Best of the West: Western Fare

Come and Get It! Historic Western-style restaurants, saloons and dinner shows keep the Old West alive.

Across the West, from small towns to big cities, authentic, local, historic restaurants and saloons are working hard to offer the best in traditional, locally sourced Western cuisine. Local beer, wine and distilled spirits are also on the menu at heritage venues across the West. Rodeos, county fairs and festivals—including popular cowboy shows and chuckwagon cookoffs—draw great numbers of attendees in all seasons.

True West’s editors encourage our readers, at home or while traveling in the Western United States, to support the local historic venues and their proprietors who are keeping the Old West alive—one drink and one meal at a time.

 

 

Best Historic Saloon of the West

Miners and Stockmen’s Steakhouse & Spirits, Hartville, WY

Open year round, Thursday through Sunday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Miners and Stockmen’s has the oldest bar in Wyoming and is famous for its steaks and whiskey selection. Its Brunswick bar was made in Germany in 1862 and was originally used in the Fort Laramie Officer’s Club. Miners first settled the area in the 1870s, and the town was founded in 1884.

wyomingsoldestbar.com

Readers’ Choice

The Palace Restaurant and Saloon, Prescott, AZ

 

 

Best Historic Restaurant

Big Nose Kates, Tombstone, AZ

Big Nose Kate’s Saloon was once the Grand Hotel, originally built in 1881. On October 25, 1881, the night before the Gunfight Behind the O.K. Corral, the Clantons and the McLaurys were guests here. This was the place to stay! A number of changes have been made to the structure since it burned down and has been rebuilt. The bar area, housed in the basement of the old hotel, is now located on the main level. In the basement is a gift shop, but the tunnel leading to the mine shafts still exists. The saloon holds the Grand Hotel’s original long bar, the only one that survived the fire of 1882 and is still serving thirsty patrons. Imagine setting your elbows down on the very place that the Earps, Doc Holliday and the Clantons once did!

bignosekatestombstone.com

Readers’ Choice

The Buckhorn Exchange, Denver, CO

 

Best Chuckwagon Cook-Off

Chandler Chuckwagon Cook Off, Chandler, AZ

The Old West-style cook-off is hosted by the Chandler Museum the second week of every November and has quickly become a signature community event, with competitors entering from all over the country. Festival-goers will enjoy the one-day event at Tumbleweed Ranch, where chuck wagon competitors wear period dress and prepare their meals with period equipment and cooking methods as if they were on an 1880s cattle drive.

pardnersoftumbleweedranch.org

Readers’ Choice

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, OK

 

Best Chuckwagon Show & Supper

Fort Hays Chuckwagon Supper & Show, Rapid City, SD

Held at the Fort Hays Old West Town Square, this event is fun for the whole family and produced in the style of the famous Branson, Missouri, variety music shows. The Old West dinner theater with its hearty Western meal features the Fort Hays Wranglers and is open annually mid-May until the end of September.

mountrushmoretours.com

Readers’ Choice

Flying W Ranch Chuckwagon Dinner & Western Show, Colorado Springs, CO