<– Day 12 – Sunday March 20th: High Plains Drifters | Beginning | Day 14 – Tuesday March 22nd: Wind & Range –>

Enjoying an evening fire under the New Mexico stars.

On Sunday night we landed at the home of Ann’s aunt Cindy and uncle Fred (See yesterday’s post here). It marked the end of our trip, meaning we’d be heading home the rest of the way.

I shall avoid boring you with the details of sleeping in and lounging around until noon. Yes, it was good to be off the road for the day. I even found the time to get out the guitar and play some music for my wife. Then, we took a quick trip into Tularosa to pick up a new planter, because one we had bought two years ago broke a month ago. Of course, we had to get two ….

However, reality set in by mid-afternoon. I wanted to complete some eWillys, while Ann left with Fred and Cindy for a community service project (no, they weren’t in trouble for anything). They do a lot with the local community of Alamogordo. On this afternoon, they had volunteered to decorate a room at a senior center for a senior citizen prom. Accompanying the three of them were students from the local First Robotics team, which Fred and Cindy also mentor. Funded by a local bank, there was enough money to make the place look pretty nice.

As soon as they were done at the senior center, they picked me up, and we all went to downtown Tularosa where a restaurant is set to open soon. Called Grill 49 the place is a French Grill/Brew pub. Powering the kitchen menu is the former chef from Casa De Suenos, the most popular Mexican restaurant in the area. Their pork chops, a brine marinated, spicy, juicy treat is a favorite among regulars. I tried it yesterday evening at Casa De Suenos and it was delicious!

On this night, we had been asked to join a small group to taste a few of the items on the upcoming Grill 49’s menu. Let’s see … free high quality food and all we had to do was critique it? Count us in!

Interior of lobby. Still in progress.

Bar interior

The first item on the menu was a cool take on mozzeralla sticks. They were small wheels instead of sticks, with a light, tastey breading. Even better, they came with a tomato pomodora sauce that was both tomatoey and spicey. Yum!

Mozzarella appetizer with tomato pomodoro sauce

Next we had a delightful spinach salad with pecans, goat chess, and red onions, gently bathed in a pinot grigio reduction. Fantastic!

Getting a salad explanation by one of the chefs.

Spinach salad with pecans, goat chess, and red onions, in a pinot grigio reduction.

Finally, the main course was a French take on the pork chops I’d had the night early at Casa De Suenos. They, too, were juicy and tasty. Ann has requested that I figure out how to make them, so the chef gave me some pointers.

Grille lamb with sautéed greens.

All the food was good. The only pointers we had for the partners involved had to do with the way they presented their upcoming menu.

We did a few edits 🙂 … of course, this was just a rough draft of their menu.

If our experience was indicative of the menu, and we believe it will be, the food will be excellent. Hopefully, the small town audience can appreciate it!

After dinner, we returned to Fred and Cindy’s and sat outside around a fire. Ann had hoped to see a jet from the nearby Air Force base drop some flares (they do that every so often), but no such luck this evening. Still, it was a great way to relax.

Tomorrow we head for Albuquerque.

<– Day 12 – Sunday March 20th: High Plains Drifters | Beginning | Day 14 – Tuesday March 22nd: Wind & Range –>