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The Mission Inn Hotel - Riverside, California My last entry was about a surprising lunch, when Don and I found ourselves dining at a lovely hotel in Guatemala.
It reminded me of another surprise lunch... in an old hotel! Stopping While on the Road Don and I were traveling and needed food. We weren't looking for a big dining adventure, and we had zero interest in getting off the highway to see Riverside.
In the 1980's we lived not far from Riverside and our vague memories were of a worn out, smoggy community. But a quick glance at Trip Advisor while in the car, caused me to shout at Don, "Quick, exit here! We should try this place!" A Massive Hotel with Flying Buttresses Stopping for lunch gave us a chance to explore this rather impressive hotel that took up more than a city block. We wandered the exterior, which we learned later, had incorporated elements of all 21 California Missions.  I'm not sure which old mission had "flying buttresses", but this hotel had a few propping up the structure. I still remember the first time I heard that term. "Those are flying buttresses." My older brother told me as he pointed to the oddly shaped, marble things jutting out of the side of a cathedral. I was 11 and most of his teasing was done with a straight face. Side Entrance We walked a bit and headed to the side entrance, way from the main street. We walked by a giant birdcage with some noisy parrots and a number of huge antique bells on display.
As we headed towards the door, a stylish woman of about 70 paused and greeted with a pleasant expression. "My, but don't you two just look like million dollar travelers!" Her smile seemed genuine, there was no hint of sarcasm and her speech wasn't slurred, so Don and I smiled back with our thanks and tried not fret over how odd that was. Las Campanas There were quite a few options for lunch, but we couldn't resist the first outdoor patio we saw.
The restaurant, Las Campanas, which means "the bells", was named for the grand collection of rare and ornamental bells that can be found throughout the hotel grounds. Mostly we were attracted by a trickling fountain and the tall shady palms. Peaceful and Cool We hardly needed the table umbrellas for shade.
There were arbors and umbrella-shaped palms high above. The tile covered cafe tables seemed perfect for the Spanish style setting. History It wasn't until we popped open our wooden menu that we started reading about the history of these amazing bells and the Inn. Frank Miller opened a 2-story, 12 room, adobe boarding house in 1876.
By the 1890's Riverside was the richest city per capita in the U.S. (Who would've guessed?) In 1903, big expansions on the building began and the hotel (which was owned by the Millers until 1956) now has 238 rooms! Bells! In our little dining patio, we had a nice view of a few of the 400 bells that decorate the property.
The Miller family at one time had collected 800 bells! The oldest bell is from 1247. Lunchtime! Las Campanas is known for its Mexican cuisine, so Don went for the Carnitas with roasted pork and Guajillo mole, guacamole, beans and rice.
I had an open face quesadilla with Monterey Jack, queso fresco, avocado, cilantro pesto, arugula and pico de gallo. It all tasted as fresh and and pleasing as the garden atmosphere where we dined. (Funny, because all we remembered about Riverside 35 years earlier... was the smog!) Hotel We explored the hotel after lunch and I can't begin to describe the extravagance of the place, where Bette Davis and President Nixon were both married...not to each other!  This hotel has been on my list and someday, I'll hopefully have it on my Notable Night Blog List! The Dining We Missed Our exploring lead us to a number of indoor dining rooms that were very impressive. And then there was the enchanting courtyard with bright red umbrellas and flowers tumbling from balconies and a much grander stone fountain in the center.
Oh man! I wish we had explored first and eaten out there. As for the more formal dining, those places can wait until we return for an overnight! Till Next Time Don and I headed for the car with images of all these crazy details in our heads.  To think we had nearly pulled out the jar of peanut butter at a rest stop! I love traveling and the finds you make along the way. But I have to hand it to Trip Advisor for this one, or we would have never stopped!
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Hotel Atitlan at Panajachel Don and I spent 2 weeks in Guatemala and we did not expect any cloth napkin meals.  Most of our meals were cooked on a wood-burning stove by our home-stay host. But our lunch at this lovely hotel was a surprise treat! Getting There We had taken the shuttle boat from San Pedro to visit the village of Panajachel for the day.
