In spending the day in Flagstaff, I knew that I would visit Salsa Brava on Route 66, as I saw on TV that Guy Fieri dropped by here and raved about the Stuffed Sopapilla this place puts out!!!! When I was watching them prepare the Sopapilla on DDD, I got up off my couch, took a few steps toward the TV, pointed my index finger at the screen and said, "Oh, I'm doing that place, baby!!!! No if's and's or but's!!!!!!" My wife then told me to sit down...
Anyway, what I saw on TV that night was one of the most delicious looking, meat encrusted, pieces of Mexican Food that I have ever laid eyes on.... EVER!!!!! Is a Sopapilla Mexican, Tex-Mex, or something else?!?!?! I don't know and I don't care!!!!! All I knew after watching G. Fieri in the kitchen at Salsa Brava that night, was that I needed a Sopapilla and I would stop at absolutely nothing to have one!!!!!!! I mean, I almost got in the g-damn car right then and there to drive to Flagstaff to go get me one!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!! But I didn't!!! I took a milligram of Xanax to get my mind off of it...
OK, so while I was driving along I-40 towards Flagstaff, knowing that the Stuffed Sopapilla was in reach, I'm sure I broke several speeding laws in both California and Arizona!!!! But I didn't care!!!! If getting my Sopapilla sooner rather than later meant paying a hefty fine by a highway patrolman, then so be it!!!!! It would be well worth it!!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!! Jesus God, I thought of that one astronaut who wore diapers so she could drive without stopping to see that guy she was in love with in Florida!!!!!! Remember that story?!?!?! That could've been me for God's sake!!!! It absolutely could've been me!!!! But it wasn't a person I was in love with, it was a Sopapilla!!! However, I refrained from the diaper route and made pit stops when I had to!!!!! Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!
When I finally got to Flagstaff, the first place I went to, before checking in to my hotel, was Salsa Brava!!!! In pulling into the parking lot, it was practically empty!!!! A good sign for me as I didn't want to wait and I wanted my Stuffed Sopapilla as soon as humanly g-damn possible!!!!!!!! I walked in, took a seat at a booth and didn't even look at the menu!!!!! Didn't even look!!!! When the waiter came by, a nice young man who was a student at Northern Arizona University, I simply told him: "Give me the Stuffed Sopapilla!!!!!!!!!!!" I actually wasn't that rude to the guy, but I was incredibly eager decimate this thing as my anticipation for the Stuffed Sopapilla was greater than a pre-millenialist Christians waiting for Jesus to return at the rapture!!!!! I got mine with carne asada and chile-verde sauce!! Hey, I'm in the Southwest!!! Gotta go for the green chile-verde sauce, right?!?!?!?!?! Right?!?!?!?! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!
As I placed my order, the waiter mentioned to me that among other things, Salsa Brava is known for their Salsa Bar. Cool!! He brought me out a basket of chips and encouraged me to sample their different salsa's while munching on chips and waiting for my Sopapilla!!!!! I can't remember, but I think they had like 5 or 6 different types of salsa!!! I got like 3 or 4 of the different salsas, and to be quite honest with you, the salsa's were nothing special!!! They weren't bad, but being from Southern California, I've had many salsa's that are much better!!! I'm not hating, their salsa is fine!!! Just saying I've had better salsa on many different occasions!!!! After pushing through about 3 baskets of chips, the moment of truth came!!! My Stuffed Sopapilla was brought out and served to me!!!!! With every square inch of that plate covered with food, I swear to God I felt like John Travolta in the movie Pulp Fiction when he opens up that case and takes a glimpse at the mysterious object he had been paid money to kill all those college kids for!!! It was like this golden reflection was shining on to my face and I couldn't take my eyes off of it!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!! My first look at the Stuffed Sopapilla was.... Glorious!!!!!!!! I just wanted to have a private moment with my food!!! So much had been built up for this meal, this food, this day!!!!! I just needed to soak it in and remember....
When I bit in to the Stuffed Sopapilla it was absolutely magnificent!!! The fried dough was simply brilliant!!! I have no other word to describe it other than brilliant!!!!! And the carne asada was excellent too!!! The carne asada had a certain gaminess to it, but with the meat combined with the crispy golden dough along with the chile verde sauce, melted cheese, beans, and sour cream, it was more genius and significant then the contributions Stephen Hawking has made to the world of Physics and Mathemeatics combined!!!!! I don't regret that statement!!!!! I don't regret it at all!!!!!!!!! Along with the Stuffed Sopapilla they give you a side of rice and refried beans... They were fine...
Needless to say, the star of the show was the Stuffed Sopapilla!!! I've gotta be honest, I was a little skeptical of the Mexican food of northern Arizona. Whereas it still probably is not up to the standards of what you'll find in Southern California, this Stuffed Sopapilla at Salsa Brava could stand next to any Mexican dish in the g-damn universe!!!!! That's truth!!!! I don't know how much more strongly I can emphasize to you that when in Flagstaff, you must try the Stuffed Sopapilla at Salsa Brava!!!! It's an experience you will surely share with your grandchildren one day!!! I know I'll share my day at Salsa Brava with my grand kids and maybe the story of my meal there will be passed down through generation upon generation in my family!!!! This place is legendary!!!! Do this place and do it hard!!! You won't regret it!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!
