lastpick

I lug around a Jeep Grand Cherokee, but I don't expect to have it much longer. A storm last Spring flooded my Jeep, and the electronics have never been the same. As for Tucson, I've been through there on the way up to Biosphere 2 and a nice campground called Hay's Ranch. Just don't miss the turn for Hay's Ranch if you go, as the road turns narrow and heads down a steep canyon with no turnaround until you reach the bottom. I want to re-visit Tucson, any suggestions on places to eat? Funny story about Tucson and a warning to those visiting in an RV. I probably ran like 5 or 6 red lights, not on purpose, mind you. My RV doesn't exactly accelerate or slowdown like a car, and the intersections in Tucson are so numerous and spaced just such that by the time I accelerate to the speed limit, the next light would turn red; there is no way to stop, so I stomp on the pedal and blast the air horn.

Ha, Adobe Deli is a bright gem in the SW. Where else can you have a meal next to a stuffed animal staring at you? Then enjoy a cigar and a nice whisky, all while reading Dr. Seuss's books from the available library.

After reading these posts, it seems we're all making compromises that still leave us with a less-than-ideal cooking space. Quality issues also seem to be an issue, with almost none of these products lasting beyond 2-5 years. In my RV, my first KitchenAid Convection oven lasted for only 2 months of daily usage; it was, I suspect, the original one installed way back in '97. My second GE Profile fared somewhat better, only failing after 6 yrs. of heavy use. I'm hopeful I'll be able to repair it as the newer replacement oven from GE has lowered the operating temps to 425 degrees from 450 degrees, which the older model manages to do. A propane oven would be a nice option, but I'll lose cabinet space if I put one in. I'm starting to consider the real possibility that the best option might be to send the Tovala back, its size is my only real complaint, and I could then go with something like the Oster French door model on a shelf over the stove. I'll miss the lights and vent from the OTR, though. Then I'd Sacrifice the countertop space for a small Microwave. As for the cooktop, I'm still looking for one that will work well for the space; as noted in a prior post someone made, the cooking surface on a 24" cooktop is less than ideal. The spacing is such that any standard-sized cookware just doesn't fit very well. The three burner setups make no sense to me at all. Who has cookware that really works on them? I have an okay two-burner setup; the left burner is a low-output simmering burner, and the right is a high-output monster burner. I can put a stock pot on the left burner, but nothing really fits on the right burner. I put a skillet on the right burner and barely got a small sauce pot on the left. It's too bad we don't have any Europaen's on here as many of their kitchens are far smaller than what we are used to in America. The downside, though, to many of their products is that a lot of them won't run on 120v AC, which is typical of our appliances.

Well, ever since Covid, I've spent more time camping than moving as well. I used to like to travel up into the mountains during the summer months and then head south for the winter. New Mexico is so big, and the mountains are so tall you can literally winter over in Deming or Silver City, NM, without any major prep and then spend the summer in the mountains with temps hitting the upper 80's and mid-40s at night. If you get a chance, I highly recommend visiting Eagles Nest north of Taos and staying at a family-run RV park called Golden Eagle. Going back 2016 I started my traveling from New England, heck of a Gauntlet for a first Diesel Pusher driver but I managed well enough. At some point, I'd like to go back to upstate NY in the Adirondacks for a Summer; the green is as unbelievable as the blue skies are here in the mountains. I've traveled the South, but the window of comfortable travel is, in my opinion, quite narrow. Summer is brutal on temps, and just stepping outside, you're drenched with the humidity. Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia are great in the late Summer or early fall. The midwest, sigh, well, there are a few spots I'd like to visit like the Ozarks, but really not much to be wowed by on the Great Plains other than the transformation of wheat growing to Wind Turbines leading through Kansas, or at least that's the impression one gets heading to Denver. The only areas I haven't explored are the Pacific Northwest and California. I've heard CA doesn't really like my stinky diesel pusher and gives travelers grief when they drive through the state, so I've left it out of my travel plans. One thing you realize traveling the country is just how big our country is and how diverse the landscapes are.

