DAY 2 - Gallup to Santa Fe

We were up and out of Gallup, NM at 7am, but before we skipped town we stopped at the “USA Road Trip Book” recommended Eagle Café for breakfast. Nothing fancy, green chili omelet, oatmeal and coffee. We saved some eggs for the pups – they love their eggs and ham!

The dogs were not thrilled with the 7am departure; a bit early for their liking

The drive from Gallup to Santa Fe is three hours, but the heavy snow increased travel time. There was a lot of amazing scenery throughout the drive – massive mesas that looked like oil tankers docked side by side.

Zuma took over driving duties so mom and I could rest a bit

We pulled into Santa Fe around noon and the city was covered in snow and still decked with holiday décor. Temperatures are ranging between 23 and 35. We checked into Eldorado Hotel & Spa – www.eldoradohotel.com. We knew it was a great hotel when they gave us dog treats at check in.


After getting settled we headed out for our first BBQ meal. We walked a few blocks to Cowgirl BBQ and feasted (see THE REVIEW and pics below).

After walking around town a bit and dropping in and out of the numerous Southwestern antique shops we headed back to the hotel to take the dogs for a walk and get ready for dinner. Dinner was at a local Santa Fe staple called Santa Café – www.santacafe.com. Delicious to say the least. Since it was not BBQ we didn’t do a full review, but I will say if you make it to Santa Fe this is a must. Try the seared scallops and mushroom risotto. The coffee bean ice cream with caramel polished it off perfectly (My Mom didn’t let me take pics).

I’m headed off to the hotel bar where they got live music. I’m debating bringing Zena since our initial walk through the lobby caused a stir and every girl in the place walked up to us.

Tomorrow we spend the whole day in Santa Fe exploring the famous cathedral, Georgia O’Keefe museum, city plaza and of course more BBQ.

THE REVIEW - Cowgirl BBQ, Santa Fe, NM

After more than 36 hours, Mom and I finally dove into our first BBQ meal. We hit up Cowgirl BBQ in Santa Fe, NM – www.cowgirlsantafe.com. Cowgirl was a solid way to start off, but we expect improvement across the board later in the trip. Below is our rating of the five S’s.

Mama D. outside Cowgirl BBQ

Cowgirl BBQ sampler platter - brisket, pork ribs, bbq chicken, potato salad, cole slaw and beans

Rating System:
1 - Barely edible
2 - Standard
3 - Good
4 - Very good
5 - Outstanding on every level

Sauce – 3 – The sauce was house made and the best part of the meal. It was served warm, which I don’t recall seeing much, but I enjoyed it. It was slightly tangy with a smoky undertone.

Sides – 2 – Standard at best. We got potato salad, beans, cole slaw and corn bread. All of which lacked flavor and didn’t impress at all.

Slabs – 3 – Good is the right word (not very good). They were meaty and tender and the meat fell off the bone, but the ‘wow’ flavor wasn’t there. The skin wasn’t crispy and flavorful either.

Steaks – 2 – We had the brisket. It was average, but the quality sauce made it tasty. Biggest complaint is that it was cooked medium well, which to me is a bit much.

Sandwiches – Didn't order sandwiches.

Honorable Mentions – Although not a part of our normal review there were a couple items we wanted to call out on the Cowgirl BBQ menu. The BBQ chicken was moist, flavorful and nicely cooked (better than the brisket). The chicken salad with honey vinaigrette dressing was delicious and a nice start to the meal. And finally, the pecan pie was stellar. Crunchy crust topped with big and small bits of pecan and sweet brown sugary filling.

Stupid video we shot prior to our first meal.

Dining area inside Cowgirl BBQ

Me gorging some Cowgirl BBQ ribs

DAY 1 - Los Angeles to Gallup, NM

After nine hours of driving and two stops (one for the dogs and one to eat) we made it to Gallup, NM. Unfortunately, no major BBQ joints or steak houses to write about. The one place we were going to hit, Rod's Steakhouse, was closed on Christmas.

Bright and early tomorrow morning we make the three-hour drive into Santa Fe.

BTW - I'll add most of the photos directly to the blog, but all photos are in the gallery to the left.

Brief intro video.

Mom and I hitting the road. She packed the car with quilts, comforters and pillows making it a massive moving moon bounce. See Zena below getting lost in the fluff.

Zuma settling down in the back seat

Zena getting comfy in the sea of quilts and blankets.

There was a lot of snow and rain throughout the drive.

