Day 13: Home sweet home

We pulled into the garage around 8:30, glad to be home after a fun trip, and excited to sleep in our own bed. Since the refrigerator was still nearly empty, I dug up a peanut butter and honey sandwich for myself and some frozen taquitos for him. We had a great time and ate some delicious food, but I was ready to restock the fridge and start making my own food again for a while. I'm not sure how Guy Fieri does it over and over again; I think we'll be eating salads for a month!

Day 13: Settling for Subway

Just after we crossed over the Texas state line, we made a stop in Muleshoe, Texas for gas and a bite to eat. We knew we had a long drive ahead of us, and we were ready to be home, so we didn't want to stay for a sit down meal. We turned to the GPS, which told us the options in this small town were McDonald's, Pizza Hut, a donut shop, and a taqueria. We didn't want Mexican again and figured the taqueria might be a sit down place, so we thought we might just do gas station food. Fortunately, when we got to the gas station, it had a Subway inside, so sub sandwiches it was; so much for local food. We ate on the road, trying to get home before dark.

Day 12: BBQ and homemade ice cream

It is a family tradition to have homemade ice cream for 4^th of July, and my uncle pulled the ice cream machine out of the dungeon to help me celebrate that tradition. We spent the afternoon watching movies, making French vanilla ice cream, and grilling hot dogs and hamburgers at the house. My aunt made a mac and cheese recipe she got from a family friend, and it was great with the burgers and dogs. The French vanilla was a little more work than regular vanilla ice cream, but definitely worth it. I piled my ice cream with fresh fruit and very much enjoyed it, but it was also yummy by itself. I ate way too much of it, but I don’t get it more than once a year, and I made it healthy by adding nectarine slices and blueberries, right?

Day 12: DD&D locale on a holiday...check!

Since we weren’t able to visit the DD&D steakhouse, we decided to try one of the featured cafes for lunch on the 4^th of July. We pulled up to a very small café with a couple of steps to enter, and there was plenty of parking on the street. Someone opened the door and let us know they would open the back door so that we could use the ramp. Although there was a table set at the end of the ramp, they were very nice and tried their best to accommodate us in their small space. The waitress was very pleasant and knowledgeable about their menu. She even had a special appetizer made for us when my uncle described a cheese crisp (popular in Arizona but unknown in the rest of the United States). It looked a bit more like nachos, but it was covered in cheese and green chilis just like he asked (top left below). We all ordered something different, and everything was full of flavor. I got a combo plate (top right below) so I could try a little of everything; it had a ground beef taco, a chicken enchilada, and a chili relleno filled with cheese and deep fried in a corn batter. The pintos were served whole instead of refried and covered with shredded cheese, and I was given a choice of red or green chili to spread on top of my food. Michael got the ground beef tacos (middle right below), and he cleaned his plate. My aunt got the chicken enchiladas with blue corn tortillas (middle left below), and my uncle got beans and chicharron in a burrito (bottom left below). I couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a basket of warm sopapillas for dessert (bottom right below), and I’m glad I didn’t. They were definitely freshly made and brought to us hot with honey, a perfect ending to our delicious meal.

Day 11: Los Ranchos Liquors???

We wanted to go to the Monte Carlo Steakhouse that was on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, but we found out it was closed for the holiday weekend, so my aunt and uncle suggested another steak place, and we agreed. As we rode to the restaurant, my uncle told me to memorize the phrase “the cat’s whiskers.” We pulled up to a parking lot with a liquor store called Los Ranchos Liquors and a big black door that was locked when you tried to open it. My uncle instructed me to knock, so I did, and a voice from the other side hollered, “hold your horses, I’m busy.” After a few brief moments, the voice again came through the door asking for the password, so I said “the cat’s whiskers” and he checked to be sure that I wasn’t a cop and wasn’t wearing a wire before letting us in. We were given instructions not to bother the other guests or ask anyone for an autograph, and we were told that if anyone bothered us, to let him know and he would make sure it was taken care of. We were then led to a fancy table and given a fancy menu for “Vernon’s Hidden Valley Steakhouse.” The prices were higher than your normal steakhouse, but the food was delicious and had definitely been cooked by a well-trained chef. I tried to get pictures of the food discreetly, but it was much to dark in the restaurant to see any of it without using a flash. I got the small filet mignon with new potatoes and shared a chop salad with my husband. The meat was tender and juicy and cooked perfectly, and the salad and potatoes were a nice addition to the meal. I was stuffed when we left. Michael ordered a ribeye with peppercorn and covered in a brandy cream sauce and served with loaded mashed potatoes, and he tried his best to finish his meal but was unable. As we left, the man that let us in the door told us to be sure to come back so he didn’t have to whack anyone we knew. It was definitely expensive, but a fun experience.

