Milt's in Moab, UT

​Where to Dine?

 

We were in Moab for just one night last October.  Milt's Stop-n-Eat was our choice for dinner!

Land of Parks and...
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​Moab is a great stop for all the travelers visiting Utah's amazing National Parks. I expected some hip coffee shops and maybe a brew pub or vegetarian cafe. Instead we got to enjoy some authentic Old Moab.

 I was pretty delighted to spend the night in a kitschy motel just down the road from a 63-year old hamburger joint! At dusk, Don and I walked from our motel down Highway 60, which used to be the main drag.  We waved to some kids playing basketball next to their mobilehome, chuckled at the buckled sidewalk, then arrived at Milt's.
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Hopping at Dusk
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It was a lovely October evening, so there was a line at the window for orders. Quite a crowd was dining at picnic tables underneath the Sycamore trees.  

At the Counter

Don and I each grabbed a vinyl covered stool at the formica counter.  At least 7 workers seemed to be buzzing around in the tight quarters.

Andre handed us menus and answered some of our food questions, while Jacob stood over the grill, scraping and then slapping on meat, which began sizzling right away.   Andre returned to take our orders, then dropped too large scrapbooks on the counter for our entertainment.  

Then and Now
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We looked at old photos of Milt, when he first stood over the grill in 1954.  Jacob may not look as cheery as Milt as he cooked, but he did show us a pretty good smile later, when he told us he was leaving on a hunting trip the next day.  "I just hope I get my 3-deer limit pretty fast!"

Pink Trailer
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I loved the photos of the pretty pink trailer.  Milt and his family lived right beside the cafe for years.  I was sad to hear that Milt had passed away a year before.  The diner has changed hands a number of times since 1954, but Milt was still coming by for visits over coffee, until he passed.
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Food?
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I had to order Milt's Classic & All Time Favorite,  Chili Cheese Burger!  And if that wasn't decadent enough, I ordered onion rings.  Holy Cow that was yummy! 

Don ordered the (not any healthier) Southwest Burger with Bacon and BBQ Sauce! He opted for the Hand-Cut Fries to complete his feast.

As We Dined
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As we attempted to make a dent in with our order, we enjoyed the show around us. We continued to dine alone at the counter, while the line outside never stopped. Andre said sometimes there's a 45 minute wait for food.  We listened to all the food-making sounds filling the space.  Sizzling on the grill, whirring of milkshakes and malts and most interesting of all, the potato chopper!  We could see in a tiny room just off the kitchen, a young woman throwing herself into some kind of work...

When she stepped out of the room she was carrying a big tub of freshly chopped potatoes!  "That looked like a lot of work!" I laughed.  She said it was a whole lot easier now, since they'd gotten new blades!  She and Andre and Jacob were kind enough to give me a little pose before we departed! 

Good-Bye Milt's
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What a fun dining adventure at the Stop-n-Eat Counter!  I usually don't expect to have any sort of conversation, when a place is so busy.  But we enjoyed every minute of our food & people encounter at Milt's!