March 9, 2021 Breakfast - Roberto’s in Henderson, Nevada. Lunch - La Posada in Holbrook, Arizona.
Today we drove home from Las Vegas, Nevada. It took 12 hours, but we traded off driving and happily, we had two amazing meals along the way.
We awakened around 5:30 and repacked the Highlander to accommodate all the newly acquired items and our suitcases and food and left Vegas around 6:30. The freeways were already crowded so we decided to drive out of town before stopping for gas and breakfast. We exited the highway in what turned out to be Henderson, Nevada. After we gassed we were looking fo4 a McDonald’s, when I saw a sign for Roberto’s, a 24 hour Mexican restaurant that had several big pick up trucks in front, which I took as a good sign for a Mexican restaurant.
I said, “I want to stop and order Machaca”. Suzette agreed after a moment of opposition and we parked and went in, and ordered 2 orders of Machaca. Suzette ordered a coffee and I ordered a 32 oz. cup of tamarind Liquido.
Soon our order came out boxed to take out. We were the only guests in the restaurant, so we decided to sit and eat in.
When we opened our boxes we were amazed, they were filled to the brim with Machaca, creamy Refried beans, soft Mexican rice, avocado Crema, lettuce, onion, and pico de Gallo plus we were also given four warm corn tortillas wrapped in aluminum.
We had no idea where to start or how to finish the huge quantity of food.
I ate one corn tortilla filled with Machaca, beans, rice and avocado crema and was full.
Suzette said, “Let’s order a flour tortilla and make a burrito.”
The flour tortillas were a dollar each but when each came we were amazed again. They were soft, thin, toasted and 2 feet wide. Wide enough to wrap all the remaining ingredients in the box into an approximately 12 inch by 3 inch roll with the ends folded over the mass of food and the burrito rolled close. I asked for and was given two additional sheets of aluminum foil that were required with the original sheet to wrap this massive burrito in foil.
We took our burritos and drinks and thanked the man who took our order and got back on the road home around 8:00.
Etienne called while we were driving and mentioned the beauty and the excellent food at the La Posada Hotel in Holbrook, AZ., so we stopped there for a light lunch around 1:00 p.m. about half way through our trip.
La Posada was the last Harvey House designed by the architect, Mary Coulter, built around 1930. Since few trains bring guests, it is mostly a museum to the Fred Harvey era of hospitality, an art gallery, and a fine dining venue. We walked into its large Turquoise Room that offers high quality fine dining.
We were seated at a window table with a view of the passing trains a few hundred steps from the hotel. There were about twenty tables safely positioned about fifteen feet apart with about twenty diners for lunch.
The food and wine menus were extensive. We were offered the lunch menu and dessert menu. I quickly put together a menu of fried calamari and a chocolate hazelnut brownie with tiramisu ice cream for dessert that Suzette agreed with.
Suzette ordered a 175 CL. split bottle of Prosecco and I ordered a glass of Rainstorm Pinot Gris from the Willamette Valley in Oregon.
The calamari was first rate, small rings and heads battered in tempura batter and deep fried with a creamy chipotle aioli dipping sauce.
It reminded me of a similar dish we had at a restaurant on Murano island years ago on a trip we took to Venice.
After we finished our calamari we ordered the dessert, which turned out to be even better. It was two slices of 1 1/2 inch thick dense moist chocolate brownie filled with hazelnuts, and dusted with powdered sugar accompanied on the plate with a scoop of whipped cream with a small fresh sprig of mint stuck in its top and a scoop of tiramisu ice cream. I knew how Suzette loves tiramisu, so I ordered an additional scoop of ice cream that was served in a separate small bowl. Suzette also ordered a coffee American with steamed milk because she wanted a caffeine boost, since it was her turn to drive next.
The meal and surroundings were wonderful. I can see why the Turquoise Room at La Posada is highly rated.
The property was restored and is now owned by the same couple, Allan Affeldt and Tina Mion, who restored the La Cascada Harvey House hotel in Las Vegas, N.M., where our book club visited several years ago. Tina is an artist and many of her works hang in the hotel.
After lunch when we returned to the route home we were greeted by strong winds, an overcast sky, and intermittent rain. We arrived home around 6:45 exhausted from battling the elements and heavy truck traffic on I-40 for four more hours, but no worse for wear.
Luckily, we did not have to cook because we had a dinner already prepared, the Machaca Burritos from breakfast. I heated one of them and fetched beers from the garage fridge and we had a hardy dinner.
Bon Appetit
No comments:
Post a Comment