Lotty's Family Restaurant

We came here for dinner on going-home-from-Sturgis, county fair, Sidewalk Sales and model railroad show Sunday night.  They were out of soup and salad, but gave us a bowl of chile as a substitute.  I wanted a steak, asked how big it was and ordered it medium rare because that seems to be the only way I can get a steak cooked to medium (which is what I really want).  Well...so far, no one in Evanston can cook a 1/2" ribeye anything but done, and I hadn't thought to ask how thick it was.  But it tasted good and the accompanying onion rings were excellent.  Despite having had a really tough weekend, the waitresses were friendly and efficient.  The burger eaters in the group seemed quite happy, and the beer was cold.

Lotty's is a pretty cool place to enjoy a meal or even play a few games of . pool and darts while enjoying a drink or two.  The waitress/bartender was very nice and provided great service.  The food was pretty good, nothing excellent, but enjoyable none the less.  This seems like a place that a lot of locals visit to drink and hang out.  I had a hamburger which was a little better than average, the meat was juicy, flavorful, and had a pleasant texture.  On top of that, the drinks are cheap (compared to California prices) and everyone I met there was very friendly.  There is a liquor store attached to the bar/restaurant.

Once in a great while there is a restaurant or bar that has such great food or such an interesting aspect to it that it just sticks with you.  Lotty's has been one of those restaurants for me.

In the summer of 2007, my now wife and I were driving through Wyoming to get married in Vegas.  The night before getting to Vegas we decided to stop in Evanston for the night.  The restaurant right outside the hotel was Lotty's - so we figured that was easiest.  I think there's also an adult bookstore nearby - which is just hilarious considering that it's Wyoming.

Despite looking just any other diner in the world, this is truly something special.  I ordered the Lotty's burger, which is a burger smothered in cheese and grilled onion and green peppers.  It was truly the most glorious, artery clogging burger I've ever had.

I can't go on enough about this burger - the meat has an excellent texture and the onions and peppers were grilled to the point of just enough sweetness to compliment the savoriness of the meat.  The cheese...well that was just so damn good.  The combination was outstanding.  I've had burgers from Pennsylvania to California - and this took the grease soaked cake.  It is so good in fact that I can recall the taste of it more than I can remember any other aspect of our road trip to Vegas.

If you are in town, I'd definitely recommend it.  We're going to a wedding in Vegas this summer, and I almost tried to convince my wife that we should drive just for this place.