Checking in from FS
Category: Local...
Posted Saturday, March 19, 2005 at 02:23 PM [GMT-6]

This post comes to you from the lively little burg of Fort Stockton, home of $2.28 gasoline, only nobody's complaining because everybody's working...either trying to find more of those elusive hydrocarbons or in support of those doing that work. There's a construction boomlet in progress, both commercial and residential, with a new Hampton Inn, IHOP and multi-screen theater on the drawing board for later this year.

Anyway, we're down here for a quick celebration of my brother's birthday (one of the round-number variety, btw). I also spent several hours trying to troubleshoot an Epson inkjet printer that wasn't playing well with my father-in-law's eMac. The ultimate solution was effective, albeit somewhat unsatisfying: we jacked it up and ran a new one under it. For $79 at Wally World, you can get an HP printer/scanner/copier...and it works just fine. I still want to know why a mainstream Epson printer driver refused to appear in the Printer Setup, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over a non-functioning free printer (which it was -- free, that is -- after the rebate).

If you're ever down in FS, here are two dining recommendations. For dinner, try the Mexican food at Mi Casita's...but get there early on Friday evening or make reservations. It seats only about 50, but every table was full starting at 5:30, and people were lined up out the door when we left. Everything on the menu is good.

For breakfast, we tried a new place called Pepito's. We'd previously eaten lunch there and were impressed. Their breakfast offerings are even better (everything from all-you-can-eat menudo on Saturday mornings to huevos rancheros, from bacon-and-eggs to pancakes and French toast). I had a short stack of 'cakes and un burrito con huevos, chorizo y queso. The chorizo wasn't greasy, and was perfectly spicy. The service was a bit slow due to the demands of the packed house. Pepito's is highly recommended for anyone traveling through town on their way to Big Bend or the Davis Mountains.

Neither place rates very highly on the atmosphere scale, but, then, we tend to be more impressed by the quality of the food. Both restaurants also double as social hotspots for the locals, as everybody knew everybody else, and much conversation took place across tables. If you've never lived or tarried long in a small town, this phenomenon might be unfamiliar, but it's one of the great advantages over metropolitan life. (There are some downsides, too, but we won't dwell on those at this point.)