At the dock we flagged down a tuc-tuc and mentioned something about "Hotel Atitlan" thinking it was just an area we wanted to visit. A Lovely Hotel Our little 3-wheeler had to stop at a gate to enter the hotel grounds which included botanical gardens. We had to pay a fee, but were told it would be reimbursed if we dined at the hotel.  This wasn't at all where we thought we were going, but the lush growth surrounding this lovely "hacienda" was hard to pass up. Even the lobby was a treat with all the beams and colorful walls and tile-work. Through the Bar The bar was empty at lunch on a Monday.  The daylight made it easy to see the colorful decor and curious bar and fireplace. Terrace Dining The hostess walked us through a large and intriguing dining room with cages of macaws and small flittering birds.  There were spacious tables near windows overlooking gardens, but we were drawn to the patio seating with all the colorful napkins and cushioned chairs. (In 2 weeks, we never adjusted to the flat wooden chairs in every home and restaurant) Ahhhh! For most of our lunch we had the patio to ourselves.  Lovely! Water View We had a view of both the luxuriously empty pool...  ...and Lake Atitlan. And... There was another glorious view, with clay birdhouses...  ... hanging above a colorful assortment of flowers and a hazy mountain background! Then There Was Lunch Our waiter arrived with a white shirt and bow-tie and handed us menus, covered in Guatemalan woven fabric.
I was feeling unworthy in my "camp clothes", but our waiter made us feel more than welcome. Luckily Don's Spanish was good enough to communicate our wishes, since English speaking guests are not the norm.
Our food arrived, looking as festive as the hotel gardens. Don's salad was full of surprises tucked into avocado halves, which were surrounded with tropical fruits. My chicken empanadas came with a fresh chopped salad and black bean soup on the side. We enjoyed the "just enough" sized lunch with a little wine and some bread and butter. That was a real treat since I'd been served corn tortillas with every meal since arrival. Exploring! There's nothing better to me than following a good meal with a little wandering.
First we wandered inside. It's hard to see how cute "Ladies Room" door was, with handwoven doll as a sign. I also loved the wall of mugs that we passed! Gardens! And then we wandered through the gardens.
We found lovely stone paths, benches, large cages of tropical birds, and an island with a tiny rooster house and flowers and flowers and flowers! Good-Bye We headed back up from the gardens, passing the patio where we'd eaten.  I took a look at the distant hotel accommodations and made mental notes. Someday? Bit of Paradise We rode our tuc-tuc back into the village and spent the rest of our day bartering over prices at shops and dodging the overly aggressive salespeople.
We had fun, but it made our memory of lunch at the hotel, all the sweeter. Hope to stay longer next time!
On the Honduran Island of Roatan Ruthie's is not exactly a dining destination for the tourists who come to Roatan by cruise ship. It's not a place you pass by on your way to the beaches or diving centers.
Ruthie's is in the Garifuna village of Punta Gorda, in the northeastern part of the island. The settlement began in 1797, when 3,000 Afro-Caribbeans were deported by the British, from the island of San Vincente. Today it is a somewhat isolated fishing village with its' own language and culture... and I was eager to sample some Garifuna food! Directions... with a Machete Don and I had Jorge, as our wonderful guide for the second day of our visit. He is a native of Roatan, but his ancestors were "Paya Indians, Spanish and a little of everything else". He was happy to include Punta Gorda in our plans for the day, but he needed some local help for directions once we arrived.
