Roadfood_ Revised Edition - Jane Stern [196]
“In Wyoming when we say hearty, we mean hearty!!” Lisa’s menu crows. But it isn’t so much the generous size of meals that makes this roadside café a worthwhile stop; it is the taste. We’ve only had breakfast, but wow, was it good: chunky corned beef hash made from full-flavored slices of spiced brisket, warm biscuits with luxurious sausage gravy, “puff scrambles,” which are eggs stuffed into puff pastries and topped with hollandaise sauce, and a side order of crisp Indian fry bread. Other tempting breakfast items include Breakfast Charlotta, which is a tortilla stuffed with potato hash and eggs, pork chile and polenta, huevos rancheros, pancakes, and French toast made from homemade bread.
Lisa and Brad Dalin, the proprietors, call their place “a tribute to the original cowboy camp cook as well as the Native-American way of cooking on our Western Plains.” In keeping with that theme, décor includes Navajo rugs, Mexican tiles, and walls of stucco and wood; a tree-shaded outdoor patio offers the opportunity to dine al fresco in crisp mountain air.
The Noon Break
927 12th St.
307–587–9720
Cody, WY
BL | $
The Noon Break remains for us what it has been for years: the place to go first whenever we hit Cody. It is a sweet, friendly, funny town café just off the main drag where the made-to-order food is delicious and the prices are reasonable (the latter is not true of too many things in Cody).
One of these days we will veer away from the menu of Mexican specialties, but probably not too soon. The chile, burritos, tacos, and tamales are all exemplary. The chips that start each meal are hot and salty; the salsa that accompanies them is redolent of fresh garlic. Two varieties of chili are available, served by the cup or bowl with tortillas on the side for dipping and mopping: regular and Code Ten. Regular is mild. Code Ten is incendiary, a classic southwestern stew, meaning there are no beans or other frippery. It is pork and green chile peppers, a viscous meal for chili-lovers only. Other lunchtime items include posole (hominy soup), enchiladas made with blue corn tortillas, burritos, and soft-shell tacos. There is a soup of the day, a hamburger, and even a veggie burger.
Smothered tamales are a frequent lunch special. You get your choice of hot pork or mild chicken tamales, smothered with green chili in one of three degrees of hotness: mild, medium, or Code Ten. We chose one of each kind of tamale and medium-hot chili. A magnificent tamale plate!
Décor is a hoot: license plates from every state in the union, amusing gewgaws hanging from the ceiling, and newspapers and magazines scattered about to read while you dine. Open at seven in the morning, it’s a great place to come for biscuits and gravy or a breakfast burrito.
Waldorf A’Story
In the Piney Creek General Store
19 North Piney Rd.
307–683–2400
Story, WY
82842 BLD | $
The jam-packed place known as the Piney Creek General Store in the tiny town of Story (between Sheridan and Buffalo) is a place to buy groceries, wine (fine or cheap), beer (domestic or imported), to rent DVDs, and to hobnob with locals. Built of pine logs and featuring some gorgeous outdoor accommodations in the form of benches and tables made of roughhewn wood, it has the comforting feel of a base camp commissary, where you can stock up on any provisions you might need for hunting, fishing, camping, or otherwise enjoying the beauty of the Big Horn Mountains.
As you enter the retail commotion, look to the left and you see Waldorf A’Story, a small dining room with mismatched tables where locals come to greet the day with biscuits and gravy, fresh-baked coffee cake, or a superb breakfast sandwich of bacon, eggs, cheese, tomatoes, and onions on French bread crisped on the grill.
The lunch menu ranges from single-and double-decker sandwiches, soup, and chili to hot wings with blue cheese dressing and celery