A Taste of the Southwest

I recently embarked on a rather excellent road trip through the Southwest to see geo- and archaeological wonders galore. The scenery was incredible, the culture was one-of-a-kind and, all together, it resulted in a very satisfying appreciation of the Ol' West and the beauty of this here wonderful country. Not to be overlooked were the many interesting and somewhat painful meals (Holiday Inn, I'm looking at you) that come with eating out 3x a day in an unknown land. Some of them, however, were quite delicious and truly representative of that local flavor. So I thought I would invite you to the table with this summary of our Southwest Road Trip's greatest meals.

1) Quite early on the journey, while traveling through a mountain pass on our way to Death Valley, land of awesomeness and sodium, we wandered past this epic diner of dehydrated meats and fruits. When we first got there, there was actually some Quicksilver tour bus headed the opposite direction with a bunch of hot, endorsed-out surfer types sporting shaggy sun-bleached hair and sandals in the 40 degree weather. So that was sweet. This picture of a damaged portapotty also sets the scene. The business was actually quite tasteful with all sorts of jivin' jams, canned goods and dried deliciousness. Our meats of choice were buffalo, elk and venison, all spiced and only barely distinguishable. Elk was my favorite though - really a texture thing more than anything else. When craving snacks in the mountains, there's nothing like cured flesh to make you ponder back on the days of covered wagons, gold-panning and forest living. Ah the Southwest, still a land of unconquered wonder.....and jerky!

2) We wandered into Sedona unknowing and naive. Everything in the area is wild and desolate, but this is a gem of upper-class high-life in the middle of some of the most beautiful red mountains and glacier forest streams I have ever seen. The presence of a private airport means most of the people waiting to be seated were from completely different states (eg. IL, NY) altogether. And I do mean waiting. Apparently the list of high-class restaurants has yet to meet up with the mid-week demand, because every place in town had an hour minimum wait, and the WASPs were out in force. Definitely the fanciest meal of the week, dinner at Cafe Elote, thankfully, did not disappoint. With a wait like that, I was ready to be angry, but the food melted away my fury in a bath of deliciousness. Oh, that and the blood orange margarita in the foyer certainly didn't hurt. But the star of the night, no doubt about it, was the tamale. I have never had a tamale that delicious, and I doubt I will anytime soon....at least in this country. The exact description is: "Michoacan style fresh corn tamales, salsa verde and crema," but somewhere between the homemade green pepper salsa and the whole kernels of perfectly steamed sweet corn hiding amongst the depths of the warm tamale, it became so much more. (For a complete rundown on tamale types, check out this site) Because a trip to the Southwest without Mexican food is like a trip to Outerspace with the blinds drawn....

3) And now we come to my absolute favorite meal of the trip. This is the kind of meal you fondle in your memory and drool over in your spare time. Mmmm. Simplistic, quaint and yet oh so ground-moving. We stumbled across this family owned business at a corner to nowhere that was actually some highway turnoff large enough to support a small town and maybe even a McDonalds. A town like that can only mean at least one decent local restaurant with the touch for tastebuds of the tried and true. And Amigo's is certainly that. The first act of genius was the fact that chimichanga that I ordered (traditionally tortilla wrapped meat that is deep fried), replaced the Mexican standard with the Native equivalent to produce an astonishingly awesome creation called a frybread chimichanga. O...M...G... And then, they had to go an make it even more amazing by making their own sour cream. That's right! They made their own sour cream. Salsa you can expect. But sour cream?=Genius! That means no sloppy, liquid texture and off-beat taste, but instead, pure, clean and solid creamy goodness. I'm salivating just thinking about it. I....want....more....


4) And last, but not least, (mostly because these are temporal order and not tastiness order) our full-on, old-school Native meal of mutton at Monument Valley, makes the list. When you're on a reservation, surrounded by geological wonders engulfed in sand and snow due to 40 mph winds, what better place to be than in a Native-run restaurant with a table by the window? And, as they say....When on the Rez, eat like the Natives. Hence our choice of the house-recommended, traditional mutton stew. With a side of frybread of course. And a frosty Mexican coke? Now we're talking. The stew was deep and hearty, and it matched with our sugary frybread in a way that only the Southwest can explain. Mmm, mmm good. It was a little sad seeing all the blond Europeans around us eating dino-nuggets and fries, but at least I know that I kept it real. I'm just disappointed that we weren't hungry enough to try their other house specialty - green chile chilli. Recommended by Esquire! I guess when they did their piece on sweet movies filmed in the Southwest, they had to mention the only restaurant in 100 miles. When you're way out there, it's easy to be taken advantage of in the act of dining. Either your mouth or wallet will suffer. Luckily, this Monument Valley Cafe was kind enough to offer goodness and greatness, at a reasonable price! At least, if you ordered local cuisine and not the grilled cheese....