Alan on October 31st, 2011

Eating is part of everyone’s vacation, but if you are not careful, the eating part of your vacation can easily inflate your vacation budget. Our vacation food plan included preparing our own breakfast and snacks and then eating out one time daily. The goal for going to restaurants was to keep the total bill under $20 per day. We pretty much stuck to the budget except that sometimes adding a tip along the way made the total bill over $20. Thus, while in Flagstaff we attempted to eat at restaurants where we could get a satisfying, healthy and hopefully mostly local meal for $10 or under each.

Here are the restaurants we ate at while in Flagstaff:

Sizzler at 3540 East Route 66 was the first place we went after arriving in town. They got our business because they have a salad and food bar plus we had a $2 off coupon. The lunch salad bar is under $7 and you can get it before 4 PM. The Dinner salad/food bar begins at 4Pm and is about $1 more. Definitely a good deal, because it’s all you can eat, chose the healthy items,  but it’s not local food. Unfortunately, you can’t have everything all the time. The service was good, the salad/food bar could have been fresher and neater, but all in all it was a decent meal.

Diablo Burger on the Square at 120 N. Leroux Street was a must try. Alan had read about it and learned that all the meats they use are local and from humanely treated animals without hormones and antibiotics. We call this clean meat and if having a hankering for animal flesh which we do occasionally, it is the best option. They also have an all local vegan burger they call “The Netzky” that is made for them by a local catering company. It’s a bit pricey at $10.50, but was a quality vegan burger not like the package kind you usual find in restaurants. Both the vegetarian and 100% local, hormone and antibiotic free beef burgers ($8.50-$11.25) were delish and the service was excellent. All burgers come with an over abundance of homemade french fries. Alan liked it so much he wrote a separate post on the place.

Tacos Locos is a roomy and authentic Baja style family owned foods joint at the corner of Phoenix and Beaver street. If we can’t do local foods we try to support small, family owned establishments. We were drawn to Tacos Locos for 2 reasons: we wanted to some authentic Mexican food and we needed an Internet connection and we scored big on both. It has easily accessible outlets and a wi-fi connection that worked, plus the food was really good. We both got tacos and chips and salsa. I’m not sure what they do to them, but they were some of the best tacos we have ever had. Good is all I can say – we were both impressed with the fresh flavor and would have gone back except that we ran out of time.

Macy’s European Coffeehouse, Bakery & Vegetarian Restaurant at 14 South Beaver Street was enjoyable and with a definite European flair. We were drawn to it because of the mixed reviews, wi-fi and the location next door to the laundromat. While we were doing our laundry one day, we needed a place to blog, wait and have a snack. Neither of us had a full meal at Macy’s but the Molasses Cookie and toasted pumpkin bagel were both excellent. The employee at the counter seemed a little confused when I asked for my bagel to be toasted, but he got it done and even directed me to the day old pumpkin bagel for 72 cents which we both agreed when toasted would taste great – it did. I enjoyed my brief conversation with him over the effects of microwaves on food and Alan said the Molasses cookie hit the spot for him. We wanted to go back as the salad items in the menu looked tasty but we ran out of time. One little tip for Macy’s – tidy up a bit more (bathroom, tables and counters) and make it a little more homey for your guests.

Wildflower Bread Company in the Aspen Place at the Sawmill on the corner of Butler and Lone Tree deserved a separate review due to the many qualities of this fine bistro. But simply put, we loved the food, the service, the atmosphere, the amenities and especially the price. Would you move across country just to be closer to your favorite restaurant?

There were other Flagstaff restaurants and eateries that we wanted to experience, like the Himalayan Grill at S. Milton Ave and the vegetarian Morning Glory Cafe on South San Fransisco Street. We might have made it to the Himalayan Grill if they had been answering their phone on the day we were planning on going. As Providence would have it they did not answer all morning and early afternoon so when we arrived at 2:30 PM to catch a late lunch the doors were locked. That’s how Wildflower got our business.

What we did discover about Flagstaff was that they have a number of quality restaurants, eateries and bistros that won’t break the bank whether you are a local, a student or traveling through, give some of these places a try.

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Alan on October 26th, 2011

I have not had a hamburger or any red meat in 6 years, so when I read about Diablo Burger in Flagstaff Arizona in our Arizona Frommer’s Travel Guide, I thought it sounded good, but I still didn’t want to break the no red meat rule. But then we read about how Diablo’s burgers are made with 100% local, open range, antibiotic and growth hormone free beef that comes from 3 different ranches near Flagstaff that have been in operation since the 1800’s. So, I broke the 6 year old no red meat streak, and it was absolutely delicious.