I was driving along I-40E, enjoying the picturesque scenery as I headed to Amarillo!!! Don't ask me why I was going to Amarillo! I have some family out that way who I had not seen in quite some time and I needed to touch base with them for reasons I won't bore you with!! Anyway, the drive on I-40E isn't really picturesque!!! I was being sarcastic!!!!!!! I know, a real stretch for me!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!! I woke up incredibly early to get as much driving in as I possibly could!!! After driving through Barstow, Needles, and Kingman, AZ, I couldn't help but just meditate and ponder as to what on God's earth would cause or motivate any human being who habitates this planet to live in any of the above mentioned cities?!?!?!?!?! I mean, if you lived in Needles, wouldn't you do everything in your God given powers and abilities to get the hell out of there?!?!?!?! The same can be said of Kingman!! Who lives in these places?!?!? Or a more important question is, Why?!?! I don't get it!!! Some people would say, "Well, it's home." OK, but.... well...nevermind!! I'm not going to try to understand these cities or the people who live in them!! Some people totally baffle me!!! To each their own I guess!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!
Upon waking up really early to drive to Amarillo and driving on 1-40E for about 7 hours, I arrived in Flagstaff right at about lunchtime!!!!! After driving for many hours straight and peering at nothing but barren desert wasteland, I was thoroughly depressed and needed to be cheered up badly!!! And what better way to cheer yourself up than emptying a truckload of food down your throat?!?!?!?! Flagstaff couldn't have been a more welcome sight!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!! When I pulled in to Flagstaff, I was struck by the beauty and character of the city!!!! There were many old red brick buildings, fine looking downtown eateries, and a major university sprawling with energetic students in their late teens to early twenties!!!!! There was a big mountain with a snow capped top, pine trees, and snow all over the ground!!! Flagstaff is beautiful!!! Oh, and let us not forget, let us not forget.... that Flagstaff is incredibly crunchy!!!! Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!! C'mon what do you expect?!?!?!?!?! It's a charming mountain town with a major university in it!!!! There's a very intellectually progressive, doobie smoking feel to Flagstaff!!!! Some would say that Flagstaff is known for being like the Berkeley of Arizona!!! I would agree with that assessment!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!! With that said, I pulled into the historic downtown area, made a left on Leroux St., parked my car and began looking for someplace to appease my depleted stomach after many hours of driving!!!! After walking around for a few minutes, I stumbled across this place called Diablo Burger!!! Actually, I had heard of Diablo Burger before and knew it had a sound reputation and much talked about burger!!!! But I wasn't exactly looking for it and did stumble across it!!! Upon seeing the entrance I said to myself, "OK, let's do this!!!" Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!
When I walked in the door, I noticed that the inside of Diablo Burger is pretty small!!! They have only like three or four tables, but they're commune style, so people you don't know will just walk up to your table and sit down and eat with you!! Being that we were in a crunchy mountain town, I decided that the whole sharing and communism thing with the tables in Diablo Burger was cool!! These real earthy dudes, sat down at my table... it was chill!!!!! Ahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!
When I walked up to the counter to look over the menu and place my order, I asked the cashier what burger Diablo Burger was primarily known for. He replied to me and said, "There isn't necessarily a specific burger we're known for. We're more known for our beef." You know, as he said that to me, my mind immediately went to the gutter and I thought to myself, "Gosh, when it comes to the women in the Southern California area, I wish that's what I was known for..." Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!! OK OK, that's totally crude and I apologize! But I just couldn't resist!!! After looking at the menu, I went for The Cheech: guacamole, pepper-jack cheese, and jalapenos!!! I was super thirsty and didn't want to drink beer because I still had some driving ahead of me, so I just went for water. What's cool about the water here is that they bring it to you in this fancy looking wine-bottle type vessel!!! The water was very cold and clean tasting!! A very nice touch being up in the mountains and surrounded by the San Francisco Peaks, which is where this water probably came from!!!! After awhile, they brought out my Cheech placed on top of a stack of rosemary seasoned fries in a basket!!! I noticed that instead of traditional hamburger buns, Diablo Burger serves all of their burgers on a Thomas English Muffin and they brand their logo "DB" on the top part of the bread!!! It looks pretty cool!!!! Also, they told me that all of their burgers are served medium rare and are a little pink in the middle!! Fine with me!!! Bloody food is good food as far as I'm concerned!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!! I took off the top of my burger and squirted a healthy dose of the Diablo Burger ketchup!!! When I picked up my Cheech, probably half of the guacamole fell down into my rosemary fries!!!!! A good sign as the more toppings there are, the better!!!!!! Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!! As I cuddled my burger and launched it towards my mouth to take my first bite, I noticed that this burger was fabulously juicy!!! The juice/grease from the burger began to fill and saturate the inside of my mouth!!! Burger juice again began falling all over my rosemary fries!!!! Oh, and their ketchup is very unique!!! It's like got this really spicy kick and tang to it! It compliments the beef nicely!!! With the combination of spicy ketchup, pepper jack, jalapenos, guacamole and high quality beef, there was a good kick to this burger!!!! Not sure how I felt about the English muffin as a bun as it seemed to stifle the flavor of the burger a bit, but overall, this burger was a superb one!!!!! It really eased the hunger that had been building up inside of me after about 7 hours of driving!!! Oh, and I have to say something about the rosemary fries!!! Usually I'm not a huge fan of rosemary, but there was something about being in the cool mountain air, combined with that spiciness and tang of the ketchup, that just caused the rosemary fries to work for me!!! Overall, Diablo Burger was a fantastic meal and experience!!!! When it comes to the greatest burger of all time, I'm not sure I can say it's at the top of my list, but certainly Diablo Burger is in the conversation!!! When in Flagstaff, hit this place and hit it hard!! The burgers are a little on the small side so you can probably do like 3-4 if you're really hungry!!!! Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!! Nice job Diablo Burger!! If I'm ever in Flagstaff, we'll meet again!!!!