Don and I watched the local man point out directions with his machete. Luckily we we've seen a lot of machetes used as a cutting tool in recent travels... or we might have been less relaxed about the gesture. Ruthie's It wasn't quite 11:00 yet and there had just been a huge downpour. Things were pretty quiet as if the whole village was still asleep.  But we saw a couple people sitting under the shady palapa near the "Ruthies" sign, so we approached with crossed fingers. Lunch? No one exactly jumped up to greet us.  But one of the women pointed to the back deck, so we helped ourselves to a stack of chairs and found a table with a view. That's a little silly to say, since there were no "view-less" tables.  Don and Jorge took a seat and I just had to roam for a bit. I took this photo from the end of the the deck, near an open window which opened up to the tiny kitchen. It already felt like we'd intruded a bit, so I forced myself not to stick my head in to see what was going on. Peaceful The water was calm after the morning rain. I wondered about the narrow "kayuko" tied to the side of the covered dock.  Who used that boat? Where did they go once they got in the boat? Home From School Directly below us, I heard the voices of 2 little boys speaking Garifuna. Since children on the island either go to school in the morning or afternoon, I guessed these kids were done with school for the day.  I have some fun memories of walking home from school when I was a child, but I never got to wade through waters of the Caribbean! Island Time There was no doubt about it, we were in a world where time moved slowly. And that worked perfectly for us. Don and I ordered Honduran beers, Barena and Salva Vida.
There were no menus, but Ruthie told us what she could serve that day. Yellowtail was the catch of the day and she could make "Machuca". I had heard about that Garifuna soup made with coconut milk and fish. I was game. As Jorge told us stories of growing up on the island, (long before developers and tourists) we could hear noises coming from the little kitchen window. It was an almost comical slapping-thunking sound that came from that small room. "She's pounding your plantains for your soup." Jorge laughed. Served with a Smile! We enjoyed every minute of our long wait for our meal. Ruthie had done all the work herself in that tiny kitchen. We finally got a big smile out of her when we mentioned seeing her name on the internet. "You're famous!" We announced.  Not too famous, because I keep trying to find that piece of info I read weeks ago about her restaurant and I can't find it! But she seemed pleased to know we'd heard of her. Fish with a Smile Actually Don's smile, could be seen as an expression of panic. But his past business trips to Japan have prepared him for things much scarier looking than this fish.
Maybe that fish is smiling on the plate... or he should be, because the plate decoration makes him look like he has legs... which is funny. Don did a good job with his fish and gave Ruthie lots of praise. Machuca with Kingfish Okay, this photo display hardly looks appetizing, but I loved every bit about this meal, starting with the retro flowered china. Don shared his rice and fried plantain, which was served in a Tupperware style container.
I spooned chunks of plantain mash and squeezes of lime into my funny looking soup. Then I was treated to a smooth and flavorful slurp of sweet coconut milk broth. The kingfish was fresh and melt-in-you-mouth yummy. And I'm not a huge fish lover! Coming to Life After finishing and lingering, Ruthie placed a paper napkin on our table with $25. written in marker. Who knows if that's what locals are charged. But, we got plenty for that price and she messed up her kitchen just for us. I asked her how to say "Thank you" in Garifuna.  I can't remember what it was, but she laughed when I tried to repeat it to her. We headed out to the street and stopped to chat with the men who had just started up a game of dominoes. "Who's winning!" I asked. Which is a really dumb question since they hadn't started. But the man in the white shirt with stripes, was more than happy to announce that he was the winner! Heading Off We climbed into the van and pulled away from the curb just in time to see Ruthie coming out the door to wave with a big grin. Maybe she was acknowledging our tip.
Or maybe it was her afternoon personality, just kicking in! I would love to visit Ruthie's in the evening when locals might be filling up the tables. But no complaints. I loved our quiet little visit, with lots of time to enjoy!
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The Dining Blog
This is a blog about Dining Adventures. Sometimes, I talk about food. Below, you can read how this started. On July 4th 2011, I set a goal to try 50 culturally diverse restaurants in one year! (I knew that was possible, living in the Houston area) I spent the year pulling in friends and family to join me, on some unusual dining adventures. I met some curious people, tried some scary foods and explored places and cultures I never would have otherwise. Even though I met my goal, I learned too much to end my adventures in dining. I have continued blogging about memorable dining adventures of all kinds, near and far... and all the discoveries and funny things I've learned along the way! Locations and types of dining adventures, are listed further down. Archives
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