Day 11: From the road

I didn’t capture much of the drive from Havasu to Albuquerque, partly because I was sleeping or driving for quite a portion of it, but we did pass some interesting mesas with alcoves in the cliff sides just before we passed into New Mexico. Thank goodness the weather got a little cooler as we drove toward Albuquerque!

Day 11: Striking out

As we approached Flagstaff, we decided we could stand to eat, so we pulled off on the historic Route 66. The GPS directed us to Salsa Brava, a fresh Mexican grill that had been featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. As we pulled into the nearly empty parking lot, we realized the local time was only 10:15am, so they were not yet open. The other DD&D location in Flagstaff was Brandy’s Bakery, and we were sure they would be open since they served breakfast. We headed that way, but much to our chagrin, there were more than a dozen people waiting outside looking at menus when we drove into the parking lot. Not wanting to wait that long, we pulled back onto the interstate and headed east about an hour to Holbrook. A dining guide we had browsed at Barnes and Noble had suggested Joe and Aggie’s Café, a restaurant that served Mexican and American food. Unfortunately, as we passed it, we found it closed. That was the theme in Holbrook with many closed restaurants, likely due to the holiday weekend.

We finally happened upon a place called Mr. Maestas that was open, so we decided it would do. We entered an old building overrun with what my husband would call kitch (decorations), including the grill frame for an old Willy’s and several old style wagons and tricycles hanging from the ceiling. The hostess greeted us warmly and led us to a table, handing us a menu that featured a list on the front called “You know you’re having a bad day when…” and a list on the back giving mileage to other cities from Holbrook (I think that's worse than the street signs in Brady pointing us to surrounding cities!). I ordered the taco salad, and he ordered the chimichanga. My taco salad did not have a bad taste but wasn’t really anything special; it filled me up, and the guacamole was fresh. His chimichanga had quite a bit of spice, but he said it tasted good. While there, a group of 4 British tourists joined us at our large cafeteria style table; they were as confused by the choices on the menu as Americans seem to be by the choices on British menus. We were able to give them a few explanations to help them with their lunch decisions (such as the difference between a burrito and an enchilada and the fact that a chimichanga is a fried burrito), but we hope Holbrook was not a major stop on their vacation and their only experience with Mexican food in the U.S.

Day 10: Ice cream makes you pretty

Once again, we were welcomed to Arizona with overwhelming heat, so we thought ice cream would be a good idea after dinner. We found a local ice cream spot away from the water called Scoops that had homemade ice cream and made their own waffle bowls. The sign outside read “Ice cream makes you pretty. Details inside.” Inside, a teenaged girl greeted us and asked if we had been to Scoops before. She told us what they had and waited patiently for our orders. I decided on strawberry, and he got pistachio, advertised as a new flavor there. Mine was by far better, and I think they may need to tweak their pistachio recipe to make it as great as the strawberry. Our table had a box of Trivial Pursuit questions on it, so we challenged each other with trivia while we ate, and the soda jerk mannequin watched us. When we finished our ice cream, we were more than ready for bed.

Day 10: Was it really the place to be?

