Do yourself a favor, if you’re traveling on I-40 around Winslow, AZ take a short hop onto the historic Route 66 to Romo’s Mexican Grill. You’ll find a truly unique place to get some delicious food with a great view and an unusual location. When we walked up the sign said, “On The Tarmac”. We saw it was located right next to the Winslow Airport, we didn’t realize that it had two parking lots effectively. The cars were out front and the planes in the rear. Our group and one other table who turned out to be a pilot and his wife were in there. Did we realize at first that they were pilots? No. But when we saw them walk out the back patio area that overlooked the runways and strolled casually through a gate that said “Authorized Personnel Only”, it became abundantly clear that their vehicle was parked out back. We actually gathered outside at the end of our respective meals to watch them get into their single engine prop plane and just leap back into the sky after having a tasty lunch. I’m sure small aircraft pilots know about these sort of locations, but to the uninformed, it was a fascinating thing to behold someone walk out of a restaurant climb into a plane and fly away in the same way we would merge back on the highway.
The location wasn’t the main reason we came there. A good chunk of my family were born in Arizona and we love Navajo tacos. We looked in the Winslow area and this came up with some very good reviews. The Navajo tacos were pillowy, crispy, and just the right amount of chew. We tried them with the chicken, shredded beef, and ground beef. I asked the waitress that took our order which she liked best, I often times will defer to those who know what’s good because they eat it all the time and it usually doesn’t let me down with excellent recommendations. I was right again because the ground beef the waitress recommended was moist, flavorful, and the best protein in my opinion. They had red and green chili to top it and I wanted it “Christmas” which is half red and half green chili on top. The green chili was a little more acidic, but not in a bad way, and came off a little spicier than the red. Both were delicious and you can’t go wrong with either. I also noticed they had spicy mushrooms as a vegetarian alternative to meat and I love mushrooms, so I order a single enchilada also Christmas style with the spicy mushrooms and man o’ man, my only regret was that I didn’t order more than one.
The wait staff and cook, Mark, were very friendly. My nephew who was traveling with me loved his nachos so much that he gave Mark a hug. Mark was so happy by the show of appreciation he said to my nephew, “Do you like spicy foods?” and my nephew rigorously confirmed he did. Mark said, “I’m gonna bring you something special that’s not on the menu.” He brought out a bowl of what Mark called, “Green Chili Stew.” We came for the Navajo Tacos, but I’ll have to admit his green chili base, with two meats, and some roasted potato cubes that made up this stew probably ended up being my favorite bite of the meal. My nephew shared a couple of bites with me and I would have potentially tried to ordered a bowl for myself, which Mark gave to my nephew that bowl of what I am now referring to as “Mark’s Green Chili Stew” compliments of the house, but I was basically done with my Navajo Taco and Spicy Mushroom Enchilada and didn’t have room for more.
I love little local places that have big flavor and even bigger hearts. Romo’s fits that description 100%. Thank you for a delicious meal and a memory making experience that my family will...
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