Terrific Tucson Tamales

Forgive the alliteration - my English teacher background gets the better of me sometimes.

We rolled in to Tucson this afternoon for a short stay to get the coach washed and waxed. We love Tucson and here is one of the reason's why:

Tamales at El Charro!!! These are the best tamales anywhere and we have eaten a LOT of tamales.
We have tried these beauties several times and they are consistently good. The vegetable ones are the best followed closely by the pork carnitas ones. If you are a tamale afficionado like we are, you must try these if you are ever in Tucson - heck, just plan a trip - they are that good!!

Haute Cuisine - Arkansas Style

Several years ago I took my parents on a road trip to see our daughters and my brother and his family with a brief stop in the spa to see JC's little brother T.

T suggested we have lunch at a little place that was on our route. I couldn't remember the name of the place so I called Mom and she couldn't remember, but she was sure it was in Mt. Ida because Daddy always like to go through that little town. For once it was a beautiful day in Hot Springs so JC and I hopped in the car and went on a culinary adventure.

This was some gooooood eatin' - so hot and crisp that you had to wave it around and blow on it and you still couldn't wait to get that crunchy goodness in your mouth!!

Fried catfish at the Dairyette in Mount Ida, AR. I'm sure the other food is tasty, and they stay busy, but order the catfish - it is sooooo goooood!!!!

The Big Feed!

We had dinner at Mom's today and all three of my siblings and numerous nieces and nephews and grand nieces and nephews were there. Mexican was the theme and I didn't take pictures, but I'm telling you it was a feast. Mom had cooked for days and there were several kinds of enchiladas and her famous chili and yummy rice and my foodie nephew J made two salsas and guac to die for. There were several dips and my sis-n-law's stuffed jalepenos (peppers grown by my nephew S). The list goes on and on . . . Ok I didn't take pictures . . . I'm old - I forget and I was way too busy holding babies to take pictures of food!

Anyway, I decided to make a cheese dip and combined what I had in the fridge and pantry - turned out pretty good:

Clog Your Arteries Mexican Dip:

1 lb breakfast sausage crumbled, browned and drained

1 8 0z block cream cheese

Hot (habanero) Rotel tomatoes, drained - juice reserved if needed to thin dip

1 lb block Velveeta cheese, cut into cubes

Place all ingredients in a small crock pot on high, stirring occasionally until melted and then turn to low and serve with corn chips.

I also made PW's Spanish Green Beans. Click here for the recipe.

It was a memorable day because of the people and the food and Mom who brought us all together and for whom we give thanks.

Phil's Country Fare

We are visiting my mom on our way to JC's 40th high school reunion. After settling in at a local state park, we spent the afternoon with Mom and decided to go to Phil's for dinner. Phil's is something of an anomaly - it is a very successful cafe in a very small Oklahoma farm town. It's success is due to how great the food is and Phil's hands on approach to the food in his restaurant. He even has a meat shop adjacent to the cafe. His reputation is such that people drive from miles around to eat there.

These are his hand battered and fried LARGE button mushrooms with a tangy ranch/french dressing.

A fresh/basic salad with tasty tomatoes and home made blue cheese dressing.

It's Friday and that means fried catfish. Mom and I split the regular order and couldn't eat it all after the mushroom orgy. JC ordered the "all you can eat" special . . . and it was!!

Phil's Country Fare is a delightful hidden little secret that everyone for 100 miles around knows about! It's on the main drag in Westville, OK. Shhh - don't tell anyone.

Kansas City Barbecue

OK, this really is more "Road Food" and this is amazing and authentic. We were talking to a fellow RVer today and he was adamant about how good this place is. We know good barbecue and we were skeptical but decided to give it a try.

I don't think you get any more authentic calling this "road food" as it was in a GAS STATION!!!!

This was the long line we encountered when we arrived. It moved pretty quickly and we decided to split a combo plate and order onion rings. One of the advantages of having to wait is that you get to see what others are ordering and salivate as they walk by with their food.

Here is one reason this place is so popular. It was touted by Anthony Bourdain as one of the "13 places to eat before you die"!

We had already split the plate before I remembered to take pictures.

Ribs and pulled pork . . .

Onion rings and beans . . .

The t-shirt on the person cleaning tables!

Oklahoma Joe's Barbecue, 3002 W. 47th Ave, Kansas City, KS 66103 - A MUST when you are in the area - trust us - we know barbecue!!