A Night of Nostalgia

So many things about this last Friday night brought back memories of my past… and I am talking about my toddler past… before I was able to drink and have on my slate sins worth any merit. After resigning from our work life for the week, Rudy and I went over to the house of our friends, “The Hippies” (and I mean that very lovingly), who invited us over for some vegetarian chili with Fritos. During dinner, it somehow came up in conversation that The Hippies play Skip-Bo every night. So did I as a youth! I had not played in years but the concept of the game came back quickly and before I knew it, I was laying cards down from a mechanized learned behavior and not out of any conscious thought. After downing three local beer bottles (Dead Horse Ale), we headed out to the Lazy Dog Saloon. The Hippies recommended it because it is close to their house and work and therefore was a convenience factor, not to mention a factor of curiosity for the unknown. Throughout the week, I told my friends where the next pub crawl would be held and all of them seemed to have been there and said it was a good place to check out. It sounded a bit dodgy and like a redneck bar from the way people were describing it... I was intrigued.

Well their descriptions were not off by one mark. We arrived and noticed that the joint truly looked like a bar one would find in a movie about a country town in nowhere, USA. Upon entering through the backdoor, we instantly felt out of place. Let me put it this way - the type of regulars should not have been any surprise to me since I saw a demolition derby take place just down the street not too long ago. While I could already tell that I would not be a regular and maybe never visit again as there are far more interesting bars, I am glad I came. The bar, or rather open to the public double wide trailer home, was dim and lined with fake wood panels from the very early 80s/late 70s. The TVs were not too far from that period either, except there was one upgraded flat screen playing a local high school football match. I actually liked this setting. It reminded me of my house growing up and strangely, it gave me a comforting feeling. Looking around at the crowd, it was mainly full of older men who were legitimate cowboys in their jeans, white mustaches and full brim hats. These are the kind of men I would have encountered in my own hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana. I think even used to find this look appealing. A highlight was when a regular brought by two large golden retrievers. They were friendly and had a knack for beer.

I walked up to the bartender's counter thinking a shot of Whiskey would sit well with me right about now. I was informed by the bartender, who by the way was sporting a fine female mullet, that this was only a beer bar. What?! Better yet, the only beer on tap from which I could choose was Bud Light, Budweiser and local Ruby River Hefeweizen made up in Ogden. We opted for a pitcher of the Hefeweizen, which was pretty decent. Make note that the saloon also carries beers in bottles like Heineken. We then decided to liven up the atmosphere and put $10 in the jukebox and picked some tunes for the night. Not wanting to get beat up or kicked out, we chose our selection carefully. The tunes ranged from “Witchy Woman” by the Eagles (which my mom listened to endlessly during my youth) to the Grateful Dead and Bob Marley (of course The Hippies would chose this) to the Mamas and the Papas, Steve Miller Band, Van Morrison and we could not resist throwing in some Willie Nelson. I also put $10 in a poker machine. What was I thinking? Utah is not a gambling state so I could not get any of that money back. Stupid. After bringing this fact up with someone who seemed to be in charge, I decided we needed more alcohol. I was ready to embrace my inner redneck and this time, ordered a pitcher of Bud Light. I then had an idea to conduct a taste test to determine which was the most drinkable and added a pitcher of Budweiser to the mix. Well big surprise, the Hef won over our taste buds. Budweiser came in second and Bud Light came in dead last. Even though most of you reading this weren't able take part in the judging, you may still state your opinion and take a poll off to the side of the blog. Please, help us unravel the mystery as to which is the best of the cheap (or worst) beers.







When we downed all three pitchers between the 4 of us, we decided to fulfill our munching cravings and headed over to Jim’s Family Restaurant. Jim’s actually used to be Shoney’s, which I happened to frequent as a small girl. Again, the night was eerily reminded me of a past that seems so distant that it’s not my own. I inhaled my fries and "fry sauce" (an original Utah concoction) alongside a large Greek salad. The food was sufficient for people who were buzzed and hungry. We decided it was time to head home. The night of nostalgia ended quite perfectly with us watching “Back to the Future”. What an oddly fun night.



If you care to reenact any of these experiences or check out the places mentioned for yourself, the Lazy Dog Saloon is located 12755 S Redwood Rd, Riverton, UT. Jim's is on the other side of the street.