Jackson Restaurants

Snake River Brewing kind of snuck up on me. Oddly enough, I had been there in 1994 but it didn't ring a bell as being all that great. As it turns out, it had opened that year and breweries change over time and the best ones get better. This was the case with Snake River. Maybe they got a better brewer or the one they had improved with practice but it won Small Brewery of the Year at the Great American Beer Festival in 2000 and 2001. Many of their beers have won many awards too but enough of the accolades, how about the place?

Well, Snake River is affectionately called “Jackson's living room” due to its popularity with locals. This is one place that bases its business on serving its own and not a rip-off tourist operation. Tourists flock here too. We sure did-three times! It was that good. Ok, maybe we were just thirsty from all that backpacking.

The pub is a fair-sized place but not so big you're going to get lost. Ceilings are high and kettles are visible through big glass windows that seem to go from floor to ceiling. The bar is long and snake-like but as big as it was, there were no spaces at it either time we visited. The first visit, we sat at a table as this was to be a reward meal for our first backpacking trip in the Tetons. Service was friendly and quick. The atmosphere was boisterous and pretty loud. It wasn't music, it was people talking in highly animated fashion.

We ordered The Ropper to split and a Truffle Mushroom Pizza. The Ropper was stacked high house-braised brisket, applewood-smoked bacon, caramelized onions, white cheddar & horseradish mayo on a freshly baked bun. It was big and it was tasty. We were hungry. We devoured it. The pizza was no slouch either and had fire-roasted mushrooms, fresh sage, summer peppers with marinara sauce, mozzarella and goat cheese. We finished up by splitting their freshly backed on the premises Molten Chocolate Zonker Cake which incorporates their lovely stout in the recipe.

Favorite Dish: Of course, the reason for coming was the beer and we enjoyed quite a few of their many beers on tap: 1) AK Session-on cask-Amber w/creamy head and malty nose. Well-balanced English-style w/ nice balance and clean finish. Nice especially after thee days of backpacking in the Tetons! 2) Ber-Lander Weisse-unfiltered lemony looking brew in Berliner Weisse family. Very refreshing tart flavor and a fine example of a dying style. Very surprising. 3) Dim-Wit-Light golden brew w/ fruity grainy palate. Thinner on flavor than first two beers but still nice. 4) Vienna Style Lager-Deep amber w/ tan head. Great example of a Marzen or Vienna lager with malty, spicy palate. Clean but not overly dry finish. This is the kind of beer that Munich should be serving at its famed Oktoberfest and what those brewers used so make. Excellent. 5) Guido's Kolnerbrau-Light golden w/ fluffy lasting head. Crisp, clean hoppy palate w/ great fruity malt balance. This place can really brew German style beers! 6) Pale Ale-Deep golden w/ creamy head and great floral hop nose. More of an IPA than a simple pale ale & no wonder it won a gold medal at World Beer Cup. Big malt, enough to balance ample hops. Dry but not overly bitter. Long floral finish. Quite nice. 7)Zonkers Stout-Black w/ tan head & coffee nose. Rich bitter palate w/ espresso notes well-balanced w/ chocolate malt & fair hops. Well-matched with their Molten Chocolate Zonker Cake. The beer was so good, we picked up a six-pack of a beer they did not have on draft that day. In bottle: OB-1-their organic brown ale-mahogany w/ creamy tannish head. Roast malty brew w/ rich mouthfeel & enough hops to dry out offset any over sweetness. Very easy to drink.

The two meals, many beers, and generous tip came to $55.

The second time we visited the brewpub was after our second backcountry trip in the Tetons. We got there a bit earlier and it was very nice out so sat on their little terrace, even having to seek refuge under an umbrella to get out of the sum it was so warm. Well, I did. D stayed in the sun, enjoying the rare warmth. As much as we loved the inside visit, this one was just as good and reminded us of being in a beer garden in Munich especially with their very nice German style beers.

Favorite Dish: We decided to check out their happy hour menu as we noticed it flyers for them on our first visit. Along with some inexpensive appetizers, pints are only $2.50 between 4-6:00. Nice homemade soft pretzels are only $1 and come with very good homemade beer mustard. We ordered another almost immediately. We also had a fair sized plate of nachos which was good quality and very inexpensive at $3. These proved perfect accompaniments to their super high quality beer which at $2.50 a pint is a steal. It's on wonder we came back a third time.

This time we tried the following beers on tap along with some favorites from the first visit, of course: 1) Rolling Thunder Dortmunder0Light golden & full-bodies Germanic lager w/ ample malt & a fine, crisp, dry finish. Who said lagers were for lightweights? I was disappointed that they did not have their Kolsch on tap this day but this one made me forget it. 2) Golden Buck-Light golden & fairly full-bodied English style pale ale. Thirst quenching & fruity w/ nice semi-dry finish. Nice. 3) Custard's Last Ale-Deep golden maltier big brother of their Golden Buck. Very full-bodied w/ rich bready malt balanced with ample dry hops. Bitterness prevails in the end. Not quite as nice as their normal pale ale which was disappointingly not on tap our last two afternoons.

We spent $22 and $40 for food/beer with tip respectively on our second and third visits.

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Bubba's is a terrific place. No reservation policy. When you get it, you have to write your name in order to get a table. The ambience in simple and service polite. The BBQ is geourgeus and cannot disappoint you, portion are in american-style, i.e. very very big. Unfortunately no bier or wine is sold there; what a pity to eat such a wonderful meat without a good bier.

