The reason we embarked on this trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming was to celebrate the 40th birthday of one of our most treasured friends. She had been to Jackson Hole twice before and it quickly became her "happy place."
We were in Jackson on her actual birthday, and I felt it was imperative we dine at a spectacular restaurant.
We chose Figs, a Mediterranean restaurant inside Hotel Jackson. The hotel is right in the heart of downtown, with a beautiful lobby. The restaurant is on the right side of the ground floor, just a few steps beyond the entrance.
The dining room has a max capacity of 40-45 people, which made it feel intimate. Many of the tables have banquette seating, making it feel extra cozy.
There was one waitress for the entire dining room. While she wasn't as attentive as we would have liked, especially after we specified in our reservation that we were celebrating a milestone birthday, she was always friendly when she popped over.
Since we were toasting to the birthday girl, we needed a fabulous round of drinks! And boy did Figs deliver.
Three of us ordered the Leba-Knees-Bees, which was Jackson Hole Great Grey Gin, Domaine de Canton, lavender-honey syrup, and lemon juice. It was superb. It tasted like ice cold lavender lemonade.
Two of the girls ordered dirty martinis (one vodka, one gin) and they were quite impressed. One shared, "It's always a gamble to order a martini at a place you've never been before, but this is a great one and they added just the right amount of olive juice."
The Figs menu is designed for sharing, and that's just what we did.
We ordered the baba ganoush, hummus with aleppo pepper, and the shankleesh (feta cheese, cucumber, tomato and za'atar spice).
The baba ganoush had that signature, smoky eggplant flavor and was so smooth. The hummus was wonderfully creamy and had a bit of a kick from the pepper. The shankleesh was the table's favorite! If you're a feta cheese lover, this is not to be missed.
Our waitress brought us a tray of pita bread to use for dipping and as it came toward our table, the birthday girl shouted, "Peep those pillowy pitas!" It's true, they were delightfully puffy.
We also placed two orders of the spinach pies. Each triangle was stuffed with spinach, onion and pine nuts.
I was definitely expecting something more like Greek spanikopita. This version was sadly underwhelming.
For the second round, three of the girls shared the chicken kebab which was marinated with paprika and garlic. It came with a side of rice that was topped with slivered almonds.
When I asked how it tasted, one replied, "The chicken is moist, but nothing special. I'd rather have more dips!"
We also ordered two sides of za'atar French fries, with a white garlic sauce for dipping.
The fry + garlic sauce combo was heavenly and insanely addicting. We made those disappear right quick.
After all the plates were cleared, our waitress asked if we'd like to have dessert. Figs has three specialities: baklava, chocolate mousse and knafeh (a savory cheesecake). None of those were speaking to the birthday girl, so we decided to pass.
Before leaving, we used the ladies room in the hotel lobby, which had a mirror that simply begged for a selfie.
When we left the hotel, we headed for the town square. A kind stranger agreed to take our picture under the elk archway, a Jackson landmark! These are elk antlers that are naturally shed every season.
You know that we weren't going to end the evening without finding another dessert. We hopped in line at Moo's Gourmet Ice Cream. The birthday girl got Huckleberry (a local favorite) and I got Grasshopper (a.k.a. Mint Oreo).
If you'll be spending time in Jackson Hole, you must make time to dine at Figs. If I close my eyes, I can still taste those za'atar fries! I also highly recommend the two-stop tour of Figs, then Moo's.
Figs is located at 120 N. Glenwood Street, Jackson Hole, WY 83001 and Moo's is 155 Center Street, Jackson Hole, WY 83001.
