Vacation, day 2

[sauergeek]

So much for better weather. It was still snowing this morning -- there were about 4" on the car that needed to get brushed off before we could leave. Because of the snow, we got out late; we missed breakfast at the Spotted Dog (though it may just have been closed all day; see below). So, it being after 11 AM, we headed into Zion National Park. The person manning the entry booth told us that you should have four-wheel drive and chains to use the tunnel road[2]. Fortunately, we weren't planning on going that way, as we're in a front-wheel-drive rental.

We went to the Red Rock Grill for lunch. One look at the 10+ inches of snow on the outdoor tables told us that eating on the balcony was not an option today -- nevermind there was still snow falling. We sat inside, next to the large picture windows overlooking the balcony (and looking out on some spectacular rock formations, which we could sort-of see through the snow).

Red Rock Grill looks much more promising for dinner; their lunch menu is fairly generic salads and burgers. However, even their generic food is decent. I had a bacon cheeseburger, which I asked for and got medium rare. Either they marinate their raw onions, or the onion slice had been stacked with the pickles overnight: the onions were a bit soft, and a bit vinegary. The fries had a little seasoned salt on them. It was not clear if the seasoned salt was a miss from something else, or if it was there as a bit of flavoring but not intended to overpower. jiapa ordered the chicken caesar salad, which was tasty and had a bit of zing to it.

We saved space for dessert, as they had bourbon pecan pie and something called chocolate confusion on the menu. Unfortunately, the pecan pie was served cold, and the crust was immensely thick. The pie was deep-dish -- it almost looked as if it had been baked in a tart pan -- and the pecans were only at the top layer, instead of throughout the pie. jiapa said the crust tasted like raw cookie batter, which she likes but which I'm at best indifferent to in that quantity. The chocolate confusion turned out to be a two-layer dark chocolate cake, with chocolate mousse between the layers, a nearly ganache-thick dark chocolate frosting on the outside, dark chocolate chips along the frosted side (but not top) of the cake, and whipped cream on top. I thought it was wonderful, with all the different textures and flavor variations of the dark chocolate.

The restaurant had four Uinta[3] microbrews available. I started with the Cutthroat Pale Ale, which went well with the hamburger. It is a mostly straightforward pale ale, medium amber with good balance between the hops and malt, though a bit dryer than usual. I followed up with King's Peak Porter to go with dessert. As expected, it worked spectacularly with the chocolate cake, and reasonably well with the pecan pie. The beer itself is an atypical porter: there is hardly any roasted barley flavor in it; instead, it relies on heavy use of chocolate malt for both color and flavor. It would likely pass the Maglite test[4]. King's Peak is a dry porter; do not expect it to have the thicker mouthfeel of a traditional English porter.

After lunch, we went off to the visitor's center and took a look around. The snow was starting to slow down, and the cloud cover had occasional blue breaks in it. We nosed around a bit, and heard from the person working the information counter that the tunnel road had reopened. We headed out, briefly debated trying to make our canyon hikes today, but decided against it as the snow was still falling off and on, and the overcast, while not complete, was still obscuring a lot of the upper parts of the canyon.

Instead, we found an interesting looking road, Utah Rt. 18, through Dixie National Forest. The forest is mostly at the level of the top of Zion Canyon; what we saw was all coniferous. There was a lot of snow down, and in the northern parts of the forest (as well as on Utah Rt. 56 north of the forest) a fair bit of snow was still falling. Seeing all the trees spaced out, covered in snow, was pretty. We thought about taking a shortcut out of the forest, through the town of Pinto and then past what were supposed to be the ruins of an old mining town. But, when we got to the road, it was completely unplowed, and may well have been a dirt road -- there was too much snow on it to tell. When we passed the outlet of that same road on Rt. 56, it was in just as bad a condition. It was an interesting thought, but not for today.

It seemed like the birds living in the forest didn't quite get snow, as vast numbers of birds were alongside the road, just clear of the snow, on the shoulder. They'd take off and fly away in droves as cars approached, and then return to that same spot almost right behind the departing car. There were power lines along Rt. 56, but no birds were on them.

Once we got out of the national forest, we headed back to the canyon. By now, the sky had cleared a lot; it was down to broken clouds. Some of the vistas we saw while driving back to the park warratned stops for pictures (to be uploaded later). We decided to take a quick, no-stop loop of the Zion Canyon road; the scenery and now-visible rock formations were gorgeous, even fully shaded in the fast-failing light. Tomorrow's run, with some short hiking, into the canyon should be beautiful.

Dinner was at Pentimento Restaurant. I was in the mood for some kind of steak, and jiapa wanted fish and chips -- this place had both. Openers were a house salad with house dressing (an oil/vinegar mix with the tasty addition of crumbled blue cheese in it) for me, and cream of asparagus soup for jiapa. The salad was basic, and OK. The soup reminded me of the texture of split pea soup, but with the much lighter flavor of asparagus.

My New York strip steak was a properly cooked medium rare, and was well-seasoned, needing no additions at the table. The mashed potatoes were nice and moist, with enough milk and butter, and lightly seasoned (though I could not identify with what). However, the potatoes look as if they came out of a tube, given that they were presented as a little coiled mountain of potatoes, with a sprig of rosemary as a tree at the peak. jiapa had fish and chips. The fries were big steak-cut fries; the fish breading was remarkably oil-free, even for good deep-fried breaded fish. Everything was tasty, but nothing stuck out as spectacular.

Once again, we saved room for dessert. We'd seen the dessert menu on the way in, and knew what we wanted: pecan pie and creme brulee -- certainly my two favorite desserts, and they're right up there for jiapa as well. The creme brulee turned out to have coconut flavor, but no coconut actually in it. The coconut flavor was subtle; had I not known it was there, it probably would have taken me some time to identify it. It came with a strawberry slice and a thicker-than-usual layer of caramelized sugar on top. The custard beneath was wonderfully smooth, with none of the occasional crunch that I've found in some creme brulees in the past. I was disappointed when I finished up the end of the creme brulee; I wanted there to be more.

The pecan pie was far superior to the one we had at lunch. This one was served warm, was in a normal pastry crust, and was thinner, with pecans throughout the filling. We'd ordered the pie a-la mode, and the ice cream melting over the pie was delicious. The pie also came with strawberry slices, which were an interesting contrast to the sweetness and nuttiness of the pie. jiapa left me a tiny piece of the pie after I'd finished the creme brulee -- yummy.

Pentimento only had beer in bottles, so I had wine with dinner -- I usually have wine with steak when I make steak at home, so this is not at all unusual. They had a house merlot that went well with the steak. For dessert I shifted to a white zinfandel, which did well with both desserts. I know far less about wine than beer, and I do not have the names of either of the wines, so I doubt I can do either of these justice. I just know they worked for what I wanted.

Tomorrow, breakfast at The Spotted Dog, a few short hikes in Zion Canyon, and then we drive to the south rim of the Grand Canyon, 250 miles away.

1. Today's cut text (OW OW OW) brought to you courtesy of jiapa's iPod and Anarchy Steering Committee (disbanded, sadly).

2. The tunnel road is part of Utah Rt. 9, a.k.a. the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway. The segment that cuts through Zion National Park has a long series of switchbacks leading to a mile-long tunnel through a mountain.

3. Whenever I can, I will try locally-made beers. If they're on tap, so much the better! Uinta Brewing Co. is in Salt Lake City.

4. If you are presented a pint of dark beer, put a Maglite on one side of the pint, and look through the beer. If you can't see the light from the flashlight through the beer, it passes the test.

Comments

[fidgetmonster.livejournal.com]

heh, i know snow is keeping you from some of the more physical activities, but this reminded me of when i ask my grandfather to tell me about some place he's been, and he mostly talks about the food. :)

[sauergeek.livejournal.com]

I would cheerfully go on a foodie tour of almost anywhere. I remember reading about month-long canal-barge tours of France, with visits at wineries and castles. Sounds like my kind of tour.

[eichin.livejournal.com]

I first picked up the Maglite test from an ex-wolfram homebrewer, back in the early 90's... more recently, I've seen an *iced tea* that passed the test. Not Good, they tried again :-)

[sauergeek.livejournal.com]

I forget where I picked up the Maglite test, other than it was somewhere in the Boston area. I would fear an iced tea that passed the Maglite test.

More Parks

[(Anonymous)]

Mike:

As long as you are in the area, you might want to check out Canyonlands and Arches National Parks. They are near Moab, Utah. Worth the drive.

Us from Lansing........