USA holidays - list of our favorite restaurants in the south western USA

Last updated: 07/08/2011

I now was in the south western USA five times (more than 15 weeks all in all) so I think to have a good overview of recommendable restaurants in the holiday areas of the 'Grand Circle'.
Here's a list of all restaurants we try to include into our trip planning - categorized to the type of food. If you search for gourmet restaurants, that will not help you - most of the recommended restaurants can be visited in casual wear.

Mexican food:

Here in south western USA you can find lots of good Mexican restaurants. Due to the high number of Hispanic Americans, this is actually no wonder...
Please be prepared to really hot meals - the 'hot' meals you may know from Germany are not a matching benchmark!

Along the route No. 1 (in and round Los Angeles) there are an endless number of good Mexican restaurants. Our experience shows that you should look for 'authentic' restaurants when you like good taste: Only cleanness, no structure of the building and similar!
In Indio near Palm Springs (CA, near Joshua Tree NP), there’s a highly recommendable Mexican restaurant: The El Mexicali Cafe II (former name: Casa Miranda).
http://www.elmexicalicafe2.com/
We found this recommendation some years ago in the internet, since that we didn’t go to any other restaurant in this area...
In Moab (UT, near Arches / Canyonlands) we always eat in Miguel's Baja Grill. The burritos are top and the Margaritas are matchless!
We always walk from the hotel (that's two miles) so that I can drink more then one of them...
You can find a Wahoo's Fish Taco in many towns. The furnishings indicate that younger people are the target group (in L.A. that are the surfers, in Denver the snowboarders). The food is delicious!
http://www.wahoos.com/

Asian:

If you love Asian food, you should do this in San Francisco (and also in New York or London) - here are really authentic and good restaurants! No wonder, here is a high alien population…

It's not a good idea to recommend a single restaurant, the fluctuation is considerably. We never was disappointed. As with the Mexican food, you should be prepared to experience really hot food!

In San Francisco, you should visit Yuet Lee in Chinatown (Broadway/Stockton). The fish will be slaughtered and prepared fresh an the stars (Gerard Depardieu, Jackie Chan and others) also like it much!

Seafood:

In the U.S., you can eat lobster, King Cab Legs, Snow Cab Legs and other specialties for a very affordable price. You can get a fresh lobster of 25 ounces, prepared with fixings for about $20 – that’s less then €15!

In San Francisco, some Chinese restaurants offer fresh fish (will be slaughtered for you). The Fisherman's Wharf is also recommendable - unfortunately here it's mostly overcrowded.
In Monterey (CA), there's also a Fisherman' Wharf who is also worth a visit (less overcrowded then in San Francisco)!
We often visit Red Lobster Restaurants, a restaurant chain with branches in many bigger towns. In Germany, Gosch is somewhat comparable with them. You should taste the Red Lobster Pizza! http://www.redlobster.com/
We visited many different branches of Red Lobster. In Los Angeles (CA), San Francisco (CA) and Colorado Springs (CO), the quality is good, in Flagstaff (AZ) it is above average and in St. George (UT) we rarely visit other restaurants! New: The Red Lobster in Denver (CO, Mile High) is also very recommendable!
Wahoo's Fish Taco which I recommended in the category Mexican food is, like announced by the name, specialized to meals with fish and seafood.

American:

In south western USA you often drive 50 miles without any contact to civilization. So you have to plan carefully for eating, fueling and shopping. The restaurants recommended here are partly not really 'good', but 'best in town'. The real 'route 66 feeling' is mostly included for free ...

The Happy Burger Dinner in Mariposa (CA, near Yosemite NP) is benchmarking for cleanness, value for money and cheerfulness of the staff! That's worth to make a circuit...
http://www.happyburgerdiner.com/
In Torrey (UT, Capitol Reef NP), we exclusively eat in the Capitol Reef Inn & Cafe. Each day there are specialties like Boston Clam Chowder (which tasted better then in Fisherman's wharf in San Francisco or in the harbor of Monterey!). The salads are really fresh (even the sauce), but because of the fresh preparation of the meals you sometimes have to wait a considerable time. But it's worth it!
You should also visit this restaurant for breakfast. The coffee they brew here is the best we tasted in theU.S.!
http://www.capitolreefinn.com/
In Kingman (AZ, in the heart of Route 66), you should visit Mr. D'z! Many stars (e.g. Lee Majors, Oprah Winfrey) were here and exposed themselves as fans of the homemade root beer. Great breakfast!
http://www.mrdzrt66diner.com/
Not far away in Seligman (AZ), there’s also a recommendable and tasty breakfast. Westside Lilo's Cafe describes its kitchen as German-American style. It's next to the new post office.
Next tothe Parker Dam (Lake Havasu, AZ) there's the Paradise Cafe. As 'starter' they offer fried vegetables. Attention: Even the offered half serving is ways too much for anybody! The half serving is perfect for couples of four (or more)...
At the Grand Canyon (south rim), you shouldn't expect too much. You have a quite good choice, but all fast food like McDonald's or Pizza Hut. But there's a good restaurant in the hotel we visit mostly:
The Canyon Plaza Quality Inn & Suites in Tusayan (AZ, next to the IMAX cinema). Try the buffet!
http://www.grandcanyonqualityinn.com/
Between Grand Canyon and Monument Valley, there's Indian reservation - and nothing else...
A very positive surprise was a restaurant in the capital of the reservation, Tuba City (AZ, not far away from Page / Lake Powell / Glen Canyon).
The owner has set a benchmark for cheerfulness, the buffet - mainly the salad buffet was much more then expected. In the future, we will come to here even when we are in Page (Lake Powell)!
http://www.qualityinntubacity.com/banquet.htm

Buffet:

In Las Vegas (and other gambling towns) you'll find lots of buffets with exquisite value for money. They partly even offer expensive specialties. Our absolute favorite since years: The Spice Market Buffett at Planet Hollywood. For about $27 (approx. €17) you can have as much Snow Crab Legs (and other specialties) you want! The tomato soup which is offered every day is exquisite - even the best Italian restaurants had it not better then here!
Remarkable: Normally, the deserts in the U.S. are ways too sweet for Europeans. Not here!
When here for breakfast, you must try the homemade omelets and the juice stand! We tried exquisite smoothies from fresh strawberries and fresh squeezed melon juice.
The buffet at MGM offers also food with outstanding quality. At the Luxor, it's somewhat cheaper; the Circus Circus offers very cheap meals (perfect for them who don't like seafood). We also tried the buffets at Hilton and Stratosphere, all of them satisfied us.

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