On the Road Again

Tonight Jeff and I find ourselves at the Best Western Swiss Clock Inn in Pecos, Texas. We're not really sure why there are two Alpine-themed motels flanking a similarly decorated restaurant in the middle of West Texas, but being the good German stock we are, this seemed the appropriate place to spend the night on the way to Brownwood.

I must say traveling certaninly cramps my culinary style. The bag in the back seat contains stacks of snacks like Ritz crackers, peanut butter, hazelnut and chocolate spread, chocolate chip cookies,cashews, Zingers, Wheat Thins, and spray cheese. Now this is pretty standard driving fare, I think. When I was kid we always took grapes, crackers with peanut butter, and squeeze cheese on family trips, so those seem only natural to me. Jeff, on the other hand, finds it hilarious that his I-like-real-cheese wife deigns to consume processed cheese spread from a can. The first time this incongruity appeared to him was on our honeymoon trip. We eloped over spring break and drove to Carmel, California, to get married before heading up Coast Highway 1 to San Francisco for the remainder of the week. When I pulled crackers and squeeze cheese from the bag in the tiny backseat of Jeff's tiny Geo, he nearly died laughing before turning up his nose in food snobbery. This set the tone for a running joke about my taste in cheese. Of course, I often remind him that he's pretty cheesy, so he should be happy I'm easy to please.

Since we had snacks and a cooler full of drinks, we opted not to eat lunch while making the 10 hour drive from Queen Creek to Pecos. However, once we were checked into the motel, we did meander over to the Alpine Chalet restaurant for a bite of dinner. The menu was an interesting mix of German and American food ranging from club sandwiches to schnitzel. However, we both opted for down home Texas cuisine in the  form of genuine chicken fried steack with real (not boxed) mashed potatoes and cream gravy. Since I recently made a quickie rip-off version of this, it seemed only right to remind ourselves how it is supposed to taste - yummy. The steak was pounded ultra thin with a nice coating of golden, crispy breading, while the potatoes had actual pieces of spud in them which gave them a comfort food texture. Even the canned corn on the side seemed to fit the meal, which we scarfed down without much discussion. The only real improvement I wished for was a more generous portion of thicker gravy. Still, we walked away sated and ready to stretch out on clean sheets for the night.

Luckily for us, breakfast at the Alpine Chalet tomorrow morning is included with the room.