#23 ARIZONA - Millennial Breakfast

Our plan was to drive from Durango CO to Tucson AZ to visit my brother and sister-in-law. I had been to Tucson a couple of times (where I highly recommend the Baja Cafe for breakfast) so I wanted to find a town I hadn't visited before which was on the way to Tucson and where we might be able to have a decent breakfast. We stayed the night in Holbrook AZ but nothing looked very interesting there so we traveled 44 miles south into the White Mountains of Arizona and the hyphenated town of Heber-Overgaard.   

Three Bear's Cafe

Heber-Overgaard, Arizona

AMBIENCE:  I'm no grammarian as you might surmise by this blog, but isn't something amiss if you zoom in on their sign? If there are three of them, then "Bear" should be plural or "Bears". If the cafe belongs to the "Bears" then shouldn't the apostrophe be after the "s"? As an alternative, wouldn't it also be proper to call it "Three Bears Cafe". I planned on bringing this up with the management once we got inside. 

 

The Three Bear's Cafe has only been open less than a year. The co-owners are Michelle Reynolds and her daughter Cassie. The Papa Bear is Michelle's husband/Cassie's father. I'm not sure of his role, but if the restaurant sign tells the story, he maybe off fishing most of the time.

The restaurant is in a large modern log structure of which half is used by a real estate company. There are tables outside but the thought of dust rising from the parking lot pushed us indoors.

The dining room is fairly small with lots of varnished wood and an outdoorsy, mountain cabin, hunting decor. The place was super clean. The room only had a few windows and could have used more natural light. Even with their modern track lighting it seemed a little dark but maybe that's what customers want when the sun shines, on average, 278 days per year. 

4 1/2 out of 5 stars

FOOD:  As I examined the menu, one dish seemed to stick out from the rest.

.

Avocado toast was unfamiliar to me. I had never heard of it nor had I not seen it on any of the menus of the previous 22 restaurants we had visited on the breakfast tour.  Apparently, I have been living in a closet because as I discovered later from articles on the internet, avocado toast has probably been the biggest food fad during the past two or three years. In my defense, avocado toast seems particularly popular with Millennials, a generation far removed from us Baby Boomers. Also, it sounded like it was more available at brunch than at breakfast and I haven't been to brunch in 15 years.

Last year, a real estate mogul interview on Australia's version of 60 Minutes stated that young people should lay off the avocado toast if they wanted to buy a house: "when I was trying to buy my first home, I wasn't buying smashed avocados for $19 and four coffees at $4 each." That created quite the uproar on the internet and Millennials certainly know how to "bring it" on social media and they fired back . This baby boomer real estate mogul was endlessly skewered and toasted for preaching to the digital generation. One person calculated that if he gave up his weekly avocado toast fix and instead saved the money, he could afford to put the 20% down payment on a condo in Brooklyn in March 2410. 

I had also not heard of "basted" eggs (which when I first looked at the menu thought it said bastard eggs which could have provided an interesting culinary experience). Our waitress, Cassie, explained that it was sort of a cross between a sunny side up egg and a poached egg and that it was a very healthy way to cook an egg. 

And the toast was not just 5 grain, or 6 grain, it was 9 grain! It was a veritable fiber factory.

So I ordered the avocado toast with basted eggs. Avocados are 75% monounsaturated fats - the good kind of fat. They are also packed with too many nutritional vitamins to list. The eggs were cooked a healthy way and the bread had 9 grains. Maybe, for once, I could out-health the Healthy One. But I blew that right away by ordering a side of sausage which probably contained all sorts of stereo-saturated fats.

  

The avocado toast was delicious. I'm a believer! I got what looked like the insides of an entire avocado on a perfectly toasted piece of freshly baked bread. The eggs were flawlessly cooked and fresh tasting. Believe it or not, the sausage played third fiddle in this meal.

The Healthy One ordered the Veggie Omelet which was made with egg whites, mushrooms, onions, spinach, red peppers, broccoli, and tomatoes. She told the waitress to skip the broccoli because who eats broccoli for breakfast? The omelet came with toast and fruit.

The Healthy One thought that everything tasted wonderful.

5 out of 5 stars

COFFEE:  The bold yet smooth taste of the coffee I had in Marcos CO was a hard act to follow. This coffee was timid and bland in comparison.

2 out of 5 stars

SERVICE:  Your pretty sure to have a positive experience when the co-owner is your waitress. Cassie was friendly and helpful. We liked her so much I didn't bring up my thinking that the name of her restaurant was grammatically incorrect.

5 out of 5 stars

COST: $26.44 with tip. My avocado toast with eggs only cost $6.99, a real bargain compared to the $10-$15 charged in big city restaurants catering to Millennials and their Instagram accounts. By the way, I find it curious that the Bears engage in psychological pricing, with most everything on their menu ending with 99 cents. I would think that someone who wanted an omelet would not really care if it is $9.00 or $8.99.  

