A Little Dining & Drinking in Ouray, CO

First Stop - The Ouray Brewery

In June, Don and I spent one night in the sweet little Alpine town of Ouray. 

We were staying right on Main Street, at the Beaumont Hotel. That meant we could pretty much walk to everything. At 5:00, we headed for the Brewery, with its rooftop sitting area.

Beer and Views
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​We grabbed two stools, ordered beer and took in the sights. Obviously, the mountains were stunning. 

The slow parade of traffic on Main Street was equally entertaining. The non-stop flow of dusty trucks and Jeeps was downright comical. Where were these vehicles going, in this town of 1,000?  Watching the wandering locals and tourists, was an added plus.

Mr. Grumpy Pants 

We made one more beer stop at The Ourayle House... because Don likes beer. I don't love beer, but I like entertaining places, even when they have intimidating signs.

The owner was more quiet and expressionless, than grumpy. He pretended to be annoyed when a young woman asked for a beer sample. He looked like he was suppressing his smile, when he handed it to her in a baby bottle.

I was amused by the sliding chair that Mr. Grumpy used, to whizz down from one end of the bar to the other. I was surprised when he allowed me to take his photo. When I asked what you had to do to earn a ride on that thing, he pointed to the wall. There were photographs of all the people who had paid for a ride, by doing the splits on the bar.

"Any men?" I asked. "Just one." he answered, pointing to a photo of a smiling man, performing the stunt with the help (or without the help) of his prosthetic legs.

Time For Food
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It was a Wednesday evening and we had been warned that the town pretty much closes down by 9. We headed down Main Street in search of food.

I was drawn to The Outlaw, with its brick and glass block and screen door. I read that the building was constructed around 1910 and originally housed a meat market during the mining boom. The building was bought by the Bonatti in the 1943.

The sign also attracted and amused me. I love a little mix of old west saloon and mid-century cocktail lounge. The Outlaw name was given to the restaurant/bar in 1969. That was the same period when John Wayne was in the area, filming "True Grit". He was a visitor to The Outlaw and his hat is on display behind the bar. I failed to get a photo! 

Welcoming

I took in the scene as we entered. Right away, I noticed the shake shingles on the upper walls. I couldn't really read the writing, but I learned they had been signed, by local miners and cowboys.

The long wooden bar and hanging wagon wheels made me think saloon. The stools made me think of a soda fountain. The folded cloth napkins made me think of dining, which was just what I wanted. 

My View
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A friendly man with dark hair greeted us and ushered us to a great table in the back. I had a nice view of the bar and tables, to do a little people watching.  

A child sitting on a nearby stool was greeted by lots of staff. One happy table celebrated a birthday. A young man played for tips on a honky tonk piano. A couple had an intense conversation for much of the evening, but stopped after each song to applaud the piano player, like proud parents. I'm guessing everyone was local.

Servers

Everyone who served us looked related, with dark hair and friendly dispositions. Could these be members of the original Bonatti family, who immigrated from Italy years ago? I guess not. The Bonatti family sold to the Chaotes in 2009 and there were lots of different folks running the biz, in between. 

I especially loved the sweet woman who brought us our water. She had an accent, which probably wasn't Italian. But she smiled so big. "Hello Lady! How are you today?" That made me smile.

My huge Greek salad made me smile too. It was packed with all the good stuff.

Don ordered Chicken Pasta with mushrooms and a slightly sweet red sauce.

I have no pics of our wine or yummy seasoned bread or my soup with beef and potato. All tasted like my kind of comfort food. I was happy. But I'm beginning to think it was all a dream. I don't see any of the things we ordered, on their website menu.

Out of Outlaw, by 8:30
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It was still light when we stepped outside after our meal. 

The colored lights surrounding the glass block windows were just beginning to show up.

We had a nice meal, but I think we missed out by not sitting at the bar and learning some local lore. I'm sure many remember the Bonatti family well. Rudy was the son of the Mr. and Mrs. Bonatti. Up until 2008, Rudy was seen by many, sitting on a bench outside the restaurant. I'm glad the Choates, didn't change things up when they bought the business!

It's fun to imagine John Wayne coming here in 1969. Now I can add The Outlaw to our fairly long list of restaurants, bars and hotels that we AND John Wayne have enjoyed. Hmm? Maybe I need to make a new John Wayne category.

Ending the Evening
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All dining adventure's are better enjoyed when they don't involve a car. It was wonderful walking back to our hotel while the skies darkened.

I ran up to the second floor of the Elks Club, to see if the Bingo happenings were still underway. They were indeed going strong, but we figured we weren't excited enough to pay $15. a card. We headed back to our fabulous hotel and enjoyed the rest of the evening.

Yippee for enjoying some good food and drink and strolling, in Ouray!