prime rib (Rock Springs, Sheridan, Riverton: coupons, restaurant, shop)
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All this talk of prime rib makes me hungry.. I went up to Cody this weekend, had 2 big portions of prime rib, along with ham, peel and eat shrimp, ribs. Doesn't get much better than the Irma. Unfortunately, I now need to go on a diet.
Just back from Cody (and the loop from Riverton/Thermop/Cody/Greybull/Basin/Worland/Shoshoni/Casper) ... and can't say that I was impressed with the Irma.
For that matter, the restaurants in Cody that I sampled from Thursday last week through this Monday night were pretty much poor value ... if not downright awful. For a town that depends upon tourist traffic, you'd expect a bit higher standard in their restaurants.
For example:
La Comida. OMG ... this place doesn't even rate as "AWFUL"! I went there on the suggestion of one of my customers, a long term local. Looked at the menu, looked at the food that was being served to adjacent tables, and figured I'd better just try an appetizer to get a handle on the place ... as the complimentary chips and salsa screamed "new york city" mexican gringo restaurant. I ordered the guacamole appetizer ... a totally bland (mostly) avocado puree without any onions, garlic, chili peppers, tomatoes ... nothing to enhance the avocado but I think they used some mayonnaise to blend in it.
Served in a blue corn tortilla "bowl" on a thin bed of refritos with a sprinkling of shredded lettuce ... the blue corn bowl was so stale that it had no crunch left to it. In fact, when I tried to break off a bit of it, it was like tearing at an old leather glove ... tough to tear apart, but limp. I figured if they couldn't get the simple stuff right, I wasn't going to hold out for anything better from them ... and their burritos platter looked like the same 'ol same 'ol steam table gooey gloppy cheesey crap you remember from dorm food.
So I asked for a check ... and was overcharged $2.00, too. No worries, I paid up and went across the street to Zapatas ...
Where the salsa was passable. An order of carnitas was OK, but the claimed "very spicy" must have missed the train to Cody this year. There was hardly a hint of "picante" chili flavoring to the dish ... so there wasn't even much, if any, cooked in chili peppers in the preparation. Bottled hot sauces on the table don't fix this, it's got to be cooked into the dish.
But the food was edible ... although a rather poor value. Served in a smallish dish, it wasn't a scant 4-5 ounces of food served. At $9, that's bordering on a rip-off, IMO.
My client later admitted that he hadn't eaten at either place in quite a while.
Next day, at Shiki ... their featured special on the menu board was "ceviche". Now I know that it's a Japanese restaurant, but their menu features a lot of other stuff, but how hard is it to make a passable ceviche if you've got fresh fish and some limes and onions and garlic and chili peppers? In my experience, any such restaurant combination tends to yield a miserable experience, but the place was pushing this $11 item so I ordered it.
What was presented was a tiny bowl filled with raw slices of the most pungent red onion you can imagine and upon closer examination, a few tiny pieces of some indeterminate raw whitefish. It had been seasoned with lemon juice and some chili pepper slices and drenched in a light oil. There was no evidence that the fish or other ingredients had ever been close to a lime, let alone marinated in lime juice for any amount of time. The dish was past the AWFUL stage ... it was inedible due to the overpowering onions. At $11, the fish didn't even amount to the quantity you'd get on one piece of nigri sushi; it had been diced to a point where there was only a few pieces in the bowl and they were not much larger than a grain of rice. A total rip-off from any perspective.
So I figured, let's try the wakame salad. How hard is it to mess this up? Since most places bring in a frozen prepared seaweed salad, it's just pour and serve over lettuce. Nope, not this place. They serve a scant portion of wakame in a martini glass, garnished with two tiny pieces of lettuce and a lemon slice. No bed of lettuce ... but they do add a whopping amount of hot chili oil to it which totally unbalances the dish. I could only infer that the chef had his taste buds shot off during a war ...
Still, I was willing to try one more time. Not trusting the chef's way with fish, I ordered a stir-fry noodle dish. Advertised with their "special Shiki sauce", it was a greasy mess of reasonably cooked noodles with a few rice size grains of the toughest chicken and beef you've ever set fork (or chopsticks) to. All drenched in the "special sauce" which was a month's worth of salt intake right on the one platter and totally overpowered the noodles. The advertised pork in the dish was either absent or so finely diced that it didn't show up visually or in the flavors. Again, a total rip-off for the quality and portion served, let alone the prep.
