During the five days we spent exploring southern Utah with bits of Colorado and New Mexico thrown in, we stayed in Bluff, Utah. Bluff is a little town built along the San Juan River that wants to be a tourist town. Unfortunately it is located between tall bluffs that block any cell signal and the town can’t afford to invest in its own tower. Consequently there is no cell signal and very little wifi provided by the one carrier who comes to Bluff. Nevertheless, Bluff has some nice hotels, bed and breakfasts, Bluff Fort, and some excellent restaurants. Residents are hoping to build on this good start and become the gateway to Bears Ears National Monument. We stayed at a nice little RV park (more on that next week) and one night we splurged for dinner at the Cottonwood Steakhouse.
Cottonwood Steakhouse is only open for supper and we arrived right at opening at 5:30. Being the first ones to arrive, we had no problem getting a nice table. We asked the waitress what she recommended (a trick we learned from our friend Val). She gave us a rundown of all the steaks but said the best one was the 20 oz Porterhouse that was the special. That sounded delicious, but like way too much meat. So our waitress suggested we split it. For a small upcharge we could order separate sides, but we decided to split the sides too.
While we waited for our supper, we looked at a magazine the waitress brought us. “101 Ways to Experience San Juan County, Utah.” It was fun to look up the things we had already seen and read the magazine description. We also got some ideas of a few more things to do while in the area. We were sorry we missed the county fair and the rodeo. Those looked like fun events. An art festival was coming up in a couple of weeks but we weren’t going to stick around for that.
When our food came, it was wonderful. The steak was as good as advertised and plenty big enough for the two of us. In the picture you can see my half of the steak along with my half of the side dishes. Just right after a day of hiking. We also got a small basket of homemade rolls and mini muffins. Yum!
Of course, the dessert menu caught my eye. Tom and I both had enough room to share a dessert. We ordered a brownie sundae and enjoyed it very much. So much that I forgot to take a picture! Obviously we highly recommend the Cottonwood Steakhouse as a place to eat in Bluff. The food was wonderful and the service was excellent. The restaurant is open from the spring through the fall, but doesn’t have exact open and closing dates. I think it depends on when the owners feel like opening or closing.
Tourism appears to be the only hope for a future for Bluff, Utah. It is a pretty little town with some good places to eat and explore.