The Hitching Post serves up diner-type grub
An omelette with hash browns and toast at the Hitching Post.
A bacon cheeseburger with fries at the Hitching Post in Orem on Monday, April 28, 2014. SPENSER HEAPS/Daily Herald
A bacon cheeseburger with fries at the Hitching Post in Orem on Monday, April 28, 2014. SPENSER HEAPS/Daily Herald
An omelette with hash browns and toast at the Hitching Post in Orem on Monday, April 28, 2014. SPENSER HEAPS/Daily Herald
Judging a greasy spoon restaurant is tricky.
By definition, the food is purposely sloppy and a little cheap. It’s supposed to be charming, and in my experience it usually is. With this standard though, greasy spoon restaurants can get away with a lot. How messy is too messy? How cheap is too cheap? As a patron, it isn’t easy to set a standard for diners like this.
I visited The Hitching Post, a bar and grill off Geneva Road in Orem, for lunch last week. Wood paneling lined the walls, a daytime courtroom show played on TV and aging war veterans gathered around a nearby table. That should give you a good indication of the vibe. (The Hitching Post also had an old Mortal Kombat II arcade game in the corner.) Eating the food, I wondered about how to judge it.
Now, I could be considered a foodie. My mom was an amazing cook. My mom’s mom was an amazing cook. And I’m no slouch in the kitchen either. However, I don’t think I’m a food snob. I can be just as content with a simple, inexpensive burger as I can a high-end meal. Tasty is tasty. “Quality” doesn’t always have to do with cost. Perusing the menu, The Hitching Post had standard diner items: Burgers, omelets, various deep-fried foods. A fairly simple menu — but once again, not a bad thing. My friends and I ordered the Fish and Chips, Sausage Omelet and Steak Sandwich with the works.
To tide us over, we also got the Stuffed Tots as an appetizer. These tots had melted cheese and jalapeño bits inside. It wasn’t really my kind of thing, but I bet a lot of customers probably love them.
The Steak Sandwich was probably our favorite item. It came loaded with steak, onions and mushrooms, as well as red, green and yellow peppers. It all rested on a delicious roll that was lightly toasted — slightly crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The steak was a little burnt, but the rest of the fixings were so good that it wasn’t too noticeable. It came with fries, which we upgraded to cheese fries. And really, one can never go wrong with cheese fries.
We did the same cheesy customization with the Fish and Chips. If you like a high bread-to-fish ratio, the Hitching Post’s fried fish filets will certainly satisfy. My sausage omelet was also pretty tasty, though it did raise some questions. The top of the omelet was adorned with Kraft Singles — a curious choice, since our cheese fries had normal cheese. Did they run out of normal cheese? Maybe some patrons would find these Kraft Singles charming. I’m not in this camp. To me, Kraft Singles belong on grilled cheese sandwiches, and pretty much nothing else. If a restaurant has real cheese to use on an omelet, I think they should use it. The omelet came with a side of hash browns, done in the style of fresh-cut potato chunks. It also comes with either toast or an English muffin. I chose the English muffin, and collectively the three items were great, Kraft Singles notwithstanding.
All three of our meals came with a free soda, which the Hitching Post server was happy to refill. They serve normal meals from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and after that it’s just snack foods, so if you’re hoping for a Hitching Post meal then don’t show up late. They serve most breakfast items during this 12-hour period too, except for pancakes and waffles, which are only available in the morning hours.
We finished our lunch decently satisfied, though we would’ve preferred the portions to be a tad larger. The Hitching Post’s food tasted pretty much as I expected. It fit the décor and overall atmosphere. Would I go back to the Hitching Post for the food? Maybe. But for Mortal Kombatt II? Probably.
The Hitching Post Bar & Grill
Where: 30 N. Geneva Rd., Orem
Hours: 6 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday
Prices: $6-$10
Info: (801) 226-3277