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Dining with Ghosts, Aliens and Road Kill
Three Arizona restaurants where a healthy portion of Whacko is on the menu
NORMAL IS BORING.
But you already knew that. Outdoor adventurers like us have been called a little whacked a time or two because of our unusual escapades. Everything down to what you eat isn't normal. Come on, how many times have you eaten a dried out Clif bar, sucked gel out of a tube, or picked out leftover trail mix stuck together at the bottom of your backpack after a long hike or mountain bike ride?
No longer. Thanks to three off-beat, zany restaurants in northern Arizona aiming to satisfy your hunger, you can enjoy a one-of-a-kind dining experience without having to pick off bits of trail dirt or pack lint. Arizona is known for its diverse outdoor experiences, but who would have thought ghosts, aliens, and road kill would be waiting to accompany you at your next meal? Take two steps west from ordinary and dare to open the door to these three new dining adventures that can only be described as being one card short of a full deck.
If your personality fits this description, The Asylum might just be the perfect retreat for you.
Looming atop Cleopatra Hill above the historic mining town of Jerome, the spirited Asylum restaurant has recently relaxed its entrance requirements. Lucky for most of us, you no longer need to be insane to enjoy The Asylum's unsurpassable hospitality.
Originally a pharmacy to serve sick and injured miners recuperating in the United Verde Hospital starting in 1927, today The Asylum continues to serve up the perfect medicine to cure even the most insatiable hunger pangs.
Married co-owners Richard Pasich and Jennifer Nagel tapped into their backpacking adventures to develop The Asylum's upscale but approachable Southwest-inspired New American menu. For Richard and Jennifer, who call themselves "co-inmates," current appetizers like Hippy Hummus Spread and Baked Brie were once routine, but extravagant indulgences along the trail.
Don't expect leftover trail mix here. The Asylum chefs - or shall we say "kooks" - deliver a memorable lip-smacking dining experience. House specialties like Roasted Butternut Squash Soup, Grilled Achiote Rubbed Pork Tenderloin, and Roast Maple Leaf Duck Breast tempt even the most discriminating taste buds. Save room for the freshly ground vanilla bean Créme Brulee, but be forewarned about the effects on your ghoulish figure. "You won't lose weight, but it will feel good to eat," Richard discloses.
As you enjoy expansive enchanting 180-degree views of Jerome, the Verde Valley and Sedona, imbibe in an extensive award-winning wine list. Can't decide? Commit to wine tasting, where selecting four boutique wines to sample from 2-ounce glasses labeled "Pessimist/Optimist" will lead to the ponderings of the age-old question: Is the glass half empty or half full? For those who simply want to let go of all philosophical thought, the Freudian Slip Martini or the Screaming Bloody Mary can help clear your mind.
At the Asylum, however, spirits don't just come in a bottle. Known for an occasional ghost haunting, don't be frightened by the bearded gentleman dressed in black cape and black top hat raising his glass to you. Before you can raise your glass to return the toast, he disappears into thin air. If you hear voices in your head, it may simply be a little boy singing. Rest assured, any ghosts encountered are friendly. "They are all Casper the Ghosts," shares Richard with a sly grin.
Whether you share your meal with ghosts or friends, you are invited to enjoy lunch or dinner in your flip-flops, sweatshirts, and baseball caps. Wearing your Sunday best is completely optional, but no matter how you dress, Jennifer encourages showering before you arrive so "you don't offend the table next to you."
Mind your manners as you help yourself to an after dinner candy from the bedpan at the hostess stand. You never know who might be watching you.
Maybe ghosts aren't your thing. What about aliens?
If aliens spin your saucer, beam yourself to the Red Planet Diner just up the road in Sedona. The space ship hovering out front will let you know you've landed in the right place.
From the moment you are greeted by a "Earthlings Please Wait to Be Seated" sign, you are instantly transported from the red rocks of Sedona to a far out Martian atmosphere complete with UFOs, aliens, blinking space ships, and intrepid space travelers suspended above you as you enjoy diner-style fare with a southwestern and Mexican twist.
