Eating Vegan in El Paso

Sometimes traveling is a challenge for folks with dietary concerns, so we wanted to take a day to point out some options for vegans in El Paso.  Not a vegan, but like to consider vegetarian options?  The Vegetarian Society of El Paso has MANY options listed on their dining guide, HERE.

Vegan Tacos at Hello Day Cafe

Located a block from the historic El Camino Real Hotel, the El Paso Museum of Art and the Plaza Theatre is the tiny Hello Day Cafe, at 209 S. El Paso Street, where we sampled the Vegan Tacos late this week.  They use a spicy vegan queso with roasted broccoli, black beans, tomato and green onion.  Their menu is here.  (Meat eaters will find burgers, etc.!)  Their facebook page is here.

Another place for great vegan dining is The Green Ingredient, also in downtown El Paso, in the main floor of the Chase Bank Building at the edge of the Plaza (now under renovation), 201 E. Main, Suite 112.  We've had several delicious meals there, and the menu, like at the Hello Day Cafe, can accommodate poultry and fish-eaters, too.  Their facebook page is here.

Causa Limena from The Green Ingredient
Lemony potato puree with avocado and marinated vegetables

Kale Deluxe Salad from The Green Ingredient

Raw Pasta with Marinara
The Green Ingredient

Avocado Chocolate Mousse
The Green Ingredient

Pretty Downtown El Paso

Flowers at Cleveland Square Park
outside the Museum of History

 

Decorative fences at the Museum of History
recall the flora and fauna of our region

El Paso Museum of Art

Outside the Museum of Art

Arriving at Gate B6, El Paso Airport

Click on the image for a closer view

Travelers arriving at Gate B6 in El Paso's (wonderful) airport will now see this!  Our friends at the El Paso County Historical Commission worked with Southwest Airlines to add this reproduction of an image of early El Paso to the airport!  (Shown is an enlarged reproduction of a painting in the collection of the El Paso Museum of Art!)

About the image:

"In this very detailed painting by the French artist, Leon Trousset, we see a panoramic scene of the early El Paso, Texas of 1885. This scene is looking north from across the river in Mexico. At the background, we see the finality of the Rocky Mountains as they were before the current radio towers, the faded high school letters, and the magnificent homes that we see today. Beneath these mountains was a dynamic small town straining to expand to its geographical limits. On the far left, Fort Bliss welcomed travelers from the west to a picturesque valley of social activity and very productive farms and ranches. By 1885, El Paso was well established with its great hotels, banks, restaurants, a Central school, city and county buildings, and various social and entertainment centers.

In 1881, the railroads had come into town and awakened a progress that has not stopped to this day. A railway line had been built across the river to facilitate international commerce between El Paso and its sister city to the south. The railway company discouraged pedestrians from crossing over the railway bridge by placing sharp spikes on the bridge. An interesting point on this painting is the river (Rio Grande) at the lower center. Looking closely, you can see some people crossing this river in a canoe. The Rio Grande was the international boundary between El Paso and its neighboring town of El Paso del Norte (Ciudad Juarez).

 

On the foreground you can see a well-to-do gentleman on a horse speaking to another man. As they point north, they seem to be referring to some concern from across the river. There may very well be a story behind this scene. A local Mexican farmer named Pedro Ignacio Garcia had a special interest in the property on the north side of the river. In 1866, Mr. Garcia inherited some land in that precise area. He claimed that due to a flood in 1864, the river channel changed and that his land was left to the north by that change. He was in peaceful possession and was farming his land until 1881 when the railroad moved in. He explained that one day, he went to survey his crops which relate to the green stalks seen just north of the river. “I tied my horse to one of the trees by the river and got into the canoe and crossed the river”. As he surveyed his crops, he was approached by three “Texans” who at the point of a shotgun, ordered him to “leave and to never come back”. From on top of his horse, Mr. Garcia seems to be asking the other gentleman, possibly his farm manager, Juan Acosta, if he knows of any further developments or incursions on his land across the river. He received many other threats which prompted him to file a claim against the United States for his property across the river. This initiated the century long international dispute known as the Chamizal Issue which was finally settled in 1963 with the Chamizal Treaty." 
 

Visiting El Paso's beautiful downtown!

