Dining right at Helldorado Days
Tombstone has about a dozen primary eateries and all are busy during Helldorado Days, so make reservations if they accept reservations, or plan to dine early or late to avoid peak hours. Otherwise, since there isn’t a supermarket in town, your best bet may be the Circle K for snacks or gas station sushi. Instead, we sampled two toothsome places in town, and one in nearby Bisbee.
Photo 1 by Hotel Tombstone. No (motorized) vehicle parking was allowed on Allen Street. Come one, come all.
Hotel Tombstone sits on Allen Street, right in the heart of downtown and a short walk to everything. Its dining room offers only pizza and pie, which after a long day was just fine by me. You might think small tourist towns don’t offer quality dining, especially during major events when kitchens may be highly stressed. You would be wrong. I tried the Supreme Pizza ($28) with all the fixings, including all the things I like on a pizza, and some I didn’t know I like. Coming from NYC where pizza is king, I was prepared to be unimpressed. But I was. The pie was more than I could eat in one sitting, or two, try as I might. Hate when that happens. It would easily serve two or three people and it was delicious.
Their pizza, pie and ice cream were outstanding.
Of course, there is always room for dessert. Homemade apple, peach, cherry and triple berry pies tempted me. It was a toss up, so I tried the triple berry. Excellent choice. The crust was a little soft for my tastes, preferring something a little more, um, crusty. I still wanted to order the apple, peach and cherry to go, but thought I really shouldn’t. Or did I?
Five stars.
Hotel Tombstone
530 E. Allen Street
Tombstone, AZ 85638
520-457-2405
https://hoteltombstone.com/
The Longhorn Restaurant resides in an historic building on Tombstone’s main drag, Allen Street, continually operated since about 1881 albeit under different owners and incarnations. It claims to have the best barbecue smoke pork ribs and steaks in the west and that might not just be a slogan. I tried the steak, twice. Because it was that good. I wanted to try the ribs and a lot of other things on the menu, but I ran out of time and, sadly, room in my belly. Located on the menu under “High Falootin’ Fare,” other offerings included Grilled (or fried) Shrimp, Black Angus Rib, Country Fried Angus Steak, Prime Rib, the celebrated Pork Ribs and the option to supersize the ribeye or steak, Cowboy Size style.
Falootin’ indeed.
Absolutely delectable.
I went for the New York Steak (market price, $29), medium rare with a side of grilled shrimp. It was tender, juicy and cooked to perfection. The shrimp were fresh and tasty, a nice complement to the steak. It was another meal I couldn’t finish, hard as I tried, damnit. I wonder if Wyatt Earp actually ate this good? The notion that desert tourist towns are a food wasteland was shot down dead by the fork and knife in our time in Tombstone.
Five stars.
The Longhorn Restaurant
501 E. Allen Street
Tombstone, AZ 85638
520-457-3405
https://www.thelonghornrestaurant.com
Photo by Bisbee Badassery, the outdoor patio I enjoyed to the left.
You know I would have to include a restaurant called The Bisbee Badassery. The small restaurant sits at the top of Tombstone Canyon Road in Old Bisbee. It’s a motorcycle themed restaurant, bar, ice cream and souvenir shop. All the people who worked there looked like they were right out of Central Casting, if you were casting a biker flick- big, burly, bearded and tattooed with just a tinge of attitude. Motorcycle bits and pieces adorned the place with what I think was a Triumph chopper hugging the outside wall. Don’t think I could have felt more at home.
The staff was friendly, service was excellent and so was my hot pastrami and provolone on rye sandwich ($13). I sat on their outdoor patio with a waterfall in the background. As I left, I saw a table being served really good looking burgers. Thought I could grab the tray and make a run for it but I was too full. Something to come back for.
Five stars.
The Bisbee Badassery
105 Tombstone Canyon
Bisbee, AZ 85603
520-220-8355
https://www.bisbeebadassery.com
For my Helldorado Days story astride the 2025 Harley-Davidson Street Glide Ultra, click HERE
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