Springdale Candy Company, Springdale 07-2021

After a remarkable morning of hiking the Angel's Landing and The Narrows gorge at Zion NP, a return stopover for icecream on the way back was necessary.

There's 3 icecream places all next to/opposite each other. I can't say which is best, but this seemed the most specialty and "gourmet" of them. Although now I realise it isn't their own - they are stocking/selling Farr Better icecream from Utah.

Huckleberry was a first for me - sweet and a bit tart. And look at the backdrop with which to enjoy it.

Stone Hearth Grille, Bryce Canyon 07-2021

For our anniversary we spent the day wandering around some of the lower paths of Bryce Canyon. A few of the major ones were closed due to heavy rain and collapsed areas. There were stories of a few walkers who got stuck down there. Luckily the weather had improved somewhat in the ensuing days for us, and so after wandering through the pillars in amazement, the toughest part was the long slow uphill slog back.

All in a days walking though to prepare for the night meal. For an anniversary, there aren't many occasion restaurants and this highly rated one required a 25min drive all the way around Bryce Canyon, through the tiny town of Tropic, and to what is probably the back end of the canyon.

The restaurant is in a lovely stone house with beautiful photos inside showing the canyon in the best light.

- Grilled Halibut (burnt onion puree, calamari, brown butter fish sauce vinaigrette) USD36;
- Dungeness Crab Mac & Cheese (dungeness crab, cavatappi, chives, old bay bread crumbs) USD26 - this was an exciting dish on the menu however there just wasn't enough crab and was standard in the end.

For reasons that I don't understand, the waitress was pretty sullen. Just to us of course, to other people she would ask how the meal was etc., but she seemed happy to avoid any unnecessities with us.

Overall a disappointing experience.

Balcony One, Virgin 07-2021

It was a long drive from Death Valley and hedging bets on not running out of fuel between Dante's View and the nearest station out of the east side of the NP. Upon the final stretch (but still long) road toward Springdale (our base for Zion NP) we were looking for something to eat.

Google found a place called Cactus Room that supposedly open and well rated, but upon driving onto the gravel carparking area it was clearly closed and perhaps had been for a while. Back to Google and the place directly across the road would have to do. It was busy with the carpark quite full and a short 10min queue for tables inside.

Soon we were seated at a nice spot next to the window.

- Fresh onion soup (slow cooked, from scratch, beef stock with fresh onions, topped with toasted puffy bread  and melted provolone and parmesan cheese) USD9 - or was it French onion soup? Nonetheless a mild flavoured soup topped with pastry which was a nice change;
- South Western Salad (assorted lettuce topped with our house made shrimp ceviche, black beans, roasted corn, tomato, red onion, avocado and cilantro, served with chipotle ranch dressing, garnished with a corn tortilla) USD15;
- 16 oz cut of Prime Creekstone Farms Ribeye served with our famous Brussels sprouts, our flash fried baked potato and a fresh house salad (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, jicama and carrot served with sage vinaigrette) USD48 - probably more expensive than I had planned for, but we can't always live under a budget and many days of supermarket sandwich lunches balanced it out. Requested rare and served pretty close, this large piece of meat was tender and delicious. The sprouts and potato were good accompaniments and at least cooked in their own slightly more unique way.

An excellent bit of meat probably like the cowboys enjoy.

The Last Kind Words Saloon, Death Valley 07-2021

After witnessing the stunning landscapes of Death Valley along with 48C heat (not to despair, it was 52C the week before), there weren't really many food options in the area. Even though we stayed at Stovepipe Wells, there wasn't a food option there other than the general store (I see now on Google they now have Toll Road restaurant which has remarkable ratings (4.8)), and so after considering instant food, decided instead to head toward the Saloon.

It's part of the "town" complete with accommodation, usually some other restaurants (closed due to Covid/quietness) and some tourist shops. The Saloon itself had some nice character with a lot of wild west memorabilia and some animal heads/skulls. What was also head-busting was the prices - assumably a mark-up given there's no other options than to hunt your own desert food.

