Canadian friends from the province of Quebec emailed recently with the good news that they will be visiting us for a few days at the end of February. My mind went into high gear. Are our guest rooms comfortable? Will spring cleaning of the yard be completed? Will the weather cooperate? (Late winter and spring are notorious in the Desert Southwest for gale force winds.) But, most important of all, how can we entertain our guests with new and exciting experiences?
My home town of El Paso, Texas is a mid-size town located on the United States-Mexico border.
We are a family oriented town where life proceeds at a leisurely pace. If we lived in Los Angeles like our son, any number of great restaurants, shows, museums, and sports would be available. The entertainment problem would not be what to do, but how to choose among many great possibilities.
I made a mental list of what El Paso experiences we had offered our friends on previous visits. A picnic among the boulders at Hueco Tanks State Park came to mind. We also toured the Magoffin Home State Historical Site followed by afternoon coffee and pastries at Kinley's Coffee House. A drive up Highway 28 to Mesilla and Las Cruces, stopping at La Viña Winery, gave our guests a taste of New Mexico. And how could I forget the plate of shared nachos at Rosa's Cantina with Marty Robbins' "El Paso" playing in the background? Yes, that about "does" El Paso!
Maybe we can capitalize on the slogan of El Paso as the "Mexican Food Capital." Not that I am biased as a native-born El Pasoan, but our local Mexican food is really, really good. It is so tasty that my husband, Wayne, and I do not dare order Mexican food in any other locale because we know we will complain throughout dinner.
With these thoughts in mind, I can start listing which Mexican food restaurants to invite our friends to. For a true El Paso experience, the L&J Cafe is tops. Known as the "Old Place by the Graveyard" because of its proximity to a historic cemetery, the L&J has been serving authentic border food since 1927. This iconic cafe is a place where you can experience the heart of El Paso. The large bar is often filled with patrons conversing loudly over the music.
And the food.....ahhh.. My favorite plate is Huevos Rancheros, a fried corn tortilla topped with a fried egg, topped with red chile sauce, served with sides of rice, beans, and warm flour tortillas. Service is swift and efficient.
Another of our Mexican food haunts is Julio's Cafe Corona, which has two locations in town. We like it because it reminds us of days of our youth spent in the original Julio's across the border in Ciudad Juárez. The atmosphere here is quieter without being stuffy. Service is impeccable. My favorite dishes are nachos, made the authentic way with beans and shredded cheese, and Flautas Oaxaqueñas, an attractive dish of bite-sized flautas topped with guacamole, salsa, and lettuce and tomato.
If everyone is not stuffed to the gills with Mexican food at this point, we have two favorite Mexican food restaurants located five minutes from our house. Barrigas Restaurant is about as close as you can come to a true Mexican experience without crossing the border. Beautiful Mexican music classics, friendly waiters, and an extensive menu with offerings from the interior of Mexico. And Carnitas Querétaro, another favorite restaurant, we frequent so often that we have our favorite table, our favorite waiters, and our favorite lunch dishes (caldo de res chico for me and pozole for Wayne). We love to be seated with a view of the tortilla makers, patting out authentic corn tortillas by hand.
With all of this eating out planned, perhaps I should also be thinking about outdoor exercise for the group? A hike in the Franklin Mountains? A Sunday walk up Scenic Drive? More realistic, I suppose, is a group collapsed in front of Netflix, vowing never to eat again.
