italian comfort food.
And here’s the most exciting part (for many): Butter is extremely gluten-friendly. Their house-made pasta is full of gluten, but they also serve a gluten-free pasta that two separate gluten-free diners loved. And their pasta, while delicious, is less than half the menu. Most of Butter’s entrees are gluten-free.
The Lamb Osso Bucco is Hatchard’s favorite, and rightfully so. It needs no grain or starchy vegetable. Instead, it is served with fennel confit, creamy leeks, and apple slaw. It’s tender, flavorful, fall-off-the-fork meat at its finest.
“We care that the food is good,” Hatchard said. “We’re gonna make it right.”
Butter in Victor is open for dinner every night from 5:30-9:30 p.m. They’re on 57 S Main St. in Victor, Idaho. If they’re not in the café, find them serving their famous Streetfood Tacos at Music on Main every Thursday.
