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Reader Participation Day: Where Do You Find The Best Meals In, Or Near, The National Park System?

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When you visit Glacier National Park, don't miss a stop at the Park Cafe in St. Mary for a slice of pie!

Good food and national parks aren't always discussed in the same conversation, but there are some great meals to be had in the parks.

Places such as the Metate Room at Mesa Verde National Park or the Mammoth Springs Hotel in Yellowstone National Park can compete with many fine big-city restaurants.

But there are other lodge dining rooms that, well, still have a ways to go in terms of elevating their menus.

With that understood, which restaurants and meals in, or nearby, the national parks would you recommend to your friends?

For instance, I frequently recommend the Jailhouse Cafe in Moab, Utah, for breakfast before heading off into Arches or Canyonlands national parks, the Park Cafe in St. Mary, Montana, outside Glacier National Park lives by its motto -- Pie for Strength --, and when in Bar Harbor, Maine, during visits to Acadia National Park I've had some great meals at Cafe This Way.

So, what say you? What restaurants/dining rooms in, or nearby, national parks would you speak highly of? 

Comments

Ha ha, AWD3, the last time I had HR at the BA a friend had the meal put through a blender so I could eat it through a straw (had my jaw wired shut after an accident).  It still tasted good but wasn't very attractive to look at.  Thanks for the memory:)!


after 6 days backpacking on isle royale national park, nothing has tasted better than the cheeseburger i had at rydens on the us canadian burger in grand portage, minnesota.


I second the vote for Two Cats in Bar Harbor!


The best homemade soups, salads, and pies are at the Bald Pate Inn just outside Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park.  It's nestled into the cliffs just across the street from Lily Lake on Rt. 7.


I'd second the great halibut and the crab at the Glacier Bay Lodge.  The Zion National Park Lodge food was pretty good too.  Sadly some national park lodges serve overpriced, dismal food.  The worst I've found is the food at the Grand Canyon North Rim.  Terrible.
The food served at the Yosemite High Sierra Camps is great, considering it all has to be packed in by mules.  They served a great chocolate cake with fresh raspberries.  How the mules got those raspberries in with having them be a squishy mess is a wonder.


Smokin' Dave's BBQ & Tap House and mary's Lake Lodge in Estes Park near RMNP are my favorites 


I'm thinking "near" is somewhat of a vague term that could mean different things depending on the area. Many NPS sites are in remote locations where the closest town is 15 to 30 miles away. Mariposa was mentioned, and that's about a good 35 miles from Yosemite's Arch Rock entrance. I mentioned Erna's Elderberry House in Oakhurst, which is maybe 15 miles from Yosemite's south entrance.

It probably needs a different definition in a crowded urban setting like Gateway NRA or Golden Gate NRA. In the San Francisco Bay Area, there is world-class dining just minutes away from the Presidio or Ocean Beach. There are also some interesting (although probably overpriced) places to dine on NPS property, including the Cliff House and Louis' Restaurant (the fight for the operator to get their contract renewed was a real fight too), as well as Greens which I previously mentioned. Greens is at the Fort Mason Center, which mostly houses community oriented businesses. In many ways, the fight over Louis' Restaurant's lease renewal was difficult because of the NPS's requirements about being priced comparably to similary dining options outside of NPS land. What is that in San Francisco with literally over a thousand restaurants?

Restaurant in GGNRA for Lease
http://www.nps.gov/goga/parknews/2010-0225.htm

Point Reyes National Seashore is close to Point Reyes Station, which has quite a few high-quality places to dine, including the Station House Cafe (I had their Hangtown Fry with local oysters - just guess which ones) and Osteria Stellina. Sarah Rolph (who posts here) wrote a book on the Pine Cone Diner, although I had a pretty miserable experience there. They say "prickly service" but we didn't get served at all. They just ignored us as we read our menus while taking the orders of people who got there a half hour after we did. There are other options in Point Reyes Station, including sandwiches at Cowgirl Creamery and the deli counter at the local market as well as options at Toby's Feed Barn. It's a combination gift shop, coffee bar, art gallery, and animal feed supplier for the local farms.

Or pehaps Stinson Beach, CA which is near Stinson Beach itself (run jointly by NPS and California State Parks). I've had breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the Parkside Cafe.

And near Muir Woods NM (I don't particularly like the new concessionaire) there's Milly Valley, CA. I haven't really eaten much there, but there is one place that seems really unique - Avatar's Punjabi Burritos. Here's the menu:

http://www.goseaver.com/avatar/pdfs/Mill%20Valley%20Menu.pdf


I agee on the Whoa Nelly. I had a Phesant dish with good wine and sat outside with friends and family. Also tried several desserts. Wonderful experience.
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