Next gyro 93 miles
I headed down I-15 recently to venture out into the Mojave National Preserve, the vast and amazing park just over an hour from Vegas in California.
Just as I left the city, I flew past one of the dozen or so Mad Greek billboards that stretch from here to Baker (and on toward L.A. facing the opposite direction).
Mojave Desert, gyros ... what a combination!
I had driven past Baker a few times, but never stopped in.
So I was amazed with a combination that an appreciation for kitsch and a lot of Classical artwork brings to bear in the most unlikely place.
When I approached the Mad Greek, I saw the Greco statuary replicas that festoon the sizeable white and blue roadside building.
Sure, they're a bit gaudy, but then I thought it was pretty amazing to see a version of Apollo (I think) gleaming in the desert sun next to a parking lot and a yield sign. And how often does one find a quote from Socrates -- "I am a citizen, not of Athens or Greece but of the world" -- as the motto of of a restaurant ?
Inside the Mad Greek I found even more kitsch and Hellenic-o-rama decor. And "welcome" painted in dozens of languages.
The place was crazy busy with tourists, its target market.
I ordered a gyro plate (and here a "plate" means rice or fries on the side alone, no salad or dolmades, etc.). I kept my beverage choice Balkan with a cherry drink. It was a bit pricey for a gyro -- the total was nearly $15 -- but Baker offers items at oasis prices. Meaning at a premium to an urban area such as Vegas.
But the gyro was certainly big, and decent (in reading around this place seems to elicit the most extreme informal online reviews. People either love the gyros or hate them, at least as far as I have seen). I should have gotten extra tzatziki sauce, though.
No food in the Kelso kitchen
About an hour after lunch I arrived at Kelso after driving through an amazing tableau of volcanic cinder cones and Joshua tree forests. Kelso is the park headquarters. The visitors center is in an old Union Pacific train station. The building was built in the Mission style and has beautiful colonnades.
Inside the building is the old station cafe. It has a large U-shaped counter with Art Deco-ish swivel chairs. No food is served at the cafe (commissary service for railroad employees ended in the 1980s, public service long before).
You can peruse maps and other park materials laid out on the cafe counter. You can also chat with the rangers at the welcome desk. I did, and they offered the next dining tip I'll write about ...
Noshing in Nipton
I headed to Nipton, California on the advice of the rangers in Kelso. They said there was a great burger there, Man, were they right on.
Nipton is a tiny oasis on the Nipton Road. This stretches from Searchlight, Nevada to an exit about eight miles south of Primm on I-15.
In the Nipton Cafe you'll find huge, fresh
burgers served in unique open-ended tortilla holders. The fries are some of the crispest and fluffiest I have sampled in the Vegas region.
The cafe is one of the most informal rooms you'll ever order and pay for food in ... it has seven tables and a few couches.
You can also meet the cafe's resident (and adorably friendly) dog, Echo, while enjoying the oasis burgers.
It's worth the hour's drive just for the good grinds.
The desert scenery is a big bonus.
(This blog was tuned in with the help of Frank Black's The Cult of Ray.)