ROAD FOOD TO STOP FOR

Road food runs from a bag of broccoli to the drive through.

Unless you’re in Gallup New Mexico on Hwy 66.

There you’ll find Oasis Mediterranean Restaurant.

You’ll want to stop and here’s why:

Where else would you find plates of Mediterranean food like this?

On the Mediterranean, not Gallup.

After a futile scavenger hunt for a chili rellenos better than those from LaFonda, including a James Beard award winning place, my food hunt was over.

Or so I thought.

Instead of Taco Bell and Burger King on the menu of the foreseeable future, my sharp wife said, “Let’s take a look at Oasis.”

We looked, we stayed, and we ordered what she said was the best falafel she’d ever eaten. They must have been since they disappeared too fast for my opinion.

When you’re out on the road, try and find the unexpected. Was Oasis unexpected? In Gallup?

It seemed miraculous to find such detailed, fresh, food in a chicken-fried steak town and barbecue ribs sort of town.

Once In A Lifetime Road Food? Not So Fast, Pardner

We pulled into Mesa AZ from the east side of Phoenix and checked in for the next few nights.

I was looking for typical road food and a good stretch after a long drive down from 5000 feet, a stop in the Petrified Forest National Park, and pulling G-s in long sweeping curves of four lane blacktop.

What I didn’t want to do was get back in the car; what we did do was get back in the car and boy am I glad we did.

Wife: Let’s take a look at Original Cuisine. We can order out.

But we didn’t. Once we sat down there was no way to do anything but stay put.

Road Food Deluxe

If you find exceptional food on the road, get extra.

Do that and you may lunch on Mediterranean food in the Tonto National Forest.

Anyone for the best Chinese food this side of 82nd Ave in Portland Oregon.

Think of it as an addition to the trail mix, crackers, and coffee drinks for the next 400 miles.

I am.