Saturday, October 23, 2010

September 30. Cody, Wyoming. Hotel Irma.

After touring the east side of the loopy figure eight road that meanders through Yellowstone, the Hawthornes took off out the east exit to Cody, Wyoming, for the night.
September 30, Cody Wyoming. Mr. Hawthorne and I were craving red meat for a change. We asked the hotel manager where to go and he smartly guided us to Irma's Hotel and Restaurant Grill.
William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody founded the town of Cody in 1895. I visited Buffalo Bill's home in North Platte, Nebraska last month. In 1902, Cody built the Irma Hotel, named after his youngest daughter, Irma Louise Cody. Cody called the Irma Hotel, "just the swellest hotel that ever was." He maintained two suites and an office at the hotel for his personal use. His plan was to have travelers stay here on their way to the east gate of Yellowstone when the Burlington Railroad completed a spur line into Cody.
The Irma Hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service, in recognition of its contribution to the cultural foundations of America. It was designed by a Lincoln, Nebraska, church architect, Alfred Wilderman Woods. In a letter to the architect, Cody wrote, "'As long as we are bound to have a hotel, lets have a dandy. I am going to spare no expense in furnishing it. It must be a gem. I have engaged a Hoffman House cook and professional waiters. I am going to run this hotel myself if I have to keep the Wild West show running winter and summer to keep it going. No renter need apply.'"
The $100,000 cherry bar is rather famous. It was a gift to Cody from Queen Victoria in appreciation of his Wild West Show.
We each had the salad bar. Pretty good selection of salad fixin's. I've noticed one thing in particular the western salad bars have that I haven't seen on the eastern salad bars. Green peas. (Frozen, not canned.) It's quite a nice addition.
I ordered the prime rib. It came swimming in lovely juices. Surprisingly, it was slightly on the mildly tough side. I got the smaller Cody Cut. Pricey. But then all the food out West is pricier than even what I'm accustomed to on the East coast. Mr. Hawthorne got the Buffalo Burger.
Very nice flavor. Excellent fries. Nice and crispy.
I've never paid $9.95 for a burger before.
Didn't much care for the potato. They'd mashed it, added garlic, stuffed it back in a soggy skin, and topped it with cheddar. I'm a baked potato purist. Just bake the thing. No foil. No grease. I want a crispy skin.
Next, the Hawthornes have an oil change. Yes. It's been three thousand miles already. And then we back track to Yellowstone and explore the west side.

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