Located in Pinedale (about 45 minutes south of Jackson), I found both the beer and the food at the Wind River Brewing Company to be world's better than the Snake River Brewing Company in Jackson. I had 2 meals here, 1 before the backpacking trip and 1 immediately after. Thus, I know that the great food was not simply a result of it being the first meal I had back in civilization after a week on the trail.

I found the beer at Wind River to be excellent. Far better than Snake River's beer. And, of course, the prices in Pinedale are much less than in Jackson. This is a much better (and far less crowded) experience than the brewery in Jackson.

Favorite Dish: I found all of the food to be good. I had a Gayle Force Ale and the beef stew before the trip and a steak sandwhich and another Gayle Force Ale after the trip. Everything on the menu looked excellent.

Just north of the square next to Ripley's, this little place has the best salsa I've had for a long time. There's a long wait for tables, but it's worth it. FYI, it's Tex-Mex. They make everything to order, and they even make their own tortillas and chips. I ordered chips and salsa to go at the end of the meal because it was so good. Cute pig murals on the walls.

I was surprised that this place was as good as it was, since Jackson is a tourist town and this location is right off the square. The waitress wasn't the most attentive, but not too bad, either. I just wish they would franchise to my state!

Favorite Dish: Wife had fish tacos and I had the mixed fajitas. Good stuff. Even better the next day as leftovers (flavors had time to meld, I guess). The chips were thin and warm, and the salsa was flavorful. I called later to ask about the recipe, and they said it's "a secret." Nice blend of fresh ingredients in all of our dishes, and plenty of food for the $$.

No hormones in the meat and it's pasture raised, and no MSG, hydrogenated oils, or lard.

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The Million Dollar Cowboy Bar is a bar - not a brewery as the selected theme may indicate. 100% bar.

I had great memories from this place when I was in Jackson Hole in my very early twenties. This place is probably best suited for those in their early twenties, but I was amazed at how many 40 to 60 somethings were in there swilling down expensive drinks. One in this place was enough for me.

This was actually one of the first places I went into upon getting into downtown Jackson after my plane arrived. I hadn't eaten in about 8 hours and I remembered this place from my previous trip so I went in and had a seat on one of the saddles at the bar. I ordered a beer and then food (at a separate ordering window), a buffalo burger as they were out of elk, which I've never had.

The beer was a Snake River Brewing Company beer (marked up 50 cents per pint) and the buffalo burger was bad.

You have to go in and take a seat in one of the saddles at the bar for the experience. Have a beer or softdrink or whatever your thing is. And then leave.

Favorite Dish: None. It's all about the experience. Food is about average price (for bad food) and the drinks are average to a little above average.

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I went to the Snake River Brewing Company twice while in Jackson Hole - once for a beer and dinner and once just for a beer. The brewery was packed and had a lot of locals so it must have something going for it. Personally, I thought the food was sub-mediocre and the beer to be mediocre.

For food, I had a buffalo chicken sandwhich and fries, which were both pretty pathetic. There was 4 times more bun than chicken, which was a tiny and tasteless filet. The fries were soggy and under-cooked. Perhaps just a bad night in the kitchen? The guy to the left of me at the bar had a pizza, which looked slightly better, and the guy to the right had fish and chips - he sent his meal back due to it being under-cooked and received another.

I consider myself to be an amateur connoisseur of microbrews and feel lucky to have a breweries such as Great Lakes Brewery and the Buckeye Beer Engine so close in the Cleveland area. Perhaps I am even spoiled by these microbrews and by the wide selection of U.S. and international handcrafted brews available in my area. Regardless, I was underwhelmed by Snake River Brewing Company's beers. I tried 3 different beers: their Snake River Lager, a Double Fistin IPA and their Dim Witbier. Of those, I found the Witbier to be the best, but even it far from knocked my socks off. In fairness, another local told me that their best seasonal beers are made in the winter.

Still, after a long day on the trail or in the shops, the Snake River Brewing Company offers a nice evening respite for a couple beers and snacks (eat dinner at your own risk). I particularly enjoyed taking my pint outside to enjoy in the beautiful Jackson Hole weather. It sure beats spending a fortune in 1 of the downtown establishments, where they sell Snake River's beer and mark it up 50 cents to a dollar per glass.

Favorite Dish: I did not have a favorite dish. Dinner was not worth getting. Stick with the appetizers and the beer, or just the beer.

Of the moderately priced restaurants I ate in while in Jackson Hole, Bubba's was the only one that I was not exceptionally disappointed in. In fact, Bubba's was quite good. Before heading to the Bridger backpacking, I had a very good dinner there of fried catfish, hushpuppies, beans and coleslaw. The morning after my return from the Bridger, I went there for breakfast and had a huge meal of biscuits and gravy with a couple eggs onthe side. Bubba's was voted best breakfast in Jackson. In my opinion, it should have been voted best lunch and dinner as well. It was the only restaurant I found in Jackson that was reasonably priced with good food. When I asked locals what they recommended, Bubba's was the most frequent response. I was surprised by how bad most of the restaurants were in Jackson, but I was impressed by Bubba's. Expect a wait, albeit a short one as they get people in fast. Also, Bubba's isn't fancy and I did not go to any high end restaurants, judging from the cost of the artwork in town, I am sure there are some good expensive restaurants around.

Favorite Dish: The southern catfish was excellent. I don't think you could go wrong with any of the BBQ. The hushpuppies were also outstanding. My biscuits and gravy for breakfast were good, but it was not the best sausage gravy I have ever had. Somebody nearby got what looked like french toast that looked very good.