Death Valley Visitors Guide - 12th Edition

8 Death Valley Vistiors Guide • 12th Edition The Tecopa Bistro is the longest running eatery in town. PHOTO BY ROBIN FLINCHUM The recently expanded space at Death Valley Brewing. PHOTO BY ROBIN FLINCHUM A Las Vegas chef runs Steaks and Beer with attention to detail and quality. PHOTO BY ROBIN FLINCHUM The Tecopa Bistro, is focusing on “Food as Art” for the coming year. PHOTO BY ROBIN FLINCHUM T he tiny town of Tecopa, on the southeastern edge of Death Val- ley National Park, may possibly be home to more restaurants per capita than any city in the US. With four restaurants and an official population of 150, Tecopa beats by more than half the average of larger cities that make this claim. Front runner Durango, Col- orado, calculated its average in 2018 as one restaurant per every 88 residents. In Tecopa, it’s one per every 37. Two of those four establishments also include onsite brew pubs, likely to be the high- est number of pubs per capita com- pared to any city in the country at one per every 75 inhabitants. Of course, the Tecopa restaurateurs depend on more than local residents to keep their kitchens busy and they employ a variety of creative strategies to attract visitors to their tables. Using as many locally grown ingredients as possible, relying on family recipes and the genius of visiting chefs, playing live music or brewing “weird beer” these eateries offer an eclectic array of choices. Steaks and Beer, located in the “downtown” area of Tecopa, is a popular hole in the wall with a tiny dining room and spacious patio seating area built over a fish pond. Owner and chef Eric Scott learned his craft on the Las Vegas Strip and has a gift for preparing steak, as well as a humble charm that makes eating at his restaurant like stopping by the house of a friend. He’s been cooking here for over three years, most of the time as a one-man operation, though he sometimes hires an assistant when things are especially busy. Scott’s menu includes steak, of Unique Dining Options in Tiny Tecopa CONTINUED ON PAGE 9