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The Weekly Newsletter |
Menus and Stories for March 30 - April 3, 2009
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| Marfa, Texas |
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Oh I love this part of this country. I have never been here before, this part of the country. We have had the nicest time in this area. And while it is windy and looks desolate on the surface, it doesn't take much to look underneath and see beauty.
Tex Harrison, who owned Complements to the Chef in Asheville, lives near Marfa. Tom, her husband, takes photographs of galaxies from his observatory on top of his garage (check out the link below.) They invited me and the three women I ride with to come for dinner. And then, the next day, Tex took me to the Public Radio station where I did an interview about the whole reason for this ride.
All in all, it was a bang up day in the area. I am already wondering how and when I can come back.
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Mano Prieto Observatory |
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Alpine, Texas |
This area might be a bit remote, but there are pockets of amazing activity here. Alpine is another town that is loaded with action. Our entire group took over their bakery this morning. It was cold and we were cold and they had hot chocolate and hot coffee and hot sticky buns.
Plus, nice sign, eh? |
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| Food Shark |
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Tex took me to this food truck for lunch. The chefs were out for the day so we asked the stand-in cooks what we should have. Turns out they were making NC Pulled Pork Barbecue and the main chef had just moved here from Asheville. Amazing.
I was still full from the excellent latte I had had at the coffee shop that shares a space with the laundry so I took mine back to our hotel. Days off are spent napping, resting, snoozing, being lazy and doing not much of anything. Oh, I cleaned my bike and rearranged my clothing. And ate my NC Pulled Pork Barbecue sandwich on the veranda of the Indian Lodge at Fort Davis State Park. Now that's a mind twister. |
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Dinners to go for this week |
Dinners come with a freshly-made green salad, salad dressing of the day,
and made-right-here bread of the day. We take reservations until noon or so.
Please order by phone (252-1500), by fax (252-0200)
or stop in to speak to one of us in person.
Monday March 30 BBQ Chicken with Sweet Potatoes 9.95
Tuesday March 31 Swedish Meatballs with Egg Noodles 10.50
Wednesday April 1 Pork Tenderloin & Root Vegetable Puree 11.25
Thursday April 2 Meatloaf & Potato Gratin 10.75
Friday April 3 Pan-Fried Flounder & Green Beans w/Almonds 12.25
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Our website |
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| Special casserole of the week |
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We make a special casserole each Wednesday.
Give us a call on Tuesday before we close and we'll fix you up.
Order a half if you have around 4 folks, or, if you have a bigger group,
Or just like leftovers, order a full sized one.
Then come pick up between 4:30 and 6:00 on Wednesday.
This week's special casserole is
Wednesday, April 1
Chicken, Asparagus & Brown Rice
Full 35.00/Half 17.50
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A chilly start |
This morning we rode out right at daybreak. The thermometer read 36. THAT, my friends, is a COLD way to start a day. Part one of the day was a serious downhill. Now normally that is a fun thing, but not when it is that cold.
We bundled up as well as we could, tucked into the wind, and plunged along.
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| Lunch!!! |
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We mostly are on our own for lunch. Except, that is, when there are no stores or restaurants or services. In that case, the crew pulls the van over, presents a buffet of sandwich makings, and we make ourselves comfortable along the side of the road.
In this case, the wind was blasting in from the West and so we hid against the van and took advantage of the respite.
This particular stop was midway through a 90 mile day, a day which took us up and over the Davis Mountains and culminated in a spectacular view of the McDonald Observatory. It made the climbing worth it. |
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Sierra Blanca, Texas |
Well, there's not a lot to say about little Sierra Blanca.
We rode in.
We ate lunch.
We left.
Next? |
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| A Note from Laurey |
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Hi there,
Well, in case you do NOT know about it, I am on a big adventure - riding my bicycle across the United States to raise awareness for ovarian cancer and the importance of early detection. (That's why all these pictures are about Texas - that's where I am right now.)
This trip continues to be a wild ride. Some days it is very hard. Some days it all seems doable. Some days it is remarkably easy.
The other day, the 90 mile day, we had a hard one. 90 miles is a lot under the best of circumstances, and that day the winds roared in. This was the first time we had encountered this amount of wind and, to have it come on a day with this amount of mileage, well, it made it a very challenging day. I did ride all the mileage. Many did not. This is a hard thing to do. There were more than a few times when I felt like climbing into the support vehicle. But so far I have not done so.
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But before I forget - I need to remind you that Jon Corbin, one of my favorite musicians, has started to play for our Sunday breakfast at our cafe (at Laurey's - not our here.) Do stop by for Chris and Kether's delicious Sunday creations and listen to Jon while you're at it. They don't play every week but will be there on the 5th and the12th of April.
And don't forget about the Argentine dinner and wine tasting on April 25th. YUM!!!
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So - today was big. All the days are big. Every day there is some unexpected thing that crops up. Sometimes it is a magnificent rock formation (and we have a Geologist with us so we're getting an education!) Sometimes it is a huge wind. Sometimes it is the heat. Sometimes my legs are so sore. Sometimes the sun is very strong. My wish, every day, is to remember why I am here. This most always takes my mind off any lightweight concern I have about soreness.
I am thrilled to be on this adventure. Sometimes it feels very tame. But sometimes, well, not so much.
Anyway, thank YOU for continuing to send me notes and for continuing to go to the shop and get lunch or dinner to go. Thanks, HUGE thanks, to everyone who is back there making the food that keeps you coming back. Thanks to Emily and Noel and Jaime for keeping things going in the office. Thanks to Adam and Andrew and the front of house gang, Chris and the kitchen gang, the delivery gang, the party gang.
Zounds. I could not be doing this without all of you.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Thank you.
(I'll be in touch next week.)
If you want more regular updates, check out my bike blog. The link is just below this story.
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Laurey Bikes - the blog |
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Marathon, Texas |
And now we are here. Marathon, Texas. We're staying in The Gage Hotel. It is FABULOUS. Tomorrow we go back to the more modest lodgings. For tonight, we're queens.
This sculpture is in their courtyard. Of course, we are in the middle of a FREEZE (not frost) warning and the wind has not stopped. But we're all hunkered down in the den, puttering on our computers and resting up for the big ride, 111 miles, that will happen day after tomorrow. |
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