40. New Mexico and 41. Utah (The Four Corners)

      We finally made it to Albuquerque, now we can go to the Four Corners Monument but first we need to eat breakfast. The Frontier Restaurant had been recommended to me so there we went. It is located right across from the University of New Mexico and has been a tradition with students, current and former, since 1971. We ordered the huevos rancheros with cheese and green chili to split. We couldn’t resist ordering one of their famous sweet rolls after hearing someone else ordering one. The food is inexpensive but you wouldn’t know that from the quality and taste. It didn’t take us long to finish off the huevos rancheros. The green chili sauce was excellent and not too hot for Dennis. I sometimes worry about how Mexican food will affect my stomach but that didn’t stop me and thankfully it all agreed with me. The sweet roll or cinnamon roll as I like to call it was okay. It wasn’t the best we’ve had but was still enjoyable. A few hours away was our destination, Four Corners Monument. For those that don’t know it is where the corners of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah touch. Wow, I can get four states checked off with one step.  Since we had already visited in Arizona and Colorado, we focused our attention to Utah.  

   Around the monument are booths selling Native American ware and food. Since part of our adventure is to eat something in every state we bought some Navajo Fry bread to eat in Utah. Ours was coated with cinnamon sugar.  It was such a hot day that the snow cone afterwards was better. The fried bread was greasy and really not appealing to either of us so we sat in Utah, ate a couple of bites, and went on our way. Mission accomplished. At some time we’ll have to go back to Utah and really give it a chance. I know the Four Corners Monument is not a good representation of Utah. 

     We arrived back in Albuquerque and chose to eat at El Pinto which had also been recommended by a friend. When we drove in to the parking lot it was packed. I hoped the wait would not be too long. The hostess said it would be about 30 to 45 minutes but it didn’t feel that long. The restaurant has a number of dining rooms and patios and we sat next to a waterfall. We began our dining experience with chips and queso. The queso was a thick blend of cheeses with green chili. El Pinto is known for their salsa and it’s no wonder why. It is some of the best salsa. It’s a good thing they ship. I ordered the evening special which was two stuffed sopapillas. I wasn’t sure whether I wanted beef, chicken, or pork so I ordered one chicken and one pork. The entrée was covered with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and guacamole. I had mine served with their green chili sauce. There was so much food that I could barely eat one of the sopapillas but it was so delicious. This was probably one of the best Mexican meals I’ve had and coming from someone who lives in Texas that’s pretty darn good. I made sure to get a container so I could take the other  one home. Dennis ordered the half rack of baby back ribs that are marinated

in red chili and baked until tender. Talk about tender, the meat just fell off the rib. He did have to brush some of the red chili off but they were so flavorful and tender it didn’t matter. Dinner is served with a basket of sopapillas and we saved ours for dessert to enjoy with some honey. The leftovers did make it home and was just as good as when they came out of the kitchen.

        

        Leg 13

                 2 days

                 2 flights

                 543 miles driven

          = 2 states visited

                        9 states to go!

http://www.frontierrestaurant.com

http://elpinto.com