For instance, want to see an old 1950s style diner?Dot’s Diner and Shady Dell

Dot’s Diner is just the experience you’ll want to have. The red and white exterior nestled next to the Shady Dell Trailer Park is a real step back in time!

Dot's Diner - a real original

Admittedly, the prices are not circa 1950, but the menu is a short, but evocative, diner menu.  Hot dogs, hamburgers, grilled cheese and shakes, malteds, and floats are your lunch fare.

Breakfast, with options that had patrons chowing down at lunchtime, had pancakes and egg offerings.  Want the “good stuff” – real maple syrup?  That’s extra, but authentic.  The menu listings had fun names like, “Two chicks on a raft” (eggs on English muffins) and “Allison on a Raft.”  What’s Allison on a raft? – We just had to ask.  It seems that a local celebrity is vegetarian and the tofu scramble is named after her.

Dot's Diner - small, but fun

The patrons in the 10-seat diner (all seats are at the counter) were really enjoying themselves.  The small place is also conducive to conversations.  We asked about Bisbee and another customer, as well as Charlene, our waitress, was glad to provide information.

Dot retired a few years back, but the diner is in good hands, as Charlene is a welcoming, friendly presence.  The diner was originally located in Los Angeles, but, in 1996, was trucked to its current location next door to the Shady Dell Trailer Park, another retro experience.

Shady Dell offers visitors the chance to stay in an authentic 1940s-1950s trailer, like a 1949 Airstream with décor reflecting that era.  Possibly like stepping back into an old “I Love Lucy” episode, you almost expect someone to show up in a poodle skirt.

Shady Dell Trailer Park - an old-fashioned experience - see the old trailer to the left

Since all of the 11 vintage trailers were occupied, we had to console ourselves with just seeing the office, with its vintage Coca Cola machine and other collector’s items.

Shady Dell office and some of the memorabilia

Dot’s Diner is open for breakfast and lunch only on Fridays through Tuesdays.

http://www.theshadydell.com/Dots_Diner.html

Bisbee Breakfast Club

Renovated from an old Rexall Drug Store and a Waters Department Store, the Bisbee Breakfast Club is located in a small commercial area just past the mine and around the bend.  Not exclusive, since anyone can eat there, but definitely a foodie experience worth having since the atmosphere is focused on good food.  No one should leave hungry!

With a very large menu, but also only open for breakfast and lunch, the Bisbee Breakfast Club is another great choice in Bisbee.  Prices are very reasonable and the food is served in voluminous quantities.

Bisbee Breakfast Club

The place was hopping on a Sunday at noon. Since it was so busy, we did have to wait a few minutes to be seated and to receive our food, but the five or so staffers who provided the food to the wait staff were amazing to watch.  So, finally we were seated at the counter and got great entertainment value. We watched the orchestration of the grill’s speedy service.

I kept eyeing my neighbors’ plates, which included the lunch special of a steak with onion sauce and other fixings.  I ordered the Sonoran burger (burger with guacamole, chilis, and melted Swiss) with fries  – lots and lots of fries.  It was messy, but I finished every mouthful!  My husband had another burger version.  We traded onion rings – really good and crispy onion rings – and thought about how we would need to walk off the calories – but oh, so good!  Prices were very reasonable, too.  I don’t think anything was over $8 on the menu.

They also are closed in the middle of the week, but open Monday 7-3 for breakfast and lunch, Thursday-Sunday 7-2 for breakfast with lunch starting at 11 AM.

Join the Club!

http://www.bisbeebreakfastclub.com/

Come back later this week for our stay in the Copper Queen Hotel – is it haunted?

Bisbee - terraced into the hillside

The first thing noticeable driving in is the array of buildings terraced into the hills.  They are a holdover from the early mining days, with a few newer homes scattered about.

The Copper Queen Hotel sits majestically, centered in the terraced historic part of town.  Some old mining equipment sits in front of the museum, which fronts Main Street.  Bisbee has some narrow, one-way streets that are an adventure to explore, with the vintage architecture adapted as shops, restaurants, and hotels.

Americana on Main Street - notice copper colored hills

Head down Main Street and your authentic experience is less like Disney and more like really seeing the world of the early 1900s.  Travel a bit further and you’ll pass several colorful shops with pottery, crafts, hats, and an artisan chocolate shop.

Chocolate - exceptional chocolate made here

Chocoláte is a small shop with chocolate made on the premises from fair trade cocoa beans.  The flavors, of which they offer samples, are rich, complex and delightful.  Although pricing is not in the Hershey – or even Ghirardelli – price range, they are a special splurge well worth trying.  We purchased bars and truffles, which were packaged attractively. (spiritedchocolate.com)

We poked in and out of several shops with gorgeous pottery, both functional and decorative.  Finally, we decided on a multi-hued, red Native American bowl that we couldn’t resist.  Gorgeous!

Ya’ gotta eat –

If we had been inclined to eat five meals a day, we could have indulged with irresistible aromas wafting from doorways we passed.  Everything from an old-fashioned 1950s diner to grilles and restaurants harkening back to the early 1900s gave us lots of options.

Copper Queen lobby - entrance to a more gracious experience

Angela’s at the Copper Queen Hotel

For dinner, we decided to try the Copper Queen’s new incarnation, Angela’s, now an Italian restaurant after many years of being Winchester’s, with traditional favorites.  Angela’s was a new venture, with signs stilling covering the old Winchester signs.

Copper Queen Hotel & Restaurant - the sign

Adam, general manager of the Copper Queen Hotel, alerted us that the restaurant was having a challenge with their chef taken ill the day before.  The owner gamely had stepped into the kitchen to handle cooking.

We entered the old-fashioned dining room and were treated to attentive service and an unhurried dining experience.  The meal began with warm rolls and Caesar salads with real flavor.  Choosing Italian menu options, Chicken Marsala and Mediterranean Grilled Salmon, we sat back to enjoy our dinner.

Portions were generous, the accompaniments were flavorful, and the wait staff made certain we lacked for nothing.  The only less-than-perfect part of the meal was the watery sauces.  They tasted good, but were not thick as expected.  We were later told that this was the owner’s first effort at making this menu and he was a little shaky on sauce-making.  He did well for a first-time effort.

And, the piece de resistance was the bread pudding.  We shared the most enormous serving of bread pudding!  I had five mouthfuls and could not eat another morsel – rich, very sweet and tender, it was amazing!  My husband finished the rest, as it was very hard to leave any.

Come back later this week for some quirky dining experiences in Bisbee – and the possibility of seeing ghosts!  We’ll also take the mine tour – deep within the old Copper Queen Mine.