Road Trip: Numero 4

[Daniel]

Thanks for being so sweet Chufi..

[johnnyd]

Daniel, you road-tripin' fool! Just goes to show you can't keep a hungry man in one town for very long!

Made that Tillamook run some years ago and I remember Barnicle Bill. You are right about the smoked seafood trend, tons of it up there, and the hanging greyness on the coast is most eerie. You must have breezed through Manzanita, a neat little town.

This is a trip I've always wanted to make. Thanks for the diary, my man! I have to go find some crab and some fried oysters now...

[Knicke]

divalasvegas Posted Today, 06:38 AM

BTW re: your SO's request for a BLT, wasn't that same exchange similar to one from a Jack Nicholson movie of long ago............. Five Easy Pieces, maybe? Brilliant!

diva, I think the movie you're thinking of is Easy Rider.

Daniel, I can't thank you enough for these whirlwind vicarious journeys. I'm getting itchy feet and a rumbling stomach just looking at the pictures.

[TMus1111]

Come on Daniel - give us some more. You mentioned that you are going away tomorrow, don't leave us hanging.

[Daniel]

DAY 5:

We woke up in Venice Beach not really knowing too much about the hood.. We decided to get back on the road and try to get to San Diego without dealing with the morning rush.. Fortunately there wasnt too much traffic and we buzzed down the HOV rather quickly..

With only one suggestion in San Diego, we hoped to find at least another place.. In our minds, San Diego was going to be the taco capital of America..

The first spot we hit up was a place called Mexican Fiesta.. A very authentic, very great find..

Mexican Fiesta

1460 India St

Dont let the hamburger throw you off.. Its the real deal..

Its a little stand that serves you on the street.. I ordered a couple of Pastors, a Quesadilla, and a Fish Taco..

Here is the Pastor or Pork Taco.. It was perfect, perfect! Spiced well, crispy, but not dried out..

The quesadillla was average.. I liked the fact that they used crema, and not sour cream.. But all in all it was boring..

The fish taco was pretty spectacular too.. The fish was fried perfectly.. The sauce went really well with the fish.. Not overly saucy.. Awesome breakfast..

Next stop.. El Indio..

El Indio. 3695 India St.

This apparently is a famous place in San Diego.. It has been open for several years,since 1940, and they are definitely commercialized.. Selling t-shirts, pre-made tortillas, and it looks like a production line..

After reading about it online and in our Road Food book, we were very excited to try this place, especially after trying its unknown neighbor..

I wanted to try everything.. We got the Pastor again, we got the fish taco, a tamale, tacitos, flan, carrot salad, and beer.. This was going to be an amazing experience.. Wrong!!! The place was horrible.. There was not one thing that even tasted remotely good. Besides the carrots and the flan.. Is everyone suffering from some group delusions or something..

The Pastor was some stewed soggy mess.. The tortilla was completely soaking wet and soggy.. There was stewed tomatoes.. It was not only texturally gross, but the taste was average, if not bad..

Next was the fish taco.. Please scroll up and compare the two photos.. What the heck is that.. Like ambrosia salad on an over-fried fish stick..Yikes..,

The tamale will remained close for your benefit.. But it was the most dry tamale i have ever had.. Street fairs and frozen grocery store ones win hands down..

Ahh whatever, i dont even want to finish posting the pictures.. Take my word, the place is garbage..

Well after a disappointing meal, we were on or way to Arizona.. We were on our way to Arizona, but my very smart co-pilot suggested we go to Mexico for some real Mexican Food..My girl found this route in Mexico that ran parallel with 20... It was a few hundred mile stretch that ran from Tijuanna to Mexicali..

About 40 miles into our trip, we ended blowing a tire in the middle of nowhere.. Now, I am not ashamed to admit this, but I dont know how to change a tire.. And would no way drive in any car where I was responsible for securing the tire..

Standing there in a foreign country, with my pretty girlfriend, on a desserted road in the middle of the desert was not the best feeling.. On top of my cell not working, i wasnt even allowed to take the rental car to Mexico ..

I ended up flagging down this really nice couple.. A well dressed Mexican woman in heels gets out of the car and immediately goes to work.. She is is jacking my car up and changing my tire as I sit there watching her do all this.. It was really remarkable.. As we are now driving slowly down the road with a donut on the car, we notice all these tire stores popping up.. The first thing that comes to mind is that this is the biggest scam going.. I am envisioning little Mexican kids getting paid for each tire they pop with the nails they throw on the road..

