Substantial Grub in Cedar City

This last week, I went with my oldest son to the Shakespeare festival in Cedar City, an annual tradition (since this is our second year--if we do it twice, it's a tradition). Traveling with a 17-year-old means you need to find some substantial grub, and this means meat.

Last year, we hit a restaurent close to the hotel, the Cedar Creek Restaurant. Nothing too fancy here: it is as promised "homestyle comfort food." They offer a nice selection of hamburgers, sandwiches, grilled chicken, steaks, soups, salads, and desserts. The grilled items are the speciality, but they also offer some interesting pasta dishes. As I recall, they had pretty good homemade rolls, too.

Then we went up the canyon to Rusty's Ranch House. It's dinner only at Rusty's, and they're closed on Sunday (that's the Mormon influence). They offer substantial portions of steaks, chicken, and ribs with salad, rolls, and sweet potatoes on the side. They offer a pretty good cobbler among the desserts. We went there as a family several years ago when we were staying in a cabin at Duck Creek Village with AnneMarie's family. Her dad's nickname is "Rusty," so we had to stop there. This was the summer before AnneMarie's mother died, and the last time (really) that her entire family was all together before her mother's death. So it has some particular memories as well as good substantial food.

This year, we stopped off at the Branding Iron Texas Bar-B-Que. It's excellent stuff at good prices. Since this is Texas style, the emphasis is on the beef. They offer brisket, tri-tip, and beef ribs, but they also have pretty good sausage, chicken, and pork. We had a really good peach cobbler for dessert. I really liked the spicy beans on the side--and they were spicy. This is just off the freeway (Exit #59) on the south end of town at the Providence Crossing Center (just look for the lighthouse). Some of the best barbecue I've had in Utah.

We had intended to try an interesting place called the Market Grill. This establishment is on highway 56 out by the airport (and the dump). The Market Grill is attached to the Cedar Livestock Market (where you can watch live auctions every Thursday). Originally, it was intended to feed the ranchers who came in for the auctions. Now it is a favorite among locals. And talk about getting food close to the source.

But there was a change of plans. We met up, by chance, with my brother and his family, and ended up at Sizzler, which is a much better place for kids because they have a salad/dessert bar. I usually find Sizzler disappointing. The food seems not as good as it should be for what you pay. So I just got the salad bar. My son ordered a ribeye steak, which is usually a good choice--one of my favorites. This was an OK steak (cooked medium rare), but it could only loosely be called a ribeye. It probably came from the same neighborhood on the cow, but it wasn't the real deal. This makes mean sound like a food snob, but I'm just pointing out how when at Sizzler, you usually have to lower your expectations.

Next year, Market Grill and Milt's Stage Stop.