Velvet Elvis in Patagonia, Arizona

Nick and I were craving pizza and we were about up to our ears in chain restaurant pizza, so his friend suggested visiting the Velvet Elvis. Surprisingly it was pretty good. Nothing will ever compare to my hometown favorite - Park Pizza - but the selection at this restaurant was warmly received by Nick, Rob and myself.

If none of you have visited Arizona [or southern Arizona for that matter] what you need to know is there are many classic, old Southwestern style towns; Patagonia is one of these old towns. Many of these towns have a rich history filled with stories about Native Americans, conflicts, railroads, etc. Patagonia is not outside of these rich stories. Be careful if you are ever visiting this town because with the blink of an eye you will have passed through it and will have missed the eclectic houses, cars and people.

The Velvet Elvis is amongst the variety of types of people, places and things. It is tucked nicely behind a high iron fence, which is decorated with vines and other greenery. When you walk through the gate you are welcomed with a small fire pit and tables and chairs for cozy outside eating when the weather permits. We passed on outside eating because it was cold outside! Inside you will find the walls full of homemade carpets and other artifacts. And, if you really wanted, you could take home a Velvet Elvis t-shirt!

The menu at this place has a lot of pizza variety to offer [along with soups, salads and calzones]. The best part about this restaurant is the designer pizza options; in fact, one of the pizzas requires 24 hour notice so that the chef has adequate time to prepare it. WOW! We ordered the Chicken Saltimbocca. It was great! Take a look at the menu so that you can see what you're missing!

If you want to take a drive past Patagonia, you can find your way to Nogales and the Mexican border. It is an incredibly different area down there. It's almost like a city popped up only because people were coming to this country from Mexico. I do not know how to describe the town. It is isolated, yet it is is not and it's compact but with a bunch of land on the periphery. It's weird, but cool.

If any of you ever get down to South Arizona, I suggest you take a little time to stop by the Velvet Elvis and take a drive toward Nogales... there is a bunch of beautiful scenery, hiking trails and mountains all around! It is easy to get lost for an afternoon in the wonderful nature.

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Railroad Crossing; picture adapted from
Patagonia Area Business Association