Ridin' The Mother Road

Today was pretty much all new territory for me, when I left Elk City, I ventured into areas that I've not driven through before. The Northern portion of Texas is much different than the southern portion. It's flatter, and parts of it reminded me of driving through Iowa, large fields of corn, mile after mile. Then you cross into New Mexico, and it's similar, at least for a while. You notice the color change, from greens to light tan and brown, spotted with clumpy green trees that stand out from the pale colored grass and hay that covers the ground. Move closer to Albuqurque, and here are the mountains, deep dark brown, striking deep red, rising high, but with flat tops, not the typical peaked mountains you see elsewhere. Past Alburqurque and we're up and down the mountains, the road winding along the side of the inclines. A great ride on a slightly overcast day, with a few quick sprinkles along the way. Finally, here's the destination, Gallup NM. One of the legendary towns that dot The Mother Road, Route 66. Heck, it's even mentioned in the Bobby Troup song "Get Your Kicks On Route 66"! Off the interstate we go, and suddenly, it's 1950 again. The road narrows, and the pavement changes from asphalt to concrete. Horizontal traffic signals stick out over the road, with big "HISTORIC ROUTE 66" signs fastened to them. Make the left onto 66 and here it is, America's original road trip route live and in person. Art deco signs, loaded with neon, many with a southwestern motif and font identify the many small businesses that dot the side of the road. And there's the motel, a real 1950's survivor, the El Capitan.

Clean, comfortable, but definitely old; green and white ceramic tile in the bathroom, stucco ceiling and walls, and the old chrome tissue dispenser over the vanity. Fine for a night's rest, I probably wouldn't stay here long term.
After checking the emails and chatting with Karen for a bit, it's time for an early dinner. There were lots of good local places to choose from, and I have to admit, it was hard to pass up a particular fast food chain. Turns out that in New Mexico, there's a burger chain with 75 or so locations, called Blake's Lotaburgers. Not tonight. Maybe on the return trip I'll find one around lunch time and check it out.
No, tonight it's gotta be a local spot, one in the downtown area, and it's got to have a good version of one of New Mexico's most famous food, the Green Chile Cheesburger. New Mexico is famous for their chiles, and some years back, local chefs began topping their burgers with home made green chiles. It's almost the official state food, and if you check out "Eater.com" or "Yelp", you can find literally hundreds of cafes and restaurants that serve them. My choice was Jerry's Cafe, which is one of the highest rated places on Yelp and Trip Advisor.

The sign is typical of what you see in Gallup, old style, multi colored, and of course, at night, nicely illuminated with the glow of neon. Small place, tiny actually, with a capacity of 60.

Place was pretty busy when I got in, but there were one or two small booths open, so I got seated right away. Hostess hands me a menu, and takes my drink order. In a minute she's back with the soda and a bottle of ketchup and hot sauce; my waitress will be right over. So, even though I know what I want, I check out the menu.

Plenty of choices, including about 10 different burgers, and a similar number of Mexican dishes, burritos, tacos, empanadas, and the like. Waitress asks what I'd like, I order, and she asks, "red or green chile"? Hmmm a quandry. I really want the green, but I've seen a plate of the red at the next booth and it looks amazing. Sensing my indecision, she offers the suggestion of the night: "we can do half and half". Brilliant! Order's in, and I wait, but just for a few minutes - service is quick, they have to be fast with only 60 seats, and by my count, 11 or 12 people working in the place. And then, here it is:

Jerry's serves their version open faced, which sure makes sense, given as how it's really smothered with the chili, and all that melted cheese - shredded cheddar, not sliced 'American'. This is a real knife and fork meal! The burger itself is pretty thin, but large, almost like a Whopper patty, but one that's been cooked correctly and hasn't been laying around in a drawer full of 'beef broth'. Tender, good flavor; the bottom of the roll is still pretty intact, and I can easily get a piece of roll with each piece of meat. The green chile sauce is amazing, with a bit of heat, but not a tongue scorching heat, more of a 'sneaks up from the back of your mouth' heat. Good flavor, almost like roasted green bell peppers, with a little onion, maybe a hint of garlic, just a solid tasty sauce that compliments the cheese and the meat.
On to the red chile sauce. Now, here's the heat - still not over the top, but more than the green, and a deeper flavor, there's some tomato base in here, maybe paste; and onion and garlic. Damn tasty! And it's great for dipping the fries in!

Ahhh yes, the fries. Okay, gotta admit, nothing special here. Frozen crinkle cut (my favorite cut), cooked properly, served hot, but bland - needed salt, and ketchup, or a dip in the red chile sauce!
The finale? Using the top of the bun to soak up the remnants of the chile sauces! I'm pretty sure that's the intended use, as even if you cut the burger carefully, there's no way you could eat this thing with your hands. Overall? Terrific meal, neat location, very friendly and helpful staff, I can highly recommend Jerry's Cafe if you're in Gallup.
After dinner, I took a cruise up and down 66 and soaked in the sights a bit. Ran the car through one of those automatic car wash (didn't do much), and gassed it up for the drive tomorrow.
I've been on portions of Route 66 in the past, in AZ, Oklahoma, and in Alburqurque many years back when I flew in and had a rental car. And I've always had the urge to do the whole Chicago to CA route, on as much of the old road as I can find. I've got the Route 66 maps and travel guide at home, and just from this short trip today, now i REALLY want to do that! Maybe even in an old car; old road, old car, right? Maybe something like this?

Well, we shall see. That might be asking a lot from the old girl, even though it's had a lot of work done on it this past year. All I know for sure is that on the way home from AZ, I'm going to hit 66 for at least a couple of half days, just to soak in a little more of it's flavor.