AlwayzReal 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?
10 Comments
 Summer is just getting geared up and yet, I feel like it’s almost over. These sleepy, hot, comfortable days are the best. Being the 4th of July weekend, we decided to stretch out our sleepy days starting Friday and going through Tuesday.
Our friend, John, you may remember him from our wonderful Ken’s Cuisine adventure, asked if he could come up for the weekend to soak up some river time. Knowing how important food is to my wife and I, John always arrives laden with offerings. This time in the form of huge platters of homemade enchiladas, delicious scones from Dolina in Santa Fe, and breakfast burritos from Blake’s. He’d also made a fresh batch of gazpacho, to keep us cool. Amazingly we’d plowed through all of these varied delights and found ourselves pondering where to go for breakfast by Sunday morning. All three of us were sad and baffled that we could not just drive the short distance to Cafe Sierra Negra, as they are not open at all on Sunday. Truly, sad and baffled! We gathered in our living room to brainstorm our collective and best options. There are very few choices for a lingering and lazy Sunday breakfast in Abiquiu. Hint hint to any budding entrepreneurs out there… We decided to embrace the effort with an adventurous spirit and drive all the way up to Tres Piedras to dine at the Chile Line Depot. Boy, are we glad that we did! The drive is a beautiful, peaceful hour from Abiquiu. Well worth it, if one views the trek as part of the entertaining journey. There are several routes to choose but being hungry, we chose the fastest, most direct one through Ojo Cailiente. Luckily for us, there was a spectacular thunderstorm brewing over the Taos valley. The sweeping views of the Sangre de Cristo mountains with lightning bolts and sheets of rain dropping from the dark clouds provided quite a dramatic backdrop. Once in Tres Piedras, the Chile Line Depot is the only operating business and is quite distinctive and cheery. The building itself is attractive in its authentic depot allure and the grounds are pleasantly landscaped with colorful flowers and greenery. Walking into the dining room, we were surrounded by an upbeat bustling chaos of a too busy eatery. The wafting aromas were torturously good. We chose a cozy table inside, as all of us were chilly. Yes, we were chilly!!! Leaving Abiquiu at 80 degrees, all of us were wearing the most scant clothing possible, we jokingly asked our server if they might have blankets that we could borrow. The menu is large and has great reads to the history of the restaurant. Sadly, we had missed breakfast, served only until 11 am, but were fine with making do with the many choices still available. Still on a waistline reduction effort, I ordered the Chef Salad, both vinn and blue on the side and the buffalo wings, sans sauce, and a double side of ranch. John excitedly went for the Reuben and chose the potato salad as his side. My wife ordered the BBQ Ribs and chose French fries and coleslaw. The wings arrived, as ordered, naked and fried and were just fine. The ranch was tangy and my salad was very fresh and good but confusing. We all landed on it being a mistake but happily ate it anyway. Beside the normal chef salad ingredients, there were also marinated cucumbers, diced green apples and pecans. There was a generous portion of deli ham, but also crisply made bacon. It was interesting, slathered in my two dressings, but my taste buds were a little confused. John’s Reuben was exactly what a Rueben was designed to be. Toasted rye bread, heaped with corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing. We all rated it to be a good one. The potato salad was nicely seasoned and creamy and pert with skin on red. My wife’s ribs were large and porky, but were a little too fatty and the BBQ sauce needed some flare. The fries were homemade, but also needed some help. They appeared browned but were a little undercooked inside. Maybe more time in the fryer? The slaw was flavorful and on the sweet side. John’s iced tea, my nothing and my wife’s “Not Your Father’s Root Beer” brought our total to a reasonable $65.00 before T and T. I highly recommend this place and I look forward to many future visits. All of us were up to more adventure so chose a longer route home taking Highway 64 through the higher elevation to Tierra Amarilla, then left to Abiquiu. Wow, this is a beautiful drive! Immediately different from our entry into Tres Piedras, we were surrounded by lush, green grass and tall ponderosa pines. Aspens and wild flowers, brooks and creeks flanked the road and it smelled like the mountains of Colorado. Coming around a bend in the road, there was a small, blindingly sparkling lake. We were all surprised and decided to circle back a bit to check it out. There was an entry sign saying, “Hopewell Lake Campground and Recreation”. Huh, cool, let’s go take a look. It’s a clean, well organized and large park. The lake boasts being 14 acres, but looks smaller. There were a lot of cars parked in the parking area up near the many picnic tables and few shelters of the day use area. I stopped and asked some fishermen what the hopeful catch was and was answered with a happy and proud, “rainbow trout”. He said they were biting and they were big. According to the Tres Piedras Ranger Station, it was stocked just two weeks ago, hence the happy anglers. Almost the entire oval shore was lined with people fishing. Kids, grandmas, dogs, some floatation devices, even a foot paddle boat, but all, with fishing poles and a smile. Nobody was swimming but the Ranger told us you can indeed take a dip, as the high elevation (9,820 feet to be exact) prevents toxic algae from forming. We drove up a little further into the camping area. It’s a well situated camp, with 32 nicely treed and spaced sites suitable for trailers, tents and even some horse sites. The bathrooms looked tidy and the camp seemed well run. There were a lot of campers but also, surprisingly, a lot of empty sites, considering the holiday weekend. While almost through with the camp site tour, I noticed that the gas light was on, alerting me of a near empty tank. Uh-oh, being Sunday we were alarmed. We beelined back to the highway, hoping for data service to confirm whether or not the TA gas stations were open on Sunday. No luck. We spotted a couple at a trailhead, down the highway, assumingly coming back to their car from a hike. I drove over to them to ask if they had happened to notice if the stations were open. First neither of them were sure, then the man said, “Wait, we got a bag of chips at the Mustang station.” To which I asked, “Today?” The man said yes and the woman said no. Huh. Having no choice, we took off towards TA, fingers crossed and a supportive “It’s downhill and we’ll be behind you soon” from the conflicting couple. A stunning, and yes, mostly downhill half hour later, we made it to the 84 junction and turned right. Phew, the U-haul station, near the Mustang, was open with gas. We made it. As we were pulling away, heading back home, we heard a cheerful honk honk and realized it was the hikers celebrating our success. Full, rested and glad to have found a hidden gem, home we headed. |
Submit your ideas for local feature articles
Profiles Gardening Recipes Observations Birding Essays Hiking AuthorsYou! Archives
November 2024
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed