Present day Tortilla Flat has all the charm and flavor of the "Real Old west." Precisely the atmosphere owners, Alvin and Pam Ross along with David and Cindy Levi, want to perpetuate.

During the height of the busy season (Christmas to Easter) they will serve as many as 1,500 people a day. Sometimes you may have to wait a bit for a table, but it's worth it! The Ross' & Levi's insist on good service, and good food. If it wasn't that way, then why would 300,000+ people a year stop to visit?

To live in Tortilla Flat, you have to work in Tortilla Flat (though you can work here without living here). The employees, themselves, work as though they each had a personal investment in Tortilla Flat. And in a sense, they do. It's a way of life, not just a job! When you ask folks why they want to live all the way out here, with no phones and few in-town conveniences, they say "Well, just take a look around you." And, indeed, "why" is that obvious. The scenery is unparalleled.

During the winter, live bands play bluegrass and country music out on the patio. Patrons can order food grilled on a unique outdoor cooker built to look like an old locomotive. Inside the restaurant and gift shop the cozy atmosphere invites people to relax and enjoy their good food and fun surroundings. Folks from more than 67 countries have papered the walls with currency from all over the world and of course the good ole USA. Autograph one of your own dollar bills and join the long-standing tradition. Unusual barstools of genuine saddles beckon young and old to belly up to the bar for a famous Bullrider burger and sarsaparilla.

Of course a trip to Tortilla Flat would not be complete without a stroll up and down the boardwalk. The clomp of shoes on the wood is reminiscent of a time past when wooden sidewalks were the only kind of sidewalk. Be sure to venture into the ice cream parlor and country store. Sample Tortilla Flat's special prickly pear ice cream. Deeeelicious. Other items unique to the Southwest or to Tortilla Flat, such as spice packets for making your own Killer Chili, can be found. A short walk past the schoolhouse takes you to the hanging tree where some of Arizona's desperadoes met their end.

Tortilla Flat has its own post office, established in 1927, so you can mail your post cards and letters to family and friends and make them envious to be here with you.

The Ross' & Levi's make every effort to keep alive this corner of the Old West. The Superstition Mountains, themselves, help with that. Once you get a quarter of a mile or so off the road you can set your watch back about 100 years. The people who've set up permanent camps in the Superstitions seem to still live in that era where the "Law of the West" and survival of the fittest are the only rules.