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Grant's Getaways: Cowboy Dinner Tree

This week, Grant visits a site that continues the tradition of serving down-home hospitality that will feed not only your appetite but also your soul.
Grant's Getaways: Cowboy Dinner Tree

This week, Grant visits a site that continues the tradition of serving down-home hospitality that will feed not only your appetite but also your soul.

It's time to saddle up for a culinary adventure out of the Ol' West – a time when Oregon cowboys were a fixture of life across the high desert.

Come along as we head to Oregon's one and only Cowboy Dinner Tree!

When Oregon's outback calls, you leave the tall timber and cascade mountain waterfalls behind and dive into a vast desert of sage and juniper.

South of La Pine on Highway 31, the official Oregon Outback Scenic Byway takes the breath away at places like Fort Rock State Park.

The Byway offers nearly 200 miles of high desert landscape where distances are great, people are few and "cowboy country" comes to life.

That is especially true near Silver Lake, where you will find the most entertaining chuck wagon, minus the wheels, and where the staff is busy prepping for dinner guests.

"We are like the gateway to Southeast Oregon," said restaurant co-owner Jamie Roscoe, "If you take a map of Oregon and fold it on half, we're right in the crease."

His wife, Angel, quickly added.

"Some people pull up, take a look and say, ‘I'm not sure that's a restaurant!' That's what we want people to think – it is kind of a cozy shack and very cool."

Photos: Cowboy Dinner Tree

A giant juniper tree rises above the cozy building and a fence rail lined with saddles hint at what the rustic sign over the front entrance confirm: you have arrived at the Cowboy Dinner Tree Restaurant, where there are no strangers, just folks that owners Angel and Jamie Roscoe haven't met yet.

 

"We offer a whole experience," noted Jamie. "It's not just about the amount of food we serve but it's the quality of it, the atmosphere of the restaurant and the experience of old Oregon."

The amount of food sets the dinner tree apart from just about anywhere else.

Nearby, the Roscoe's right hand man, Brian Baker, tends a gigantic barbecue with three distinct cooking chambers. It turns out that it was once a huge propane storage tank that's been converted to outdoor cooking..

"If they've been here before, they know what they are getting into and if not, their eyes get large and they usually say, ‘Whoa – I have to eat all of that?" Baker said.

The sirloin steaks are 32 ounces apiece – and are cooked to a delicious medium rare. The steak is one of just two entrees the Dinner Tree menu offers. The other is a whole four-pound chicken.

"We put the chickens on one hour before the guest's reservation, so they cook for about an hour and twenty minutes," noted the cook.

But it's the steak dinner that has made the Cowboy Dinner Tree famous and has drawn hundreds of guests each weekend from across the country since 1992.

Angel and Jamie bought the business from her mom three years ago and the couple continue to offer diners an Oregon cowboy theme. Just about everywhere you turn, there is a scene right out of the old west.

The place is aptly described by Angel as "simply comfortable."

"Everything is homemade: the salads, dressing, two types of soup and homemade rolls and pink lemonade (no alcohol is served) in a quart-sized mason jar," she said. "Our guests like the fact that we only offer two entrees – makes their dining decision easy – they know what we serve and they like that."

The Cowboy Dinner Tree is open year-round by reservation only. They serve up to 500 steak dinners on a summer weekend, and by all accounts, the business thrives on a simple premise: large portions at a reasonable price.

And then there is the remoteness of the place. While some might grumble at the long drive, Angel said that most diners travel the distance because it takes some time to get there.

"Sunsets out here are like nothing you've ever seen," she said. "They are just breath-taking and the desert is truly beautiful to us."

If you would like to explore more of Oregon – consider a walk on the wild side with my new book: "Grant's Getaways Guide to Wildlife Watching in Oregon."

You will enjoy 48 uniquely Oregon adventures highlighting my fish and wildlife encounters. Scores of colorful photos by "Grant's Getaways" photographer, Jeff Kastner, show off some of our finest moments in the field.

The stories offer detailed directions and promise to set you on your own path of discovery across Oregon. The new book is also available as e-book download so you can take my new book with you on the road.

Visit Travel Oregon for an extended version of this story and to see past versions of Grant's Getaways.

Grant's Getaways is produced in partnership with Travel Oregon, as well as:

Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife

Oregon Parks and Recreation Dept.

Oregon State Marine Board

You can learn more about many of Grant's favorite Oregon adventures in his new book: "Grant's Getaways: 101 Oregon Adventures"

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