In our cross-country quest for great hamburger’s we came across the Shooting Star Saloon, built in 1879 in Huntsville, UT. The oldest continuously operating saloon in the State Of Utah and one of the oldest in the country, operating through prohibition.
Establishments such as this ALWAYS have some interesting character to them and we were not disappointed. The walls were covered with fun signs and a brag wall of all the publicity the Saloon has received over the years.
The menu is simple, but the hamburgers are outstanding.
While we were waiting for our orders I had a chance to look around at the interesting décor. There were signed dollar bills covering the ceiling. This tradition started when a regular patron named Whiskey Joe was drafted and sent to war before he paid his tab. A patron stuck a dollar on the ceiling to save it for Whiskey Joe so he could pay his tab when he returned from the war.
As in many saloons there was also plenty of taxidermy on the walls. This is….I don’t even know what to say about this rear-of-deer mount.
The most famous mount is of “The Dog” or “Buck”. No one is sure of his actual name. As the story goes he weighed 298 pounds, and made the Guinness book of World Records back in the 1950’s. For years he wandered around West Yellowstone and became the town’s mascot. When the dog died the owner had him stuffed. The man’s wife wouldn’t allow the dog in the house alive or dead so he carried the the body around in his truck. Local folk lore says that he gave the dog mount to the barkeep to pay for a tab he ran up.
Yep there is ALWAYS a story and this one was particularly unique.
