NEAR TAOS, NEW MEXICO, USA -- If you happen to traveling on Highway 68 through New Mexico between Santa Fe (35 miles to the south) and Taos (30 miles to the north), consider a pit stop (or more) at the Ohkay Casino Resort. You'll probably be surprised. The casino's coffee shop, the Harvest Café, serves some really great food - homemade no less!

We chowed down on some wonderful traditional posole, enchiladas, homemade salsas and other Mexican fare, accompanied by irresistible hot fried sopapillas served with sweet honey. If that's not enough, the desserts were also decadent and dangerously good. There's also traditional American fare, daily dinner specials, and breakfasts, and everything we tired (and we were a LARGE party) was terrific.

Normally the food at small casino coffee shops is marginal at best, but not here. The food is hearty homemade fare that is inexpensive, satisfying and completely delicious. The surroundings resemble the generic blandness of any casino coffee shop, but not the food. Even if you don't gamble and hate casinos, it's worth a stop at the Ohkay for the coffee shop alone.

Of course if you do enjoy a wager or two, you'll find a full casino with table games and machines. There's also an on site golf course and a sporting clays shooting range and a full service hotel.

RVers can park their rig at the Ohkay's RV Park at the San Juan Fishing Lakes, which provides a variety of hook-up options for all types of RVs from the most compact van conversions to the largest luxury motorhomes, as well as a limited number of tent sites. The two beautiful lakes here are stocked year round with trout and bass and the resort host annual fishing derbies.

Practicalities

The Ohkay Casino and Resort is located on Highway 68 in San Juan Lakes, New Mexico, 2 miles north of Espanola and halfway between Santa Fe and Taos. For more information or reservations, call 877-829-2865 or visit www.ohkay.com. The Ohkay RV Park is located at 2016 North Riverside Drive in San Juan Lakes. Call 505-753-5067 or visit www.ohkay.com.

For more information about planning a visit to Taos, New Mexico contact the Taos Chamber of Commerce at 877-587-8915 or visit www.exploretaos.com.

Cheri Sicard, in addition to being the editor of FabulousTravel.com and its sister site, Fabulous Foods.com is the author of The Great American Handbook: What You Can Do For Your Country Today and Every Day and The Low Carb Restaurant Guide, and the co-author of US Citizenship for Dummies. To learn more about Cheri, click here.