A FEW WORDS ABOUT HEBER-OVERGAARD:  Heber-Overgaard (population 2,700) are technically two different unincorporated communities but are so close, most consider them one and the same. The town was settled in 1883 by members of the LDS Church. Today, tourism, retirement, and timbering are the foundations of the economy.

The area is a summer getaway destination for the hot desert cities of Phoenix and Scottsdale which are about a 2 1/2 hour drive away. At an elevation of 6,600, the summer temperature rarely exceeds 85 degrees. The area also receives significant amounts of snow in the winter. Wildfires are an ever present danger. A fire in 2002 destroyed 268 structures, mostly in Overgaard.

Heber received a great deal of national attention, when in 1975, Travis Walton while working with a logging crew, was abducted by a UFO. Walton went missing for five days until the aliens released him and he made a call for help from a Heber gas station pay phone. Walton stills lives in the area and is reportedly still traumatized by the incident. We were on highest alert as we drove by the exact spot where the abduction occurred on Black Canyon Road. We did not want any ETs disrupting our tight schedule.

BURN THOSE BREAKFAST CALORIES OFF:

-          - We walked the lovely grounds of  Tohono Chul Park - "one of the world's great botanical gardens" according to Travel & Leisure magazine. It was 107 degrees, but it was a dry heat.
-     - While in Tucson we walked on a bike/walking path along the Pantano Wash as well as the streets of the downtown area. 

-        

May 5, 2017

NEXT UP: New Mexico

#22   COLORADO – Absolutely Amazing

Oh my! We found the best breakfast experience yet on our 48 contiguous state tour and it may very well turn out to be the best going forward. We were staying in Durango CO and planned on taking a day trip to Mesa Verde National Park. I had been to Durango in the past so breakfast in Durango did not meet my criterion of eating breakfast in a town or city I had never set foot in. I researched what might lie between Durango and Mesa Verde NP and there wasn't much except one place in the little town of Mancos that got rave reviews on Yelp and Tripadvisor. The restaurant/bakery is easy to miss. It does not sit on the main highway(Rte. 160) that runs between Durango and Mesa Verde but rather can be found a couple of blocks south of 160 in "downtown" Mancos. Anyone finding themselves within 100 miles of Mancos should go here if they want to enjoy an exceptional breakfast. I'm also sure the lunch is just as fabulous.

Absolute Bakery & Cafe
Mancos, Colorado

AMBIENCE:  The Absolute Bakery and Cafe (ABC) sits in a former bank building that was built in 1903. It has been in operation since 2007. As you enter, the first thing that you notice is the aroma. The kitchen must have still been creating baked goods and the smell had me salivating like a sheep dog.

The second thing you notice is the room containing about 15 unmatched tables and unmatched chairs and a few bar stools at the counter. Throughout the room you can find all types of art from local artists.

There was a second room, empty of people, that seemed more like a meeting place, but it did contain the self-serve coffee bar.

The third thing you noticed were the customers, who seemed mostly to be locals, looking content, happy, and relaxed. ABC obviously was a place that treated everyone as family.

A sign on the wall informed us that there was no WiFi and to "pretend it's 1982 and talk to each other". This was easier said than done for the Healthy One and I who had spent about 35 hours in the car with each other over the past five days. Fortunately, ABC is also a bookstore of sorts and next to our table was some great browsing until the food arrived.

ABC also has a place where you can write a note on a Post-It and stick it on a wall. These were fun to read. This was my favorite.

5 out of 5 stars.

FOOD:  Despite the breakfast quesidilla [sic] endorsement on the Post-It I ordered the huevos rancheros. I had never had huevos rancheros. I wasn't even sure what they were but figured if I was going to have this iconic Mexican breakfast dish, it should be in the Southwest. Although ABC's breakfast menu contained many appealing choices, I decided that this should be the place to lose my huevos rancheros virginity. ABC described their huevos rancheros as "two scrambled eggs over house black bean mix with avocado and cheese, served between corn tortillas topped with red or green chile, shredded lettuce, tomato, and red onion"  
Our server asked if I wanted the red or green chile. I said I remembered that the red was the mild color and the green was much spicier but needed her expert counsel on what I might be able to tolerate. I have found that as I age, my tolerance for hot,spicey food has increased probably due to what the research calls the "reduction in the number of taste buds after age 50". By the time I'm 95, I should be able to order the Pork Vindaloo at the local Indian restaurant.

The server said that she would bring me some "Christmas". The confused look on my face, caused by visions of sugar plums in my head, must have clued her in that I had no idea what she meant by "Christmas". "That would be the red and green together" she said patiently.

The serving was enormous. But where were the huevos? Would they arrive in another dish? Look underneath dummy!

Ahh, there they are.

