Dinner and the Duke At The El Rancho Hotel

Above, a cardboard standee of John Wayne in the lobby. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Tonight, the plan was to go into Gallup this evening for some sushi at Zen Steak and Sushi.

I headed into Gallup and arrived at the restaurant and...it was closed. So was the Chinese restaurant next door.

I then figured I'd go to Earl's on Route 66 for dinner.

I went there and...it was closed.

In Gallup, most businesses, including restaurants, are closed on Sundays for the sabbath. It has been decades when big cities like Los Angeles did such a thing.

So, the choice was either go to Denny's (which I didn't want to do) or McDonalds. But, since I was near the El Rancho Hotel, I decided to see if their restaurant was open.

I went there and...it was open!

Above, a framed poster of John Wayne in Hondo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

When I walked into the main lobby of the El Rancho, I was greeted by Leroy, who is now the official greeter. I told him about the Nomadic Fanatic's video featuring the hotel and the ECV plaque. He said that he starts work at 3:00 in the afternoon and missed the Nomadic Fanatic when he came there two Mondays ago during the morning. But, he said, he'll try to see the video.

Above, the El Rancho Hotel's John Wayne display. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I then went into the hotel restaurant and had chicken enchiladas (the dish is called the "Rita Moreno"). It was good. At that point, I was very hungry and almost anything would have been good.

After dinner, I wandered a bit in the lobby and took the accompanying photos of their John Wayne display before heading home.

I'll have to remember that most Gallup restaurants are closed on Sundays.