Dornan's

Not bad.

I visited Dornan's Chuckwagon option this morning. It is an interesting concept, with the food being cooked outdoors under a structure, over what appeared to be fire-powered cook surfaces. Not sure. Either way, it smelled amazing. The Chuckwagon area is near the teepee.

I ordered the sourdough pancakes with scrambled eggs and bacon. I saw something about all-you-can-eat on the pancakes on their menu and website, but I was never offered more than my three pancakes. This came with two eggs and I think three strips of bacon. I also had orange juice, which was self-serve and pretty concentrated.

My food came to me under a covered eating area with a view of the Tetons. Seating is picnic table style. The pancakes were wonderful, if you like sourdough pancakes. I happen to love them, but they are an acquired taste. They tend to be a bit denser and moister than conventional pancakes, which may explain why one reviewer felt they were runny. On the other hand, my eggs were runny. But back to the pancakes. They had an excellent and complex sourdough flavor suggesting use of a real starter, not some powdered junk. The flavor meshed well with the syrup offerings. As I said, my eggs were runny, may they added milk? Regardless, they tasted fine. The bacon was also good, if unremarkable.

I'm deducting points because of a few factors: the eggs, the confusion I had about all-I-could-eat (I at least wanted an offer...), and because ether ad in the local dining book said they opened at 7AM when they opened today at 8AM, consistent with their website. The latter is a common issue in Jackson during the edges of the summer season in my experience, however. But... I'm more than pleased to recommend Dornan's for breakfast.

Hands down, Dornan's has the best views of the Tetons in town! And you can have drinks and good food while you're enjoying the views. This is a great place to end your day, whether you were hiking, biking, rafting, or just sightseeing in the park. It's definitely a "come as you are" atmosphere and fun for all ages. The menu has great pizzas (my favorite option), sandwiches, pasta, and salads (another fave).
Every Monday they have a Hootenany; it's outside at the chuck wagon in the summer. It's a free night of local and visiting talent (you sign up to perform and they assign numbers; each person performs one song). Every week is different, but you usually walk away feeling like you had a great experience! You can order in the restaurant and bring your food outside, or they have a BBQ buffet available outside. There is a full bar inside and outside. If you would prefer a bottle of wine, you can purchase it at their fabulously stocked wine/liquor store and they will uncork it for you to enjoy at no extra charge. Bottom line - there is no excuse not to visit Dornan's; they have it all, any way you want it!

Apparently the reason to go to Dornan's is for the view. It's certainly not for the food or service. This is strictly a pizza and burger kind of place. A calzone was bland and underfilled. Spinach salad was equally bland, with just a couple of small pieces of smoked salmon. Staff are apparently all seasonal workers with limited English, so no special requests. We said the salad needed to be gluten-free, so no croutons. Naturally, it came with a big hunk of bread on top. Not even fresh, good bread. So maybe come for a glass of wine and the view? Well, I can't speak to the wine options, but the view seems to be exactly the same as what you get from the Craig Thomas Visitors Center around the bend - where it's air conditioned. Skip Dornan's.