Conde NasteTraveler: 50 States, 50 Cuisines

The Basque talk on this thread intrigued me; I spent most of my young life in Idaho, and was first exposed to the food and culture there. Mainly in seeing the sheepherders temporary homes. They’re all over in Wyoming, as well as Nevada. Having lived in Reno for 9 years, we always stopped for Basque food while driving across the state or little junkets here and there.
Our very favorite place is the Star in Elko.

H confirmed that we did indeed eat at the Martin Hotel as well. Great food and ambience, seating a little atypical for Basque restaurants. Many places have benches, and it’s more like family eating, rather than a restaurant. As I recall from 1990, the tables were round, and it had more of a restaurant aspect than most. But the food was awesome.

2 Likes

Oh, if anyone does make it to Boise, Idaho has a thing about fried “finger steaks” - the good ones are well and truly delicious. Seasoned, lightly dusted with flour and spices, then deep fried. What could be wrong with that? Answer - not very healthy but great for an occasional indulgence. I’ve tried to hack them, with mixed results. The only other state I’ve visited that had great ones was Pa, Pittsburgh area. Don’t know where else they might pop up.

3 Likes
1 Like

Very interesting - thanks @bbqboy. Think I’ll make a post about the Star in Elko.
The interior of the Martin, I do recognize, but I misremembered the tables. They did have the same colored cloths on the table though. The Basques really know how to cook their lambs, and that is a fact! They do a great job on steaks too.

1 Like

Neat article.

I have sought out some of the cuisines they mention for their respective States. I am a regional food and ethnic food geek, so I usually seek out whatever is regional, as well as ethnic stuff that’s hard to find in Canada.

I enjoyed the Hawaiian foods in Hawaii. I had a few lists of foods to try and I used a search of the key word with GoogleMaps to help find specific dishes like chicken long rice, saimin or ensaimadas.

I didn’t know Colorado had Slovenian food. I visit fairly often, and usually seek out chile verde- Colorado Springs is largely a city of chain restaurants.

My last few visits to NYC, I was focusing on seeking out Russian, Georgian, bourekas and Bolivian food.

I really enjoyed the Cuban foods I tried in Miami, especially some pastries and the coffee. Miami also seems to have better Peruvian restaurants than Toronto.

I will keep the article bookmarked for when the border opens up and I can visit the States again.

I have enjoyed Pennsylvania Dutch food north of Pittsburgh. I visit PA and OH fairly often- hope to explore some other ethnic stuff on my next road trip.

2 Likes

There are similar places in the California Central Valley. There was a thread with several posts about it. In fact I wondered if that was the thread you were thinking of in your recent query.

2 Likes

I thought of Bakersfield as soon as I saw Basque. I meant to stop there to try out a Basque restaurant on a few trips, but we are always in a rush to or from the Bay Area and always end up having a quick stop for a burger near the freeway instead.

I also remember reading about a Basque bakery somewhere near Mammoth Lakes back in 2008 before I visited. I didn’t end up venturing beyond the town, and didn’t get a chance to try it.

2 Likes

Yes! I’ve never noticed the sheep trailers in California, but I remember Fresno/Stockton area, they have Basque restaurants. Had totally forgotten that. I lived for a brief while in Merced as a teenager, but I was busy doing young stuff at that time. Thanks for posting @shrinkrap!

2 Likes

@Phoenikia - it’s amazing the diversity in melting pot countries like Canada and the US. The more you learn the more you realize all you didn’t know.

My gone away bff (work wife) was an event planner, so I used to go to all sorts of events with her. One of my favorites was hosted by the Canadian Hospitality Industry. It was held at an historic railroad stop in our area. The event was on an old train, with each rail car representing a different province. Great night, and followed by a Cirque du Soleil show. Perfect night, the food & drinks were amazing, not to mention the show.

I’ve always been impressed by the diversity in the Vancouver BC area too.

2 Likes

I haven’t spent much time in Vancouver lately- in fact, I haven’t had a meal in Vancouver since 2005, but there certainly are some interesting ethnic places in Richmond and East Vancouver. Saskatoon and Calgary are quite diverse, as well. Saskatoon (population somewhere around 200 000) has had a Burmese restaurant for years- Toronto (metro population of 2.5 million I think )only had one Burmese resto for about 18 months before it closed last year.

2 Likes

Once upon a time, there were Basque boarding houses in San Francisco that opened the dining hall to the public, particularly for Sunday supper. Dating ourselves, we know.

3 Likes

Very first girlfriend lived next door to the Basque Hotel on Romolo off Broadway (San Francisco). They served the traditional family style communal table huge meal. Tureen of soup, bucket of Salad, appetizer (or two), bottomless plates of fries and pick two entrees from the offers of the day. Great French bread too. All washed down with carafes of red out of water glasses. Sadly became a hipster cocktail lounge.

We were hitting the two Basque joints in Reno, prior Covid. Does scratch the itch for that style of eats.

4 Likes

Two more for you: Hotel du Midi and Hotel des Alpes.

2 Likes

You must have gone to Louie’s Basque Corner then? I don’t remember the name of the other one @Google_Gourmet. Oddly, although we lived there, we never ate Basque in Reno. It was saved for road trips across the state.

1 Like

We live in San Francisco, so Reno is a road trip across the state for us. :slight_smile:

We’ve enjoyed Louis Basque Corner and the Santa Fe Hotel. Santa Fe reminded me more of the Basque Hotel in San Francisco. No pretensions, food service extension of the hotel.

I’ve had business lunches at the Basque Cultural Center in South San Francisco. Good food, but pricey (for the genre). Its a 30 ~ 45 minute drive from home, so we can’t drink with dinner. No can do.

3 Likes

@Google_Gourmet - your road trips across the state are the right ones, especially since Reno is only about 15-20 miles from the California border lol. :crazy_face: While I enjoy seeing the wide open spaces across Nevada, and the basin and range landscape across the state, it’s a long and boring ride after awhile. Can’t even tell you how many times I’ve seen it on the way to Utah, where I have family.

4 Likes

Did not know about that! Will have to give those restaurants a try when things open up a bit and the Central Valley isn’t a COVID hot zone. We also have friends who decamped to Truckee, near the Reno restaurants.

3 Likes

Truckee - great place to go during this SS! Some good places to eat right in town. Sounds pretty smart to me @StephanieL.

1 Like

Side eyes emoji!

1 Like

Seriously. On my last visit, on our way south, we left Paso Robles after lunch, got stuck crossing LA and Orange County- getting to La Jolla around 7 pm, to visit a 90something cousin, spent about an hour dealing with closed exits and detours before getting to our hotel on the other side of the freeway, and ended up having microwaved enchiladas for dinner in our hotel room. Met a cousin at Starbucks near Carlsbad around 9 am the next morning, had a rather awesome Middle Eastern sandwich from a restaurant inside a gas station next to the Starbucks, then started driving to San Jose . We stopped at an In n Out, and one bathroom stop, getting to San Jose around dinner time (our friends had made us dinner- I think it was close to 9 pm). Lol.

To be fair, we’re always in a rush to or from southern California, too. I sleep for a week once I get back home.

1 Like