So I asked my other customers where they'd eat in Cody ... and some told me that they don't eat out in town due to the issues I'd found there. I tried the Irma, and was not impressed with their beef at all ... especially at their price points. If I had to guess, my bet is that they don't do much food prep there, it's all brought in food ... food service frozen or pre-pack type food. When a restaurant claims "home cooking" or better quality food (by claim or price point), I do expect a real chef prepared it from fresh ingredients. Sadly, I'd say that this is not the case for most restaurants in Cody and the Irma appears to rest on someone else's laurels or theirs from days (way) past and long gone.
I then tried "granny's", which was more of the same 'ol same 'ol excuse for food prep in the local restaurant scene. While the fish fillets in the much vaunted "fish and chips" on their menu were pasably decent for this type of brought in food ... the portion size was unbelievably small. Three tiny pieces of fish, about 3-4 bites each ... does not make a meal at their price point.
Perhaps my expectations for a town whose economy is based upon tourism are just too much for this place ... but I wouldn't go to Cody for their food experience. Looking on-line at restaurant reviews of the Irma, I see that many others discovered the same qualiities that I found. Pass on this place unless you just have to take in all the past glamour of it being BBill's daughter's hotel.
I see nothing has changed much since I left in 2000~ Cassie's was my #1 & Proud Cut was #2. H&G in Powell & Safari Club in Thermop surpassed both for steaks off the beaten track in farm country.
As to Rock Springs - can't say - didn't spend much time there exc FJ. The Wolf in Saratoga rivals anything in No. Wyoming.
All this talk of prime rib makes me hungry.. I went up to Cody this weekend, had 2 big portions of prime rib, along with ham, peel and eat shrimp, ribs. Doesn't get much better than the Irma. Unfortunately, I now need to go on a diet.
Glad that you're happy with the quantity rather than quality ....
Dad's Bar and Steakhouse in Thayne dose a rock salt pack on their prime rib,they grill up a good rib steak too
To look at it from the outside...one not does have a clue what an amazing steakhouse this is. It is family owned with amazing service and mouth watering Prime Rib and Steaks. We had a scallop wrapped in bacon appetizer that was to die for. No frills place...but get there early. This is where the locals eat. We got there on a Friday evening at 1730 (530PM) and the place was packed with a line waiting by 1830 (630PM). They ran out of Prime Rib by 1900 (7PM). The wine was good and the beer was ice cold. Just got back from two weeks in Starr Valley Area and can not wait to go back to Dad's Steak House. At this time the resturante is only open limited days so you might want to call ahead and even make a reservation. WELL WORTH EVERY PENNY YOU SPEND HERE...Hope this was helpful for you. Oh yeah...for breakfast Tootsies Resturante across the street has a chicken fried steak with eggs and potatoes that is real good ... YOU BETTER COME HUNGRY FOR BOTH OF THESE PLACES.
Last edited by noihoforus; 04-05-2012 at 05:02 PM..
Reason: requires clarification
I remember getting really good steak at the restaurant in Centennial and a place in Hudson(Dante's?). I remember the food but not the names of the places. lol
Never tried the prime rib, a much richer fatty cut of beef, but I bet the places above have a good prime rib as well.
I see nothing has changed much since I left in 2000~ Cassie's was my #1 & Proud Cut was #2. H&G in Powell & Safari Club in Thermop surpassed both for steaks off the beaten track in farm country.
As to Rock Springs - can't say - didn't spend much time there exc FJ. The Wolf in Saratoga rivals anything in No. Wyoming.
I remember getting really good steak at the restaurant in Centennial and a place in Hudson(Dante's?). I remember the food but not the names of the places. lol
Never tried the prime rib, a much richer fatty cut of beef, but I bet the places above have a good prime rib as well.
Svilars is tough to beat.... the only problem is that you get so many homemade premeal goodies you have to take most of your steak home.
Fremont County is pretty blessed when it comes to steaks. Svilars in Hudson, The Hitchin Rack in Lander, and The Bull in Riverton. All three are long time establishments and stay pretty consistent in the quality they serve.
Svilars is tough to beat.... the only problem is that you get so many homemade premeal goodies you have to take most of your steak home.
Fremont County is pretty blessed when it comes to steaks. Svilars in Hudson, The Hitchin Rack in Lander, and The Bull in Riverton. All three are long time establishments and stay pretty consistent in the quality they serve.
Is Svilars the 5 Star restaurant I heard about in Hudson?
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