I had the Blake burger with homemade Hatch Chile mayo, roasted green chiles and sharp cheddar and it was probably one of the best burgers I have ever eaten, and then comes the french fries. You have never eaten french fries like this anywhere in the world. They are Belgian style fries called Frites and are double fried in peanut oil and seasoned with Herbes de Provence. They are simply the most outrageously delicious fries I can ever remember consuming and once in your life you should try them. Honestly, they are that good and you get a monster basket of them of which I took a third back to our motel room and ate them the next day. If I were a Conehead and not interested in eating healthy, I would eat them in mass quantities.

Diablo burgers are not cheap and if you get anything on yours, it will cost you a minimum of $11 with tax, but that does include that ginormous serving of fries as well. They also serve a vegetarian burger for those that have sworn off meat for life. I didn’t get the veggie burger because I decided if I were going to eat any meat again it would be here, and it was well worth it.

Diablo Burger is a little hard to find and not even your GPS knows where it is (at least ours didn’t). It is located at 120 N Leroux St which is actually on the corner of Leroux street and East Birch Ave, but that still isn’t enough information to find it. You have to either walk down the alley off of East Birch Street or Leroux Street or walk through the shopping mall that sits on the corner to get to Diablo Burger. It is behind the small mall and it is a pretty small restaurant with few available seats inside and a few seats outside. Also, bring cash only because they are so into local, they don’t take credit cards.

If you are jonesin for a burger or want to jump off the vegetarian wagon for one meal, eat at Diablo Burger in Flagstaff. Your taste buds will have a serious party.

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Alan on October 26th, 2011

How does gourmet sandwiches, salads, pasta and more at fast food bistro prices sound to you? I almost missed this amazing restaurant because my preference while in Flagstaff, Arizona was to eat at “locally owned” restaurants. For those familiar with Panera Bread Company, I assumed Wildflower was just another upscale kind of fast food bistro chain. However, as Providence would have it,  Alan and I ended up at Wildflower Bread Company one late afternoon for lunch and blogging and all I can say is “Outstanding!”

Was I wrong about this being just another fast food bistro. First of all, from what I can tell from their website they are locally owned as in they are based in Arizona and as of now appear to only have locales in Arizona. Secondly, their food was amazing. With so many really unique and delicious sounding menu items I went for the “Wildflower Two” option where you can select half a gourmet sandwich with a small soup or salad. Preferring vegetarian or vegan cuisine I chose the  Roasted Sweet Potato sandwich with fig confit and the Wildflower Salad for $7.49. Alan selected the hot Portobello Picnic sandwich which hosts roasted portobello, eggplant and zucchini and more between toasted rye to create an absolutely delicious combination of flavors.

The Wildflower Salad is worth its own separate review. All I can do is rave about this salad. Fresh greens; unusual add in’s like jicama, sunflower seeds and dried lavender; along with standard salad veggies like carrots, tomatoes, and red onion; all this tossed in Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette. Usually when I forget to ask for “dressing on the side” in a place like this the salad is smothered in the dressing which overpowers all the fresh veggie flavors. Not at Wildflower. Apparently they have trained their prep staff well – the salad was perfectly balanced between all the flavors and the lavender flowers were the icing on the cake so to speak.

OK, I could go on and on about this place and can only say, Panera Bread Company you better get your act together because if Wildflower comes to the East Coast you’re in big trouble. A few more kudos for Wildflower — It was clean (even the bathrooms); great, friendly and fast service; and the decor and overall atmosphere complete with indoor and outdoor fireplaces makes it feel cozy and comfortable – like a place you want to meet with your friends.

I don’t know how they manage to perform on this level and just to be sure it was not a fluke we went back again the following evening. They were busy and once again they delivered in every way. The big bonus for us is that not only do they have free wi fi, their designer planned that every booth and table be equipped with at least one electrical outlet. As bloggers we are constantly looking for “the” table that has “the” outlet.

At Wildflower it seems they have thought of everything. They are also all about community support and charitable giving. Seems like Wildflower Bread Company really does care – about food quality, service, atmosphere and community. Doesn’t get much better than that.

