Ice Fishing Weekend Triple Bypass Review

Three days of ice fishing at Flaming Gorge means three chicken fried steak breakfasts to review. Two in Utah and one in Wyoming.

4 Ladles Rating

Lets go by day and start at The Blue Plate Diner here in Salt Lake City. We got a strong start to the weekend by heading straight to one of the top diners in SLC. They offer an excellent variety of breakfast choices with a bustling hipster atmosphere. What to have...chicken fried steak and eggs over easy of course! Homemade daily, crisp breading, meaty white gravy, crunchy home fries, and some toast for sopping yolks and gravy. All their dishes are consistent and well made. The staff is friendly and quick. It's exactly what the doctor ordered on just about any given morning.

2 Ladles Rating

So we stayed out fishing until about 11 pm headed back to our crappy room in Manila, Utah (population not much). Waking up way too early, we headed to the Villa Bar and Grill right in town. There was one other couple there who stayed at the same place and had not slept well either. The Villa is a typical do it all small town restaurant and bar. the staff seemed side tracked but very friendly. Two days in a row for chicken fried steak...of course.  They serve plenty of food but that's about the best thing I can say. The CFS was likely frozen and fried, the gravy was thin, and honestly I don't remember the rest of the meal. The lack of effort made me very sad and I was about to go fish for 12 hours. No time to be sad.

Crazy Ate Cafe Chicken Fried Steak

5 Ladles rating

Now after two days and two nights of ice fishing, I was destroyed. I needed a real pick me up. Thank god for The Crazy Ate Cafe, in Mountain View, Wyoming. The name is cheesy, but this was one of the best chicken fried steak and eggs breakfast I have ever had! Hand made daily, they pound local beef, use their own homemade rolls to make the bread crumbs. Once breaded the steak is baked keeping it very crispy but not at all greasy. It's served with a country gravy, crispy hash browns, toast, and two eggs any style...but they have to be over easy. Drizzle a bit of Chalula over the top and I'm in heaven. The staff was super nice and very proud of their food. The waitress beamed as she gave me all the details on how the CFS was prepared. It's my first 5 Ladles rating! Next time I pass through I'll be sure to stop back in.