I recently had the chance to visit
Marfa, Texas for the first time in forever. I grew up not far from there and remember going to see the famous and mysterious
Marfa lights a couple of times. All I can say is wow, Marfa has changed quite a bit and is a pretty cool little spot to visit now!
Kermit (my handsome road trip chauffeur and husband) and I arrived just outside of town to view the lights about 9:00 p.m. last Friday before heading on to our hotel. I had seen them before, he hadn't. They're kind of a big deal, he was impressed.
Let's start with the hotel… the
Hotel Paisano… wow! As were pulling into town we saw lots of cheaper hotels along the way and wondered if we'd made the right choice paying a little extra to stay right in Marfa. Well I knew as soon as we walked in we'd made the right choice. It's located right in the center of town and you can walk anywhere from there, it's perfect! It's got this really great western vibe while still being very upscale and classy.
Let me count the ways I loved this place…
- Um, cool hand lettered signage on the window in the courtyard… be still my typography geek heart.
- REAL KEYS! This small detail was a win.
- A little lounge area outside the bar where you can sip a cocktail and listen to sleepy old jazz music from the '40's. Is this real life?
- Lots of incredible western and Mexican art, old photographs and taxidermy scattered around the hotel plus an art gallery downstairs and an amazing gift shop that carries locally handmade goods. So good. Shut up and take my money.
So we got checked into the hotel just before the lobby closed at 10:00 and had a drink in the lounge… of course. Then we set out on foot to check out the town.
Our first stop was the Lost Horse Saloon. We weren't at all sure what to expect because when we asked some locals about it they laughed and said it was a great place to watch a bar fight and see someone get a bottle broken over their head. Hmmm. Insert my concerned face here. We were intrigued and a little nervous to be honest. I grew up in the rough and tumble deserts of West Texas but I'm afraid living in Nashville for a while has made me a bit of a frilly city slicker. Well, let me just say, a visit to Marfa was the perfect way to put some good ol' Texas dust back on my boots.
Right as we walked in we immediately realized that we had that "ain't from around here" thing going on. The place was almost empty except for a loud and rowdy crowd of what I'm sure were regulars all clustered around the bar. The first thing that drew our attention was a man doing his best junkyard dog impression and barking at a woman while she clawed and hissed at him like a cat… mmmkay. So we sidled up to the bar cautiously and ordered a couple of longnecks.
Anyway, we took our beers to one of the many open tables and proceeded to people watch.
This place was like a scene from a Tarantino movie, the characters were fascinating. The most interesting by far was who I presumed to be the owner. I looked over to see this tall, slim, perfectly quintessential cowboy walking behind the bar to pour himself a cup of coffee. Coffee... at 11p.m. at night... in a bar... I like this guy.
Let me see if I can accurately describe the cool factor here... With looks and build similar to Sam Elliot and the swagger of Rooster Cockburn let's just say this guy had some swagger. Starting at the bottom… broken in, dusty old boots, faded Wrangler jeans, button down shirt (pearl snaps, of course), weathered leather vest and a sweat stained cowboy hat. All of which were surely the product of punching real, live cattle all day before heading to the saloon at night. Swoon. And the last little details… a cigarette, (no filter, I'm sure of it) dangled perfectly from his mouth… Oh, and just the best detail, an eye patch! A freakin' eye patch! Are you kiddin' me? This guy is real, he's really, really real. Like super real.
I have to say, this place made an ice cold long neck even more enjoyable than usual.
I later found out the owner is an actual rancher and actor named Ty Mitchell.
See more for yourself here! I really enjoyed reading his cowboy poetry.
You gotta read this one.
Our next stop was possibly the quirkiest place ever. The Museum of Electronic Wonders & Late Night Grilled Cheese Parlour. A Warhol-esque museum that serves grilled cheeses, I am so in.
So yeah… this place, it's a thing... a thing you need to know about. It's only open from 9:30 p.m. til 12:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday, but so worth checking out. It's run by this super humble, friendly guy named Adam Bork who also runs the local food truck (Food Shark) by day with his wife, who's a chef. Adam apparently has a love for collecting old TV sets and other random electronics and he's combined that with a talent for making super tasty, perfectly crispy, buttery, melty grilled cheese sandwiches. Do your thing, man, I'm into it.
If you can spare 12 minutes, there is a really cool
mini documentary on Adam here and also kind of gives you a feel for the vibe of the whole town. But seriously, what a creative spirit, and makes a damn tasty grilled cheese! You gotta get it with the glass bottle coke.
So this was our Friday night... after grilled cheeses we headed back to the hotel and drifted off into West Texas dreamland with Marfa lights dancing in the distance in all their mystery.
More Marfa adventures to be continued...
