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I am traveling up through the I25-I90 Corridor to Billings today, and plan on spending the night in Sheridan.
Does anybody have a recommendation for a decent restaurant in Sheridan for dinner and then a breakfast place?
I'll take any cuisine, but I'd like a decent meal for a reasonable price. I don't need fancy or high priced, but I'd like something besides the franchise and fast food restaurants.
The restaurant reviews on the web I've found so far mention the Wyoming Rib and Chop House, but it sounded kinda' pricey and noisy. Is this the best deal in town, or is there some place else with decent service, food, and a quieter place?
If there's a place within a few miles of there, either N or S of Sheridan, I'll head there if it's worth it.
We have some good places to eat in Sheridan. Oley's Pizza is outstanding for supper. They have more then Pizza. But come morning, the Silver Spur is the only place to eat. Little hole in the wall place that you'll stand and wait for a bit but well worth the wait.
Oley's is on Coffeen. Silver Spur is on Main, just before 5th street. We only have 3 exits. Coming from the south, if you take the first exit you'll come to Coffeen (main drag) About a mile down the road you'll find Oley's on the right side. Silver Spur is on Main. Same road (Coffeen turns into Main) You'll find it about a block before 5th which is the second exit off the interstate.
Where are you going to stay? I can get you better directions. Second exit has a Motel 6 on one side and a more upscale motel on the right. But I'd suggest Motel 6. It's a nice one and resonably priced motel.
The Rib and Chop House in Sheridan is closed due to their moving of locations until 1st of Feb. There really isnt any middle of the road non franchise places to eat here in Sheridan that I would recommend. We do have the usual Perkins, Sanfords, and JB's. I can't say anything about the Silver Spur as I could never get beyond the appearance from the outside to venture inside. I know that is seems to be a popular place, but I wonder about cleanliness.
I like Sanford's myself. There are only a few Sanford's, so it may be something different or unique for you. I've always had good meals there, and it's downtown, very close to everything. A friend of mine is the manager of the Best Western hotel downtown. It costs more than the Motel 6 type places, but it had a major remodel a couple of years ago so is nice. There is a restaurant there (don't know how good) and it's close to everything as well.
With the railroad running night and day with all the coal trains, it seemed like all the locations were going to be noisy. I wound up at the Alamo motel for less than 1/2 the price of the big names. The room was adequate, although they hadn't sealed off the A/C unit and the heater had to run almost full time to keep up with the cold air blasting into the room.
Silver Spur ... a good greasy spoon old time cafe with all the local old timers meeting there and lingering for the morning session with the friendly waitresses. Better food than the franchise places, but you have to be able to get past the wall of smoke inside the place. Definitely a place to avoid if you're a non-smoker, as I am. I haven't seen cigars like they had wafting in the place for 20 years .... I couldn't get out of there fast enough. When I came in, there was only 1 old fart smoking at the end of the counter, so it wasn't too bad. Just after I ordered, everybody in the place lit up their smokes, including some of the staff ... and all sat around for the BS session, long after finishing their meals.
You can try JB's they aren't too bad, If you like Chinese food a popular place is Dragon Wall, To get to it, get off of the last exit (If you are coming from Billings) and go towards Walmart, it is right next to Albertsons... It is my favorite place...
How much did you pay at the Alamo? Motel 6 is really inexpensive and a lot nicer rooms I think... It is a newer one also...
sorry to say that I had dinner at the Dragon Wall, as I saw it was right there by the Albertson's as I was getting some munchies for my return road trip. The only way I can describe the DW is to say that it's good ... only if you have fond memories of the "chinese" food at your high school or college dorm cafeteria. Thankfully, they did have some fresh fruit and salads .... but the steam table stuff was all greasy/overcooked and not very interesting, most very devoid of flavor. You could hardly tell the difference in flavor between any of the beef dishes or the pork dishes from one another ... they all tasted the same except for one with some nice hot chili peppers in it which totally overpowered the beef. (And I'm used to very hot and spicy food ... all the way to scotch bonnet or habanero heat in food).
It was just under $40 for the Alamo. A shame they didn't have the A/C frame through the wall and the A/C unit itself sealed off for the winter. The cold air blasting through made it impossible to heat the room comfortably ... the bathroom, especially, was almost frozen when the t-stat was kicking off the heater unit in the room. Or maybe, room #117 is just a "test" for strangers traveling through. I wound up getting a sleeping bag out of my car travel kit at 11PM and throwing it on the bed as an extra cover to get comfortably warm. They did have nice bath towels ....
I reeked of tobacco smoke so badly when I left the Silver Spur that I had to change clothes before making my first appointment. When I got into my car and drove to the Sheridan library, I noticed the stench. Got online there to check my messages, and then ducked into the bathroom to change clothes. I was hardly able to make the drive between the restaurant and the Library without my eyes watering. I know the place has a "smoking establishment" sign on the door ... which is why I checked before going in and sitting down at the counter, and there was only 1 person smoking at the far end and not an ashtray in sight on the counter. I thought it was a good sign, but I was mislead.
Don't get me wrong, here, folks .... Those of you who want to smoke, go ahead. But I cannot, I'm allergic as hell to tobacco smoke and it gives me sinus problems, and a ringing headache very quickly. In a really bad environment, my gums and tongue will even start to "tingle" ... and it doesn't have to be smoky in the place. Just being seated next to a heavy smoker and the odor of their clothing and breath is enough to cause me problems. So I normally avoid a place that's being smoked in unless there's a really separated & ventilated seating area .... I have to avoid the "non vs yes" seating area that has no divider except being the adjacent table or so. A shame, as the Silver Spur really was a find compared to the franchise restaurant food places.
