I ate at 6 of these places (Cheyenne, Casper: lease, houses, buying)

[jody_wy]

https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/wyom...hZpiA-PnBxSshs
I ate at 6 , didn't necessarily have the Prime Rib....

[VAQUERO 45]

You the man Mr Jody !!! Thanks for heads up , sharin info etc . Looks good too me and probably would have had a nip for desert . Do any of them places have any hitching post out back ?
My horses a little different than Willie's mine sip whiskey and been known to run through fences they cant jump over ! I got a real bad bruise once when I landed on my flask . I been to both Pendleton's , know what I mean ? Man you living the dream ! Keep em threads and post a comin would Ya !!!

[Crazy4Chickens]

I have eaten at zero of those places. I was hoping Dad's bar in Thayne was on the list, but no such luck.

So Jody of the 6 you've eaten at, which place has the best prime rib?

[jody_wy]

Originally Posted by Crazy4Chickens

I have eaten at zero of those places. I was hoping Dad's bar in Thayne was on the list, but no such luck.

So Jody of the 6 you've eaten at, which place has the best prime rib?

Svilar's Bar and Dining Room, Hudson is great , for the ravioli and Samra that you get before your steak. The Outlaw in rock spring had great prime rib... oh they have a small side of spaghetti too

Oh Silver Fox has Samra too, good prime rib too..
Wolf , liked their green chili

Cavalryman been in Laramie for ever, food is fair , been the same for 40 years...

Gun Barrel just another Sysco stop and farm raised game meat in Jackson


Been wondering about Dad's under the new management.... remember when the Fred Amines started cooking Sirloins there many years ago...

[Crazy4Chickens]

Thanks for the rundown. Looks like I need to get to eating around the state. 🤤

[Hal Roach]

Prices would have been nice, but most of it looked great.

[NDak15]

I've eaten at #1 and #2. Both are very good although Gun Barrel is very expensive (not a shock due to its location). I always wanted to eat at Svilars. Outlaw also has good breakfast.

[sunsprit]

May I suggest that before you visit many of these places that you check out the Yahoo or Trip Advisor reviews of them? Based upon varying write-ups, none of them are rated as the "top" restaurants in their respective marketplaces.

A not untypical review … here's a comment from Aug 2018 re The Irma, Cody … "The food was all boxed, canned or frozen." Suffice to say that the rest of their review reflected their huge disappointment in the food there. It's what I'd seen at the place over the last 20 years, so they've been pretty consistent there. How this place got a favorable review for a more expensive meal there is beyond me. If you are satisfied with "old West ambiance", then this place might be for you. And similarly, so it goes with a number of the other "historic" dining places from this "tour" of Wyoming restaurants.

I've eaten at 5 of these places … and had opportunities to take clients to most of them. When "locals" decline an offer to take them out to dinner on somebody else's dime, it's kinda' revealing what's in store at some of these places.

Sysco and commissary prepared food-like substances tend to dominate the restaurant business here. So it becomes a matter of relatively small differences between the "average", "better", and "best", which is frequently reflected in the widely varying reviews and patron experience of so many of these restaurants. Even some of my preferred places around the state have more than their share of "off" nights … changes in management, ownership, staff, and so forth … make for huge differences in the dining/food experience. YMMV.

[jody_wy]

Svilar's ,it a steak house simple relish plate , simple salad then the Samar and raviolis . I do like how they cook their steaks , flat grill and keep using the beef fat...


Dad's Steak House in Thayne, I know the old management did their Prime Rib caked in rock salt. always had a good cut there.

In Casper it not even a coin flip I go to Silver Fox over Fire Rock any time. portion , price and noise.

Prime rib is kind of hard too screw up, even UW food service dose a ok job, not great

But I have had Prime Rib I thought was way over price for what I got. Actually been to places that bought a pre cooked Prime Rib off the Food Service or Sysco Truck. The meat was ok but never great and why pay for something mediocre .

[sunsprit]

Originally Posted by jody_wy

Svilar's ,it a steak house simple relish plate , simple salad then the Samar and raviolis . I do like how they cook their steaks , flat grill and keep using the beef fat...

I think they're OK … but my impressions of the place 20-30 years ago are better than my more recent visits. Even the side dishes were more appealing then. Perhaps they are limited to what the purveyors bring to the area, but it doesn't seem to have the "snap" of years ago.

(snip)

In Casper it not even a coin flip I go to Silver Fox over Fire Rock any time. portion , price and noise.