We pulled up to this tire hut and with in five minutes we had a used tire put on and we were back off.. As I said before tires are not my specialty.. I can only assume that they gave us the crappiest tire in the store.. The tire was like 20 bucks and all i knew was we had another three thousand miles to ride on this sucker.. We were not confident..

In Mexico there were ton of taco places lining the road when we came to civilization.. Unfortunately, a lot of them were closed.. We stopped at one of the first places opened.. It was a little convenience store..

Here we got beer, pistachios, and a lot of mexican candy.. A lot of there candy is extremely salty, has a lot of tamarind flavors, and chili powder in them.. It is surprising to try at first.. But its really good once your taste adjusts..

The first place we went to was this place called Cafe Lalo..

It was an indoor place that had a pool table and some video games.. It seemed like an upscale type of place.. One really bad thing were the huge amounts of flies.. It was kind of gross, but hey, no one else seemed to mind..

This taco was pretty bad.. It was super greasy.. The meat was tasteless..

The only good thing about the taco were the condiments.. Here was the fixins bar.. The guacamole was really good, incredibley smooth and the salsas were all really fresh...

We also got the Carne Asada from a different stand under the same roof.. This was a lot better. .The steak was flavored well, cooked on a charcoal grill, and the tortilla was better..

Next stop 20 minutes down the road.. We stopped at a place called Asadera Morlan..

This place was a great taco place.. There was a charcoal grill and they were cooking steaks..

We found a little queso fresco and added it to the taco with some hot sauce.. Very good.. .Only problem was Donde Esta Cervesa? Where is the beer.. I guess I will go with a nice tall glass of ice cold tap water please...

Maybe we should have a couple more..

A little further down the road we found the best place.. Place was called Taco Banny

It had a really cool condiment set up.. You can see bowls over spicy carrot salad, grilled scallions, oninons, lettuce, 4 different spiced salsas, green salsa, and other items.. This place was really cool.. Also had Ceviche, but I wasnt going to Push it..

These might be the best tacos I have ever had.. We got the Pastor and they were absolutely perfect.. Crispy without being dry, well spiced.. Notice that these places have the plates wrapped in plastic bags.. I am assuming its because the water is so dirty it makes better sense to throw out the plastic bags then clean plates with dirty water.. Either way, i tried not to think about it too much..

Dressed up

Nekked...

After our tacofest, we drove up into the mountains.. We were really really high up, and we were driving on roads without any sort of railings.. We were literally feet away from our deaths.. My girl began to panick.. Its not bad enough that she would have been scared to begin with, but now we have some shady tire on the car.. We both are thinking this tire is going to fall off at any moment.. To make matters worse, the entire road is lined with white crosses.. I try to tell her that its because people are just very religious here, but that doesnt work very long.. It turns out that below us is littered with wrecked cars.. Noone even attempts to collect the cars.. I am not kidding when I tell you there was probably 40 cars and 7 eighteen wheelers just sitting their smashed at various points along the drive.. It was really wild..

This is one example, but there it was like this for the 30 minute ride on this road..

We drove up into Mexicali and crossed the border with ease.. Very happy to be back in the US.. After we crossed the border my first stop was a tireshop.. The guy looked at my tire and told me it was perfect.. I told him I had another three thousand miles to drive and he said it would be fine..

The day ended with a gorgeous sunset..

We drove for a while and hit a Jack in the Box attached to a gas station.. Another chain that we dont have on the East Coast.. Jack in the Box was absolutely horrible.. One of the grosser burgers I have had.. And the onion rings were lousy too.. I will add pictures later.

Jack in the crack

At this point we were a little delirious..

Dry, over coated onions...

Day 6 comming up

Edited September 14, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[Daniel]

Daniel, you road-tripin' fool!    Just goes to show you can't keep a hungry man in one town for very long! 

Made that Tillamook run some years ago and I remember Barnicle Bill.  You are right about the smoked seafood trend, tons of it up there, and the hanging greyness on the coast is most eerie.  You must have breezed through Manzanita, a neat little town.

This is a trip I've always wanted to make.  Thanks for the diary, my man!  I have to go find some crab and some fried oysters now...

