The food theme for this trip definitely has a strong affinity for Mexican, which makes complete sense given our southern location. Breakfast at the hotel was lousy (fail, Super 8). So lousy that I turned to an apple and some nuts in my pack as a substitute. After a morning of seeing animals at the zoo, we set off for Phoenix with our eyes peeled for potential tasty lunch locations. We turned to Guy Feiri’s site, Flavor Town USA, for suggestions but were too far east of San Diego for anything recommended. After some quick Google Map searching, we settled on Albert’s Mexican Food in Lakeside.

Albert’s was a no-fills stop in a no-frills shopping center not far off Interstate 8, known for their rolled tacos. After ordering, you wait in the dining area for your number to be called, munching on chips as is standard in just about every Mexican joint. You spooned your own salsa from a cooler-like bin along with sliced carrots. I wasn’t really sure what to do with those, so I just dipped them in the salsa and chowed down. Being the Mexican poser that I am, I ordered the Albert’s Plate, which gave me a bit of everything: a standard soft taco (beef), a rolled taco (chicken) and a tostada (vegetarian). The rolled taco, fried, was good but the tostada was what hooked me. I’d never had one before and was told to eat it like a pizza slice. Very messy, but good in its simplicity with refried beans lettuce and cheese on some sort of tortilla.

After arriving in Phoenix, we hit the famous In-And-Out Burger for dinner. It seems like everyone you talk to that’s from or been to California says you must eat at this place, so eat here we did. Now, my flexitarian ways aside, I love a good burger. When done right, cooked to perfection, it hits the spot like nothing else. But there are plenty of “meh” burger joints out there. Not bad (though there are those too), just not something you’d ever crave. As far as I’m concerned, In-And-Out Burger is one of those places. The burger was fine, the fries were fine, but that’s it. To quote my travel partner, “Once you’re had one [meh] burger, you’ve had them all.” Oh well, we’ve got plenty of great burgers in the DC area anyway.

On day three we’ll be heading north to the Sedona/Flagstaff area. What tasty morsels will we sample there? Time will tell.

Tags: travel

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