Tuba City

Most of the northeastern corner of Arizona is Indian reservations—both Hopi and Navajo. Tuba City is in the western portion of the Navajo Reservation at the junction of Highway 160 and Highway 264. Highway 264 east leads into Hopiland and the three major Hopi mesas. There are also numerous National Parks and Navajo Tribal Parks in the vicinity of Tuba City.

Near the junction is the Tuba City Truck Stop and Cafe known for serving the best Navajo tacos. It is just what its name implies—a truck stop, but the food is definitely worth the stop.

This was our first RV trip as free spirits unhampered by plans and reservations each step of the way. We left Monument Valley with the intention of heading towards Sedona and seeing what interested us along the way. As usual, I had my nose buried in a guide book. This time it was [amazon 0028635914].

In there was a little blurb about the Tuba City Truck Stop and Cafe and their great Navajo tacos. Now before reading this, I had not even known that such a thing existed, but now I was determined to have one. If there is one fault I think we have in our traveling style, it’s our tendency to not experience as much of the local flavor as we should. I decided to use this criticism as my approach to getting out of making lunch in the RV. It worked and we pulled into the Tuba City Truck Stop and Cafe right in time for lunch. It definitely looked like it’s name implied—a truck stop.

We were seated by a very friendly Navajo waitress at a window table. We immediately noticed that the walls were hung with autographed photographs of celebrities who had dined here. Unfortunately, we didn’t recognize most of them, as they were Navajo celebrities. However, we did see that another adventurous soul had traveled here from our home state of New Jersey—Bruce Springsteen.

I was embarrassed of our continued resistance to experiencing local flavor when my husband and sons ordered hamburgers and pancakes. Oh well, I guess this approach is going to take some time. Feeling more adventurous, I ordered the Navajo taco and was definitely not disappointed. Herb and the kids looked on enviously as I ate my very delicious taco. In case you’re wondering just what a Navajo taco is, it’s chili, beans, onions, and cheese on top of deep-fried “Indian Fry” bread. I asked anyone if they wanted a taste, and soon there were 3 other forks going after my lunch. They admitted that they regretted not ordering the taco and said that next time they would.

I figured they blew it because there wasn’t likely to be a next time. Little did I know that we would be back in 2 days to recover the pocketbook that I left behind. On the return trip, we all ordered Navajo tacos. Also, one additional comment regarding the honesty and consideration of the staff. When I called the next day from the Grand Canyon to see if they had found my pocketbook, they informed me that they had and that it was safely locked in their safe. Although they offered to ship it home to me without charge, I told them we would come back the next day to retrieve it and to have another one of their delicious tacos. Sometimes things happen for a reason.