Albert A.
Yelp
Context is everything. I went back to this restaurant 4 times during my trip to Big Bend. Within the park, this is the only restaurant around, but they don't crush you on prices while maintaining a pretty high quality standard. So I happily ate many of my meals here and enjoyed the company of other hikers (whom you commonly see on the same trails anyway) and staff.
A place like this could easily burn anyone with a terrible experience as there's no competition for ~30 miles, but it does well. The location itself is around the north end of the park, with excellent views from the dining area. There's ample seating, and the staff is on top of everything (which from my experience was mainly just one server handling most things -- impressive).
Breakfast Buffet - An easy way to get a lot of your nutrients in before a hike, the breakfast buffet was good. If I had to compare it to a typical chain hotel breakfast buffet, I would say it is much better. I had the buffet on two occasions and had coffee, eggs, potatoes, sausage, and bacon, all of which were tasty. For $10, I'll take it!
Just a Burger - A simple burger done well, with lettuce, pickles, onions, and tomato slices. Not much to say here -- pretty juicy and flavorful. If you're looking for a safe, solid item, this is a good one for lunch. Also comes with crispy fries.
Trail Boss (Chicken Fried Steak) - Of my meals, this was the most disappointing, mainly due to the quantity. As you can see in the photo, it's a pretty small dish for $28. I expected much more here. In terms of flavor, it was a pretty good dish -- the gravy was mild and complemented the meat and potatoes nicely. I would avoid this one in the future as it's just not worth the price.
Value: 4/5
Quality: 4/5
Quantity: 3/5
Service: 5/5
Atmosphere: 5/5