Grab a sparkling chair at the diner's counter, where you can mull over unsettling authentic accounts and photos of UFO sightings across the globe, from Australia to Rio de Janeiro to California. There have been no recorded UFO landings or alien sightings at the Red Planet Diner. Yet.
Manager José Billapando suggests the only strange looking creatures you will find at the Red Planet Diner are your servers. That said, you might still keep your eyes fixed on the sky toward Capital Butte. Depending on the number of spiked Jupiter-Juice-Tini's or you've had during your stay, you just might be the first to see extraterrestrial visitors invade Sedona.
As you wait for aliens to join you, Spock and Obi-Won Kenobi watch your every move as you devour hearty, freshly made breakfast specialties like Tony's Green Chilaquiles, Red Planet Croissant, and even hummus. For lunch, munch on a specialty sandwich like the roasted Red Pepper Veggie and Avocado Sandwich or a gigantic Galactic Salad with Chicken. Wash either down with a freshly made Strawberry Milkshake or a spiked Oort Cloud Freeze.
As night falls, the eerie neon red lights illuminating the diner transfer you to another dimension for dinner. Try the Fried Pickles appetizer then indulge in a spicy Roswell Burger or a Turkey Burger. With portions so generous, you would think they could feed an entire planet.
Though you could come in your hiking clothes, no one would blink an eye if you showed up in that E. T. costume you wanted to wear last Halloween. You will fit right in with Spock, Obi-Won, and the Red Planet Diner servers.
After dining with the "who's who" of the celestial world, come back down to Earth and head to historic Route 66 in Seligman for your next fuel stop. As you wind your way through wide open spaces and undulating hills on your drive up, be careful. You might just hit dinner along the way. As they say at the Roadkill Caf�������© in Seligman, "You kill it, we grill it."
Starting in 1997, hungry patrons were invited to grill their own meat at the Roadkill Caf�������©. In fact, Australian visitors once hit something unidentifiable on the road, brought it back to the restaurant, and asked if the chefs would cook it for them. Fact or fiction? No one ever quite knows the true story for sure at the Roadkill Caf�������©.
Despite the Roadkill Caf�������©'s enticing motto and comical historical accounts, you won't have to scrape anything off the road or bring your own meat to have a good meal here. Well-known for its savory beef dishes "moist and tender, right off the fender," the Roadkill Caf�������© offers tasty tongue-in-cheek menu items like "Big Bagged Stag" (10-ounce Blank Angus steak), "Rack of Raccoon" (St. Louis ribs), or "Too Slow Doe" (BBQ beef sandwich). As the menu suggests, "eating is more fun when you know it was hit on the run."
Simply reading the menu could keep you chuckling throughout your stay, but peruse the owner's families' old western antiques and extensive collection of stuffed wild animal heads lining the walls of the large dining room. Then, wander into the OK Saloon, which conveniently serves as the bar for the Roadkill Caf�������©. The bar's wooden countertop appears unremarkable until further inspection reveals the counter is made from the wood of old outhouses, seats and all. Though you might be tempted to enjoy a local beer at the bar, the bartender warns, "don't eat here. It's a shitty spot."
Whether you heed the advice or not, be sure to partake in the old cowboy tradition of pinning a few bills on the bar ceiling with your name on it before you leave. That way, if you come back through town penniless, you always have a "buck" or two to buy a satisfying meal and drink along your journey.
After dining on food grilled on sizzling asphalt, having breakfast with the unimaginable duo of Spock and Obi-Won, and sharing a drink with the legendary ghosts of Arizona's past, your future meals may seem a bit dull and ordinary. When you seek the extraordinary, come to Northern Arizona. As the co-founder and owner of Roadkill Caf�������©, Jean invites you to, "Come find out how crazy we are." The Mother Ship is calling.
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