The Best Food in Jail – The Cellblock Steakhouse in Ely, Nevada, Road Trip Day 7 Ep.15

Neek sez:

Lex was delighted to see an old cigarette vending machine at the entrance of the Jailhouse Motel and Casino in Ely, Nevada. He and his older sister used to pull the levers pretending it was a game when they were children. Sar and I used to buy chocolate cigarettes and bubblegum shaped like cigars when we were kids. The good old days!

We walked into a cacophony of electronic bells, fake clanking coins, and real people yelling in glee. Continuing on, we passed through a short corridor and till we were seated at our very own jail cell. The Cellblock Steakhouse is a themed restaurant where you can sit and have your (possibly last) meal.

According to a sign, “Because of overcrowding, the men and women would be housed in the same cell” but no hanky panky was allowed as per the Warden’s wife.

Such is a prisoner’s life, sigh…

After looking over the menu of appropriately named dishes, Lex and I decided to break out of our cell and explore the place.

We found that each cell was decorated in various Western style motifs with old photos of stern looking men looking over the diners. Re-purposed liquor bottles were cleverly made into lighting fixtures.

One of the signs reminded us that all razors needed to be returned by the prisoners. I’ll have to remind Lex later.

Our nice jailer was serving our grub so we hurried back to our cell. Sar and I started with a delicious salad with blue cheese dressing. Lex chose the Soup of the Day which was Clam Chowder. Our salad was crisp, fresh and delicious with generous chunks of real blue cheese in the dressing. Lex was happy as a clam (sorry for the pun) with his soup. The basket of rolls was too enticing to pass up so we indulged while waiting for our main course.

Sar, Lex, and I choose the same dish of Hickory Smoked Prime Rib of Beef with a Butter Garlic Sauce. It was the House Special. A hearty baked potato and spears of asparagus and a carrot also decorated the plate with a small tin of grated horseradish and a glass of aujus. The meat was prepared perfectly and was absolutely succulent. Hickory smoke and garlic sauce is definitely a different way of serving Prime Rib of Beef but we can assure you it was amazing.

Having thoroughly stuffed ourselves, we paid a fine ($19.95 each, not including the drinks and a generous tip) and were let out of jail.

As we were leaving, we noticed an official Hwy 50 Stamp Station. Hooray! Now, we have 2 stamps down and 6 more to go. We left the casino and waddled out the door.

Ely was a Central Overland stagecoach station along the Pony Express route. The origins of the name “Ely” is a bit muddled. In 1878, a resident from Vermont, J. W. Long came to the area setting up a camp and named it “Ely”, after discovering gold. No one really knows why he named it Ely but the name stuck.

Unlike other parts of Nevada, Ely’s main boom came relatively late with the discovery of copper in 1906. With copper prices crashing in the 1970’s, Ely survived by turning to low grade gold mining and were able to make it through the 1980’s and 90’s. Eventually copper prices rebounded and its mining was revived again.

A part of the first Transcontinental Railway went through Ely and has been preserved as the Nevada Northern Railway National Historic Landmark. It carries the train also known as “The Ghost Train”. We certainly wished we could have visited the train but unfortunately due to a very limited schedule we had to pass. Maybe next time!

Across from the Jailhouse Casino and Motel is the historic Hotel Nevada and Gambling Hall built in 1929. Lex really liked the neon gold miner with the pick ax but I really liked the cute cowboy burro on the side of the building cooking up a pan of vittles. I hoped his food was as good as the steak we had for dinner.