Luckily we weren't too hungry or would have shelled out USD58 for the ribs. Instead we ended up with the Borax Team Chili in a bread bowl USD16 and Kale salad (Tuscan kale, roasted brussel sprouts, goat cheese, dried cranberries, red onion, pepitas tossed in a house made maple mustard vinaigrette) USD15. Adequate, expensive and a little small for the price but they are listed as entrees I guess.

Hopefully no need to eat there again!

Phnom Penh Noodle Shack, Los Angeles 07-2021

One of the great South-East Asian breakfasts is pho in Vietnam. It isn't common to have a boiling hot bowl of noodles for breakfast in the western world, but living near a bunch of Vietnamese pho restaurants in Abbotsford means we can do it occasionally too (like for New Year's Day first meal of the year 2022).

After trying Naga Cafe Khmer Street Food noodles the day before, being able to visit PPNS for breakfast at 8am before the drive to Death Valley was very welcome. We definitely weren't the only people with this in mind and it was surprising to see the place so full for a Tuesday.

Cheap prices also with Mo's Special Noodle Soup (ground pork, sliced pork, beef balls) and Rice porridge both large servings for USD8.95. Cha quai USD1.25 and nom sa-kieu (meat bread) USD2.25 rounded out the meal. The food was all warming, hearty, flavoursome and delicious. Once again the noodle soup's pork base was prominent, in comparison to the herb/spice/beef version of pho.

Perfect before for preparing to drive into the hot desert.

Little Fatty, Los Angeles 07-2021

I've had a bit of Taiwanese food in London (mainly delicious noodles and flattened fried chicken) and in Taiwan too (although it was less memorable after lots of food in China). My cousin recommended we meet at this place for something modern, popular, ethnic and also catering well to his vegan partner.

In the warm humidity of LA in July, we sat outside with tables setup along the pavement which was pleasant as the sun slowly set.

- Egg rolls (cabbage, onions, carrots) USD6;
- Cucumbers (red chili, soy sauce, sesame oil) USD7;
- Mapo tofu (Sichuan spices, dry chili, mushrooms, tofu) USD18 - average with too weak flavour considering how strong this dish should be;
- Chinese BBQ pork (pork shank, coleslaw, bao, Chinese mustard, hoisin) USD38 - excellent caramelised pork although salad quite average;
- General Tso's Cauliflower (jalapenos, sesame seeds) USD16;
- Vegan Fatty Noodles (rolled chow fun, beansprouts, garlic chives, ginger, sesame) USD16 - thick noodles like rice cakes;
- Taro icecream (house sesame balls, coconut cream, coconut flakes, lime zest) USD14.

A nice meal with a lot of other options for next time.

Naga Cafe Khmer Street Food, Los Angeles 07-2021

I haven't had a lot of Khmer food, even during my short visit to Cambodia in 2007 I can't quite remember what I ate (other than a deepfried tarantula).

We'd had a good amount of Vietnamese food around Houston but it was good to see some lesser popular Asian cuisines to break up the food trip.

Phnom Penh Noodle House Special (slice pork, ground pork, liver, pork meat balls, chicken, crispy duck, shrimp) USD11 and Shrimp Noodle Soup USD8 garnished with fried garlic, cilantro, scallions. A clear warming delicious soup, with a simpler flavour than pho but no less delicious with it's pork base, rather than beef.

Moongate Cafe, Las Cruces 07-2021

After visiting and walking around the exquisitely white sand of the White Sands National Park (didn't toboggan though), finding a quick lunch meant rolling up along the large gravel carpark area outside Moongate.

Quite a few families had a similar idea.

Flautas (beef with guacamole, beans, rice) USD9.99 were skinny deepfried rolled tortillas with a little bit of beef chunk inside. Stuffed Sopapilla Plate (with one red and one green chile con carne, beans, rice) USD10.99 was some puffed fried bread opened and filled with pork. Both were nicely smothered with cheese and very tasty. 

Mom's Kitchen, Texas 07-2021

During the long drive from Austin (via San Antonio) to El Paso, we needed to stop for fuel and a bit of dinner. Van Horn was as random a tiny town as any, and was more indicated by when I found an adequate fuel stop.

An open gravel carparking area in front of a little house was Mom's Kitchen, run by a Mexican American older couple.

Red cheese enchiladas, rice and beans USD9.49 and a burrito were tasty and straight forward. Look at that cheese!