We checked into the Rodeway Inn (which was double the cost and half as nice as the Super 8 in Alamogordoo) before heading to dinner. We chose a restaurant called Place to Be, a city style bistro. The city’s dining guide described it as classic home cooking with a twist, all freshly made. We arrived at a small diner with about a dozen tables and a host who held multiple roles as bus boy, waiter, and delivery order taker, but he managed his role very well. Michael got a red ale from Nimbus Brewery, and he enjoyed that with his dinner after a long drive. He ordered the pork chop that was finely breaded and served with mashed potatoes and peas. The mashed potatoes were made with sour cream and green onion, and he said they were the highlight of his meal. I ordered a southwest chicken salad, and it had large portions of avocado, tender grilled chicken, grilled corn that was cut off the cob, and an array of other veggies on fresh greens and topped with some type of lime vinaigrette. It was a very good meal, and definitely a good place to be. (P.S. I forgot to take food pics till we had already eaten some of it.)

Day 10: Welcome back to Arizona

We crossed into Arizona and were very shortly directed south toward Lake Havasu and the London Bridge (now located in Lake Havasu and not London). After passing a rock that looked like a ball glove, we saw water and knew we had made our stop for the night. We got a chance to drive over the London Bridge, which was actually a little anti-climatic, and watch the sunset.

Day 10: Truck stop anyone?

My aunt had suggested Zingo’s Café for a breakfast before we left Bakersfield, so we gave it a try. Zingo’s is a truck stop located right by the freeway on the way out of town, and their menu is chok full of classic breakfast foods. We all (my parents, my husband, and I) ordered some variation of bacon or sausage and eggs with potatoes, and the meals came with a biscuit and gravy. The gravy was so thick, you could eat it with a fork, and my mom was loving it. It was good, but it wasn’t anything special according to me. We did order a home made cinnamon roll to share (and that is a full sized plate in the picture, not a saucer), and it was warm and gooey and doused in butter. Most certainly unhealthy, but delicious.

Day 9: Local ice creamery? I'm in!

I found out an old friend was in town, so we decided to meet up at Rosemary’s Family Creamery on Friday night for dessert. I remember going to Rosemary’s as a child on Sunday evenings after church and getting a half a sandwich to justify having ice cream for dinner. My usual back then was Katie’s hot fudge banana (like a banana split but with three scoops of vanilla and hot fudge over all three scoops), but this time I ordered the tan and white. It is a tall glass with vanilla ice cream covered in caramel, then almond ice cream covered in marshmallow crème sauce, topped with whipped cream and a cherry. It definitely hit the spot. Michael got the tin roof, a large helping of vanilla ice cream with hot fudge and whole peanuts on the side, and he enjoyed his classic dish. Definitely worth the drive to downtown Bakersfield. (I forgot to take pictures, so these pictures are courtesy of a google image search.)

Day 9: Andre's French Restaurant

We slept in and took our time getting ready for the day before heading out with my dad to a place called Andre’s drive-in for burgers and fried pies. My dad and his siblings used to go there as children and remember calling it Andre’s French restaurant because Andre is a French name and they have a French burger. They had a child's table that Michael joked was my size, and they even had a pay phone! We got three juicy burgers, an order of perfectly cooked french fries, and three different flavors of fried fruit pies. And for the icing on the cake, our drinks were packed with crushed ice, a return to my childhood at the Little League fields. I was a happy girl after that calorie filled lunch. Good thing we planned salad for dinner!

Day 8: Tapas and chimichurri

For dinner, we decided on Mama Roomba, a Caribbean place downtown that came highly recommended. Instead of ordering one meal apiece, we chose to order a number of tapas, one meat dish, and a side dish, and it was a great way to get a little taste of a lot of the menu items. We ended up ordering empanadas that were stuffed with meat and covered in a brown sauce, ceviche served on top of a half an avocado, arepas (corn cakes) stuffed with mozzarella and topped with salsa, chicken Paillard (strips of chicken simmered in a Dijon sauce), tri-tip with sautéed onions and chimichurri, and sweet potato fries with habañero ketchup. There wasn’t one dish that I wouldn’t order again, and we topped it off with a dessert of fried banana with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. With our tummies full to the brim, we piled in the car and met my grandma, my aunt and uncle, and my cousins at my dad’s softball game to finish the evening.

(It must have been good.)