Five on Black Brazilian grill serves flavors all its own
MISSOULA – The restaurant Five on Black was born out of a University of Montana business plan competition.
Tom Snyder won that contest with his idea for a fast-casual restaurant that served Brazilian food.
"I fell in love with that sector of the food industry," Snyder said.
Fast-casual restaurants include Qdoba, Chipotle and Panera Bread. Snyder noticed that the most successful fast-casual restaurants took a national cuisine pared it down and simplified it.
"No one had done that with Brazilian food," he said.
Snyder's initial business plan was based on a lot of Internet research. After he won the business plan competition, he used part of his winnings to fund a trip to Brazil so he could experience their food in person.
Snyder was somewhat surprised by what he found.
"Brazil is the size of the continental U.S.," he said.
That meant the food in different parts of the country was as different as Maine lobster is from southern fried chicken. Some of it was great and some of it wasn't.
"What we were able to do is kind of pick and choose the best flavors and recipes from all over the country," Snyder said.
The result is a unique mix of flavors that is hard to compare to any other food category. Five on Black has some of the spice of Mexican food, along with some of the curry flavor of Indian food and some unique tastes.
"It kind of creates a flavor category of its own," he said. "It's kind of this taste profile of it's own."
Five on Black's menu is simple, but allows for many different combinations.
Diners choose between chicken, beef, tilapia, roasted vegetables or feijoada, the national stew of Brazil. Whatever they pick is served on a choice of white rice, brown rice or crisp greens. Side options are coconut sweet potatoes, steamed collard greens or black beans.
Everything is served in a bowl and topped with a choice of mango barbecue or spicy coconut sauce and toppings that include chunky tomato vinaigrette, spicy chimichurri and cilantro.
Bowls are served with Brazilian cheese bread, which is gluten free.
"The entire restaurant is 100 percent gluten free," Snyder said.
It's also vegan and vegetarian friendly and works well for other dietary restrictions.
"There are a lot of great paleo options," he said.
Despite the food being healthy and diet-friendly, it's full of great flavors, colors and textures.
As for the name, "we wanted something that was a little bit non-sensical and random," Snyder said.
Five on Black represents the five steps in ordering a bowl at the eatery and black beans, which are the base of most Brazilian meals.
Five on Black, which opened two years ago, has done so well that Snyder is expanding. He's opening a location in downtown Bozeman at the end of May and a second Missoula location on South Brooks at the end of the summer.
Five on Black
Where: 325 N. Higgins Ave. in Missoula
Hours: Monday - Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Price range: $5-$9
More information: fiveonblack.com or 406-926-1860