The 49er Lounge, which is housed in the historic El Rancho Hotel on Route 66 in Gallup, N.M., was named by Esquire magazine as one of the "Best in America," according to the Gallup Independent.
The magazine listed 50 taverns from across the country. Here's Esquire's listing for the 49er:
Back when westerns were box-office gold, the El Rancho Hotel was where the stars ate, drank and slept when they weren't sitting on horses. The hotel's lounge is both rough-hewn and rough around the edges. It doesn't serve a lot of fancy cocktails, but it has great booze. (1000 East Highway 66; 800-346-8357)
The Independent reports:
The 49er's rustic western atmosphere along with the mounted swordfish on the wall, Mexican music in the jukebox, and the Greek-Native American bartender serving the drinks make it a unique watering hole in a business that is now dominated by national hotel chains that feature look-alike lounges.
"There's a lot this hotel doesn't have," admitted Athens, citing such things as up-to-date cooling and electrical systems. "It's all part of the uniqueness."
However, Athens believes those characteristics are sometimes a plus for the 49er. Because the nearly 70-year-old lounge is not wired for refrigeration, it serves the coldest beer in Gallup due to its beer on ice, he said.