I would like to receive restaurant recommendations for the places we will be visiting during our July vacation. We are two adult with an 11yr old. She is not a picky eater and can behave very well in restaurants. Our ?target? budget is $120 per day on meals for all three ? we are not big lunch-eaters so this can almost be skipped. We can be flexible about the budget but are not looking for $100 p/p meals either. We are more than willing to try hole-in-the-wall places as well as fine cuisine. We know that we should not expect great food in the NPs but would like to know which restaurants/cafeterias would be the best among the alternatives.

1. Estes/Rocky Mt NP area, we will spend two nights in the town of Estes but one of them will be an organized wagon ride/cookout, so only one night of restaurant eating will be required.
2. Grand Teton ? We will stay one night in Colter Bay Village
3. Yellowstone ? We will stay three nights in Canyon Lodge but we will be driving around. I have searched the forum and mostly found recommendations for the Lake Yellowstone Hotel restaurant, is this still valid?
4. Moab, UT ? Three nights, still not sure where we will stay.
5. Bryce NP, UT ? We will be staying two nights at Ruby?s
6. Zion NP ? We might be staying at the Desert Pearl (as per Fodor?s recommendation)
7. Las Vegas ? No idea where we will stay yet. We will spend only one night in Vegas and we will be going to the ?O? 7:30 show. Therefore, we will be dining very early (we might not want to have our daughter sit through a multi course dinner at 10:00 PM, there is a limit to everything!!!). Would a buffet be more appropriate for this timing? If so, which?
8. Grand Canyon ? Maswik Lodge (could not get anything else, please tell me this will be OK!!!). We will spend two nights. I think that driving outside the park is an option here but I would rather not. I have read mixed reviews about the restaurant at El Tovar so I?m not sure?
I will greatly appreciate any ideas/recommendations about where to head for a good/great dining experience!

At Bryce - about 15 minutes away is Tropic, UT - there is a place called the Hoodoo Restaurant (Tropic is so small you actually can't miss it). Local food (we had locally caught fish), there was an authentic local "cowboy" singing, only about 15 tables. Part of large building which includes gas station, candy shop, general store, gift shop - spent about a half hour talking to locals - one of best parts of the trip.

Bryce - had lunch in the park - basic sandwiches, burgers, salads were fine.

At South Rim of GC ate at both El Tovar and steak house. El Tovar was good (not great), but eating at Rim during thunderstorm made it great. For lunch and breakfast, the cafeteria is better than restaurant at Bright Angel - but neither is all that great. Food at steak house was basic broiled/grilled fare - also fine, but not all that interesting. Not much else unless you take quite a drive - so figure you are not there for the food, and enjoy the trip.

We just returned from a visit to CO/WY and spent a week staying in Yellowstone (OF Snow Lodge cabins and Canyon cabins) so I can answer that part of your question.

Each of the YS Villages will have some combination or all of the following: dining room, cafeteria and fast food/deli. Lake Yellowstone Hotel and Old Faithful are the only two dining rooms which take reservations. The food is good (not great) but pricey for the quality ($13-$22 an entree). IMO the cafeteria food was awful and the fast food just fine for burgers, dogs and fries. There's some diveristy among the dining room offerings but otherwise the menu's throughout the park are identical. Xantarra Parks and Resorts is the sole concessioner.

Our solution was to minimize eating ala Xantarra. We packed a cooler with fruit, bread, snacks, cheese and cold cuts and had picnic breakfasts & lunches. Better food better view.

A couple of days we set our itinerary to be near a park entrance in the late afternoon and had an early dinner in West Yellowstone and Gardiner. We ate at Pete's Rocky Mountain Pizza Co. in WYS. It was good, lots of families, reasonably priced. There were four or five other restaurants that looked equally promising. In Gardiner we ate at a place called the Outlaw Cafe (Italian and pizza) which was also good. The Park Street Grill and Cafe was recommended to us and it looked nice but pricier ($18-$25 entrees). The best meal we had was in tiny Silver Gate (outside the NE entrance to the park) at the Log Cabin Cafe. Super barbeque, burgers & salads. Great cherry pie.

One side benefit to our dinners out of the park was the twilight drive back to the cabins. Great time to see the wildlife.

All that said, you don't visit Yellowstone to eat, but it's good to know what to be prepared for!

Re: Yellowstone -- While in the Roosevelt/Mammoth area, we had a delicious meal at the Yellowstone Mine restaurant in Gardiner, Montana, which is only five miles from Mammoth Hot Springs. Stop and ask for directions- - it's just a little way down one the main roads.
We also ate at the Lake Hotel, which was good but too expensive and some of the staff were pretty snooty. The Mammoth Hotel dining room was just AWFUL. I think the best food I had inside the park was breakfast at the little cafe in the lower Hamilton's store at Old Faithful. Canyon has a similar diner in their big gift shop, too.