I've considered and am still thinking about that very idea. You're not far off on the issues about MWO+Convection; however, space is where this becomes an issue. Ideally, I'd be happy to find an OTR oven that would work as a reliable oven. It's beginning to feel like I'm looking for a Unicorn. In my post, I wanted to not influence people's thought process; just provide the requirements and see what comes of it. In almost every scenario I have run through, I lose valuable cabinet or countertop space and end up with redundant appliances. Another option is to lose the lower cabinet to a proper propane oven. Most ovens that size are expensive, and for the price, you don't get anything remotely modern like steam, digital temperature controls, etc, but as an oven, they work quite well for the most part. Well, I say that, but in reality, I simply refuse to buy any Dometic product; they've literally engineered their products to be barely functional despite the environment they're supposed to be designed for. Marine ovens fare much better, but the issue with them is that of altitude, which, sadly, they don't do well at. To Summarize, my research thus far has shown the following: It's disheartening to see that all RV-specific manufacturers have failed to innovate new, quality products. In many cases, their newer offerings are less functional than their previous iterations. A prime example is the hob or gas cooktop by Lippert. They used to have a 4-burner setup, with 2 burners at 6000 BTU, 1 at 3400, and a large burner rated for 12000 BTU. However, that product is no longer available. The best you can get now is a 3-burner option, with each burner significantly less powerful at just 7500 BTU. Modern OTR-sized ovens 30" in size heavily favor Microwave functionality over Convection oven functions. All of the OTR models I've seen are electric only. The Wall Ovens I've researched all appear to have odd dimensions that make them unsuitable for the space. They are typically square-shaped, lack ventilation, and do not have lights like an OTR design. Even with modifications, I end up with an exceptionally limited cooktop space unless I drop that even lower to account for a low-profile range hood. Cooktop burners, either stand-alone or integrated into an oven, could work, but most of them appear to have an underwhelming cooktop that won't adjust well to altitude. A separate tiny Tovala oven could work as an oven, but its diminutive size means standard cookware cannot be used, and I'd have to find a microwave to add this cooking functionality to the mix. * Note: I realize that I'm not the standard RV owner who just needs something to boil water for hotdogs or reheat a cup of coffee. I want a functional cooking space that is focused on classical cooking. I simmer, sear, sauté, bake, braise, and all the other wonderful techniques people have come up with for cooking. Surely, there has to be a combination of appliances that can satisfy my needs.

I just arrived back in New Mexico. I'm near the ABQ area, so I'll provide some post-COVID updates to this post over the coming months as several places unfortunately did not survive the pandemic. I'm going to stay away from chains as several can be found downtown, like Fogo Du Chao, Slapfish, Ruth's Steakhouse, and many others make an appearance in the city. I'll start with some of the historic and good places that remain, such as Golden Pride for fried and roasted chicken as well as ribs at a reasonable cost. Frontier restaurant is still around and is well known for their Cinnamon buns. There's Burger Boy in the East Mountains about 20 minutes outside the city. Unfortunately, I can no longer recommend stopping here as the food is overly expensive and a hit or miss now. Try 35$ in 2024 for a burger with tater tots, a fountain drink, and a chocolate malt shake. There's also Rumor's Brewing in Cedar Crest that has great pizza, my opinion is based on having lived in New England so I know good pizza, (note: sauce is a little salty, the dough is excellent) Their beers are quite good as well and there is often live music throughout the week. Stay tuned. More updates are forthcoming.

I could use some suggestions here. Recently, my GE Profile Convection Microwave died during an extended baking period. I've already started to look at repairing it; however, parts are somewhat hard to come by. I've looked at many new models, and I'm quite disappointed as none of them reach 450 degrees, or they have silly designs that make one wonder what the engineers were thinking. Has anyone looked at the Advantium line? No racks, nope you get a round microwave plate and an elevated wire rack that sits on it. Quarter sheet pan, forget about it, rectangular dishes are a no-go, so most of my cookware won't work in one. I recently bought a Tovala oven while I source parts to repair my existing oven. It's pretty....small and kinda neat, but again their design rules out a lot of standard cookware as they just won't fit or work on a rotating tray. Unfortunately, the one piece of kit I've seen that seems to have all the right features will require some modifications to make it work; it's a built-in Microwave/Convection oven, not an over-the-range (OTR) design, so it doesn't have any lights and no ventilation fans. So, I'm reaching out to this community for ideas on how you'd kit out this space given the following requirements. I'm exhausted from my searches so far, mainly because I don't want to lose any more space. Giving up my kitchen aid mixer that lives in the lower cabinet isn't an option, so here I am asking for some suggestions. Overview I love to bake, so I have to have an oven. I love to cook so a cooktop is essential. A microwave is nice for quickly melting things or defrosting something and that's about the extent of what I want from a microwave. Limitations 120v AC Propane available Galley specs Above countertop 30" width, 26" deep, countertop to cabinet bottom 30 3/4" Below countertop 24" width, 26" deep, 33 1/2" floor to counter bottom secondary space 40" width, 17" deep, 14" from counter to cabinet Given the above, how would you design your ultimate kitchen? All suggestions are welcome. There are no appliance cost restrictions. Function first, then beauty, and lastly, price.

Hello, I love the atmosphere here, and hopefully, I can contribute some of the tips and knowledge I've gained over the years for cooking in small spaces, some of which might even prove useful in a regular kitchen. Feel free to hit me up if you're traveling in the US, as you might just get lucky and find yourself with some knowledge of the place you are traveling to in regards to food. Oh, and I'm always open to suggestions for any travel destination in the US.