On the road again
...Or How I Ended Up Eating Dinner at the St. Clair Winery & Bistro in Albuquerque, New Mex. at 9 at Night.
We were headed for Sadie's, a place recommended by a friend, when we had to get off 40 E because of an accident.
At the same time we realized that New Mexico, unlike Arizona (love Arizona), made the early switch to Daylight Savings Time, and it was so late restaurants might start closing.
Have I told you how much I also love...
...green chile? My dinner involved slices draped over chicken, plus cheese and cream sauce.
In New Mexico, I hear, you can get green chile on your Big Mac at McDonald's. I wonder why it's such a local phenomenon and hasn't really spread East yet? And I wonder why New Mexico has developed its own regional cuisine that even has a Wikipedia entry while most of the states around it haven't.
The bistro's wine list reminded me that Gruet, my cooking wine (faithful readers will remember that I sip it while I'm cooking, not that I dump it in the stew), is a local product. But the winery doesn't open until 10 a.m., so it's not practical to visit it this trip.
Anyway, as unlikely as it seems, here we are in Albuquerque. What's more impressive is that my daughter drove all the whole grueling way (about 11 hours driving time) to let my body heal from the move.
Yesterday she called me a human vegetable.
However, 11 hours of Audio Visions on XM Radio has at least lowered my stress levels. Audio Visions is what you turn on when you want to tell your passenger that the gas gauge has been on empty for the past 15 minutes and you're somewhere in the Mojave Desert between Newbury Springs and Needles.
We have sunk so low as to be playing the license plate game.
Billboard of the Day (in its entirety in the middle of nowhere): FreshJerky.com
Comments
mmmmm ... fresh jerky.
The site belongs to Gus's Really Fresh Jerky. Their phone number is in Califonia, from the San Diego North County area, through Sierra Nevada. You can purchase online.
Posted by: Mr. Old Fart | April 2, 2008 2:02 PM
Of course Golden West loves green chile, so much so that you cannot not order if it's on an item. They refuse to hold the chile.
Posted by: matt hudock | April 2, 2008 2:21 PM
Ahh green chile... How I miss New Mexico! There are so many delicious places to eat in Albuquerque. Enjoy the beautiful blue skies and the view of the Sandia's while you are there!
Posted by: Kiki | April 2, 2008 2:42 PM
Mmmm ... Gruet! Wonder how it tastes with green chile?
Posted by: Dahlink | April 2, 2008 3:55 PM
What an impressive distance! And a wonderful dinner to boot. Green chile, one of the creator's best gifts.
Posted by: Rosebud | April 2, 2008 4:07 PM
Ok...you've convinced me. Where can I get green chile locally? I promise, I'll try to get some and put it on everything but the Vernor's and baklava that I'm bringing back from Detroit.
Posted by: Lissa | April 3, 2008 9:21 PM