A bit of the Old West

In southeast Utah, nestled next to the springtime raging San Juan River is the little town of Bluff. It’s one of those truly Old West settlements that didn’t exist until it was settled in April of 1880 when Fort Bluff was established.

What remains of that settlement is now the Bluff Historic Site and includes what’s left of an original settlers cabin and a larger stone house that has long since crumbled.

But Bluff is more famous because of the river. It’s a mini-Mecca for river runners who, along with the ubiquitous European tourists, keep the town a going concern. Whether eating breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or just picking up six pack at the local mini-mart, it’s common to hear people speaking German, French, or Dutch.

And speaking of eating and the Old West, when in Bluff it’s a treat to try the Cottonwood Steakhouse for a charbroiled chunk of Old West beef and a heapin’ helpin’ of Old West décor. At the Cottonwood the kitchen is outdoors. Rain or shine the cooks grill steaks, chops, and chicken, pan fry potatoes and boil big pots of cowboy beans while braving the cold fronts and thunderstorms of late May. During one recent dinner the sky opened and dropped an almost unbelievable quantity of rain mixed with hail — but the cooks toiled undaunted. While the kitchen is covered, one cook shrugged and said, “Yeah, but it leaks, and there’s not much you can do when the rain comes in sideways.”

The $20 14 ounce ribeye steak comes with those pan-fried potatoes and the beans, and was cooked more to the medium-well than the ordered medium, but was still crispy on the outside, more tender than expected, and very tasty. The pre-dinner salad was simple, but fresh and crunchy.

The dining room is adorned with all manner of shootin' irons, bear traps and three beautiful coyote pelts hanging proudly on the wall next to the fireplace. The napkins are red cowboy bandanas that are take-home keepsakes.

Proving that Utahns can take a joke, the restaurant proudly serves the whole line of Wasatch microbrews that includes Polygamy Porter, a dark, sweet beer that comically sports the slogan, “why have just one?”

Bluff is one of those towns that’s mostly a waypoint on the road from here to there. But this is one little town that’s also great place to stop and soak up a little history, have a nice steak, and smile as you sip an “Evolution Ale” and enjoy the amazing scenery.