The Party's Over Here!
Wrangler's in Arenas Valley offers casual fare and good times, indoors or out.
Looking for a place to grab a casual bite with your friends? A place to take the kids without worry? Want an ample bar menu with great prices?
Here to answer the call is Wrangler's Bar & Grill in Arenas Valley, with indoor and patio dining to boot. Tucked in behind the Diamond Shamrock gas station on Hwy. 180, the Wrangler opened in late April. Billing itself as a family dining bar and grill, it's owned by Jim and Debbie Nennich, the owners of the Food Basket grocery store and Snappy Mart gas and convenience store outlets in Silver City. Already Wrangler's is busy six nights a week, drawing eager patrons from both north and south.
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The decor and atmosphere are decidedly fun, with an Old West theme, rustic dark wood and metal buckets of peanuts on the tables so you and your buddies can crunch and munch while you settle in.
Eager to enjoy the summer night, and mindful that we can be a noisy bunch, my friends and I request a table out on the patio. Umbrellas shade the seven or eight tables of various sizes, surrounded by an adobe wall. A fishpond burbles in the corner, and on the opposite wall, two televisions are tuned to a sports channel. Pass the peanuts, please.
No one bats an eyelash when we reconfigure our little corner of the patio, dragging a couple of tables together to accommodate our party.
"There may be others joining us," I offer up a little sheepishly.
"No problem. What can I get you to drink?" asks our perky waitress.
Wrangler's has a great list of brews at even better prices, by the glass or pitcher. Domestic and "craft" beers, like Fat Tire, Sierra Nevada and Sam Adams, are available on draft for $1.75 to $2.99 a glass. If you and your buddies can agree on a fave, order a pitcher starting at $6. There also are bottled domestics, imports and craft beers. Happy Hour runs 5-7 p.m. weekdays, with $1 regular drafts and $2 32-ounce drafts.
Not a brewski fan? Wrangler's offers five varieties of house wine, by the glass or bottle, from Redwood Creek and Barefoot vineyards. The bottle-only list includes reds and whites by Kendall Jackson, Fetzer, Rosemount, Fish Eye and more. And, of course, spirits abound—margaritas, martinis and daiquiris are among the mixed drinks, and they offer a nice slate of whiskeys and scotches. One friend in the group drinks only "the good stuff"—translation, 12-year-old single-malt scotch whiskey. Yes, they stock his brand.
The ladies at the table order a bunch of margaritas and various glasses of wine. Unable to pick just one mutually agreeable brew, the gents forgo the bargain pitcher and order a variety of bottles and glasses.
The waitress is gone in a flash to order up and fetch the drinks, leaving us to crunch peanuts and ponder the sizeable appetizer menu. The starters run from $5 to $8, and include simple tortilla chips served with bean dip, salsa and con queso, nachos and Blooming Onions. Forget "Buffalo wings," as in Buffalo, NY: Wrangler's serves up "Desert Wings" in three flavors, with ranch or bleu cheese dips and celery sticks. There are deep-fried veggie samplers and jalapeno bottle caps. "Wrangler Sliders" are little burgers served up in batches of three, accompanied by Texas Sticks.
The drinks arrive and we order a bunch of appetizers to share: A chicken quesadilla ($5.99), the Wrangler nachos with ground beef ($7.99) and a plate of the Desert Wings in the "Hot" flavor ($6.99).
This is the place to come when you want to hang with your friends or have a relaxed bite with the family—no waiters hovering, asking if you're ready for your check. The next hour is spent enjoying the drinks— margaritas delightfully potent, the shot of the good stuff generously poured—and passing the appetizers. The quesadilla is fresh and nicely filled, accompanied by generous scoops of sour cream, salsa and guacamole. The nachos are warm, crisp and nicely heaped, with salsa and guacamole on the side. And the hot Desert wings are, well, hot!
Another couple of beers, please. And a couple of us are ready for replacement margaritas. Heck, just make it another round!
Wrangler's has a plentiful assortment of salads and soups, including Caesar, taco and chef salads. They serve starting at 11 a.m., only one menu, so this is a good place to pick for lunch, too. We're all looking for beef tonight.
Wrangler's offers a wide variety of burgers and sandwiches ($5.99-$6.99), as well as ribs, steaks and chicken. From the Cowgirl Cut Prime Rib (eight ounces, $9.99) to The Boss T-bone (16 ounces, $15.99), Wrangler's has the beef angle covered.
I am disappointed when the waitress comes back to tell me the chef won't prepare my rare burger. No ground beef leaves his kitchen with an internal temperature of less than 160 degrees Fahrenheit, health code rules. Steaks, they'll cook to order. The Ranch Hand, a prime rib sandwich, seems a good compromise. All dinners come with a choice of one or two sides, from all manner of beans, vegetables, salads and slaws to steak fries, Texas Sticks and even rice pilaf.
There's also a seafood menu and the "Little Wrangler's" menu, for "senior appetites" and kids under 12.
It's a busy night tonight. The indoor dining room and patio are both hopping and the waiters are running. It takes a while for dinner to arrive, but nobody is paying much attention, laughing and polishing off the peanuts and starters.
The food finally is delivered by a team of three waitstaff and we check our slabs of cow for proper doneness. My Ranch Hand has cheese on it, something I was not expecting, but the meat is tender and satisfyingly juicy. One lady in the party declares her steak "medium," and sends it back for a rarer replacement. Else, everybody's happy.
We all dig in, several generous members of the party offering up bites of their steaks and side dishes to the woman who is waiting for rare. The replacement steak arrives in about 10 minutes (impressive on a busy night like this) and is determined to be within acceptable limits of red and juicy.
Owing to the generous selection of appetizers and ample dinner portions, doggie boxes are needed for the leftovers. Meanwhile, the sun has gone down on a fine patio party, and we are all making plans for a return trip. Waitstaff, you've been warned.
—Donna Clayton Lawder
Wrangler's Bar & Grill, #3 Rio de Arenas Road, Arenas Valley, 538-4387, serves 11 a.m.-11p.m., Monday through Saturday.