I drove farther than I thought I would the first day, sliding into Tucson after dark. It felt good to cover some mileage, since I know I'll have other days when I linger over unexpected discoveries. I checked my options for historic hotels and inns (I keep a ring binder in the car with accumulated pages - sort of a "wish list" and road encyclopedia) and decided to head downtown and check out the Hotel Congress. I figured if it was good enough for John Dillinger in the 30's, it was good enough for me ;)
I took a look at a room, which was very cool. However, I decided not to stay this time, for a number of reasons, none being any dissatisfaction. The room was great, typically small but very authentic, right down to the hard-wired rotary dial phone line. No way to plug in the laptop. They have a computer in the second floor lobby for Internet access, but it was temporarily down. I probably could have gotten by without checking email until the next night, but it was my first night on the road and I try to pre-plan nights of non-access. In addition, some sort of DJ-run activity was shaping up in the lobby and it promised to be noisy. My last excuse was that, as opposed to winter discounts in most places at this time of year, Tucson considers this prime time to visit, so the room price was higher than it would be if I caught it at another time of year.
The atmosphere was fun and festive, yet still had the relaxing feel of a dark coffee house. A painted glass vase on the table held fresh flowers. Red tile floors and rich woodwork added to the historical feel. It was funky and classy at the same time. The menu was wonderful. (And if I didn't have to post this and check out of somewhere else right now, I'd list the selections more fully - I took a ton of notes). Some of the choices were Poached Pear and Spinach Salad, Chicken Satay, Salmon Teriyaki and a wide range of steaks. A fun appetizer listed was called "Two Thompson Automatics", which was described as "shredded chicken in Frank's Original Red Hot Sauce...in an egg roll with blue cheese dressing and deep fried...served with jicama cole slaw". "Katmandu" was another, described as "a seasonal mix of vegetables in a rich banana curry sauce served with coconut rice and garnished with tamarind-roasted peanuts". This was a great first night, a fun meal and good distance to start off the trip. More to follow, but there's only twenty minutes left until check-out this morning and the road calls again :)
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It wasn't difficult to find, even at night. On the corner of 4th Ave. and East Congress, it was exactly where most of these old hotels are - right in the middle of the historic downtown area. Parking was easy, in spite of a long line for the Rialto movie theatre across the street and an active tavern on the ground floor of the hotel. I entered the lobby with the usual sensation of stepping back in time, finding tiled floors, period furnishings, a high ceiling and colorful painted designs on the walls. The front desk was intricate and wooden, with an old switchboard behind it.
So I decided to do the discount motel thing down the road, but I wasn't leaving yet. I hadn't yet had dinner and Hotel Congress has a very cool restaurant/cafe, The Cup Cafe, affectionately known as "The Cup". I grabbed a table and looked over the menu. This was a very good move. Surrounded by fun neon signs and eclectic music, I narrowed my choices down and finally ordered a salad of mixed greens with raspberry vinaigrette and samosas, served with cranberry chutney. It was fabulous.