Great Food in the California Oilfields

The roads are straight, it’s hot and dry, and the smell of oil sometimes hangs in the air…The area around Maricopa/Taft and points north on CA 33 pulses with oil drilling activity.  The wells look somehow like giant dinosaurs dipping their beaks to the ground in a rhythmic pattern, while miles of glistening silver tubing carry the precious black gold to points unknown.

Yet, in my opinion, there is beauty here as well.  The hills in the distance wave and roll for miles on end, and the ribbon of asphalt that runs thru is largely unpopulated by heavy traffic.  It’s a great area to ride, and made even more so, by some tremendous places to eat…

In this blog entry I want to introduce you to the McKittrick Hotel, located near the intersection of CA 33 and 58.  Yep, you guessed it…it’s pretty much in the middle of nowhere!

No Longer a Hotel but a Great Place to Eat

Now a cafe, the portions are generous and the prices are reasonable.  The McKittrick is also known for its signature dish, their famous ribeye steak.  People drive from as far as Fresno and Bakersfield to sample this tasty meat!

Second Best Steak in the World!

The trick is, you need to be here on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. to make sure you can bite into one of these…Otherwise, gamble on the hope the McKittrick doesn’t run out, which it may.  For me, I was lucky.  I sauntered in around noon on a Saturday and asked, “Do you have any of those lunch sized rib eyes?”  Fortunately, the answer was yes, so I dove into salad, rolls, a coke, and about 12 oz of incredibly juicy, delicious steak.  Wow.

In an hour I managed to eat most of it, and staggered outside in a total meat coma.  After a brisk walk around “town,” I was able to mount the bike and continue on…

More later,

Steve