On this day, I learned that Marie Callender's was more than just a grocery store frozen food line. It was actually first a chain of restaurants out west.
"In the 1940s, Marie started selling the pies she made in her home kitchen to local restaurants in Orange, California. Her son, Don, delivered her signature creations on his bicycle. In 1948, Marie sold the family car, giving her the means to turn her at-home bakery into a bona fide business. She baked more than 100 pies with wholesome ingredients every day. In 1964, Marie’s family opened their first pie and coffee shop. Her loyal customers savored the comforting, homemade touches in each and every serving. Her shop expanded into a chain - and into the meals and desserts found in grocery stores today," reads the website.
The restaurant had a very all Americana feel, with a huge display case of pies and a menu with comfort food classics.
Those include:
Braised and Slow-Roasted Pot Roast - Tender chunks of chuck roast slow-simmered for full flavor and tenderness, topped with a cabernet beef reduction. Served with fresh mashed potatoes and fresh seasonal vegetables.
Marie's Meatloaf - Slow-baked with Angus ground beef, onions, green peppers, carrots and special seasonings. Topped with mushroom cabernet gravy.
Heartland Chicken Pot Pie - Loaded with tender chunks of chicken with seasonings and vegetables, and topped with our famous hand-pressed flaky crust.
I went with Home-Style Beef Stroganoff - Tender beef sautéed with fresh mushrooms in a demi-glace red wine beef sauce, with caramelized onions and a hint of Grey Poupon® Dijon. Served over fettuccine noodles with a dollop of sour cream.
It was hot and rich and comforting. Pasta is always a personal favorite, though I rarely go for the deep brown gravy. Sometimes I think that flavor is too concentrated, but not here. I do still think there was too much sauce on this dish, but the sour cream rounded it out a bit.
I added a slice of lemon cream cheese pie. It's like a lemon curd pie and cheesecake had a baby in a graham cracker crust. Very tasty.
Grade: B
"Situated smack-dab in the middle of 'downtown' Pioche’s Main Street, the family-run Historic Silver Café has been filling the bellies of locals and visitors alike with hearty breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for more than a century. And after a day exploring eastern Nevada parks and wandering through the Wild Western past of 'Nevada’s Liveliest Ghost Town,' that’s exactly what you’re going to deserve," reads the Travel Nevada website.
Classic diner fare fills the menu here: french toast, omelets, country fried steaks, breakfast burritos, burgers, pulled pork sandwiches, ribeye steaks, pizzas and fried sides.
I ordered the Meatball Sub - Homemade Meatballs and Marinara Sauce on a toasted French Roll topped with Mozzarella and Parmesan Cheese. AND a side of fried mushrooms.
This sub is a monster of a sandwich. The roll is toasted hard, and the hearty meatballs are in a chunky sauce. I typically like meatballs ground a bit smoother and same for the sauce. I'll take all that cheese, though, all day, every day.
The side of fried mushrooms were more rustic, with the frying a bit uneven and in need of some salt. Overall, a standard diner with homestyle favorites.
Grade: B
Ephen Tacos was a last-minute dinner decision while traveling through the area. It was getting late; it was dark, and I remember struggling to find a parking space to fit our RV. We parked in a nearby lot and walked over. From here on, the main thing I remember is the overwhelming stench of cat pee. It may have been from the lot and stuck to our shoes when we went inside the restaurant. But we carried it with us throughout the experience.
The dining area in the restaurant itself was fairly small and the menu a bit nebulous - "smoked fusion artistic gourmet, smoked meat tacos, housemade salsas and sauces."
I had a burrito with pulled pork and macaroni and cheese. I did enjoy it, though I wish there was a crunchy element to it. And I had a few concerns about the cleanliness inside, which dropped the overall experience score for me a bit.
Grade: C
Cambodia is a southeast Asian country that borders Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. If you're like me, you may not be familiar with Cambodian cuisine, so I took to Wikipedia for a briefing:
"The cuisine of Cambodia contains tropical fruits, soups and noodles. Key ingredients are kaffir lime, lemon grass, garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, tamarind, ginger, oyster sauce, coconut milk and black pepper. Some delicacies are num banhchok, fish amok and aping. The country also boasts various distinct local street foods," the website reads.
While passing through Eureka, California, on a national parks road trip, my friends and I stopped at Annie's Cambodian Cuisine and were excited to try this new-to-us cuisine.
I started with a strawberry smoothie with tapioca boba. It was just like a strawberry milkshake and boba tea had a baby with all the best features of each. I also ordered Annie's Cheese Puffs, which are wonton wrappers filled with cream cheese and green onion, fried to a golden brown and served with housemade sweet and sour sauce. These were essentially like the crab rangoons that I order anywhere I can. And yes, the fried cream cheese is as delicious as ever.
I ordered pad thai with shrimp, which is rice noodles stir fried with egg, bean sprouts, lime and peanuts in a peanut sauce. This is one of my favorite dishes of all time, and this version is a great example. It was moist and flavorful and had some nice variation in texture.
Grade: A
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