I took a little of the green chile sauce in a spoon and gave it a try. My eyes watered, by forehead broke out in a sweat, and my sinuses started twitching. I topped my huevos rancheros entirely with the red sauce. There would be no Christmas today.  The huevos rancheros turned out to be so good I hardly came up for air during the ingestion process.

The tortillas tasted like they were made right in the bakery. The black bean mix was incredibly flavorful, the eggs cooked just right, and the vegetables fresh. It was a lot of food but I had no problem finding a place for it. The server seemed somewhat surprised that I had finished the whole thing. I told her it was great but I didn't think I would be physically able to stand up and leave. "Well our lunch is pretty good" she replied.

The Healthy One went with her frequent granola with yogurt fix. The ABC granola is made in-house with organic steel cut oats, organic sesame and sunflower seeds, maple syrup, and pecans. She pronounced it excellent.

5 out of 5 stars

COFFEE:  The coffee came from the Desert Sun Coffee Roasters in Durango CO. The blend I chose was called Black Velvet and was described as not for the faint of heart. It was as dark as crude oil, and bold, but was surprisingly smooth. If I did faint, this coffee would bring me back to consciousness with a smile on my face. 

5 stars out of 5

SERVICE: The ABC is incredibly welcoming. Service was very friendly and "down home" yet professional. We were treated like the local neighbor who comes in on a regular basis. We also appreciate a server who takes the time to chat a little. It sort of felt that you were eating in a friend's kitchen. 

The ABC is a true "Mom and Pop" establishment. Here are the personnel as listed on the ABC Facebook page:

David Blaine - Head Baker/Boss Man
Jeffrey Blaine - Head Chef
Karen Blaine - House Mom
Melissa Blaine - Head Waitstaff
Valerie Blaine - Waitress
Ben Fisher - Chef

I believe both Melissa and Valerie took care of our table and made us feel at home.   

5 stars out of 5

COST: $34.72 with tax and tip. The cost also included a loaf of sourdough rye and a pastry we bought and carried away. 

A FEW WORDS ABOUT MANCOS:  Mancos, sitting at an elevation of 7,000 feet above sea level, is small with a population of only about 1,400 people. It does have a four by two block business district of which the ABC is part.

Mancos promotes itself as "where the west still lives". But with a coffee shop that roasts its own beans, art galleries, a restaurant with a french trained chef, and a natural food store it is as much Berkeley as it is Virginia City. There are more cattle than people and I did see one cowboy riding the range but it is evident that the New West is taking over the Old West in this beautiful corner of Colorado.

The Absolute Bakery and Cafe itself didn't seem "western" as much as it seemed a throwback to the 1960s. There was definitely a hippy vibe to the place. For example, this is a little bridge leading from the ABC to an outbuilding.

The ABC prides itself in using mostly locally grown, organic ingredients. They state that they recycle everything, even their flour bags. Can you imagine Hoss walking around the Ponderosa in one of these?

BURN THOSE BREAKFAST CALORIES OFF:

- Upon arriving in Durango, we walked the bike path along the Animas River.

- We hiked a number of trails in Mesa Verde National Park.

- We hiked the beginning (or the end, depending upon how you look at it) of the Colorado Trail which goes from Durango to Denver.

- We walked around Durango, a touristy and well preserved town with six breweries.  

May 3, 2017

NEXT UP: Arizona

#21 OKLAHOMA - It  Was OK

Just give me all the bacon and eggs you have.  

Wait…wait. I worry what you just heard was: Give me a lot of bacon and eggs. 

What I said was: Give me all the bacon and eggs you have.  

Do you understand? 

– Ron Swanson, 

   Parks and Recreation

It had been over six months since the last Breakfast Across America visit in North Carolina and I was hungry. This time the healthy one and I journeyed to the Southwest region of the U.S. to visit six additional states. We flew to Dallas, rented a car, and off we went. The Southwest is vast, beautiful, boring, and has some crazy weather. Driving through Amarillo, we were met with a snowstorm. Driving into Tucson five days later, it was 108 degrees.

We covered a lot of territory. Upon returning the car, the Enterprise Car Rental representative uttered a "WOW" when she checked the odometer. We had driven 3,567 miles which resulted in a far greater mile per breakfast rate than in the Southeast and New England. It wasn't even close.

Our first state was Oklahoma. Because we were headed in a northwest direction toward Southwest Colorado, we didn't see much of Oklahoma, only the very southwestern corner. To me Oklahoma means tornadoes, and since it was still tornado season I was paranoid enough to research our chances of encountering a twister. I discovered that the small city of Altus OK had not experienced a tornado since 1982 so that is where we headed for breakfast.

Araceli's
Altus, Oklahoma

 

AMBIENCE:  Araceli's calls itself a Mexican restaurant but you couldn't tell that from the decor - no somberos, no maracas, no serapes, and no bright colors. In fact, it sort of looked very matter-of-fact inside, almost like a Denny's.

