jewelhawg

I've planned and planned and planned. But, now I'm down to restaurants and I don't have enough time to research.

I need Fodorite's advice for best casual restaurants for anywhere in and between North Rim of Grand Canyon, Springdale and Torry. Our lodging is in East Zion and Escalante.

Include restaurants to avoid...if there are any!

Thanks for your quick advice!

Dayle

Hi jewelhawg,

The best restaurants where you are going are Hell's Backbone Grill in Boulder (res required) and Cafe Diablo in Torrey (they may be closed for the season by now).

Other than that, in Springdale, I aways go to the Zion Pizza & Noodle. Consistently great food, very reasonable, fun and funky place, always busy! Beer and wine, cash only.

Others always recommend The Spotted Dog at Flannigan's. My personal experience there was bad and I ended up walking out - since I was unable to order after 45 minutes. Probably not the usual.

Have fun and bring your warm stuff, fall is cold at Bryce!

I'll be in Moab next week!

wtm003

I'll second Dayle's recommendation for Zion Pizza & Noodle. Nice casual atmosphere, good pizza and large salads.

And I also agree about the Spotted Dog. The service was poor and many menu items were unavailable when we visited.

gail

Hoodoo restaurant in Tropic Utah. Little place inside bigger building that has gas sation, convenience store, general store, gift shop and candy shop.

TheWeasel

East Zion? By that, do you mean Mt. Carmel Junction?

We stopped at a little restaurant there which I would most definitely not recommend. It took 50 minutes to get breakfast with only 3 other customers in the place - a ridiculous waste of time. I don't know the name - it's on the east side of 89 right at the junction with 9.

jewelhawg

Yes, The Weasel...we're actually renting a cabin in the Ponderosa Ranch Resort area. We'll be close to Mt. Carmel Jct...but about 30 minutes away from Springdale.

We'll avoid that restaurant!

I know the Ponderosa Ranch offers food, too, but at limited times of the day. Anyone eaten there? Any good?

Westbound

I've stayed at Springdale, Ecalante, Torrey and Cannonville. For Springdale ~ Zion Pizza & Noddle was my pick. Ecalante ~ Cowboy Blues was great and it seemed to be the most popular in town. Torrey restaurants and Austins store closes for the season at the end of Oct. I preferred staying at the Wonderland Inn with its full service reastaurant over Austins. Cafe Diablo's menu didn't appeal to me, so I didn't go there. A late breakfast at the Boulder Mountain Lodge was overprised. ( $9 for a slice of quiche) Grand Staircase Inn, the only lodging in Cannonville was comfortable and dining at Clarks restaurant in Tropic was very good.

Dayle

Yes, Boulder Mnt Lodge is not inexpensive, not for lodging or for it's excellent restaurant, Hell's Backbone Grill. BUT, it is by far the nicest lodging and dining anywhere near Bryce, Escalante, Boulder.

luvtravl

In Zion we liked Zion Pizza and Noodle and the Bit and Spur. At Torrey the Austin Chuckwagon market had great scones and the takeout mexican food there was also pretty good.

Dayle

jewelhawg,

I think you're going to find that Carmel Jct. doesn't have much going on. There is a medium size motel there called the Thunderbird with a golf course. I've actually never seen a reastaurant in the junction, but there must be one in the motel. I think I remember seeing a burger drive in place too.

Bring warm cloths because the Ponderosa is at much higher altitude than the floor of Zion Canyon and Springdale.

Do report back on it, not many people stay there and it is totally different from the lodging choices in Springdale!

bookhall

We stayed in Zion several years ago, and had a decent breakfast at the Zion Lodge.

However, the best part was watching the canyon come out of the darkness while we were eating. Go to http://community.webshots.com/user/b...host=community , go down to the Zion album, and get a hint of the experience.

sharondi

There is not much of a selection in Escalante. We stayed at the Prospector Inn for a night and had a very basic lunch at their restaurant. It was edible but not very good. That evening, we had a really good pizza and salad (and beers) at Escalante Outfitters. They have a small cafe attached to the store - good desserts, coffee bar, etc. There are a few other small places in town but it was Labor Day weekend and many places were closed.
The Kiva Koffeehouse is a really beautiful place to stop for a beverage and snack (although expensive). The view and the incredible building are worth the cost. It is on Rte 12 between Boulder and Escalante. In Torrey, Austin's Mexican food is really good and very reasonable but they may be closed. We had a terrific meal at Rim Rock Restaurant just across the street from the Best Western in Torrey. Great view and really good meal. Also ate (of course) dinner one night at Cafe Diablo and it was delicious as always. Also had a breakfast, take- out lunch, and dinner with our buddies at Hell's Backbone Grill (stayed at Boulder Mtn Lodge for a night). Our dinner was incredible (yes, a bit expensive but it's vacation!!) We've stayed in Boulder quite a few times but have never eaten anywhere but Hells Backbone.
Not big fans of the Bit n Spur in Springdale. Prefer Oscar's. Love the Mean Bean for excellent coffee (very important). We also had delicious breakfast and lunch at a little cafe next to a gallery (near Sol Market). It might be called Gallery Cafe. Really good!
In Bryce, we really enjoyed our meal in the park restaurant - it was very good! We also enjoyed good burgers and pie at Bryce Canyon Pines - very cheap and good.
I think you may regret your decision to stay in Mt Carmel - long way to or from anywhere. And especially since Springdale is such a great town. I would strongly suggest staying in town.

peterboy

The road from Mt Carmel Junction to Springdale may only be 30 milles but, it is 30 miles of twisting roads and switchbacks. That 30 miles is going to take about an hour each way. 2 hours of driving to have dinner isn't something I'd want to do.

peterboy

Sorry, I misread. It is about a 40 minute drive from Mt Carmel Junction to Springdale. I'd plan on eating at the Ranch unless you find yourself in Springdale at dinner time anyway.

jewelhawg

I will post a report about where we are staying once we return.

We are staying in a brand new cabin www.ziontrailscabin.com We are renting directly from the homeowner.

I was mostly looking for places to eat on our way back to the cabin. We will probably eat several meals in.

We are going to spend 2 nights at Slot Canyons Inn in Escalante. That's why I was asking for places near there, too.

Thanks for all your help! I've printed your replies and will try most, if not all, suggestions. Fodorites are always a great source of good information!

Dayle

Jewelhawg,

There are NO places to eat between the Zion Canyon floor and the location of your cabin. If you continue further east on Hwy 9, then you come to Mt. Carmel Jct. Plan accordingly!

I'm not sure you realize how out of the way your cabin is. It will be a beautiful area, but you'll have to tell us how convenient you find it for your day trips. Looks like a nice place.