I can't believe I never wrote about
EZ and my road trip. Jeez, I'm embarrassed. Amateur hour at the Kitchen Assassin. I went so far as to take more pictures on our 7 day road trip from Indiana to California than I did for three weeks in Morocco. (Not true). Truthfully though, parts of our trip felt a little like Morocco (also not true). But all of the states we drove through were pretty much firsts for the
Zarlin kids (except right at the beginning when we hit Chicago - and then later in Utah and Nevada - so not true either).
EZ picked me up from the Indiana airport and we high-tailed it to Madison, Wisconsin, a place we were both ecstatic to be visiting. I made an important call for dinner suggestions to Madison veteran Pat and soon enough we had found our way into
Dotty Dumpling's Dowry . Though their website boasts "award winning hamburgers" our strategic visit actually reflected the quest for the oft lauded fried Mac 'n Cheese. Because mac and cheese just wasn't good enough, they had to wad it up and throw it in the deep fryer. I was only good for a few of these gut bombs, but
EZ put them down with little fight.
Night two found us on a long dark stretch of road that led to and then passed the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. Although a prevalence of strip malls and fast food joints called our names "Hey
EZ, I'm feeling
Arby's" (not true) we eventually made our way to the surprisingly cute single block of historic downtown (oddly reminiscent of Fort Bragg, CA) and wandered blindly into
Cafe Teresa. Who could have guessed that on a Thursday night the place would be lively, vibrant, ebullient even owing in no small part to...weekly pizza night! We congratulated ourselves on finding such a local gem, then ordered the special veggie pizza replete with tomatoes, pesto, spinach, and a few types of cheese. We made our way to our table, a small two top next to a large shelf brimming with colorful balls of yarn and a bulletin board adorned with local artwork
. (For those without eagle eyes, the sign below says "Longfellow 3rd Grade" and those dramatic renderings of undersea life are an obvious excercise in youthful imagination, what with South Dakota being a landlocked state and all). We happily took in the decor and local flavor. Time past. We continued to wait patiently. Some more time past. We waited less patiently. (We still had three hours to drive to
Kadoka -- obviously the gateway to The Badlands). Then we got totally impatient but the pizza still wasn't there. Finally after an hour and fifteen minutes of waiting we discovered that they cooked each pizza one at a time. The place was packed. We agreed we might be waiting for days more.
Was it rude there was no warning anywhere about the potential for the long wait? We decided the nice people of Mitchell probably looked forward to pizza night all week and were really in no rush to go anywhere (except the Corn Palace as soon as it opened in the morning). The pizza finally arrived and certainly had its merits but they were fairly well lost on a couple of impatient road trippers with lots more land to cover before daybreak. For posterity's sake we ate a piece in-house before boxing it up and enjoying the rest from the back seat of the truck as we drove.
Nothing says 'tasty treats from the Heartland' like
Bozeman, Montana. Night three marked our arrival into this much anticipated destination. And sure enough dinner at the Pour House Bar & Grill did not disappoint. Although this is clearly a social artery
in this college town, the Pour House does not have a website, so go have a visit yourself at 15 N. Rouse Ave and then enjoy either of the two gut bombs below.
Exhibit A: Philly
Cheesesteak with a memorable pickled cucumber garnish.
Exhibit B: A traditional BLT with a half ton of B.
Breakfast was perhaps even more poetic. I knew little of
Bozeman save what a dear friend had advised me "eat the banana bread French Toast". There was no mention of the place that served it, just to eat it while in
Bozeman. How fortuitous that we happened upon the
Cateye Cafe (not true, we Yelped it).
Miraculously banana bread French Toast was on the menu and sure enough made a daring vault into my stomach.
EZ eased into some cream cheese filled croissant with Marion berry sauce and Chantilly cream. The gut bomb dream once again realized and fulfilled.
My but hasn't this gotten a little lengthy? Apologies, but it was a trip filled with culinary wonder and artery clogging inspiration. Though there are no photos, night four proved to be very enlightening on the culinary front. Having once fancied myself a foodie and prided myself for being able to understand menus that use
banyuls,
panisse, and
harissa, I relish in the discovery of simple concepts that have escaped me. Enter thrifty ski bums and the soul warming essence of Chili Mac cooked expertly in a cozy kitchen in
Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Our ratio for three people was two boxes Mac 'n Cheese to two 14 oz cans of vegetarian chili. It's heady and sticks to your ribs too.
Other culinary delights graced us during the next few meals but it wasn't until until our final morning on the road that a place of true nobility arose like a Phoenix from the deviant ashes of Reno, Nevada.
Say hello to Peg's Glorified Ham N Eggs (true) but again, no website. I have no idea who that guy in the picture is....
EZ and I shared the final gut bombs of our journey.
An omelet with Swiss cheese and spinach and Eggs Florentine sharing the plate below.
Finally we were full. And finally we could drive the rest of the way home...just in time for Thanksgiving.
As a side note, I've had a pizza stone on loan and I have to say it really does enhance the pizza making experience. Whole wheat pizza crust (Trader Joe's) with homemade tomato sauce, organic mozzarella, spinach, tomatoes, and green pepper on one half, pepperoni and green peppers on the other.
Asian noodle soup (available at Berkeley Bowl and local health food stores). MSG free and organic these little dream snacks run you about $1.50. I'm a big fan of the Spicy Dragon flavor and like to add Sambal Olek for extra heat and whatever green I have on hand, bok choy or kale are great. You can even sautee them before in a little sesame oil with white pepper salt and ginger powder for an added flavor boost.
