Many regions lay claim to a signature beef dish. Britain boasts Beef Wellington, France owns Chateaubriand and Italy is known for scaloppini. However, when Flavored Nation, a culinary festival that showcases an iconic food from each of the 50 states in the U.S., chose the dish to represent Idaho, it wasn’t potatoes, but rather the humble finger steak. While the finger steak is certainly not as highbrow as the afore-mentioned dishes – dispelling any pretense that the word “steak” might evoke – it represents the down-to-earth Western lifestyle just fine. It also just makes sense to represent Idaho with a beef dish, given that the state has more cattle than people. 

Finger Steaks are like the Northwest’s answer to Southern fried chicken.

Beef is cut into finger-length strips, then breaded or battered, and quickly fried until golden and crispy. Cuts of beef used vary as do the recipes for the batter – recipes that tend to be guarded with the seriousness of a national secret or the Hope diamond. Often an order of finger steaks is delivered in a parchment-lined plastic basket (thus dispelling any lingering pretense) with a mound of French fries and some form of mandatory dipping sauce. For some locals, these are a near-addiction. 

So who is accredited with this culinary creation? Well, you can't tell the history of finger steaks without talking about three things – Mylo Bybee, the Torch Lounge and B and D Foods.