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Hmm manzanita sounds familiar Johnny.. Maybe it was too early in the morning.. I will ask my co-pilot if we did anything there.. Yeh the coast was really eerie at times.. Thanks for reading brudda.. I wonder if you find any similarity between Maine and Oregon besides the Portland connection.. I felt like there was a little of the same vibe going on..

Edited September 14, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[Daniel]

Knicke.. Thanks so much for reading.. I love your quote, what an amazing book.. I think there might be a Lucky Dog visit somewhere in my trip..

[TMus1111]

Daniel - what funny and beautiful pictures and stories from your trip. I mentioned in a response to your Majestic post over in the Elizabeth/Lunch thread that I was anxiously awaiting this thread - and you did not disappoint. The food looks so good I want to reach right into my monitor - and your time in Mexico made me laugh (only b/c you made it out safely). Can't wait for the rest of the trip. Thanks again for taking us all along for the ride.

P.S. How big is the trunk of a Seabring - if you leave from the East Coast instead of Vegas, maybe I can stow away in the trunk.

[Daniel]

Thanks Tmus.. Glad you are enjoying it and will definately have to check out the dimensions of the trunk.. This last time it was rather crowded, holding blown tires and everything.. In terms of the Mexican experience it was interesting once we were in the safety of our own car again.. I really look at any experience bad or good as an experience.. It was interesting interacting with the locals, one actually ask how far we were going, but the neck tattoos and the tear drop tattoo under his eye kind of turned me off..

Edited September 14, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[Genny]

Ok, you have to know my husband just came in and looked over my shoulder at this... he said, "More porn, eh?" YES! Even better is that it is porn of so many places that are familiar to me. I'm home-sick! Gilroy is in my backyard! The Mexican food in central CA is what I grew up on. I would have gone for the tacos de lengua! Yummm. Actually there is a family owned chain in San Jose/Gilroy called Super Taqueria with the best burritos de lengua EVER. With slices of avocado and just enough melty jack cheese. Oh... now I've done it! I need to go visit my Mom in San Jose!

Did you just love the fish tacos in San Diego? I was introduced to them when I would go down to UCSD with friends. I think that was the first fish I ever ate and liked! I'm trying to think of the name of the place that "made them famous" in San Diego. Its escaping me right now.

And Mexico! Whoa, dude! You DRANK THE WATER???? I'd go for a Coke man. I've been to various parts of Mexico on numerous occasions and I still don't trust the water, I've known people who got "Montezuma's Revenge"! As long as you got out OK I just Mexico and could live there! I think I gain weight every stinking time I go though. The food is incomperable to what we call Mexican food here (for the most part).

I'm looking forward to the rest of the trip! How great to have found a cool girlfriend who enjoys doing this with you!

Oh, and a note: In-N-Out: Always good. Jack-N-the crack: Almost never great! Ha, ha!

[Daniel]

Day 6: So we have passed the halfway point.. Its even more sad now then it was the day I woke up.. We woke up really early and hit the road.. We were just about 3 hours away from Las Cruces, New Mexico..

While driving I still wasnt super confident with the tire we had.. I stopped by yet another tire repair place to talk a little shop.. Again the guy told me the tire looked fine and that he would sell me another tire if I wanted, but it wasnt needed.. In this town is where I saw this fine establishment, it was closed unfortunately ..

Taco Loco in a school bus.. Wow, i think this might be the one that got away..

We drove until we came to Las Cruces.. Home of the amazing, the outstanding, Nellie's Cafe..

Nellie's Cafe, Las Cruces.

1226 W Hadley Ave, Las Cruces, New Mexico 88005-2423, United States

Tel: (505) 524-9982

This is a cute little place that I think is known far and wide.. And it should be...

This is the best burger I have ever had.. Songs should be written about this burger.. It was perfectly charred.. It was covered in a cheese combo that was outstanding.. All topped with New Mexico Green Chiles.. Lets not forget about the chile cheese fries either.. One of my favorite meals..

The burger as I said was just perfect.. The cheese fried covered in this amazing cheese mixed with the green chile gravy sauce.. The best, Jerry, its the best, the best..

Also ordered was a combo plate.. I dont remember it all that well. But my girl really enjoyed it as well..

After breakfast we went for some ice cream at this place we passed by, Caliche's..

Menu

After reading the menu, I was very curious about the green chile topping.. The people were very gracious and gave me a shot..