El Paso's Museum of Art is hosting Rembrandt, Rubens, and Golden Age of Painting in Europe 1600-1800 from the Speed Art Museum and From Church To Village: 16th and 17th Century Dutch and Flemish Paintings

Enjoying the garden at the Museum of History

Downtown El Paso packs a whallop of surprises in cultural offerings, all within walking distance of each other.  Consider the museums alone...park your car and walk to each one!

El Paso Museum of Art
El Paso Museum of History
Insights Science Center
El Paso Holocaust Museum
Railroad and Transportation Museum of El Paso
Lynx Exhibits



Not to mention the historic Plaza Theatre, next to the Museum of Art!

Oasis Bistro outside the historic Plaza Theatre

Our Texas Mountain Trail Executive Director, Beth Nobles, is also a Grassroots Ambassador for Stonewear Designs, a clothing company specializing in women's active wear  which she'll be testing on her adventures throughout Far West Texas.  For more information, visit Nobles' blog for newcomers to fitness, "One Foot in Front of the Other."

A gracious way to travel...step off the train...and the best of the city is steps away

One of the loveliest and gracious ways to travel to the region is by train, through El Paso's Union Station.  Built in 1905 and renovated in 1982 (and on the National Register of Historic Places), the station was the first passenger station built in the United States specifically for international travel.  The county's website outlines the renovation work that was done to bring the station back to its original glory:

"The original tile floor was installed, the white paint on the outside bricks was removed, most of the original woodwork was preserved as much as possible, marble was imported from Italy to replace the damaged marble on the inside columns, and the tower and steeple were restored to their former place on top of the Depot."  To read more, click here.

Today, Amtrak's Sunset Limited runs through our region on its route from New Orleans to Los Angeles.  El Paso is a fully supported stop (meaning you can check luggage and bicycles!) on the route, and one of two stops in our region.  (Alpine is the second.)  Within walking distance is one of the hotels participating in our Texas Mountain Trail cycle-friendly program is the Holiday Inn Central El Paso.

The station is centered in the historic downtown, near the city's museum campus.  Consider visiting the city's Museum of History and Museum of Art.  Or the Insights Science Museum, or the Lynx Exhibits.  Since you've arrived by train, there's a place of special interest, El Paso's Railroad and Transportation Museum!

The Stained Glass Dome by Louis Comfort Tiffany

 

One of the many (nearly) hidden charms of El Paso is in the heart of downtown....the stained glass dome by Tiffany at the Camino Real Hotel, across from the Museum of Art.  Originally, the Paso del Norte Hotel, the building was designed by renowned El Paso architect Henry Trost.  It cost about $1.5 million to construct and opened on Nov. 24, 1912.  The Tiffany dome is 25 feet wide and two stories above the floor.  It is now the central meeting point at the hotel's bar.

During the revolution Pancho Villa, New York radical journalist John Reed, Gen. Alvaro Obregón and General John Pershing either stayed at or attended conferences here. In 1914, former Chihuahuan Gov. Luis Terrazas and his family, along with their 27 servants, rented the entire top floor. 

You can learn more about the hotel and its role in the Mexican Revolution here, where the hotel appears on a wonderful historical walking tour.  We like the audio features about each of the walking tour's stops!  

Cool Places on Hot Days! El Paso's Downtown Museum Campus

El Paso Museum of History, from Santa Fe Street, Downtown El Paso

El Paso has many great museums, many of them within blocks of each other in the downtown area.

Visitor Information Center, run by the El Paso Convention and Visitors Bureau (on Santa Fe Street)

El Paso Museum of Art (also on Santa Fe Street, right downtown!)

If you have questions about where the museums are located, check out the El Paso Convention and Visitors Bureau Visitors Center, One Civic Center Plaza, along Santa Fe Street, right downtown!

New Cycle-Friendly Hotel in the CENTER of things!

 El Paso is our gateway city, our urban center, and a place of surprising charms.  It is also on Adventure Cycling Association's Southern Tier Route, and sees many cross-country cyclists as they travel coast to coast from California to Florida.