I spent 7 years in China. Experienced all of their quizine. Dragon Wall is the closest thing I've ever found to be exactly like theirs. Course, I speak Chinese so I'm always treated right and they bring me special dinners. But I also found the steam table to be "Authentic" Mandarin. Maybe Sechwan or Cantanise would be more of what you expected.
Give us another shot, we'll give some more ideas. haha Do you like Mexican?
I'm always willing to try again, someplace else. I'll need to be traveling up your way again in the near term for other business soon.
As far as "authentic" Chinese cooking goes .... I grew up in SoCal, where a substantial number of my friends through Junior and High School were first generation Americans, and several born in Canton, China. Many were children of restaurant owning families in SanDiego, and I had the pleasure of knowing them well enough to be invited ... frequently ... to their homes and family tables, where they served the real stuff instead of the cooking at their restaurants. My scout troop (101) was sponsored by the Chinese Community Church of San Diego, and I had many, many meals at their facility as a youngster. In addition, I had the pleasure of meeting many of their extended families ... first generation Americans and Chinese immigrants ... throughout California as I grew up and traveled the West Coast for my sailing pursuits. To say the least, without having spent time in China (as some of you may have), I've been in more ethnic Chinese households as a dinner guest than most people.
I've mentioned it on these threads before ... but I'll mention it again. Chinese cuisine is typically served at 4 levels ... Knowledgeable Chinese, Knowledgeable foreigners, unknowing Chinese, and ... most commonly ... the unknowing. Having had the benefit of traveling as a youngster with knowledgeable ethnic Chinese for many years, I've come to know what the cooking is about. I traveled a lot with Chinese native speakers who would order the "chef's choice" selection in the appropriate dialect and make it very clear that they knew Chinese cuisine at it's best ... and we got some incredible meals in a lot of places.
Case in point ... Years ago, I took a girlfriend, recently moved to SanFrancisco, out to a very "famous" (and expensive) Chinese restaurant there. The table adjacent to us had an ethnic Chinese family dining, and the aromas and presentation of their food was breathtakingly wonderful. So, I asked our waiter to simply duplicate their meal for us, and I mentioned that I was "knowledgeable" about Chinese food. That "stuff" that came out of the kitchen for us was so bad that even my date ... who didn't really know Chinese food beyond her dorm food steam table ... commented that she wasn't impressed, it was all kinda' tastelessly the same, no matter what the dish. She couldn't understand why I even liked Chinese food based on the meal we were served.
What's really telling about all this is you don't have to be a knowledgeable "foodie" to know, smell, and taste the difference ... even my date was disappointed and couldn't understand what all the excitement about the restaurant was about.
So, enjoy the Dragon Wall if you like ... but understand, please ... it's Chinese food of the lowest form, and bears little in common with the real stuff they make with the same ingredients to create the good stuff.
Ah, now Mexican cooking. There again, I'm a fanatic ... and pretty knowledgeable. Having grown up in San Diego, and spent a lot of time in Baja California, I've been exposed to the various regional cooking there for most of my life. Also, for 8 years, my folks had a live-in housekeeper/cook in SanDiego ... from Ensenada. She used to bring back fresh pastries on Sunday eve when she returned across the border for the week, and I learned from her how to cook all the soups/stews (posole, chili's, menudo, etc.), seafood, meats .... in all the Mexican styles. Yes, indeed ... I love Mexican food ... and it's not the stuff in the local supermarkets in the freezer case, nor the canned stuff. It's all cooked from scratch, and I know the difference between the gooey, gloppy, messy stuff and the good stuff. I learned about yellowtail heads from these people, and how to cook abalone, crab, CA spiny lobster, and many fish varieties.
I know the difference between "mexican", tex-mex, new mexican, and other styles. I prefer the southern Mexican style to the others. Forget all the TacoBell and TacoJohn's, or LasMargaritas, or similar stuff in the "mexican" style. I want the real gnarly, genuine stuff, such as I'd get from a street vendor in Mexico City, or up in the hills around there. Not the "tourist" stuff, "mexican food for the gringo taste".
So, ElkHunter ... if you've got a "good" Mexican restaurant to reccommend in your area, I'm all ears, and look forward to eating there on my next trip Northward. Cuisine is more important than the magaritas and the beer selection (which I don't drink), and far more important than the "atmosphere".
Las Agaves is the best Mexican restaurant in town. I know the owner and I had to brush up on my spanish to speak with her. She doesn't speak English. I first met her son's and they convinced her to start a restaurant. It's authentic as they come. But again, I spent time in Mexico. It's not Tex-Mex, it's real.
It's right on Coffeen just down the road from where you ate before.
There's another place on the North end of town, only ate there a couple of times and really don't want to go back because it was Tex.
I lived in San Diego for 18 years. They have what they call "Authentic". Bull crap. hahahahaha They have the American version of what they call Authentic. Don't get me wrong, it was good food. But having been in China and Mexico, I desire authentic.
I speak 7 different languages from several different countries. I'd like to find some other places to eat, but we just don't have them. Mandarin Chinese, Mexican, that's about it. It was funny. One girl that worked at the Chinese restaurant looked a little different. I asked her if she was Pino. She smiled real big and said yes. So I talked to her in Tongolic for a couple minutes. Next week I had 20 lumpia delivered to my house.
The food is here from different countries. Just gotta know how to get it. haha The locals accept what they get.
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