Almost forgot-- some Yellowstone regulars told me the best meal in the park is the ribs and beans at Roosevelt. It hadn't opened when we were there, so I missed it -- dang -- will just have to go back.

We were very pleasantly surprised with our dinner at Old Faithful Dining Room.

Ask if you can have a table at the back by the windows. Much nicer atmosphere than the inner, crowded room.

My husband and I liked the Bit and Spur in Springdale last June. We weren't impressed by the food or service at the Zion Lodge, even for breakfast, but the view was nice.

Our meal at the lodge at Bryce was good, not a great value except for the setting itself. I was glad we went. The ranger program at the lodge on management of wildland fires was fantastic, by the way. Don't let your dinner reservations conflict with whatever ranger program they are having.

On a trip to the Grand Canyon South Rim in April this year, my family (3 generations) really liked the deli shop attached to the grocery store in Market Plaza. The food was pretty good, and prices were reasonable. It wasn't run by Xanterra. We also ate at the Yavapai Lodge cafeteria and I wouldn't recommend it.

My husband and I had a meal at the Jenny Lake Lodge at Grand Teton about 9 years ago. We thought it was really nice, but I don't know if the management has changed since that time.

After about four trips to Moab, I don't think I've found any place I really like. We didn't like Pasta Jake's (?name?) last August. A good bet in Moab may be the salad bar and sandwiches from the City Market grocery store.

For the Moab portion, try Buck's Steakhouse. Our family loved it!
AVOID Fat City Smokehouse.
We also liked the Moab Brewery and the Slickrock Cafe.

Our family stayed at the AArchway Inn. We had a small apartment to ourselves. Very clean and comfortable, but not in town, although not far out, either.

My answers are pretty much like the others....Springdale: Bit & Spur- Loved it and Zion Pizza & Pasta too. El Tovar, liked it very much. West Yellowstone: Wild West Pizzeria and Bullwinkles. Jackson (my very fave foodie city) Cadillac Grill, Anthony's, Rocky Mountain Pizza were all very good,,,we also did Merry Piglets which was ok, but had great salsa. Las Vegas, try the Bellagio Buffet, it was wonderful....I just ate fish and seafood and did not feel stuffed for "O". Judy

If you haven't decided where to stay in Moab I highly recommend "the Mayor's House" B&B. Really lovely place and the best blueberry pancakes I ever ate.
As for Vegas, eating early is a good idea and there are a million great places. After the show go to the 24hr coffee shop at the Bellagio for fabulous gormet desserts!!

Thanks to all for the recommendations. We are definitely not going on this trip for the food, but if something nice can be found it will be a lot better.

Jayne1973- That is the third reference I have read about the ribs and beans at Roosevelt so I should try to go to that one.

I think I will try to make reservations at El Tovar and , so what if the food is not that great, as long as it is not downright awful! I keep hearing that the view justifies the $$$. I still have to make up my mind about Lake Yellowstone Hotel or Old Faithful. In the end it might be decided by what is available at the time!

Judyrem, I think that I will try the Bellagio Buffet since it is convenient for "O".

Thanks to all for the feedback. I?m on the countdown phase (leaving July 10th) so we are getting all exited about the trip. With all the Fodor?s help it will certainly be an amazing experience!

If you aren't going to make reservations for a Yellowstone restaurant, just be prepared to eat really early or late and you can probably get a table. You should still go by the day before or early in the day and reserve it.

Anybody else?

I second the recommedation for packing a cooler for lunch and breakfast. We bought an electric cooler a couple of years ago that plugs into the power outlet in the car. It came with an adapter that lets us use it in the motel room as mini-fridge. You can eat what you want, when you want, where you want and for a lot less. I think we paid $65 at Walmart.

The food must be truly horrible when people are mostly recommending picnics! Thank God we are not going for the food. We will definitely get a cooler and take some snacks in the car.

In GTNP drive to Signal Mountain Lodge and eat in their restaurants. They have two and we always choose the inexpensive one. Food is pretty good, prices reasonable.

In Jackson Lake Lodge there's counter service that is fine for a sandwich.

I really have to disagree with you about picnining. We try to eat one meal a day on vacation (usually lunch) as a picnic. Almost always great views, and a great table! We get to take advantage of the fruit and vegetable stands alng the way and sometimes we have great natural company like deer, squirrels, birds, etc.

Probably the most memorable meals we've had on vacation have been picnics in some great spots like our own private table on the coast of Oregon watching the waves crash on the rocks below. Or finishing a meal in June on the east side of Yosemite by having a snowball fight. Or sharing a meal with your kids while watching the sun set in Arches National Park. I'm sure you get my point. I wouldn't trade any of those memories for all the buffets in Las Vegas!

I can add about restaurants that the buffet dinner at Rubys Inn at Bryce was one of the worst (and expensive) meals we've had. I would reccommend skipping this and eating in the diner (or the gas station across the street!)