#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