Best place to eat on the other side of Yosemite - the Mobil Gas Station (aka the Whoa Nellie Deli)

Last fall, I was taking a photography workshop out in the Mono Lake area with Michael Frye. That was a great workshop but I will save that for another blog post. In Lee Vining there are only a few places to eat - especially in the Fall when places are starting to close.

The few places include the MonoShake, a roadside hamburger and shake stand, Nicelys, a simple but nice restaurant, and the Mobil Gas station... otherwise known as the Whoa Nellie Deli at the Tioga Gas Mart.

Well, the awards and honors go to Whoa Nellie Deli!! It is located right at the corner of Hiway 395 and 120 - the Tioga Pass road to Yosemite. It has picnic tables outside and good parking. The magic happens inside - tucked inside the gift shop is an amazing deli and restaurant! We ate there every lunch and dinner (we eat once at the other establishments).

My favorites included the fish tacos with mango salsa, the Lobster Taquitos!! The rack of lamb was nice as well after a long day of shooting. A couple other nice dishes include the Wild Buffalo Meatloaf and the Rajin’ Cajun Chicken Jambalaya.

Ok, so what is the biggest problem with this place?! -- what to eat NEXT!!! Ok, it isn't cheap either, but if you want cheap go to McDonalds somewhere else (there are lower cost items like burgers, soups and sandwiches). Talk about Gourmet Cuisine out in the middle of Yosemite National Park (ok, just on the north eastern side of the valley) The web site has a listing of some of the other menu items and list of music that is there in the summer.

This is one of those places where I want to be on a Friday afternoon! Enjoy John

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