Local Watering Holes

The history we could find on the place is this so far: It was Cecil's in the 1960s & 1970s, Westwood Ranch House 1970s-1980s, Caribbean Club late 1980s-1990s. Then it went back to being Westwood Ranch House (information & photo courtesy of Kurt Ehinger). It's been Shots for about the past 10 years. We were told there is still a bar in the basement but it is not open to the public. More history from Pete Walsh: "It was Westwood Ranch House owned by Jack Woods for years. There was a house across the driveway where he lived, gone now. He also ran a riverboat for a while. The building has grown over the years. The main bar was a nice horseshoe bar up by the front door where there is a meeting room now. There were two banquet rooms and a large walk in cooler in the basement. The stairwell to the basement was also by the front door and is gone now. The current main bar was a back bar used mainly for events like concerts. The Middleton Trio with Sparky Harris used to play...

An establishment without windows always gives us pause but we ventured in anyway. This is the first time we've walked into a bar and were asked if we had reservations. We didn't but we were seated quite promptly anyway. It's a big space with lots of TVs and arcade games, two pool tables, and a bar with seating for about a dozen. Drinks were up promptly (we love the large square cubes). We like to start with tater tots and were in luck tonight. These tots were topped with house seasoning, house-made chili sauce, cheddar cheese, and chopped onions and jalapenos. They were some of the best we've had. According to our server, Haile, the Vestal is known for their burgers so two of us went for them. All the burgers come on Nantucket brioche buns. The Vestal Burger lived up to its name but was a little large to handle 😊 Other than missing tomato, the olive burger was voted the best ever had. The olives were part of the sauce (heavy mayo with chopped olives). Having the same h...