Just in time for Christmas, a quick story, or not so quick, about my time spent in Marfa, TX. This town I only expected to get some pizza here, and while I did not get my pizza, found out it truly is a little gem of a town that one wouldn't expect.
First, it's quite the art destination. I went to one of the local eateries (several times) and was very surprised that people make a destination of this town for the art couture. One of the art societies that I'm aware of (think there was another), is the Chinati Foundation. There is also a very interesting article by NPR titled An Unlikely Art Oasis in a Desert Town.
Next up is the hotel scene. While the town did have a small motel of sorts, it also had a fancy'ish bigger hotel called Hotel Pasaino. According to Wikipedia this town has been in quite a few movies, including the film Giant. Unfortunately, James Dean died shortly after, or during, filming of the movie in a car crash.
Then there is the food scene.. oh my oh my oh my. Locals told me couple different places to check out, but I mainly only checked out the first one which had me hooked, and that is The Capri. It's in an unassuming concrete building, well, the kitchen is. Order food and they bring it to you, but they bring it to you in an open air dining area that's a courtyard of sorts. There's stone walls (rocks in wire mesh) surrounding half of it, and a fountain if memory serves me right. And, the best part is the food. It was unbelievably good. Had three dishes, lunches each time, maybe four, and they were beyond belief. There was some pork that was baked in a cows stomach, OH MY GOODNESS, best have ever had. It was seasoned strongly, and the stomach was crunchy (had to try of course). Funny thing is Scatter didn't really care for the leftovers.. Strange cat.. haha. There was also a food truck that looked appetizing, but they ran out of the one thing I wanted to try so went to The Capri instead.
Then NAPA Auto Parts where the people are very knowledgeable and very very willing to help find the parts you need. Also in town is Marfa Hardware Company. I went to this place couple times and they're always willing to help you find things. Their selection isn't big, but it's in middle of no place.
Food, food, food.. There is a small "typical" grocery store in town that carries all the "normal" stuff, or what people like to think is normal. However, I really enjoy hunting down the little mom and pop natural / organic food stores, and Marfa had one, a very impressive one for a town of this size. It's called The Get Go, which is a very unassuming name.. I thought Google Maps had failed me again when saw it pop up, but decided to check it out. Must say also very impressed. The groceries were a tad bit, well, a lot, more expensive than elsewhere, but it's in middle of nowhere Marfa... Selection is very impressive, generally all organic and as local as can be. Quite a refreshing sight!
Now, what's someone writing about Marfa, TX. without talking about the Marfa Mystery Lights, huh? I can't do this justice as didn't go out at night to see them, though did make it to the viewing platform in the daytime. Found this article to find the err in my ways of not personally investigating. Please make to read the FULL article (linked again). It does contain some very good info about the "touristy Marfa lights", and the "real Marfa lights". I never did see any, nor did I really try to (chilly at night), but who am I to doubt what I read in the article??? Guess it's up to the reader to figure it out.
Now, for my trip here, I backed a project on Kickstarter for the Pizza Foundation. I truly thought they would have been open this far after the project ended, and construction started. Sadly they weren't so no pizza for me, but still have my postcard for ten slices.. Can't wait and will make the trek out there again, in warmer weather, but not too warm. I was privileged enough to have someone return my call, and they were hoping to be open after Thanksgiving / before Christmas. Unsure if that materialized.
Some other things to do in the general area. From my limited knowledge there is a great observatory nearby, but didn't trek that far due to being chilly at night, and observatories are best visited at night...
Please stay warm, dry, and enjoy the super holiday season!
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