Author: emily (Page 17 of 20)

by Ray Pearson

This Stop: The Copper Queen Hotel, Bisbee, AZ

I love road tripping and a recent drive from Flagstaff to Bisbee reaffirmed my nomadic yearnings. Like a rolling postcard from the 1950’s, the 450 miles from Northern to Southeastern Arizona, was fueled by the soundtrack I designed to maintain the illusion of simpler times.

Tourist attractions ranging from bustling and prosperous to lonely and deserted dotted the I-10. Small towns with evocative names like Two Guns, Punkin Center, Snowflake, and Tonto Basin give way to magnificent scenery of the Salt River Canyon cutting through the Apache Mountains, as I continued southward.

Comfort and Kitsch: Cement Teepees

After several hours on the road experiencing the diverse landscape of Arizona, I arrived in Bisbee. This historic mining town saw its heyday in the early 1900s when it was the largest city between St. Louis and San Francisco. Today, it is a popular pit-stop for travelers because it is the southern-most mile-high city in the United States, and only about eleven miles from the Mexican border.

Clouds Outside of Douglas, AZ

My room at the Copper Queen Hotel was furnished with antiques, had a nice view of the downtown area, but unfortunately, had a distinct cigar smoke odor. An avid non-smoker, I requested a change of room and was relocated to The John Wayne Room where the actor always stayed whenever he was in the area for filming. As I waited for dinner, I had the chance to chat with the staff and learned that ghosts inhabit the Copper Queen. One of them that they mentioned was “Howard”, an older, tall, bearded gentleman with longish hair,  and is sometimes seen wearing a black cape and dapper top hat. Imagine the eerie feeling that washed over me when I found out that he is usually accompanied by a strong cigar smoke smell! This tidbit was certainly a “dear diary” moment!

The John Wayne Room

The Ghosts of the Copper Queen Hotel is a collection of paranormal experiences by guests of the hotel spanning nearly a decade, from 1999 through 2008. I bought a copy of the book and scanned it before dinner. I learned there are two other ghosts frequently spotted wandering the halls of the hotel: a young boy, thought to have drowned in a nearby river, and a “working girl” that killed herself after being spurned by a regular customer. Surely it wasn’t the best pre-meal reading I could have done, but it was certainly entertaining.

Finally, it was time to see what wonderful bites the Copper Queen had to offer. I ordered a superbly grilled rib-eye steak, which was as juicy as gossip. The accompanying port wine reduction and mushrooms added to the succulence of the dish. The reduction was complex and flavorful—a clear indication of the high quality of the Port, while the mushrooms complimented the meat with their mellow earthiness. I was so impressed with my entrée that I had to see a dessert menu.  The bread pudding topped with a dusting of brown sugar, caramel sauce, and a full-bodied raspberry reduction caught my eye and pleased my palate.

A short walk around the steep streets of Bisbee put me in the right state for a solid night’s sleep in preparation for tomorrow’s tour of the Queen Mine. Of course, I figured one last stop at the hotel saloon couldn’t hurt either, so I bellied up to the bar for a little historical gossip and a night-cap. The discussion turned to the significance of the large painting over the bar. As it turned out, what I assumed was off-the-shelf saloon art, was actually a century-old, nearly life size, portrait of Lillie Langtry. The British stage-actress was popular around the turn of the century, when the Copper Queen was built, and legend (such a nicer word than gossip) has it that in addition to being the love interest of Edward, Prince of Wales, later to be King Edward VII, she was the lady love of Judge Roy Bean. Although they never met, the Judge named not only his saloon, but the town of Langtry, TX in her honor.

The Copper Queen Hotel Saloon

From the remarkably well-stocked bar, I chose to end a wonderful day with a couple of gin and tonics, in honor of Lillie Langtry. Here’s to you, Lillie.

Please join me at the next stop: San Antonio, Texas.

About Ray

Ray is a nationally recognized single malt Scotch expert. He recently retired after 16 years within the spirits industry, including four as Glenfiddich U.S. Ambassador. Ray currently presents educational whisky seminars and tastings for corporate events, destination management companies, and national whisky shows. He is a photographer and member of the International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association.

For more articles from Ray, you can visit his blog:

whiskymeister.wordpress.com

And of course check out all of his Whisky 101 articles right here at intotheSoup.com.

by Steven Shalowitz

Before, during and after my sight-seeing adventures in Aleppo, my guide, Maan, made sure I indulged in numerous sweet surprises, especially after visits to places like the Baron Hotel, a musty vestige of the city’s past, where Agatha Christie reportedly wrote parts of Murder on the Orient Express. Allepian specialties like Mamounieh–semolina sweetened with sugar and honey, topped with a dollop of soft sweet cheese, and drizzled with crushed pistachios and cinnamon was the type of treasure I was seeking. I once encountered this popular breakfast dish served with a side of savory string cheese to cut some sugar; it certainly made me rethink my morning oatmeal ritual.

Mammounieh

Then there was the baklava – a must have in Aleppo.  There are tremendous variations of this bite-sized treat; some were cigar-shaped and stuffed with nuts, while others took the shape of small crowns or birds’ nests with pistachios in the center.  However it shapes up, Baklava will always be one of my favorites.

“Bird’s Nest” Baklava

To wash it all down, street vendors supplied us with Sahlab, which is warm milk boiled with a thickening agent from orchid bulbs, and topped with a dash of cinnamon. Drinking milk in Aleppo seemed fitting since some argue the city’s name is wound in dairy lore. The Arabic name for Aleppo is Halab, and for milk, Haleeb. Some legends suggest that the city’s name is derived from Biblical Abraham who milked his cows in present-day Aleppo during his sojourn through the region.

Sahlab

As we nibbled our way through the vast Aleppo souk, sampling colorful nougats, pistachios, and candied almonds, we were drawn in by shopkeepers for glasses of ‘hospitality tea’ and Turkish coffee served by men dashing through with loaded trays of these hot beverages.   These pit-stops were as much about resting our tired feet as they were about hearing the “temptation price” for items like aged olive oil soap (an Allepian specialty) and other “new antique” chochkies. Of course, cross-cultural exchanges ensued as well.  One of the more memorable was with a 20-something fabric-seller who, between puffs of his nargilah (water pipe), and in a perfect American twang, told me how much he enjoys watching pirated Western films and loves Judge Judy “coz she’s a bitch”.

Coffee Seller in Aleppo Souk

After my stay in Aleppo I stopped at sweet shops throughout Syria to help propel me through the archeological sites of Apamea, Ugarit, Palmyra, Bosra, the city of Hama with its enormous old wooden water wheels, the imposing Crusader Castle of Krak des Chevaliers, and finally, Damascus, where Syrian hospitality was in full display, much to the detriment of my waistline.

On one occasion, I struck up a conversation with an IT specialist who wanted to practice his English on a microbus and insisted on treating me to ice cream at Bakdash, a Damascus institution in the heart of the Souq Al-Hamidiyya. Beneath the ubiquitous photo of the bearded Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, the server scooped up the café’s signature gummy-textured ice cream, rolled the vanilla wad in sliced pistachios, and served it with a smile.

Ice Cream in Bakdash

As my trip wound down, I realized that while the real Promised Land was just across the Golan Heights, I seemed to have found my own land of Milk & Honey, right here in Syria.

Back in New York, I can sample a variety of sweets like those enjoyed during my trip, thanks to the large Syrian contingent that now calls Brooklyn home and I plan to do just that. But first, I need to visit my dentist.

Halawat Al-Jibn

To see Steven’s blog, visit:  www.tastewithyoureyes.com.

Write to Steven at:  steven@stevenshalowitz.com