As it turns out, it used to be, guess what, a Denny's which had closed shop and sold the building to the current owners.

We arrived about 8 AM on a Sunday morning in order to beat the church crowd. It appeared that we were successful as there was only one family chowing down in a booth across the room. As I looked around the dining room,one thing that was a little off putting was Araceli's dual media presentation. At one end of the room was a TV on the wall showing cable news with no sound.

At the other end of the room was a similar TV showing the same cable news show with no sound.

Presumably, the two TVs were in place so that a customer sitting on one side of the booth could watch one TV and read the newscaster's lips while his or her dining companion could watch the other TV. So much for a pleasant conversation during a meal. It didn't really matter to us because neither of us had the eyesight to actually see what was on either of the screens. Instead, we checked the news, sports scores, and read e-mail on our phones. So much for a pleasant conversation during a meal.

Araceli's was the most sterile environment of any place we had visited on the breakfast tour. It had no character but, on the other hand, was very clean.

1 1/2 out of 5 stars

FOOD:  The food turned out to be quite tasty.  I ordered the Chorizo Omelette which was made with three eggs, grilled potatoes, grilled onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, and came with a side of hash browns.

Because I was hungry I also ordered a couple of pancakes to supplement the omelette.

Although I prefer to have my omelette ingredients hidden inside the eggs I thought the flavors of all the vegetables and the chorizo blended nicely and resulted in a satisfying taste. I mixed the hash browns with the juices that had leaked from the omelette and that resulted in a delicious combination. The pancakes were about an 8 out of 10 on my pancake taste scale, but hadn't reached perfection, being a little too sweet for my taste. All in all, a very satisfying breakfast. I had no problem finishing this calorie overload.

The Healthy One ordered the "Two-Egg Breakfast" and declared it good. The scrambled eggs were prepared "dry" style but didn't come out rubbery as is often the case with "dry" scrambled eggs.. The bacon was plentiful and cooked to the right crispness. I've noticed that the Healthy One has ordered bacon at the first breakfast establishment of each region we've visited and then goes into full healthy mode for the remainder of the trip. We will see if that pattern continues. (Spoiler: It does)

4 out of 5 stars

COFFEE:  Just like Denny's, Araceli's offers "Bottomless" coffee. Unfortunately, just like Denny's it tasted like it came from the bottom of the pot.

2 1/2 out of 5 stars

SERVICE:  Altus is a Latin word meaning "high" but our first waitress was looking pretty "low". She looked like she had experienced a rough Saturday night and needed to go back to bed. She was friendly enough and had no problem explaining some menu items but I had a hard time looking at her because she appeared as someone who just got off from the night shift at the local 24 hour EZ Mart  (which may very well have been the case). After taking our order we never saw her again. Hopefully, they sent her home to get some sleep. The woman who took over our table seemed pleasant and efficient. 

3 out of 5 stars

COST: $23.64 with tip. 

A FEW WORDS ABOUT ALTUS:  Altus (population 21,447) is one of those middle-of-nowhere cities with a military base as their economic engine. The city is also home to Western Oklahoma State College. Altus Air Force Base is a training facility with just 150 permanent personnel, but sees up to 3,000 flight crew and maintenance students arrive each year for training. Our military, I would guess, requires good healthy nutritional meals to keep in prime fighting shape. I have noticed in our travels through towns with military bases that fast food restaurants are prolific; more so than nonmilitary base towns of the same size. Altus was no exception. As we drove down a short stretch of N. Main St. we saw a Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Applebees, Whataburger, Chicken Express, Western Sizzlin, McDonalds, Long John Silvers, Happy Donuts, and a Sonic Drive-In. Around the corner were a McDonalds and Burger King. No Denny's however!

There doesn't seem to be much for a tourist to do in Altus except eat fast food. When I was checking into our hotel I asked the receptionist what there was to do. This was our conversation:

Me:  Anything you would recommend that we do while we are here in Altus?

Receptionist: Yes!!!  You came on the right day!!!

Me: Oh really?

Receptionist: Just up the road is the Mangum Rattlesnake Derby!! You can catch them, have your picture taken with them, cut off their heads, and then eat them!!!

Me: I think I'll just go to the room and maybe watch the Animal Planet channel.

BURN THOSE BREAKFAST CALORIES OFF:

-          - On our way to Altus we hiked in the amazing Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.
-     - On our way to Colorado we walked around the quaint little city of Las Vegas NM. Unlike its namesake, you can't throw away your money here.
      -  Walked through the Meow Wolf interactive art complex in Santa Fe NM (takes about 2 hours). This place defies description. It is a simply fantastic experience. A must visit if you find yourself in Santa Fe. Go early and avoid the crowds. 

-        

April 31, 2017

NEXT UP: Colorado