There is a gray ribbon of road that lies between I-82 and the city of Wapato. It is on this road that Aileen, Shelley and I find ourselves one sunny day while adventuring south from the Rattlesnake Hills to the Toppenish Ridge. As we roll into town we encounter a stoplight where the ribbon, Donald Rd, intersects with N Track Rd. With the architectural austerity of fruit warehouses all around here, something noticeably colorful catches our eye as we drive through.
“What was that?” says Shelley.
There was enough color to merit a U-turn, as now our curiosity has the best of us. Coming back around, just a smidge east on N Track, we see a brightly striped awning, and many orange umbrellas tipped this way and that. Pink, purple, yellow, and blue painted barrels run along the perimeter and are topped with and surrounded by potted flowers of every color, spilling in all directions. We pull into the parking lot not even knowing what this color laden spot is. Hallelujah, it’s food! We have just landed at El Noa Noa, a Mexican eatery.
Walking through the flowers, we find a beautiful patio area. The flowers conceal the road, and they do a magnificent job—we feel like we just stumbled into a beach café. It’s shady, cool and vibrant. Giant jars of refreshing aguas frescas in vivid colors line the tile countertop.
The menu is in pictures on the wall. We order at the window while watching the tortillas being freshly pressed. Beef sopes for Shelley, beef burrito for Aileen, and I have a pork taco and a chicken quesadilla. Limes all around of course and a variety of aguas wash it down nicely.
It’s terrific, and all for $20.
We eat everything, and just linger a bit longer, chewing on our straws as the last of the aguas go from our glasses, enjoying the shade. A small bird flits around in the foliage. We all have the same look on our face, that of heavy bellied contentment.
We’re feeling pretty good that we actually peeled off the line between point A and point B on this day, stopping in the between, allowing us to find and dawdle in this oasis. Sometimes, a complete lack of pragmatism is exactly what we need to get rooted.
Wow this was such a great article and I’m defined going to stop by and check out this place that I had no idea existed! Thank you so much for sharing!
There are good places everywhere… You just have to take the time to see them! Love this site, because it shows us how towns like my Wapato have good in them too, not just the bad we see on the 5 o’clock news… ?
I pass it all the time, but never around lunch. It’s so vibrant