Yet Casper has a few ethnic restaurants that surpass these for your dining dollar. We used to enjoy Boticelli, too … now closed. But there are Asian restaurants in town that are surprisingly good … fusion, Japanese, Vietnamese … and don't need to be qualified as "pretty good for Wyoming, so far inland". They're simply pretty good, period. I'll take them anyday over the prime rib in town.

Prime rib is kind of hard too screw up, even UW food service dose a ok job, not great

An interesting observation. Sodexo, which has the food franchise contract at a number of facilities … does some of the best, most consistent food service in Wyoming. In Cheyenne, the LCCC dining room generally is at the top of the town for a salad bar and grilled items. In addition to the main grill/deep fry food section, they have a two-burner skillet specialty station (cooked on order, not steam table fare) on many days. Last year, they had a chef from one of Cheyenne's formerly best (but then closed) restaurants cooking there and his skills/recipes were frequently stellar fare. For an $8.95 lunch, no tipping (OK, you've got to bus you own table and it is self-service) … this was one of the best meals, if not value … around the state. This year, they draw upon the LCCC students in the food biz for that station. Had "fish and chips" there a few weeks ago, and the cod filets were cooked comparably to the fare which we enjoyed in Wales earlier this year. In short, far better than many of the "top name" restaurants we've been to around this state. So this place rates sometimes very good, sometimes only average fare now … but still a very good value.

We've used this Sodexo facility for conferences' on site food service, sometimes for 3 meals per day so that our events could continue without the interruption of folks having to go off-site. Even with the changes in Sodexo supervisor we've seen over the last few years, the quality/consistency of product has been exceptional for the local market.

But I have had Prime Rib I thought was way over price for what I got. Actually been to places that bought a pre cooked Prime Rib off the Food Service or Sysco Truck. The meat was ok but never great and why pay for something mediocre .

This is what I've been warning folk about for the Wyoming food service scene for over a decade on this forum. I've seen this throughout the state, oft-times at what were rated as "top" restaurants in the area. Saw this at places in Cheyenne such as the Bunkhouse and the Little Bear, formerly known as "really good steakhouses" in the area. Their reputations died a long time ago when they changed over from doing their own meat aging/cutting/cooking to buying commercial pre-portioned/cooked beef, right down to the prime rib portions that are plate-ready "heat 'n serve".

I've seen the same level of food service in Cody, Casper, Gillette, Laramie, Rock Springs, Rawlins, Jackson, Lander, Sheridan, Buffalo, Riverton, Pinedale.

It's interesting that the chain outfits have come into this area with their level of food … Texas Roadhouse and Outback Steakhouse … institutionalized mediocrity in food. A sad commentary on what should be a killer marketplace for a "good" meal.

Even a regional chain … the Rib & Chop House, which I'd given good reviews to a year ago … has changed their management/food standards. No longer can I suggest that they're a good value. When they first opened in Cheyenne, I ordered their "mussels & fries" lunch several times and was satisfied with the meal. But at a later visit, I noticed that the portion size was remarkably smaller. Called that to the attention of my waiter, who advised that that was a pre-pack and what they were serving. It looked like they'd cut the mussel portion in half. By way of apology, the manager sent a second order out on the house, no charge. But the decline in portion size continued, and then a noticeable difference in the prep happened. The platter was coming out with room temperature fries, which wasn't anywhere near as enjoyable and palatable as before. I've twice sent back this item and the waiter assured me that the kitchen would prepare another one properly. Guess what? the next platter came out as cold as the first, lukewarm to room temperature. I actually sent back 3 such platters the last time I was there, the "cooks" couldn't add a few more seconds to their microwave preparation of the food. It was an embarrassing experience for all parties concerned … I didn't eat a meal and R&C House didn't charge me for it either, although my lunch companions were satisfied with their chef salads that day.

Similarly, Steamboat's … which opened a few years ago in Cheyenne with a pretty decent menu, declined noticeably in late 2016-2017 and the only thing you could count on was that it would be a "hit or miss" experience. I don't know the specifics of their decline, but the cover story is that when their lease was up for renewal, the landlord asked increase was more than they could justify. Given that the facility was custom built out at a substantial cost, it had to have been a painful business decision to walk away. But that's what they did, and we watched as the building was gutted during the earlier months this year. The building is now a Smile group dentistry facility. The Steamboat's group claim that they'll re-open at another location in Cheyenne, but few comparable retail exposure with parking places exist in the area. My best guess is that they're gone and will not reopen here.