Just about a month after we returned from our two week road trip up to Mendicino, we were back on the road again. This time to where the Missus wanted to go, Mammoth Lakes. One great thing I found out was that The Westin Monache Resort, Mammoth Lakes is dog friendly. And it was right across the street from the Village at Mammoth, which had a variety of restaurants. We’d been to the area around Old Mammoth Road before and really hadn’t enjoyed ourselves.
We decided to make an overnight stop in Lone Pine to rest up before heading to Mammoth. So, I got us a night at the Dow Villa Hotel. This was back in June, so it was pretty darn hot already in Lone Pine. We checked in and basically just stayed in air conditioned comfort. When dinner time rolled around we just wanted to eat in the back garden area of the motel. It was too hot for JJ, so I walked the four blocks up to the Tacos Los Hermanos Truck. I was in a rush so I didn’t take photos of the truck which is on the corner of North Main and Willow Streets. I hustled back to the Dow Villa and we had dinner in the shaded public area behind the offices.
I got us four tacos, Adobada, CArne Asada, Buche, and Cachete. The Adobada wasn’t too bad, some good smokiness, sweet tones, and not too tough. The worst was the Carne Asada which was quite tough.
The Buche was pretty chewy, but the Cachete, beef cheek was nice and beefy. The tortillas were no big deal, but the salsas pretty good and spicy.
Not too much variety in Lone Pine, so this was a decent meal.
Tacos Los Hermanos
120 E Willow St.
Lone Pine, CA 93545
This is what Lone Pine looked like when I took JJ out for his 430am potty break…..
In the morning I took JJ for a short walk before things got too hot…..
And then we headed out….stopping in Bishop at Erick Schat’s Bakery which I’ve posted on twice before. The Missus ran in and got us some stuffs and we ate at the park across the street, under the trees. JJ needed the shade!
We then headed up the 395. We knew we were going to be early, so we decided to take a detour to Convict Lake and did the easy loop trail.
JJ got to try out his “boots” which we would later find that he really didn’t need.
He even saw horses for the first time and did well when they passed by!
We then headed up to Mammoth Lakes. We were still too early to check in, so we got our parking pass and headed across the road to the Village.
We walked around Village Plaza and found this sandwich and bakery along the side facing Minaret Road.
And as you might know, I’m a sucker for a club sandwich ($18.99) which seemed kinda pricy, but I added sweet potato fries (+ $1.89) which ended up being a good move.
The Missus enjoyed the sweet potato fries, which while not crisp, was quite creamy with a nice sweet and earthy flavor. The sandwich was pretty massive and this was enough for the both of us for lunch! The sourdough was fine, the turkey thinly sliced and quite moist…….. Good crisp bacon.
This would end up being our “go-to” lunch during our visits to Mammoth Lakes.
Old New York Deli & Bakery
6201 Minaret Rd. Suite 105
Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546
Soon enough we got to check in at the Westin. We enjoyed the service there…in fact, one of the Bell men is from San Diego….Bay Park! He was so nice to JJ. To get an idea of how closed we were to the Village; this is the view from our room.
And there was a lot of space for JJ to do “his thing” as well.
When dinner time came along er headed down and across the street. It was interesting to see folks who didn’t want to walk down the steps actually drive their cars around the block! We came across Shelter Distilling, they actually make many of their own spirits, have outdoor dining, and serve food. So, we thought, why not?
Of course we started with some cocktails and man were we hooked!
I think the favorite was the “Crib” which was made with Jalapeno infused Blue Agave.
So good! We actually ordered another one!
We also tried the Beet It, made with Bourbon, honey, lemon, and of course beets! It was a bit sweeter.
We liked the fact that you could actually taste the spirits and it wasn’t overly watered down or overly sweet.
As for the food…well, we weren’t impressed. The Mandarin Orange Salad ingredients were good, but the Ginger-Soy dressing didn’t have enough savory-salty-tangy tones.
Like PF Chang’s lite…..
The Crispy Confit Pork Belly Tacos was fine, but one was served on a pita? The Harissa Shrimp Taco didn’t have much of a kick.
The pork was more chewy than crisp. The pico de gallo was too mild. The Harissa Shrimp was at least served on a tortilla…which fell to pieces quickly. The shrimp was overcooked and rubbery.
On a good note, we’d found a place to have cocktails each night we were here. And I also noticed a back outdoor dining area which we enjoyed the next evening. We’d be looking to dine elsewhere…..
Shelter Distilling
100 Canyon Blvd. #217
Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546
And the Missus and JJ both were really enjoying Mammoth….
These were lovely specimens indeed. The tortillas had been nicely heated on the comal and were glistening with…well, something mighty tasty. 
Since I've 
My favorite of the two I ordered was the Cabeza. It was tender, beefy, with a side of "funk". Nicely seasoned and cooked, so very juicy. A squirt of lime to cut the richness, cilantro and onion to add pungency, and it was darn good. The tortillas were fine; they were doubled with some queso in between to hold it together.
The piece of battered and fried fish was quite large. But the batter was soggy and the flesh of the pescado was slimy-fishy-muddy, not my favorite flavors and textures when it comes to fish. Not even the lime and the salsas….I preferred the verde (green), which had a bit more acidity and herbaceousness, but I really didn't enjoy this.
The bone had been really roasted, which was different form what we'd had in Old Town. The marrow was oh-so-buttery. The birria was beefy, with nice pungent-smoky-earthy tones. It's still not quite what I recall from the San Ysidro days, but a bit better than 
