A Buffet of History

AlwayzReal
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Reading the Abiquiu News a week or so ago, I heard about the Bond Museum in Espanola. I did not know that there was a museum in Espanola! I am committed to looking at Espanola through a positive lens and have all the hope in the world for its health and thriving success. The geography and location is so beautiful and perfectly situated to access so many of New Mexico’s most treasured places, not to mention its historical significance and lowrider culture. The surrounding mountains are glorious and the cottonwood trees are many and proud. We have the Rio Grande running through town, for crying out loud! 

So, learning that the museum had a well rounded and multi room display filled with historical photos, I was excited. The building itself is very stately and perched at the top of the Plaza, where it is most attractive. Being an architecture junkie, I was first struck by the hand hewn entry doors and screens. Simply beautiful. The entire building is worth seeing itself. We were kindly greeted by a woman named Robin, sitting behind a large wooden desk. She got up and escorted us through the first parts of our self guided tour. There were many many photos of Espanola in its startup days, focused mainly on business and a little on politics. The pictures of the Chimayo Trading Post were especially interesting, as it still stands today and is a thriving business featuring local art and wares. I also learned about the beginnings of Espanola after European settlers arrived and that it started as a tent city and a stop along the Chili Line Railroad. There is an entire room at the museum dedicated to preserving artifacts of the railroad and these were also quite interesting.

Robin is a great fan of Espanola too, and has lived there for many decades. It was truly enjoyable to hear her experiences and history living there for so long. Thank you for sharing with us and thank you to all the volunteers who keep this bit of history alive for all of us.

There is a relatively new display of the actual costumes worn for several of the shows at the Santa Fe Opera. It was thrilling to be able to be so close to such spectacular design and execution of these wonders. They appeared larger than life and I was struck by the vision and attention to detail of each piece. If you find yourself with an idle weekday afternoon to soak up some local heritage, stop by the museum, maybe leave a nice donation to ensure its future success.

Now, enriched and thoughtful, we were hungry! So, my wife and I decided it was finally time to try out the China Kitchen Buffet. We have both been secretly yearning to try this place for years now, but have been dissuaded by the unwelcoming exterior and the lack of ever seeing anyone that looks remotely Chinese in or around Espanola. We met in the parking lot behind the building and were immediately surprised by the large amount of cars in the lot. We opened the door to a long, somewhat dark corridor lined with rows of good smelling trays of food in the abundant buffet. Right away, my feelers sprung up that we were in for a treat! A nice young woman shouted out a welcome and “How many people are you?” She sat us at the nearest to the food table. How convenient, less walking between refill trips. As my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I saw that this place was attractive inside. It felt bigger than I thought it would be with many well placed dining tables and a few booths too. The bar looked cheerful, though out of commission as a bar, as it was loaded with all of the needs for a busy and bustling foodery with a huge to-go clientele. The waitress very efficiently asked us what we’d like to drink and were we ready to order? We asked for water, only to buy time to get familiar with the menu choices and prices and such, though, who were we fooling, of course we were each going to go with the buffet! The all inclusive prices vary depending on your age and day/time of your visit and though we were at peak hours, $13.99 each seemed pretty reasonable given the current market situation. I thought it was sweet that they keep the kid prices low and I imagine there are many appreciative parents who eat there.

We stuck with water only and eagerly headed to the buffet. I’ve learned from decades of my rare, but coveted buffet experiences, to do a thorough walk-by, taking in all that is offered before scooping anything onto my plate. The choices were many, all of them tantalizing in both aroma and appearance. So scoop away, we did. There were classics like Orange chicken, Sesame chicken, Kung-pao Shrimp and Beef and Broccoli.  I heaped my faves onto a plate and added some chicken skewers, pork ribs and a few crispy and very hot egg rolls.  Don’t forget about the basic carbs.  There were two huge pots of rice, one a simple white the other lightly fried.  And of course Chow mein and another plain but delicious type of noodle. So many choices!  With my first plate full and the wife’s looking like a small version of the Sangre de Cristos, we cruised back to the table.  My faves were the Orange chicken and chicken skewers.  The wife particularly enjoyed the Sweet and Sour Pork and the green beans and mushrooms stewed in a sweet soy sauce.  I did go back for seconds but did not end up trying the grilled shrimp, two soup options or some of the other dishes that I was not familiar with.  One interesting thing here is that there were no labels so we had to guess what everything was. Luckily, the majority of everything we tasted was pretty yummy.  It is not normal for us to eat at let alone review a chain, but given the few choices of eateries of an Asian persuasion in the area, we felt like giving it a try.

There was also a salad bar, a little sparse and lacking, but still there to tease one into thinking one could avoid all the decadent splendor otherwise offered. Strangely, it was shared with a much larger selection of dessert. Rice pudding, jiggly jello, fruit, cookies and ice cream! Self-scoop five gallon vats to be exact.

We gobbled up many of these offerings, taking in far more than we should have, and, of course, ending with a generous trio of strawberry, chocolate and vanilla. We left, overly stuffed, wishing there was a wheelbarrow or conveyer belt option to roll us out to our car. We will definitely be back, but hope to summon the willpower to wait a month or so.

If any of you readers out there have tried China Kitchen, would you mind taking the time to tell me of your experience in the comments below?