Restaurants in Dodge City During the Wild West

Ever wondered what people ate and what kind of restaurants were in the wild west? Well this video will describe what kinds of restaurants could be found in Dodge City during the time of the frontier, and what kind of grub they advertised. From 1872-1885 learn about the connection between saloons and restaurants, and follow the growth of the restaurant trade in old Dodge City.

[daviddougan]

Great video and stories. My ancestors were some of the Texas cattlemen who drove herds of longhorns up to Dodge during the 1870's and then decided to stay after a few years. At least a dozen are buried in the City cemetery. Their story is told in the book "The Ladder of Rivers" and is a wild but true tale of the Olive brothers. we actually had a family reunion at their old Texas homestead in 2014 and over 100 participated. Three died of gun shots and the fourth went on to become Chairman of the Nebraska Cattlemen's Association . Three of the participants were great grand daughters of two of the Olive brothers, but Dodge City was where the all are resting now.

[dorothylewis]

Very nice, I would like to see a Menu from a Restaurant.

[reneethornton]

This was great reporting. I just always thought people back then only ate steak due to the cattle. To learn that Jim “dog” Kelly, the nickname “dog” was actually because I’d his dog. I thought it was because of a bad reputation. On this past Sunday I watched a documentary about about John “Doc” Holiday and learned so much about him. Thanks for always bringing us history of the Wild Wild West. Keep them coming!

[mercedithcompala]

Interesting history, enjoyed this. Wish you had more Inside photos.

[alancamper]

Wonderful video. Can’t wait for the next one.

[GoCorvette]

Always the best wild west history videos.

[rons]

Really cool. As a kid living in Kansas, it was a treat to go to the McDonald's in Dodge. They had a table that was in a stagecoach. It was the early 80s, 1980s that is!

[devonbell]

Very well done. I enjoy the level of research you conduct in locating contemporaneous newspaper articles.

On a side note: our family’s surname is Bell and they were farmers/ranchers in Missouri, Kansas and Arkansas. I also served as the Sheriff-Coroner-Marshal of Placer County, Ca from 2017 until my retirement last June.

Keep up the good work!

[bradfordbarrettluckotheIrish]

I enjoyed this vlog, outstanding research. I’m in the mood now for a biscuit and butter.

[williamlarochelle]

Interesting subject & treatment. What the video lacks are photos of restaurant interiors.

[scottbates]

Very well researched! A wealth of information.!

[JoshuaTraffanstedt]

This is an awesome video. Thats one thing ive always been interested in; businesses of towns and cities during the 1800s. I once found an immigration pamphlet from the 1880s for my hometown in the museum for $2. It was the most in depth look at the area ive ever found and it was originally published in that era. It talked about a fire that had destroyed many of the wooden buildings on the town square (including the courthouse which was really only a cabin lol), some of the retail places, restaurants and saloons (mostly saloons lol), prominent citizens and elected officials of the day, the regions biggest cash crops, what professional people the town was in desperate need of, and just the overall sort of people the town and county was looking to attract. I lost that phamplet while moving at some point over the years, but im still hopeful it will someday turn up 😂. It was amazing. You should do some more videos like this of places like Dallas and Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, San Francisco, Denver, Phoenix, Santa Fe, El Paso, Salt Lake City, Boise, Las Vegas, Sacramento, Deadwood, Cheyenne, etc. Id love to hear about them all!

[mybuckhead]

Very good video. Thank you for not using goofy music or any music

[wingandhog]

These videos are really good. They are captivating. I have seen a few cookbooks from the turn of the 20th century. I suppose many of those recipes had been around for some time. Those folks were creative enough with what they could get.
I live in New Mexico. We still see many antelope and bison herds out on the range, but not like what they saw during the Wild West.

[carolynraley]

I was wondering how people kept food cold back in the 1800's, so I asked Google who said people cut ice from frozen lakes and such. But I don't think there were frozen bodies of water in western desert areas, so how'd they keep food cold out there?
Great video, by the way. I love you guys and your work!

[j.robertsergertson]

When you started talking about oysters, and how there was so many buffalo, I Was thinking "Rocky Mountain Oysters" I am kind glad ir was the ocean kind of oysters

[lenledwidge]

Tested an oil well out side of Dodge and was heading back to Wichita. It was a long night and at 7A.m. their was a guy opening his beer store. I hollered at the guy; you opening up? O YES. I'll be right in them. I enjoyed working out of Wichita and hatted to return to Alberta Canada. A year later I married a girl from Wichita after she mover to Alberta. I have a daughter now who is a cop. Scary. Tks

[bobwallace]

@ :17, playing faro, the most popular game in those saloons...not poker. @15:09 some of Dodge City's finest working women appear on the balcony. The biggest takeaway for me is that the folks there ate a high protein, high fiber and low fat diet and living an active lifestyle meant they were all in pretty good shape. Not many fatties. The big surprise to me is that oysters were served everywhere and apparently everyone ate them daily. So unlike what tv/movies portray, the bar top crowd ordered their liquor with a dozen on the half shell and then had a long stemmed pipe with tobacco while digesting.

[thomaslietzau]

MOST OYSTERS IN THE WILD WEST .. ROCKY MOUNTAIN OYSTERS .. THEY WERE EZER TO GET FRESH

[monstersdad]

Kelly’ partners last name wasn’t Betty it’s pronounced Bay tee . It’s a Scots name, it can’t ever be pronounced Properly by purely English speakers. The E is silent, not the A.