All of the towns along 287 and 87 have a DQ in the left.
On the left going which way?
Doesn’t matter.
3 Likes
Amarillo. Gallup, New Mexico.
Gallup is the creepiest, most unwelcome place I’ve ever been. We were staying at some cheap motel off the interstate, and at 3 in the morning my wife and I both realized neither of us could sleep. We just packed back up and left. It was such a weird place. Like it didn’t want us there.
1 Like
Haven’t we talked about that weird ass clown motel in Tonopah?
Flagstaff, Arizona, don’t forget Winona.
1 Like
I’m hip to that kind of tip.
1 Like
Maybe my favorite version of Route 66
2 Likes
I saw them play this live more than once. Pretty decent live band, if you think about it.
It sounds familiar but I don’t remember it. I’ve only been to Tonopah once, and like Amarillo, I didn’t leave anything there.
Never had the chance to see them live. I’m disappointed by that.
They were outrageous. They were incendiary in the 80’s and then again in '95-96 or so. It was something to behold. I always thought they were what Hank Williams would have been like if he’d shown up after, say, Chuck Berry. They would have invented punk rock and punk rock would have sounded like that.
You don’t want to leave anything here:
1 Like
I once read a review of them in the 80s as “the Clash hurling a wrecking ball through the Grand Ol Opry”. Sounds about right.
That about sums it up.
No way I’d even park there much less stay the night.
Dude. I sped up driving past. And I’ve never even seen a horror movie. I’m just not a reckless idiot.
2 Likes
I always wanted to drive from Tehachapi to Tonopah.
Can now confirm that’s the case with my favorite donut/kolache shop here (they also do a mean made-to-order ham/egg/cheese croissant).
Not sure how it started, but there’s a surprisingly large Thai/Cambodian population around Marble Falls. There’s a Buddhist Temple somewhere around here, and I remember years ago a Thai restaurant was built by the monks. It was weird to drive by and see a bunch of dudes in orange robes up on ladders. Something tells me that’s not OSHA approved workwear.
AI estimates Cambodians own 90% to 95% of donut shops in Texas!!!
It say this dominance stems from a network established in the 1970s by Ted Ngoy, known as the “Donut King,” who provided loans and training to fellow Cambodian refugees fleeing the Khmer Rouge regime.
2 Likes
There’s an eighty year old Carignane vineyard just outside the small city of Ukiah in Mendocino County (hour north of Napa). It’s surround by a Buddhist monastery and the monks own the vineyard. Every time I drive by the juxtaposition of the two is the most surreal thing.
The furthest from Houston I’ve found a Cambodian donut shop is Jackson, Ms. I suspect they go further.
The Cambodian shops originated in Houston, and if they’re not exploitive (which they could be, but I don’t think they are) it’s a brilliant system: Basically there’s a Cambodian lender who helps a Cambodian shop owner pick a storefront, learn how to make donuts, buy the proper equipment, and open the front door. As the owner gets his shop running and begins making payments, the lender moves on to another shop. I heard a talk by the lender, and he seems to be a decent guy, but it’s almost like he’s franchising the owners, not the shops.
ETA: right before the end of this blog post there’s a panel that presented about the Cambodian shops at a Foodways Texas event. That’s where we heard Sam Phan talk about the financing system. I don’t think I’ve seen the film.
2 Likes