Visiting in Bisbee, Arizona: What to Do and See
Posted in Arizona, AZ, Food, Hotels, Restaurant, Scenery, Shopping, Southwest, Travel | By Shelley Gillespie | Tags: Arizona, Bisbee AZ, Chocolate, Copper Queen Hotel, Food, Historic, Hotels, Restaurant, Shopping, Southwest, Travel
Arriving in Bisbee’s historic district, there is an immediate sense of stepping back in time. Colorful names (Bisbee Bicycle Brothel, etc.) and early 1900s architecture create an appeal you won’t see in the homogenized cities of most of the United States.
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.
Tags: Arizona, Bisbee AZ, Chocolate, Copper Queen Hotel, Food, Historic, Hotels, Restaurant, Shopping, Southwest, Travel