It was a sugary gel, that had no heat.. Very nice

We got a vanilla custard with toasted coconut.. The coconut was better then the custard. It was thick and kind of tasteless..

I got chocolate with chocolate crunch and marshmallow.. It was way to sweet.. The marshmallow and the crunch were having a contest as to which could rot my teeth quicker..

We drove through New Mexico into the Texas.. If anyone has driven through Texas before, you know it takes a long time to get through it.. Some people say its boring, I say its great.. Nothing but miles and miles of open highway.. Nothing feels more free then to be in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to do and no time schedule to keep.. You two are pretty much the only people in the world.. You could go anywhere or do anything, and your only worry is the gas tank..

"Hey, I've got nothing to do today but smile."

We are now entering territory from our first road trip.. We were there at a different time of day.. We decided to go back to this hamburger place we had gone to at 4 am. Country Cookin in Senora, located in a gas station..

This burger was not as good in the day time.. The fries were old and dry.. The burger had a huge bun and a grey over cooked patty.. Fine for 4 am..

We drove on for several miles until we hit Coopers BBQ.. There are a few of them, but this one is the only one still run by the Original Coopers family.. They closed at 10 and we arrived moments before then.. I must say, Coopers was the best brisket I have eaten, but unfortunately there was none left.. They had chopped brisket sandwich and Cabrito, or smoked goat..

Bad picture sorry.. The goat was fabulous.. Spiced, juicy, smokey, fabulous.. You can see the chunks of black pepper rubbed into the skin..

The chopped brisket sandwich.. Top notch.. Their sauce is sweet and thin. Goes so well with the brisket.. Favorite brisket sandwich?? Maybe...

Bad photo..

That night we ended up in Austin TX.. Old stomping ground of DD Gizzal. The ride was pretty uneventfull besides letting my licenseless girlfriend drive for a hundred miles or so and running over a full deer carcas.. We checked into the Hyatt and passed out..

Days 7-11 comming up when I get back..

Edited September 15, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[Daniel]

And Mexico! Whoa, dude! You DRANK THE WATER???? I'd go for a Coke man. I've been to various parts of Mexico on numerous occasions and I still don't trust the water, I've known people who got "Montezuma's Revenge"! As long as you got out OK I just Mexico and could live there! I think I gain weight every stinking time I go though. The food is incomperable to what we call Mexican food here (for the most part).

No, no, no.. I was just kidding because they didnt have beer. I was concerned with eating things like lettuce there because it was most likely washed in the water. I was not drinking anything but beer there..

[Soup]

really great. I am a huge fan of road trips. Really love the pictures of Pacific Coast. Help me take my mind off an otherwise crappy work week.

[docsconz]

Daniel, this is priceless.

[Pumpkin Lover]

Daniel, it makes me feel so proud that a New Yorker eats his way across the country like you do! And I love that you're eating the kind of comfortable food that I relate to--tacos, burgers, BBQ (and wings--there's a picture of jalapeno wings from one of your other travelogues that STILL makes my mouth water).

Big ups, man--this shiz is awesome! And I think I am going to borrow "Jack in the crack" as a signature, if ya don't mind.

[Daniel]

Daniel, it makes me feel so proud that a New Yorker eats his way across the country like you do! And I love that you're eating the kind of comfortable food that I relate to--tacos, burgers, BBQ (and wings--there's a picture of jalapeno wings from one of your other travelogues that STILL makes my mouth water).

Big ups, man--this shiz is awesome! And I think I am going to borrow "Jack in the crack" as a signature, if ya don't mind.

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Ahh yes, the wings from Denny's Beer Barrel, those things were awesome.. And only like 6 hours away....

Jack in the crack is yours. As I dont think its mine.. Thanks for Reating my trip ... And the love..

Edited September 15, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[Jaymes]

So are you still in Austin? Gonna get to Lockhart, I hope.

[ludja]

...

This is the best burger I have ever had.. Songs should be written about this burger.. It was perfectly charred.. It was covered in a cheese combo that was outstanding.. All topped with New Mexico Green Chiles..  Lets not forget about the chile cheese fries either.. One of my favorite meals..

The burger as I said was just perfect.. The cheese fried covered in this amazing cheese mixed with the green chile gravy sauce.. The best, Jerry, its the best, the best..

...

