Today, we ventured out to the notorious Aurora, known for its lawlessness and violent Venezuelan gangs. In the same way Springfield, Ohio is known as the home of cat-eating Haitians (or so they say…), Aurora is the Caracas of the Mountain West.
If that’s the case, the gangs must have taken a long weekend, because we had nothing but a terrific time, loading both ourselves and our car up with wonderfully priced fuel. Fuel is under $3 out here (RIP my NZ readers, as yes, that is the gallon price, and equates to $0.79 a litre), and the place we went for lunch, New Canton, was just the best.
There is something that I love about cheap and cheerful Asian restaurants, and this one was right there. It had everything, the menu on the wall with the new prices stuck up next to them on paper tape. The “Chinese only” menu handwritten in Mandarin. A Polaroid picture of a whole roasted pig with a phone number next to it. A calendar from 2001. A waving mechanical cat. Staff that completely ignore you. A row of caramel roasted ducks hanging in the window. And absolutely delicious food that is served mere moments after ordering.
The only thing missing was the 14 year old kid who was taking orders while doing his homework at the table, butcher paper on the tables, and a bathroom where you have to walk through the owner’s living room to get there.
If you’re in the area, check it out.