The Road Return Traveled

Leaving the Quartzsite it was time to head back to a place as diametrically opposite of the desert as is possible.  Minnesota, where my feet have to touch every thirty days for tax/residency reasons.  It is a bit of a pain in the ass, but it is a pain in the ass I can deal with, in trade for the life I live. 

The drive back was mostly uneventful, just the way I like it.  I spent the first night in Phoenix, bar hopping with my friend Tamale Guy.  I was quite pleased when he responded “Groovy” when I texted him to say I was only minutes away from our meet up spot.  I thought I was the only person trying to keep that word alive in our language.  I was quite happy to have found a second. 

That night he treated me to a smorgasbord of Phoenix dive bars.  At the first, as I pulled up, there were two people standing outside smoking weed.  It is a legalized state so not a totally uncommon sight.  A few minutes later I discovered one of the two smokers was my bartender.  Ten minutes after that I checked in with her.  She had forgotten my drink order.  But to cover her error she bought one for me, so thanks stoners! 

Green chili wontons!

Night two brought me to Las Cruces New Mexico where I actually ended up staying in the older “suburb” of Mesilla.  It was a quaint, pretty, little town where at a restaurant called Peppers I had some fantastic green chili alfredo pasta.  I had been hungry for pasta for a few days, so maybe I exaggerate, but I loved it a lot.  The dish was only very lightly sauced, just the way I like it.  Green chilis were a terrific addition, giving it a fresh, green, spicy flavor.   My friend The Oklahoma Girl has been wanting me to try green chili stuff every time she hears I am in New Mexico.  It's her favorite and now I can finally answer the question when she asks, "have you tried the green chilis?"  I even doubled down and had some wontons, also quite tasty.

While I was in Mesilla I really wanted to visit the “Baked Chicken” marijuana dispensary in the hopes they had t-shirts but it didn’t work out. I toured around a little and hit some of the gift shops. I bought a couple of christmas presents for the grand daughters and spent some time looking at the beautiful, old world adobe. The town is organized on a square with cute little shops all around the edge.  

I stuck around and worked from Mesilla the next day and over lunch break hit a Mexican place called Andele on the advice of a friend.  Great lunch!  Cheap prices and enough food to get a second meal of tacos the next day.  Instead of a salad bar they had a salsa bar.  Nine different types!  No surprise, again with the green chilis as part of this bar, the green chili salsa was without doubt the best I have ever had!  Just the right amount of spice and that wonderful green flavor.  

At this point, after Quartzsite, I was feeling like I needed a fresh dose of friendliness so I planned my route to include a stop off in Holdrege Nebraska.  I forget about these quasi dry towns though. I arrived on a Tuesday night and The Drive Bar is closed.  Sadness. 

Luckily I had a quick backup plan.  But I first have to say, I am not typically a steak guy.  As an owner of old houses and having four kids, I had been committed to a budget of hamburger.  When I do get feeling flush and go the steak route it is a fillet minion.  Which I guess, according to steak people, doesn’t count. <eyeroll>  When I was in Holdrege the first time I was told by two different people the best steak in all of United States could be obtained just five miles outside of town at a country restaurant. I was intrigued back at the time.  Honestly, any time you attach the words “Best in the” to any food item you have me hooked.  Eventually I am going to show up there.

The name of the restaurant was The Speakeasy and the patrons of The Drive were not kidding.  A few miles out of town on the main road, a train crossing on a smaller road, and then finally a very small road leading to a six way intersection (!) and the home of The Speakeasy.  I parked next to a grain bin.

The steak was done perfectly.  Seasoned perfectly.  Crisp on the outside, medium rare just as I had ordered it. I had a salad and baked potato.  Only a very slight amount of waitress judgment crossed her face when I asked for more butter and sour cream. The service was outstanding.  It seemed like there were three people covering my table.  I was constantly checked on and if I needed something there was a person who appeared instantly.  Sadly they were out of stock on the cabernet sauvignon I wanted but the alternate wine was passable.   I ordered olives and with the red wine, me closing my eyes, imaging myself in Italy, it was a beautiful moment.  The olives were great!  A nice mix of green and ripe and no skimping on the quantity, I actually had to push myself to finish them. Just the way I like it.

Where The Speakeasy really wow'd me was in dessert.  Again, I don't typically partake but I was having a fancy night out.  When the waitress said the magic words "kind of like a creme brulee" I decided to go for it.  --Am I ever glad I did.  What I got was a vanilla custard with a carmalized dark maple syrup on top.  So, so tasty.  I love maple flavor and this was incredible how it mixed with the vanilla of the custard.  It was a dessert I will remember for a very long time.

In the end, I am not sure the steak at The Speakeasy toppled my long standing first place, The Old Mill in Austin Minnesota.  A place it seems to double as an executive dining room of Hormel Foods executives.  I am positive they have an arrangement for the best beef to come across the line.  From prom dates to present day, every steak they have made me has been the best.  But what do I know? I am no steak guy.

Coming back to the cities where I have lived for so long and lost so much is one of mixed emotions.  This is where my friends are.  A lot of the family I have.  This is a place where I have been so happy.  But over the years it has also been a place where I have been so sad and my life has fallen apart.  Luckily the temperatures will drive me out before I let this get me down too far.

I rolled back into the city just in time to take my friend to a doctor’s appointment the next day.  She was signed up for a ctrl-alt-del on her heart and I was the hospital transport.  I put in half of my work day from a waiting room, then got her post GA, somewhat loopy-self, transported back home, my good deed done for the day.

Before I left the area though I had some van re-work to do.  For that part of the story I will make you wait.