Mono Cone Restaurant Review – Lee Vining, California
Mono Cone is one of those old fashioned “dairy freeze” burger-and-malt stands that are scattered all around Small Town USA. I eat here every time I’m in the Eastern Sierra area of California.
Mono Cone is located in Lee Vining, California, which is at the base of the popular Tioga Pass, the road that crosses the Sierra Nevada mountain range down into Yosemite National Park. Most of the business here are summer-only and they earn their big bucks from those visiting Yosemite National Park. There’s not a lot of choices here for lunch – my first time in the area, we spotted a bunch of people milling around outside of Mono Cone, so we figured it must be good, so we gave it a try.
Details:
Location:
33-29 1st St
Lee Vining, CA 93541
Mono Cone looks like a run-down shack on the side of the road, decorated with sparkly banners more fitting at a used car dealership or a payday loan service, not a restaurant. But don’t let outside appearances fool you; Mono Cone is fabulous.
This little stand is very convenient to all the local tourist attractions in the area – Bodie ghost town, Mammoth Lakes, Tioga Pass road which leads into Yosemite National Park, Mono Lake, not to mention all the cool hikes in the area. I’ve done a lot of hikes in the Eastern Sierra and Mono Cone is always the best after-hike treat.
Operating Season:
Mono Cone in Lee Vining is a seasonal business, operating from late spring to late fall.
Menu:
Pretty basic — the Mono Cone menu is exactly what you’d expect from one of these roadside burger joints – burgers, fried food and soft serve.
Service:
The staff is great, but be aware that you’ll have to wait. Everything is made to order and Mono Cone place gets very busy – especially in peak summer!
Price:
Not gonna lie, Mono Cone is expensive. And they only take cash. Because of the high prices, the first time my sister and I ate here, we just ate ice cream. But when we saw the food other people were eating, we changed our minds. Sometimes food from these roadside stands isn’t that great – the food takes a backseat to the treats and you end up with “ski chalet food,” like hockey puck burgers and fries dripping with grease. Mono Cone’s food looked nothing like this. It looked appetizing. And after we enjoyed our meal, I would say that it’s worth the price. It must be; we keep coming back!
Seating:
There’s a small indoor area to sit, otherwise you they have a few picnic tables outside, behind the restaurant. Mono Cone gets very busy, so you might have to wait for a table to open up. I’ve never had to wait too long to get a table and I’ve been here many, many times.
Food:
I’ve tried lots of different menu items here but my favorite is the jalapeno burger. I’ve also tried the jalapeño chicken sandwich, regular cheeseburgers, french fries, chicken fingers, malts and soft serve cones. You can’t go wrong.
As for desserts, it’s soft serve ice cream or shakes/malts. f you want, you can get some toppings on your ice cream, but that’s about all. There are no gimmicks here. They’re not going to fold your ice cream in with your hot fudge, sprinkles, peanut butter cups, orange slices, banana chips, black licorice and other assorted battered and broken candy toppings on a marble platter, into a sloppy, sugary mess, stick it in a bowl and sell it to you as “specialty ice cream” (looking at you, Cold Stone Creamery).
No. It’s chocolate, vanilla or twist in a Styrofoam bowl and if you insist on sprinkles or hot fudge or peanuts, they’ll toss some on top.
Mono Cone – Final thoughts
Pros:
It’s good “dairy freeze” style food, especially tasty after a hike!
Cons:
Expensive
Cash only
Limited seating
Very busy!
Can we eat now?!
