Road Food, Land Grabs,The End and a New Beginning

November 8, 2007 Back in Los Angeles
It has taken me a while to get back in the groove, and I owe it to you and to me to finish up this part of the blog. I can say honestly that the best part of the return journey was the food. We just went for it: stopping in Henryetta, Oklahoma and having Brisket and Fried Pie. The gal at the welcome center told us to make sure we tried Fried Pie. Trust me. Skip it. Basically a Hostess Apple turnover fried in a deep fryer. The Brisket was really good, I saved a few pieces for Chumley. He sure liked it! Oklahoma City was a marvel to me. Both Larry and I were quite moved by the memorial at the bombing site where the Federal Building once stood. Downtown Oklahoma City seemed so quiet, and vacant.

I adored the Land Rush Monument. I have to admit I knew next to nothing about The Oklahoma Land Rush. If you don't either; check this out . Paul Moore's extraordinary group of 1.5x life sized sculptures just blew me away. April 22,1889 12 noon - A moment in time captured in Bronze, it will take over 8 years to complete and cover about a mile.
My photos do not do it justice. The entire grouping is led by a small rabbit about 20 yards across the river.

Chumley and Larry found this Rabbit and posed for me.


Another Oklahoma Marvel is the town of El Reno. Rumored to have the greatest hamburgers in the US, there are 3(!) road food picks in this teenie town. We opted for Johnnie's. Known for Coneys, Frito Pie and their incredible burgers. Here's a Quote from Jane and Michael Stern's Road Food; "The ribbons of onion are mashed deep into the top of the soft raw meat, which assumes a craggy surface because of the uneven overlapping use of the spatula. Once the underside is cooked, the burger is flipped. The air around the grill clouds with the steam of sizzling onions. ...the hamburger is scooped off the grill with all the darkened caramelized onion that have become part of it..." O.K. The burger was darn good. Just really really good. The coney was sublime. A hot dog, topped with chili and then a concoction of sauerkraut and saucy mustard on top. Granted, it does not photograph well.
Frito Pie. Fritos, Chili, Melted Cheese. I tasted that sumbitch well into New Mexico. A gastric weapon of mass destruction. 'nuf said. The last great bonus of the trip was the train station at Barstow! Another Harvey House hotel and fantastic Route 66 Museum. I had always thought Barstow was just an In and Out Burger stop, and it's major claim to fame was the the fact that it was half way to Vegas from Los Angeles.

It is a required stop for those of us newly converted Harvey House fans, and Historic Train Station afficiandos. Wow. What a great way to end the journey. As we drove back to LA, the smoke from the fires blanketed the inland empire and Larry and I were both happy to get home and reluctant to end our journey. So this blog is done for now. I start work next week with a firm called Historic Resources Group.
I am sure I will reactivate the blog some time in the future, and will be sure to let you know. JM