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Alan on October 25th, 2011

What do you get when you take a 150 foot ball of iron-nickel alloy and hurl it at the dry Arizona desert at 26,000 mile per hour? You get the best preserved meteor impact site on Earth known as Meteor Crater Arizona. While there are a few more proven meteor impact sites on Earth, none is as well preserved as Meteor Crater. In fact, it is so authentic to craters on the moon that NASA actually came here in the 1960’s to train Apollo astronauts for their lunar excursions.

Meteor Crater is located about half way between Flagstaff and Winslow Arizona and just 5 miles off of I-40. Because it is on private land, it is rather expensive at $15 for each adult ticket, but it is worth seeing (Use your AAA card to get $2 off per person). The land where the crater sits is owned by the Daniel Moreau Barringer family of which Daniel Barringer was the first person (in 1902) to assert that the crater was formed by a meteor impact. Most scientists at the time believed it was formed by a volcanic vent, but they were later proven incorrect when Barringer found iron and nickel fragments there.

The largest yet discovered iron nickel fragment from the crater is on display at the visitors center and made almost completely of metal. While this fragment is the size of a fairly large rock you would put in your garden that may weight around 400 pounds or so, the Berringer meteorite weighs an impressive 1,400 pounds. It is hard to believe when you see it up close that a ball of steel actually fell from the sky, but the crater is actually the most impressive thing you will see at Meteor Crater. It is almost a mile across, 2.4 miles in circumference and more that 500 feet deep not counting the crater walls. You could place 20 football fields on the floor of the crater and then have 2 million people line the walls to watch the games. That how massive this crater is, yet it pales in comparison to many craters on the Moon and Mars.

For scale, look at the center right of the photo and you can see a woman under the light salmon colored roof:

If you are wondering about ever getting hit by a meteor, the chances are exceptionally slim. In fact, there is only one documented case in history of a human being getting struck by a meteor and that happened to an Alabama woman in 1954. A depiction of that case is on display at Meteor Crater.

While the cost of getting into Meteor Crater is a bit expensive being that it only takes you about 2 to 3 hours to see the crater and all the exhibits, it is very educational. The visitors center is loaded with lots of scientific exhibits and interactive displays. You can also watch a 15 minute movie that explains all the science and history behind what happened at this unique spot on Earth.

You don’t need to go all the way to the moon to see a real meteor impact site, you can check one out at Meteor Crater Arizona.

Looking north from Meteor Crater. Is Jean holding a picture, or is it real?

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Alan on October 25th, 2011

If you generally think of deserts as lifeless, hot and not worth spending much time in, then you have yet to experience the Painted Desert. The Painted Desert is part of the larger Petrified Forest National Park and has its own entrance on the north side of the National Park area located right on Interstate 40 about 60 miles due east of Winslow Arizona.

While most deserts are kind of drab being filled with sand and lacking in color, the Painted Desert is aptly named because of its incredible multi-hued mountains, hills, rock formations and other geological wonders that make this place one of the most unique deserts on Earth. The multitude of colors you will see in the mountains within the park come from various mineral deposits in individual layers of soil that give the hills and countryside their distinct banded features. You will see reds, greens, pale blue and pale purple tints throughout the mountains and overlooks as you drive through the park.

It is a geologic marvel  that we have the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest in the same location and in actuality, the same kind of mineral deposits that caused the many colors of the Painted Desert also were responsible for turning wood to stone in the Petrified Forest. But not only do you see beautiful colors in this unique desert landscape, you will also see Indian ruins and some of the most concentrated petroglyph carvings anywhere in the United States. While you can see some petroglyphs when rafting down the Colorado River, Newspaper Rock (there’s also a Newspaper Rock in Nevada) is covered with these same kinds of drawings. It is as if this location was one that acted as a local reporting station for many people to tell of their hunting and life encounters.

Newspaper Rock Petroglyphs

Newspaper Rock was written upon some 1,000 years ago and it is fascinating to look at it and the surrounding rock and think that someone was sitting right there, one thousand years ago, and writing out the very first Dilbert-like comic (or whatever it was) and know that they had no idea there would be people viewing their form of communication some one thousand years later.

While not nearly as large as the Petrified Forest just to the south, the Painted Desert is one of the rare and beautiful geological wonders the Southwest has to offer. The next time you are heading down I-40 in Arizona, stop in and experience its beauty. Enjoy the additional pictures below.

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