Downtown El Paso has a surprising number of museums (Museum of Art, Museum of History, Holocaust Museum and Study Center, Insights Science Museum, Railroad and Transportation Museum, and the Lynx Exhibits, not to mention the historic Plaza Theatre, and the Visitor Center at the El Paso Convention and Visitors Bureau.  There's plenty to see and to there.

And now, a downtown hotel has joined our growing list of cycle-friendly properties, happy to provide special services to all their guests, but especially those on bicycles:. 

Holiday Inn Express-Central, 400 E. Missouri, El Paso, TX 79901 Phone 915-544-3333, Fax 915-533-4109,  http://hiexpress.com/elpasocentral
Cycle friendly features include: In-room storage for bikes, deluxe express start breakfast buffet, outdoor heated pool, 24 hr fitness center, on site laundry facility and dry cleaning services, business center, free high speed internet, located in the heart of downtown El Paso near bike routes. And for cyclists combining train travel with your journey, the property is near the Amtrak station too!

Whether you're planning a trip cross-country by bike, or just enjoying our gateway city, consider the friendly folks at the Holiday Inn Express-Central!  (Lots of space for your bike in that room!)

For regional cycling adventures, check out our webpage:  www.texasmountaintrail.com/bike !!

Within steps, fun on the same block in downtown El Paso!




Friday nights, El Paso hosts a free concert downtown in the space between the Museum of Art and the restored Plaza Theatre. Across the street is the El Camino Real Hotel with its beautiful Tiffany glass dome ceiling.  Last night's concert offering was La Imperial Sonora, a tropical, cumbia band, and the crowd loved them.  Lots of fun, all on the same block!

 

Interior of the bar, El Camino Real hotel in downtown El Paso, marble and cherrywood with Tiffany glass dome ceiling





El Paso Museum of Art, downtown El Paso, has an impressive collection



1930 beautifully restored Plaza Theatre, downtown El Paso

How's this for a Friday afternoon and evening?

Start by taking in the offerings of the Museum of Art, but be sure to get their early enough to take strong collections in European and American Art, as they close at 5pm.  Yesterday we saw a lovely special exhibition of French Masterworks:  Monet to Matisse. 

Pop across the street to the Hotel El Camino for a cocktail under the Tiffany glass dome ceiling.

Take in one of El Paso's free Alfresco Fridays concerts, or attend a show at the Plaza Theatre.

Finish with a beautiful dinner at Cafe Central. Their chef, Armando Pomales has been nominated twice for a James Beard award.  His signature cream of green chile soup makes us swoon!

For a schedule of this year's free Alfresco Fridays concerts, click here.
To learn more about the Plaza Theatre, click here.
To learn more about the Museum of Art, click here.
A few more steps, down the block a way is the Central Cafe.

Enjoy!

A "Must See" Exhibition in El Paso

The El Paso Museum of Art is one of a few museums worldwide, and the only venue west of the Mississippi that will feature "Bedazzled: 5000 Years of Jewelry" exhibition, which provides examples of stunning jewelry from 5,000 B.C.E. through the early 20th century. Assembled primarily by one of Walters Art Museum’s founders, Henry Walters, during the first three decades of the last century, this renowned collection contains superb examples of expert craftsmanship.

To read more about the exhibition, click here.  See it through July 25!

Luis Jimenez at the El Paso Museum of Art

Downtown El Paso is graced with a wonderful art museum.  The El Paso Museum of Art's contemporary collection is described on their website:  "During the past decade, the Museum has developed a major collection of contemporary works in all media by artists based in the southwestern United States and Mexico, with a particular focus on Texas, New Mexico, and the Border region. Among the artists represented are Susan Davidoff, James Drake, Gaspar Enriquez, Vernon Fisher, Joseph Havel, Anna Jacquez, Luis Jimenez, James Magee and Annabel Livermore, Jesus Bautista Moroles, and James Surls."

El Paso Museum of Art

El Paso's Museum of Art is a centerpoint for culture in the region and a "must see" destination for visitors. Shoppers enjoy the great gift shop on the Museum's main floor, where you can often purchase specialty Papel Picado or Cut-Paper Art.

Pictured here is an El Paso-themed Papel Picado, cut by hand using special chisel-type tools and a hammer.

For an update on the Museum's exhibitions and programs, visit their website, here.

For a region-wide events calendar, click here.