BluesCat is a resident of Phoenix, Arizona, who originally returned to bicycling in 2002 in order to help his son get the Boy Scout Cycling merit badge. His bikes sat idle until the summer of 2008 when gas prices spiked at over $4.00 per gallon. Since then, he has become active cycling, day-touring, commuting by bike, blogging (azbluescat.blogspot.com) and giving grief to the forum editors in the on-line cycling community.
For almost a decade I’ve been a lunch time regular, every Friday, at a little place close to the corner of 32nd St. and Indian School Rd. in Phoenix: Baja Loco.
It’s changed owners and names recently, but the new owners had the good sense to keep the menu and the manager, Jason, running the place along with his wife, Angie. They upgraded a lot of the decor, including a bunch of new HD flat-screen TV’s and a wild variety of colors on the walls and tables.
The ambiance and food at Baja Loco is sort of hard to pin down. Call it “Southwestern Mexican-American Backyard Mesquite Beach Grill.” Tacos, enchiladas, fajitas, burritos and wings with a unique treatment that everybody seems to enjoy.
Most importantly, to me at least, is that they are extremely bicycle friendly. There is a group of riders who are weekend regulars. They put their bikes in a parking space right out in front of the outdoor dining patio.
Anybody who has lived in or visited Phoenix knows that outdoor dining is something you can do here all year round. What could beat sitting out on a covered patio, keeping an eye on your bike as you drink beer and eat great food?
If you are all by yourself, Jason and Angie encourage you to hoist your bike over the little wall which surrounds the covered patio and set it next to your table. You can then go in, order, and head back out to your bike to wait for your food. This is also great if you happen to visit on one of the dozen or so rainy days in Phoenix.
If you are all alone and are more concerned about the security of your expensive bicycle, Angie will let you put it in a dry storage room in the back of the restaurant. Talk about great accommodations!
Editor’s Note: BluesCat suggested that we lighten things up a bit here with a post on a bike-friendly restaurant. Great idea.
I’ve found a bunch of pages and articles about individual bike-friendly restaurants. But, surprisingly, there doesn’t seem to be a Web site dedicated to bike-friendly restaurants.
So what about you? Is there a restaurant in your city or town that goes out of its way to accommodate cyclists? Yes? Want to write a post about it for Commute by Bike? Send me a message using our contact form.