Robot Journal : Hola Marfa: A trip to Texas

5/31/2012

I had never heard
Of Marfa Texas before
Yet I'm going there now

Memories of West Texas
This past (long) weekend we spent in Marfa, Texas. It’s about 2-3 hours southeast of El Paso and you’ll skirt the border with Mexico as you drive down there.

Why?
We were told that Marfa had an interesting art scene and that there were some good restaurants that would keep us entertained. The six of us rented a house in Marfa and arrived there Thursday afternoon. Outside of Austin and Dallas, I’ve not spent that much time in Texas.

Art
There’s an art scene there. Remember the great “I don’t get art” essay on Vice from a couple of months ago. That’s what I kind of felt in the short time we spent looking at art in Marfa
Note that I was an “art” major in school and took a ton of art history classes and spent a whole semester building interpretations of a twisted monument-esque rectangle out of clay to study the play between the shapes and the negative space. I also painted the faces of girls and took their photos.

So, art. That is another journal entry.

Around Marfa
For people who went to Marfa, we sure spent a lot of time not being in Marfa.

Alpine is nearby. It’s a small town, but not as small as Marfa. They have grocery stores, drugstores, and bars that open early.

Fort Davis is also a small town, but not Marfa-small. There is a drugstore with a counter that makes ice cream sundaes with their own homemade root beer. There is a store that sells custom hats and another that sells an amazing assortment of nuts. Fort Davis is a military town; hence their infrastructure was much more robust and established.

Lunch at taco truck.
Cool breeze. Brisket. Burrito.
The Texas Tornado.

Eat
Lupita’s Place (food truck) in Fort Davis: They made these great burritos that were more like just big tacos (i.e. not just a huge amount of rice and beans).

Food Shark in Marfa (food truck): This truck is parked in the center of Marfa and for lunch there can be quite a bit of a wait for the food. No big deal – the truck is under a large covered area and the breezes are nice. I had the chicken torta (it was fine) but I’d recommend the falafel combo with hummus.

Maiya in Marfa: I’m straining my brain to remember this dinner. It’s a nice restaurant, very handsome. The wine list was nice and the dishes were pretty straightforward with a bit of spice. Did I have a pasta dish? I think so. Spinach lasagna.

Crap Ass Mexican in Marfa: This place was recommended by people at one of the bars we went to. Good lord. I hate debating tex-mex with Texans (I did this last night actually) and this seemed to be that classic tex-mex brown plate with cheese restaurant. That wouldn’t be an issue if the food was good. The beef literally tasted like dog food. They fried the corn tortillas for the tacos – that was the ‘soft’ option.
This place seemed to be super popular as they had a full house when we were there.
Ugh.

Cochineal: awesome cocktails. Bartender: also awesome.

Cochineal: First, they make some awesome cocktails and use the big-ass ice cubes. Great bartender. This is probably Marfa’s crown jewel for restaurants. They served some excellent food the night we were there. Fried chicken (very good), duck, date cake, and a great wine list.

Davis Mountain Nut Company: They make some spicy and tasty nuts (mainly pecans). Run to Fort Davis for their nuts.

Padre's in Marfa: Cocktails + beer + indoor/outdoor seating.

Looking for rattlers.
Cougars watch us with delight.
"which one shall we eat?"

Skeeters!
We went for a short hike at the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center. Amazing scenery. Awesome mosquitoes – I’m covered in bites (oh, that’s why no one wears shorts around here).

Film!
I brought my Rolleiflex and shot film on this trip – so photos to come, but I have to get them developed (I flew out on another trip the day after we got back) and then get them scanned and then post them and on an on.

Prada Marfa

Spooky Ghost Town!

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