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First visit: Sep 2022
I haven't been to Casper since 1994, a trip that wasn't accompanied by many memories. It was a couple of years before Mrs. RJG had entered the picture and I was in my first residence with Colorado Springs. For whatever reason, I hopped into my Mitsubishi Eclipse with a handful of CDs, and headed north to Wyoming for the weekend. Honestly just to get away. Get away from what? Nothing in particular. Just the oppressive work conditions I was dealing with at MCI (what a terrible place to work) and other things that trouble a single man's mind at age 29. Besides I'm sure I'll find a lot of records while there. Not one. Not then... and not now. Casper is still record less. Not really - actually head to the antique mall and there's some decent vendors selling records. I just didn't find anything this time. Better than having nothing to look at as was the case 28 years ago. The drive from Laramie is almost surreal. Yellow fields of grass and enormous windmills dot the alien landscape. This was my first time to take this route. Mrs. RJG fell asleep half way through.
If Cheyenne is Wyoming's capital and frontier town - and Laramie is the beat cowboy poet college center - then Casper is its cosmopolitan city. If it were 1965 that is. Casper could be considered the Pompeii of mid century architecture. Completely frozen in time. I'm actually surprised that when I googled the topic, Casper didn't come up. Mrs. RJG is a huge fan of the style, so she enjoyed the cityscape.
Another throwback is that I don't think Casper realizes that Sunday is a regular commerce day in modern America. You would think that the Blue Laws were still in effect here. At least 75% of stores and restaurants were closed. Most places I wanted to try were to reopen on Monday or Tuesday. After a lot of research, we decided on J's Pub & Grill. It's your classic just-outside-of-town, near the highway, kind of American eatery that took the 1980s by storm. Just now getting to Casper apparently. Reminded me of Bennigan's. Remember them? Well look at that, Bennigan's has 11 locations in America. Still a thing in Iowa it appears. Well that's about right.
J's is your classic darkened restaurant that the locals love (line out the door when we left) with a large menu, TV's with football games, the whole package. I'm starting to think these restaurants might need to come back actually. The time is right.
I zoomed in on the Spaghetti and Meatballs with a Caesar salad. Mrs. got the Jambalaya and added a creamy jalapeno cheese soup with hamburger. I also ordered a local craft beer (and had a second later) and she had a glass of the house chardonnay. To which they poured her a Moscato. Really guys? Yea, it's the same... My Caesar was fantastic, just the way I like it. Not too creamy or anchovy like. Cold crisp fresh lettuce, and a slightly spicy and tart dressing. Her jalapeno cheese soup was delicious and she ate every bite. But... wait for it... it wasn't very hot. What's wrong with these kitchens? Or in this case, I think the waiter wasn't on top of his game and waited too long. My spaghetti was cooked perfectly al dente, and I really enjoyed the red sauce. The homemade meatballs were pretty good actually. Much better than usual, but not what I keep hoping for. And... wasn't hot enough. Jambalaya was a big hit with Mrs. RJG except the shrimp which was undercooked, and she left them behind. And... not hot enough.
This should have been a great meal. It was close, but improvements are needed. Not sure we'll be in Casper again, but if so, I probably won't make a beeline here anyway. Unless it's Sunday.
9/25/22 (new entry)
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