Moab

Ed and I just got back from a trip to Colorado and Utah which included 3 glorious days in Moab. We had a great hike into Delicate Arch the first afternoon.





A fabulous day in the Island in the Sky section of Canyonlands followed. At Canyonlands we hiked to and around Upheaval Dome and out to Green River Overlook and Grand View Point Overlook which has marvelous views of the Green and Colorado rivers 2000 feet below.




 Finally, the third day we had an awesome hike (not recommended for those with acrophobia) to Devil's Garden and Double Arch via the Primitive Loop Trail.





The first night we had dinner at our favorite Moab restaurant, Center Cafe*.  The dungeness crab cake appetizer and the risotto with sage and butternut squash entrees were so delicious we returned a second night. We had an awesome beet, hazelnut, arugula salad with horseradish panne cotta for an appetizer, crab cakes (because they were I think the best crab cakes we've ever had) as entrees with a side of the risotto since they did not have a different vegetarian offering that evening. Since the chocolate cake we had the previous night was not particularly memorable and they were out of their specialty creme brulee and especially because we were pleasantly full, we skipped dessert.

I think I've nailed the Crab Cakes as well as the Winter Squash Sage Risotto recipes, and finally after a miserable failure, I've finally (2011) come up with a reasonable facsimile of the Beet Salad with Horseradish "Panna Cotta"

*2010 CENTER CAFE no longer has menu we have enjoyed - serving "gourmet" pizza and salads; 2011 Closed :-(

All photos this entry © 2009 Edward C. Kern, Jr.

September 2017:  On our last couple visits to Moab we have stayed at the Sunflower Hill, a bed and breafkast which we enjoyed.  The last time we were there we tried Desert Bistro for dinner. Though I can't recall what we ordered, I do remember the dinner was good, and not as expensive as suggested by the current menu.

April 2018; We visited Moab March 19-21, perhaps a bit later than we usually go in the spring and found it was considerably more crowded.    Probably as a result of this increasing traffic, "The latest plan by the National Park Service is to start requiring reservations to visit Arches by private vehicle from March to October starting next year." We spent an afternoon at Canyonlands, A day at Arches climbing the long and short trails to Delicate Arch, and hiking around the Windows.  Again we stayed at the Sunflower Inn and enjoyed two dinners at Desert Bistro.  The first night we shared a salad and each had an entree.  Along with the excellent bread that starts the meal we both agreed it was too much food.  However, the remaining chicken and bread made excellent sandwiches for the next day.  The second night we shared an appetizer, barely braised tuna (stay tuned for recipe), a salad and an entree. Considering the entree  "Grilled marinated Pork Tenderloin served with apple-chipotle pepper beurre blanc, accompanied by crisp shredded potato & herb gallette and sautéed vegetables" contained  over 8 ounces of pork (the amount of meat I buy when shopping for the two of us), this was plenty for Ed and me.  Wish Desert Distro, like some of our other favorite restaurants, had small plate options. Singha Thai Cuisine located in the same space that previously accomodated the Center Cafe was recommended by Sunflower Hill staff, but we belatedly discovered that it is closed on Tuesday nights. The morning of the 21st we visited the Landscape Arch area before heading for lunch along Route 128 at Fisher Towers on our way back to Carbondale.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Reviewed 9/20/2017
April 2018 update added