I'll be driving from LA to Williams, AZ next weekend. Looks like lunch is going to happen in Barstow. Yelp and BA don't really turn up any craft choices for Barstow. Anybody here have any experience there and can guide a thirsty traveler to a quality brew?
Not quite Barstow but there is Oak Hills Brewing at the top of the Cajon Pass. Had their beers a few months back and they were okay. I would also be interested to hear recommendations for the Victorville/Barstow area.
I doubt Barstow has any "craft choices". Good luck, but I'd suggest eating prior to driving through that shithole.
This is from on article on old Route 66: Idle Spurs Steakhouse and Lounge 690 Old Hwy 58, Barstow, CA The Mother Road has been decommissioned through Barstow, but remnants of its past linger. Since 1951 travelers along the former Route 66 have stopped at the Idle Spurs Steakhouse for a bite and drink. Their selection of craft beers isn’t at bad for a town with no breweries – the closest one is nearly 40 miles away – and their steaks are a big attraction (they even drew the attention of the TV show Man vs. Food Nation). The beer menu includes brews like Karl Strauss Red Trolley Ale, Bootlegger’s Palomino Pale Ale, Blue Moon Belgian White Ale, Sierra Nevada Kellerwies Hefeweizen, Bootlegger’s Black Pheonix Stout, Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy, Kona Big Wave Golden Ale and Redd’s Apple Ale. Like FrogOut69 said, Good Luck.
curious, have you never been to Barstow charlzm? i thought it was a generally agreed-upon fact that Barstow is bung hole (apologies to anyone who lives in Barstow). maybe it's changed? you should go to Baker instead. at least they have the worlds largest thermometer
i love that too. though my derrière hole does not love it the next day (it sounds more polite to use French)
Take the 10, you can stop I'm Palm Springs, or the many places in the Coachella Valley. FYI the Cajon Pass is a real mess right now,2 lanes both ways. If you do go that way go super early or late. Especially Fridays!
Barstow is a good place to get gas on the way to Vegas. My wife also like the Lucky Brand Store that they have in the outlet mall. Neither fact helps you at all. I always assumed it was just one of those towns they set up just as a stopping point for drivers.
Not sure how you can mention the thermometer and not the alien jerky. Jerky...from aliens man!!!! Ahhhhhh!!!!
Los Domingos in Barstow is a passable Mexican restaurant that has large portions and even larger, icy mugs of Mexican lagers. And it's the first decent restaurant on the way home from riding bicycles, blowing shit up, and drinking Wine2 at the place we call Not Somewhere.
Don't know of anything in Barstow but if you're willing to stop a little earlier in the Victorville area there there are 2 (eventually 3) breweries in Hesperia on the way. Oak Hills (already mentioned) Desert Barn They have a ton of beers on tap at the moment https://www.facebook.com/Desertbarnbrewery And eventually Off the Grid will open a tasting room out that way. They have their type 23 license and some equipment but as far as I know they're still contracting their stuff through Inland Empire in Riverside. http://www.otgbrew.com/ There's also an Oggis in Apple Valley, not far from Desert Barn. Then there's this place, if you're interested in taking a giant detour to see some historic mining towns in the middle of Death Valley http://www.deathvalleybrewing.com/
Thanks for all the replies. Since my route was east through the Antelope Valley on the 18, I only traveled along the 15 from Victorville to Barstow, then east on the 40. Based on everyone's recommendations, I just skipped the whole area and waited until I got to Williams, AZ to have a craft beer. Grand Canyon Brewing Company in Williams makes several beers. The only one I tried was their Black Iron IPA, which was sub-par. Other craft choices in the Grand Canyon National Park were uninteresting to me, so I wound up drinking very little on my Grand Canyon excursion.
