The Silver Screen Restaurant at El Rancho – Gallup, New Mexico

In the 1930s and 1940s, sometimes considered the halcyon days of Western movies, the Four Corners region was the site of many cinematic classics, quite a few featuring battles between the cavalry and “misplaced” American Indians.  Never mind that the Cheyenne and the Sioux actually lived hundreds of miles (and several states) away, the region’s dramatic topography was a perfect backdrop for cowboy conflicts with these Midwestern Indians. Besides that, Navajo “actors” were plentiful.  Producers would attire them in war bonnets, arm them with lances and hand them scripts in which they would invariably succumb to the “righteous might” of the charging cavalry.

One movie, John Ford’s classic Cheyenne Autumn, featuring Navajo actors pretending to be Cheyenne, has an almost cult following in Navajo country. Navajo members watching the movie today roar with laughter when Cheyenne leaders speak in Navajo, supposedly discussing treaties and tribal needs.  What the Navajo actors in the film really said in somber tones generally concerned the size of the colonel’s privates (not the ones who march) or some equally disrespectful or bawdy double-entendre.

When filming took place in Navajo country close to Gallup, New Mexico, the stars found a temporary home at the El Rancho Hotel, a rustic Old West style hotel built by the brother of a Hollywood movie magnate. Since its opening in 1937, the hotel has been a popular stopping point along old Route 66.  Its guest registry includes such luminaries as Kirk Douglas, Lucille Ball, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Allan Ladd and Ronald Reagan.  El Rancho is now protected by the National Historic Preservation Society.

The El Rancho can be described as Route 66 meets the Old West.  At night the hotel is festooned with vibrant neon signage that cuts a luminous swath through the night sky. A two-story open lobby complete with circular staircase is decorated in grandiose (albeit manly) fashion with heavy wooden furniture and ornate Navajo rugs. Massive vigas are adorned with mounted trophy animal heads.  The walls on the upstairs portion of the lobby are embellished with autographed photos of the many stars who have spent the night at El Rancho.  It could take hours to study all the movie memorabilia.

When they weren’t sitting on horses, the movie stars ate, drank and slept at El Rancho’s expansive restaurant.  Fittingly, that restaurant is called “The Silver Screen.”  Movie stars imbibed adult beverages in large quantities at the adjacent 49ers Lounge. In 2006, Esquire magazine named the 49ers Lounge one of the top fifty bars in America, placing in elite company with big city bars in Chicago, New Orleans, San Francisco and New York City.  According to the article, the lounge is “both rough-hewn and rough around the edges. It doesn’t serve a lot of fancy cocktails, but it has great booze.”

The Silver Screen, El Rancho’s original ranch-style, full-service dining room is replete high ceilings, exposed wood beam trusses and rustic cowboy décor. According to El Rancho’s website, the Silver Screen takes an uncomplicated approach to familiar favorites with an emphasis on traditional Southwestern flavors. It’s a fun, casual setting so you can dig in after a day of exploring National Monuments and Native Pueblos or get off on the right foot for a new day’s adventures.

The Silver Screen’s lunch menu includes several burgers and sandwiches all named for movie stars who dined on the premises.  The Doris Day sandwich, for example, is a sirloin steak on French bread while the John Wayne burger includes guacamole. We’ve tried to figure out why some of those burgers were named for specific actors. The Ronald Reagan burger kinda sorta makes sense because it’s accompanied by jelly beans (Ronald Reagan once said about jelly beans, his favorite snack, “you can tell a lot about a fellow’s character by whether he picks out all of one color or just grabs a handful.”)  It’s only appropriate that the burger named in his honor also includes a pill cup’s worth of jelly bellies of several varieties. though it certainly wasn’t named in tribute for his riveting performance in Bedtime for Bonzo.. Other burgers don’t seem to have a rhyme or reason behind their names.

The dinner menu features traditional Old West favorites including several cuts of steak, prime rib, fried chicken, grilled salmon and some very good barbecue (likely the best item on the menu).  New Mexican food is available for both lunch and dinner.  Perhaps the best way to sample the restaurant’s New Mexican food is by ordering the Ricardo Montalban.  Served piping hot, the plate includes two enchiladas, one taco, one roasted pork tamale, one bean and cheese tostada, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, salsa and sour cream) .   It does not include rich Corinthian leather.  The tostada starts with a crispy shell slathered with a creamy guacamole then topped with lettuce, chopped tomatoes and Cheddar cheese.  The star of this item is the guacamole which has the pronounced taste of fresh avocado. Once you get past the lettuce and tomatoes, the taco is quite good with well-seasoned beef.  The enchilada is cheesy in and out then slathered with a cumin heavy red chile (or green if you prefer).  The chile is of the mild variety with barely discernible heat.  The beans are of the refried variety while the Spanish rice is tomato-based and slightly sweet.

9 August 2026:  Another headscratcher that not even Marilyn Vos Savant would be able to figure out is why the Silver Screen would name the only chimichanga on its menu for Desi Arnaz, the Cuban-American actor, musician, producer, and bandleader.  First off, Cubans do not traditionally eat chimichangas.  Second, this chimichanga is constructed on a large flour tortilla rolled with your choice of bean, beef or chicken, Cheddar and Asadero cheese, mole, shredded lettuce, diced tomato, avocado and cilantro-lime crema.  Cubans do not traditionally eat mole either.  As mole goes, this might best be described as a combination of barbecue sauce and 505 Southwestern’s fajita marinade (apparently no longer made).  While some mole does have sweet notes (and not solely because chocolate is sometimes an ingredient), the Silver Screen mole was nearly cloying.  That’s unfortunate because the cheese and beef were quite good.  So were the whole pinto beans (though the “Spanish” rice should be buried somewhere).

9 August 2026:  Not quite as anomolous as the Desi Arnaz is the Brisket Sliders on the “small bites” menu.  They come three to an order and though categorized as “sliders” are just a smidgeon larger than the original sliders at White Castle.  Unlike the originator of the sacrosanct slider, the Silver Screen’s protein of choice is brisket.  It is the antithesis of Texas brisket.  Not only is it fatty and sinewy, when you bite into the slider,  you get an entire piece of brisket.  In other words, it doesn’t cut easily (understatement).  The brisket is covered in barbecue sauce, perhaps to make the fattiness more palatable.  This plate’s only salvation is the French fried which are thin-cut and crispy with just enough salt.

Situated on old Route 66, the El Rancho Hotel earns its motto of “Charm of Yesterday, Convenience of Tomorrow” with all the modern amenities of a 21st century hotel.  At the very heart of Indian country, it is a great stopping place en route to some of the most picturesque sites in the Four Corners, most within a day’s drive.  The El Rancho is within easy walking distance of several art galleries on Route 66.  Offering an exquisite ensemble of artistic creations from throughout the Southwest at much better prices than Scottsdale or Santa Fe, Gallup is well known to savvy collector in search of a bargain.

The Silver Screen at Hotel El Rancho
1000 East 66 Avenue
Gallup, New Mexico
(505) 863-9311
Website | Facebook Page
LATEST VISIT: 9 August 2026
PREVIOUS VISIT: 7 September 2007
# OF VISITS: 5
RATING: Good – good food, decent service, and a clean environment; provides a satisfactory, dependable, and standard experience
COST: $$
BEST BET: Salsa and Chips, Combination New Mexican Plate, The John Wayne