Big Bend National Park
The best sights, where to stay, what to eat, how to find a guide, and everything else you could possibly want to know about the most beautiful place in Texas.
(Page 4 of 10)
WHERE TO EAT
The restaurant in the Chisos Basin Lodge is adequate for a national park dining facility. The service is better than average, and the soda fountain is the equivalent of a spring in the desert—cherry milk shakes are a specialty. Chicken fajitas, pork chops, baked perch, ribeye steak, and a bottomless cup of coffee highlight the limited menu. No alcohol is served. Service begins at seven in the morning with the last evening seating at a quarter to eight.
The Study Butte—Terlingua Big Bendoplex has more options, including Gloria’s, the closest liquor store to the park. The old reliable is La Kiva (432-371-2250), a wildly imaginative rock and cement cavelike edifice built into the side of Terlinqua Creek, with a subterranean entrance and a spacious patio, three miles east of the ghost town of Terlingua and one and one half miles west of Study Butte. The fare consists of decent barbecue plates, a sixteen-ounce T-bone, and an eight-ounce filet, all accompanied by the familiar sides of slaw and beans. Order at the counter upon arriving. The kitchen closes at midnight.
The new Starlight Theatre Restaurant and Bar (432-371-2326) in Terlingua has stolen much of La Kiva’s thunder. An old movie theater remodeled into an airy adobe-walled eatery with a mesquite-topped bar as centerpiece, the Starlight boasts a menu with more choices and real green stuff on the side. Most entrees—a sixteen-ounce T-bone, lemon chicken breast, beef picadillo, and daily specials such as Shrimp Mexicana—come with a lettuce salad, parsley potatoes, beans, and tortillas. Live music is booked occasionally, beginning around eight. Food service ends at ten; the bar closes at midnight.
Also recommended: The Badlands Saloon in Lajitas and the Roadrunner Deli, next to the Study Butte store, a bright, cheery eatery done in blond pine, with a selection of gourmet coffees, including a supercharged cup of Texpresso ($1.30), breakfast burritos (3.50-5.95), as well as picnic lunches (crab salad, even!) to go.
My Library
