Harris Ranch: Gustatory salvation in the Central Valley
Written: Jun 09 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: An oasis on the dreary I-5
Cons: None, really
The Bottom Line: Those palm trees, visible from the south, and the smell, palpable from the north, are very welcome.
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| Penguinlady's Full Review: Harris Ranch |
The 400-mile long San Joaquin Valley of California, also known as the Central Valley, stretches from the north side of the Tehachapi range, about 75 miles north of Los Angeles, to a point somewhat south of Mt. Shasta. It’s wide and flat provides a significant portion of the agricultural bounty of the state. It’s also the home of a long stretch of Interstate 5, which runs from Mexico to Canada, and it’s deadly boring.
I’ve done the trip up I-5 between Los Angeles and Berkeley (and more recently, my current home) at least 100 times in the 40+ years I’ve lived in California - probably closer to 150 times. The Central Valley is dotted with small agritowns - Tulare, Taft, Buttonwillow, Shafter, Delano, birthplace of Cesar Chavez’ United Farm Workers movement - and I learned early that unless I wanted to subsist on fast food, I’d better pack munchies for the trip. I still do, sometimes, but the trip got a little less boring, and the food choices a lot less desperate, about 20 years ago, with the opening of HARRIS RANCH.
A note to the discerning reader: This review is posted in the Hotels sub-category, but I’m not reviewing the hotel, for reasons that will become evident if you keep reading. If you feel compelled to down-rate me for that, have at it.
LOCATION
HARRIS RANCH is located about 175 miles north of Los Angeles, and 185 miles south of the I-80 interchange, outside Coalinga, California. It’s at exit 334, which is SR 198 to Lemore/Hanford and on to Huron and Visalia. You can tell you’re getting close when you start smelling the feed-lots as you head south; we call the recirculate button on our ventilation system the "Coalinga button," and we pay dearly if we don’t hit it in time.
That’s the bad news.
The good news is that it’s always pretty windy here, and the wind comes from the west while the feed lots are to the north, so while it’s certainly noticeable, the smell isn’t enough to spoil the experience of HARRIS RANCH.
WHAT IT IS
HARRIS RANCH began as a beef operation. It grew to a gigantic feedlot, and with an ample supply of good beef so close at hand, grew from there into a restaurant. From there, it was just a hop to adding a hotel, deli, coffee shop, gift shop, gas stations, and so on. Today, HARRIS RANCH with its line of palm trees visible from ten miles south is a beacon for the hungry, peeful, bored driver who longs for more than what Burger King has to offer.
I have not stayed at the hotel - ergo my earlier warning. I have eaten at all the HARRIS RANCH restaurants, peed in its loos, and bought gas from its gas stations. I am reviewing it as a rest stop.
WHAT’S AVAILABLE
When you enter the complex, the deli-gift shop is right in front of you. The deli sells HARRIS RANCH beef, justly famous for its flavor and tenderness. You can get most cuts, as well as one-pound packets of corned beef, hamburger, and chili. There’s a small selection of cheeses, too.
You can also get some pretty decadent-looking baked goods, in the form of pies, cakes, and cookies. Mostly, the baked items are too sweet for me, but I have a very low tolerance for sweet stuff, so I’m not the best judge of how good it is. It’s good quality, though.
We have indulged in some frozen corned beef and loved it weeks later at home. It has just the right amount of fat to be delectable without shriveling down to nothing when cooked.
The gift shop has a few "gourmet" - lawd, how I hate that word! - items, including Harris Ranch seasoning blends and BBQ sauces. You can get jams and preserves, chocolates, and some high-end candies. And of course, napkins and other table-top items, some wines, and too many cutesy plaques, souvenir stuff, and whatnot.
To the right of the deli-gift in the west wing is the bar, surrounded by dining tables. This is the high-end dining: gorgeous steaks and prime rib, and similar quality other meats and seafood. It’s not formal but it’s quite pleasant, and the bar is long and comfortable.
At the far end of the west wing of the building is the dining room. The menu here is quite extensive and varied. This is where we usually go when we stop at HARRIS RANCH. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all available and the menu is about six pages long. Prices range from $5 for some appetizers to $20 for some dinners, and higher for the better cuts of beef.
There’s almost always a wait here, but it’s almost always a lot shorter than the friendly staff at the desk predicts, and our buzzer usually goes off within 20 or 30 minutes, regardless of what we’ve been told. The serving staff is friendly and efficient and the portions are enormous and tasty. This is coffee shop on hormones and light-years ahead of Denny’s or anything else available on I-5.
A warning: The Wednesday before Thanksgiving is the busiest travel time of the year in the US, and the restaurants at HARRIS RANCH are always backed up for about two hours on that night. If you're planning to stop there, be sure to allow plenty of time; it'll take probably three hours before you get seated, order, and eat.
As I said earlier, I haven’t stayed at the hotel, but it’s presented as a resort destination, with all the luxuries you’d expect - pool, spa, room service, banquet and meeting rooms, catering, and very nice rooms. Several friends have stayed there and compared it favorably with, say, Courtyard by Marriott or similar high-end chains.
At the west end of the grounds, right off the freeway, is a Shell gas station with a very big shop. You can get food basics there, and there’s a Subway sandwich shop in it. Also a few picnic tables with nice views of the gas pumps. When we don’t want to stop for a sit-down meal at Harris, we get a sandwich or hot dog at the gas station; the quality isn’t bad.
There are other choices at exit 334: Burger King, Carl’s Jr., Denny’s, Mickey D’s, Red Robin, and Taco Bell. Also a Best Western, Motel 6, and Travelodge. You can tank up at 76, Chevron, CFN, Petro, Mobil, and Shell, the latter two of which also sell diesel and easily accommodate big rigs.
SUMMARY AND VERDICT
HARRIS RANCH isn’t the sort of place Penguinman and I would normally go to in our regular lives. But such is the stultifying boredom and lack of decent food choices along this stretch of highway that we both look eagerly for the row of palm trees and the... aroma... that tell us that HARRIS RANCH is near. For that alone, it’s worth four stars.
Just don’t forget to hit the Coalinga button.
Recommended:
Yes
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