Marfa, Texas
What can I write about Marfa, Texas? Maybe that after two days of slogging across the state of Texas, Marfa gave us a reason to be? Maybe that after a night in Ozona, Texas, Marfa made us feel better? Maybe that when you’ve been traveling for eight weeks and are now heading home, finding a place that feels like that, home that is, in the middle of nowhere (really, really in the middle of nowhere) is an amazing thing?
Marfa, Texas is a little town about 8 hours from Austin, I think even farther from Houston and about 4 hours from El Paso. If you’re traveling west along Route 10, you drop south from Fort Stockton for about 1 ½ hours and you’re there. Marfa is/was built around the arts and has attracted a small community of people wanting to build a larger community of artists. There are galleries and shops and a couple of 4-star hotels and restaurants. Unfortunately we were there on a Sunday so many things were closed, but we did manage to have lunch at this place called Squeeze Marfa. From the moment we stepped into Squeeze Marfa I couldn’t stop thinking of our friend Martha. Martha is the BATSNABF in the world and I could just here her with her Tennessee drawl saying “Squeeze Marfa! I just love to be squeezed!” Squeeze Marfa was maybe 600 square feet total, including the patio, and is owned by a Switzerland/Houston transplant named Sven. After moving to Marfa about 10 years ago, he loved it so much that he convinced his parents to move there and they opened the business together. His mother was in the kitchen making the best “rustic” sandwiches we’ve had on the trip; perfect proportions, perfectly toasted. Lily and I both had a hummus/black olive tapenade/tomato sandwich and Cork had a smoked turkey sandwich. We followed those up with the best espresso we’ve had on this trip (I don’t think we’ve had any since) and a bar of Swiss chocolate. AMAZING! We would like to stay in Marfa longer, but tomorrow is Halloween and we promised Lily we’d be in Tucson in time for her to at least hand out candy at Grandma’s, so off we go.
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| Lily outside of Squeeze Marfa! |
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| Inside of the Paisano Hotel, refurbished within the last few years. The hotel also has a 4-star restaurant that I soooo wanted to try, but they're only open for dinner. |