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Just got back from a trip to New Mexico and have been ramping down my green chile withdrawal symptoms by parsing out my NM green chile hoard for green chile cheesburgers. That sure looks good and to have green chile cheese fries too...

New Mexico green chile cheeseburgers are indeed one of the most heavenly food combinations around.

Also surprisingly good (to me) are hot dogs with green chile and cheese. You can get those at Blakes which are around the state.

Thanks again for the great travelogue!

[Daniel]

Ludja,

Can you please post pictures of the start to finish process with the chiles.. Throw in a dog or two for good measure.. But more importantly i would love a step by step...

[ludja]

Ludja,

Can you please post pictures of the start to finish process with the chiles..  Throw in a dog or two for good measure..  But more importantly i would love a step by step...

←

I just have whole roasted green chiles (the way one can buy them from chile roasters outsided supermarkets, etc in NM). Simply peel off the skin and remove the stem and then lay strips of green chile on top of the cheeseburger (jack or cheddar is very good). One can also remove the seeds if you like if you want to decrease the heat. These are also very good made with ground buffalo.

No digital camera, so no photos to share. but there is nothing to it besides peeling destemming and slicing them...

Not sure if they would do anything different in a restaurant (i.e. use green chile stew, etc);

If you had fresh chiles, you would just have to roast them first---under broiler, in a cast iron skillet or over a gas flame...

Edited September 15, 2005 by ludja (log)

[mizducky]

BTW re: your SO's request for a BLT, wasn't that same exchange similar to one from a Jack Nicholson movie of long ago............. Five Easy Pieces, maybe? Brilliant!

diva, I think the movie you're thinking of is Easy Rider.

←

Nope, the movie in question is most definitely "Five Easy Pieces"--check the first quote on the linked page ("Bobby" is the character played by Jack Nicholson). The quote doesn't really do justice to the way Jack delivers the lines.

More terrific road stories, Daniel ... I'm *so* sorry you got misled into going to El Indio, though! I think a lot of San Diegans here both recent and longer-term would have advised you to stay away from the tourist traps in Old Town--the odds of finding a decent meal there just are not all that good. Oh well ... I'm in the process of researching my own favorite taquerias here in SD, so by the time you swing by here again I'd be able to give you some specific places to check out.

Edited September 15, 2005 by mizducky (log)

[Daniel]

Miz D,

Have you been to the place I talked about before I went to Indio.. Still on India St. I am curious about your experience..

[mizducky]

Miz D,

Have you been to the place I talked about before I went to Indio.. Still on India St.  I am curious about your experience..

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Haven't been to that street stand, no. I'll have to go check it out to compare and contrast. My general experience so far has been that such a non-touristy-looking place, with that kind of no-frills working-stiff vibe, is definitely much more likely to dish out the real deal than are the gussied-up places catering to the tourists. Not a fail-safe rule to be sure (so far I've had my share of dried out carnitas and al pastor too), but at least a workable one. Another rule of thumb I have: if the joint lists offal meats like cabeza, lengua, tripas, etc. on its menu, it's a Very Good Sign that the owners *really* know from authentic, as those meats are beloved by many Mexicans (and in-the-know locals), but kinda scary for most of the Anglo tourist types.

Meanwhile ... damn, now I'm jonesing for a green chile cheeseburger. I could probably manufacture a fair approximation for myself, but my friend who hails from Albuquerque swears that no green chiles taste quite the same as the ones they have in New Mexico. Every time she goes home to visit she comes back with Care packages of the stuff to tide her over.

[Daniel]

I am telling Miz D.. That place is solid..

No matter what anyone says.. Nothing travels well..

[Pan]

[...]More terrific road stories, Daniel ... I'm *so* sorry you got misled into going to El Indio, though! I think a lot of San Diegans here both recent and longer-term would have advised you to stay away from the tourist traps in Old Town--the odds of finding a decent meal there just are not all that good.[...]

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I had a quite acceptable meal at Coyote Taqueria in Old Town (a shrimp quesadilla, I think), just not good enough for me to have thought it worth specifically mentioning in its own thread. That other place next door (Old something or other, I think) was popular but the food tasted like nothing. The other place I went to in Old Town was a South American place that again was acceptable but not special. At least I was out of Hotel Circle, though. Thank goodness for my dinner at Indigo Grill and the lunch you took me to at Khyber Pass.