I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for good food anywhere in or around these two towns. Coming in tomorrow afternoon and it sure would be nice to get a good meal in before heading out. Pizza factory is completely out of the question.

"We Toss em' There Awesome"

Seasons in Lone Pine, right on the corner of 395 and whitney portal

Yes, Seasons in Lone Pine for sure. Also the Still Life Cafe in Independence has great French country cooking if you are not in a rush...

ksolem wrote:Yes, Seasons in Lone Pine for sure. Also the Still Life Cafe in Independence has great French country cooking if you are not in a rush...

yeah I like that place, but hesitated to recommend it as they are not always open

Don't know if they're still there but the Bonanza Family Restaurant had the worst hamburgers in the history of western civilization.

I like the High Sierra Cafe. Pedestrian maybe, but I look forward to the 1950s American style coffee (goes down pretty well with the chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and green beans for dinner).

Noondueler wrote:Don't know if they're still there but the Bonanza Family Restaurant had the worst hamburgers in the history of western civilization.

Now that sounds like a story that needs to be told. That can't be worse than the burger Otto I ate after Lechfeld!

Seasons in Lone Pine is always a crowd pleaser. No its not the cheapest joint in LP but, hey, you just climbed some big mountain, splurge a little bit!

Last time I was there I knew I was in the right place when the next booth over was full of ranchers talking at length about cattle grazing and various ranching techniques. Mmmmm beef...!

Still Life Cafe can also be good, but I would reiterate what ksolem said about not being in a hurry. I had a great experience there when we showed up at lunch and practically had the place to ourselves, but the second time I went on a busy Saturday night after having come down from Dragon Peak our group almost starved to death.

La Bonanza Mexican restaurant, right on the 395 in the middle of town, east side of the street. I've never had a bad meal there. In fact, I've never had anything but great meals there, but their Chile Colorado? The best I've ever had, anywhere, in my life. Highest recommendation.

STAY AWAY from the Mount Whitney Cafe, the one at 395/Whitney Portal Rd., on the SW corner. Crap food, absolute crap 'tude from the waitress. Rudeness, incompetence and dung on a plate.

Just a fair warning about seasons: The food is wonderful, but the service is really lackluster. It's hard to pay so much for food and get lousy service. I was pretty disapointed.

Otherwise, if you can look past the slow/unprofessional service, the food is sure to delight.

Dirtbag climbers prefer MickyDs in Lone Pine – "Fastest MacDonald's in the Sierras"

Seasons for sure, and the Country Kitchen, in Big Pine.

Seasons always has a "special" that is a pretty good deal. It's what the chef decided on for that day. The 1/2 BBQ chicken is pretty good also and only cost a bit more than you will spend over at "We Tossem, you will toss em later"

All the 395 places suffer from poor service, except for the Country Kitchen. I knat figure out why. Maybe part time staff?


After an all -night epic above Big Pine it's just great to drop in for "two" breakfast in the am.

Gary Schenk wrote:You might want to avoid Rossi's in Big Pine...

Another Rossi's story…….
After we did Temple Crag during the 2005 SC, Michael Graupe led a few people back via the Willow Lake/South Fork bushwhack. Well, that bushwhack did me and several others in and I remember being totally bonked and starving by the time I got back to the car. At dinner that night at Rossi’s, the SC crew ate every single bit of food that they brought to the table ....everything. I recall Matthew Holliman’s attempts to poach food off of other plates were met with snarls and growls. Bad food or not, that hungry SC crew loved the food at Rossi’s that night.
Bon Appétit