Philosophy Cafe

521 Campbell Hot Springs Rd.
Sierraville, CA 96126
http://www.sierrahotsprings.org/meals.html

At 1,000 feet it started out as a drizzle, 2,500 the drizzle turned to sheets of rain, 3,500 the rain turned to sleet, 5,000 feet the sleet turned to snow, and at 7,000 feet altitude I was high in the sky driving a rented PT Cruiser through a Sierra Mountain blizzard.
Formed from years of chains digging at it's surface, I followed two trails of hard grooves that line the right lane of I-80. To avoid slipping off the rock the local strategy is chains over tires, something if you're from the Midwest, sounds Midevil.
I drove 45 miles an hour, people passed, I'm sure laughed at my car, and sped slush on my windshield. I guessed they were the Mountain Folk, used to crappy weather conditions and low visibility, with special mountain spirits protecting them from sneaky curves laced with road ice. After a couple hours, I reached the top and headed down the other side. The altitude dropped, along with the severe driving. I still had to find Truckee and HWY 89, by the time I arrived at The Sierra Hot Springs my back hurt, I was hungry, my nerves were shot, and I didn't want to have to be nice to strangers.

I hadn't even completely gotten my roll-ey bag out of the Cruiser's trunk, when my companion asks, "Ya wanna go for a soak?"

Really, I just wanted to lay down in the hotel (The Globe Hotel, which apparently is haunted by a hooker from the hotel's brothel days.) and resurface maybe in the morning. I apologized, I didn't have the energy to take my clothes off for the springs. As a compromise of activities I suggested a nice warm relaxing dinner.

The Sierra Hot Springs Lodge has a restaurant called The Philosophy Cafe. They only serve food Fri-Sun 6:30-8 and Breakfast 8:30-10:30. For dinner they offer 3 dishes: a vegetarian dish, a fish dish, and a meat dish. Additionally 2 soups, bread, and various homemade desserts. The menu is printed out daily using Tempus Sans font on colored paper then taped to the glass case of the admission desk.

The restaurant is in the basement of the lodge. If at first glance you don't notice the Buddha shrine, The Philosophy Cafe could easily be mistaken for a Mexican Restaurant with it's pink and purple walls, lacquered wood tables, and southwestern designs. The spirit is a hodge podge of tie dyes, cold plants, small live frogs, a book about birds of the northeast, bad tattoos, and delicious food.

The lodge has several residents that perform various tasks for the hot springs such as massage, security, clean up, and cooking. That night a friend of my companion, Natasha, was on cooking duty.

My choices for Saturday April 14th 2007: Gypsy Vegetable Curry over Jasmine rice, Curried Chicken over Jasmine Rice, or Seared Wasabi Tuna over Jasmine Rice. There was a post-it note attached to the menu handwritten "Artichoke with Garlic Butter Sauce $3.50". We ordered curried chicken and the artichoke. Each dish is served with bread and a salad. The bread was warm and homemade, and included two pats of wrapped Organic Valley butter. Salads came with a vinegar-oil pear walnut dressing, on the lettucey side (good for the inevitable road trip constipation). The buttery sauce for the artichoke voluntarily landed on everything from the bread to the salad onto the rice. Raisins, chick peas, carrots, tomatoes, brown sauce, chicken breast, and savory spices made up the curry. So warm, so good, and so much better than the best New York restaurant food...this meal was prepared knowing that perhaps only 6 or 8 people would order it in a night, not 40. All vegetables and meat tasted fresh even though the closest grocery store is 30 driving minutes away.

Natasha, who I learned is also an Aries, had done a fantastic job, dinner changed my foul mood. I hiked up the mountain, took off all my clothes, and sank into the water digesting saffron, pentagrams, golden Buddhas, and 15 or so other naked bodies racing the 28 degree mountain air. California.