Sportsman Chalet

Rustic sports bar in Strawberry.  Every customer is warmly greeted.  The food is hot, fresh and delicious!  The atmosphere is very friendly.  Be sure to stop by if you're in the area.

We were looking for an adventure when we drove past the Sportsman Chalet and saw a man enjoying a drink on the second floor patio. Once we noticed the NASCAR racing schedule (and not an NFL schedule), we knew we had found our place.  Little did we know how right we were.

We were instantly greeted with the locals enjoying the on tap special, PBR.  "I'll have one of those" was our 'When in Rome' mentality.  The waitress was more than hospitable taking our order right away. When we asked if we could sit up on the second floor patio, she was more than willing to oblige.  She told us our drink order would arrive on the second floor via the hydraulic dumb waiter. Awesome!

The second floor was a tribute to past patrons, as the walls and ceilings were sharpied.  Not only did you have your classics like "Jim Hearts Pam," but under rated classics like phone numbers and Irish Limericks.

As our first order arrived on the dumb waiter, we received a note that read " I'll be up to take your order, honk when ready." That is when we noticed the bicycle horn attached to the dumb waiter. Honk, Honk.

Our second drink order arrived with our silverware,  our drinks, and a single black sharpie.  We looked at each other, wondering if this was for real, as there could really be little doubt as to what we were supposed to do with the sharpie.  Clearly, we had to leave our mark, and we did- on the ceiling.

The food was fantastic and the atmosphere made the stop totally worthwhile.  In a town of four restaurants, we clearly picked the best one.

I first avoided stopping here as I was looking for a last-chance convenience store or gas station before meeting up with friends at a nearby campground. My intention was to bring extra ice and beer to the campers who had already been roughin' it for an overnight. At first glance, I couldn't determine whether the Sportsman's Chalet would be my best bet. I took a detour through what looked like a main street to Strawberry and wound up on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere.

So back to the Chalet it was! They do have a neon sign advertising their ATM inside the bar. I unsuccessfully tried for several minutes to figure out why the ATM was refusing me. Finally, a friendly patron (undoubtedly a local and a regular) flagged down an employee who could service the ATM. After quite a long wait, the ATM was back on line and full of cash, so I could at least get some money for my purchases. Ice was outside and next to the parking lot and rung up on a separate cash register in a shed full of canned goods that might be Strawberry's only convenience mart. For beer I had to go back to the bar (fortunately, they have a package liquor license). I will say that at $10 for a six-pack of Coors, it's no bargain.

So at least I was able to accomplish my mission and not show up emptyhanded at my friends' campsite. But this was a lengthy detour through the Twilight Zone where I must've looked like a City Slicker and stepped into a rift in the space-time continuum. Everything and everyone here seemed to move sooo sloooww. They were helpful enough, but I must've come long after Happy Hour began, and would've probably had a better experience if my butt was planted on the barstool and I had nowhere else to go.