Christmas Eve - Got the Car

We got the car today, a GMC Yukon (see pics below). Should be plenty of room for my mom and I and the two dogs. Perhaps the rent-a-car guy was giving me a line of crap, but he said this Yukon was the nicest Yukon they had in the Southern California fleet. Not sure how true that is, but it is decked out with leather seats, wood trim, automatic everything, reverse sensors, XM Radio, dual climate control, etc. My favorite is that you can start the car and get it heated with the key remote; a very useful feature considering some of the cities we're visiting are getting single digit weather (Kansas City was 6 degrees on Tuesday).


We do have luggage, snacks, sleeping bags, dog food and a bunch of other stuff, but we took out the third row of seats so it's still spacious.

Review System - The Five S's

Four days and counting...

As requested, we'll be reviewing and rating each BBQ restaurant. We'll rate five main categories - the Five S's: Sauce, Sides, Slabs, Steaks and Sandwiches. We are rating food only, so ambiance and service will not be taken into account.

Sauce - includes BBQ and hot sauce
Sides - includes mac & cheese, cole slaw, beans, mashed potatoes, salads, etc.
Slabs - includes pork and beef ribs
Steaks - Brisket and other cuts of meat
Sandwiches - includes pulled pork, chicken and steak sandwiches

Each of the above categories will be rated between 1 and 5:
* 1 - Barely edible
* 2 - Standard
* 3 - Good
* 4 - Very Good
* 5 - Outstanding on every level

Unfortunately, my Mom and I won't be able to order everything at each place, but we'll do our best to review a well-rounded menu selection. If you have other reviewing recommendations, please let me know.

Videos Keep on Coming - Jason Mraz "I'm Yours"

As you can tell I like visuals. You can probably also tell these videos don't have much to do with BBQ, but they have everything to do with Traveling. As much as this trip is about tasting America's BBQ cuisine and bonding with my Mom, it's also about traveling, exploring and seeing places we've never seen. These videos (see others below) encourage and inspire travel and that's why I'm sharing them with you.

Jason Mraz - "I'm Yours"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QedgzsjouXU

Another cool travel video - "Where the Hell is Matt"

Most of you probably saw this considering it has more than 14 million views on YouTube, but it's still one of my favorites. It's the "Where the Hell is Matt" video where he dances in numerous cities around the world. It makes me want to travel.

I'm going to do something like this where I do the same thing at each BBQ joint, but I'm still figuring out what I can do...let me know if you have recommendations?


http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/?fbid=0xDNn_yhhen

For the LA Locals...Baby Blues BBQ

For the LA locals who need a BBQ fix check out Baby Blues in Venice (on Lincoln, just south of Rose) . Ribs are amazing as is the pulled pork. My favorite is the Mac&Cheese.

Here's a YouTube video of BABY BLUES BBQ on the Food Network.

Itinerary - 14 Days, 13 Nights and 10 Cities

Here's the basic itinerary (we have a more detailed list for each city with hotels, restaurants and points of interest). We leave Christmas Day and return Jan. 7, so 14 days and 13 nights. The hours in parenthesis is the estimated drive time. Longest drive is nine hours which is the first leg from Los Angeles to Gallup, NM.

We're staying a couple days in the main destination cities - Santa Fe, Kansas City, Memphis and Austin. The rest are short visits.

* Thu, Dec. 25 – Los Angeles to Gallup, NM (9hrs)

* Fri, Dec. 26 – Gallup to Santa Fe (3 hrs)

* Sat, Dec. 27 – All day in Santa Fe

* Sun, Dec. 28 – Santa Fe to Oklahoma City (8hrs)

* Mon, Dec. 29 – Oklahoma City to Kansas City (5hrs)

* Tue, Dec. 30 – All day in Kansas City

* Wed, Dec. 31 – Kansas City to Memphis (8hrs)

* Thu, Jan. 1 – All day in Memphis

* Fri, Jan. 2 – Memphis to Dallas (7hrs)

* Sat, Jan. 3 – Dallas to Austin (3hrs)

* Sun, Jan. 4 – All day in Austin

* Mon, Jan. 5 Austin to El Paso (8hrs)

* Tue, Jan. 6 – El Paso to Phoenix (6hrs)

* Wed, Jan. 7 - Phoenix to Los Angeles (6hrs)

Here's the first BBQ joint we're hitting - Rod's Steak House in Williams, AZ, about 35 minutes outside Flagstaff. We'll be stopping there on our way to our first city, Gallup, NM.

http://www.rods-steakhouse.com