Chihuahua

Today the name of the restaurant where we ate last night is the title of the blog post, the Chihuahua song by DJ Bobo is light and jolly (see lyrics) and the restaurant also had a light, jolly and relaxing feel; and some great Mexican food.

So we are in Winnemucca, a tiny Nevada town which is mainly famous for being on the I-80 and in the past was famous for being on the main railway line to San Francisco. The town is an in-joke in our family. The first time we came to the USA in 1994 we travelled through California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado and Utah. We had planned the route to see key things, like the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley and Bryce and Zion Canyons, but when we had booked Salt Lake City and knew we would be flying back from San Francisco we had to simply pick a place halfway, and that place was Winnemucca. In 1997 when we crossed from the East Coast to the West Coast, the route again brought us to Winnemucca. So in the family it became a name for an unlikely place where you regularly end up. Indeed we almost came here when we travelled in 2009, but only as a joke. So finally Drew gets to see Winnemucca and how little is here, apart from casinos, a few restaurants and hotels. 

Later we discovered that Winnemucca was famous for other things too, like brothels. In the Armistead Maupin series of books called Tales of the City, the story indicates that the lead character Anna Madrigal, had grown up in a brothel in Winnemucca, where her mother, Mother Mucca, had been the madam - i.e. the brothel keeper. 

We even booked into the same hotel as in the past, it is part of the Best Western Plus range and a very nice hotel it is, a few yards away is the partner business, the Winnemucca Inn which is a large Casino. We even were given discount vouchers for food and drink as we checked into the hotel. 

We had planned to eat at the Martin Hotel, where we had had a lovely Basque meal, this area having been populated largely by people from the Basque lands, in 1997. However since then the restaurant had become a family style restaurant, meaning we would have been seated with other diners. Drew didn't fancy that. 

We saw that there was a Mexican restaurant just off the Main Street called Chihuahua's, so we decided to give it a try.

As I said earlier Chihuahua's was a relaxed, friendly place with good food. The family who run it, and all the staff, are Hispanic, as were many of our fellow diners. It was noticeable that there were three birthdays being celebrated, separately, in the restaurant. I guess Christmas is a good time for Winnemucca families; if my maths is right! Anyway each of them had a group come to their table with maracas and guitars/banjos and sing them Happy Birthday or Feliz Compleanos as appropriate.  

We began with Choriqueso for me, a lovely mix of melted cheese and fried chorizo with a great taste as the peppery flavour of the chorizo melds with the cheese, and Queso Quesadilla with salsa and guacamole for Drew. 

For mains I opted for Chili Colorado, a delightful dish of pork, cooked in a red chili sauce and served with rice and refried beans. The chili was nicely spiced and it was all flavoursome and filling. Drew opted for Chili Verde con Carne, this was a beef dish with a green chili sauce and he enjoyed it very much. Both were served with tortillas, Drew opted for flour tortillas and I had corn tortillas. 

For dessert Drew was persuaded to have the delightfully named Apple Chimichanga, this was stewed apple in a tortilla with a huge mound of vanilla ice-cream on top. Drew's eyes boggled when it came, it was huge, but he did a good job on it.

So, finally, Drew gets his chance to see Winnemucca. Here are his comments:

<<I feel it is a delightful place and that we must make every effort to return. I was particularly impressed with Ralph's Auto-parts store and Layla's Gun Shop (they currently have a sale on!) which are either side of the Subway opposite our hotel. what more could you need: an air-filter, 14,000 rounds of Ammo and a 6" Sub>>