Aha! Funny you should ask, since we've had to make that drive to LA a few times ourselves lately and found our interest similarly piqued, not least because we're pretty big jerky fans. So, on our last mission, we finally decided to follow the signs...
Before we spill the beans on our extra-terrestrial dried beef experience, however, for anywho has no clue what we're talking about right now, here's the deal. As you drive out of Las Vegas on the I15, you're greeted by a barrage of billboards to left and right, advertising everything from the last casinos until the stateline to how to make a few bucks in an amateur porno. By far the most prevalent of these signs, however, is a series offering "Alien Jerky" and "Alien Energy Jerky." After a half-dozen or so, we figured we just had to investigate.
So, we turned off at Baker and made a right, whereupon we caught sight of our destination on the left, past the famous Mad Greek restaurant and its truck stop. We were gratififed to see a small UFO outside in the parking lot, not to mention a cabful of alien "Space Troopers" (including "babyalien" in, we were glad to see, a baby alien childseat) and another on the roof, who nodded at us benignly as we entered. Nice! Maybe there's a future casino theme in the making here...
Inside the store what first caught our attention wasn't the jerky but rather the massive array of hot sauces, a condiment of which we like to consider ourselves connoisseurs. We don't think we're exaggerating (and may even be underestimating) to say that there must be 100 or so to choose from, featuring every kind of hot pepper under every kind of (usually unprintable but definitely inventive) name, guaranteed to make your every orifice bleed. Sweet.
Are jerky fans in for an otherworldly experience? Sadly not. Turns out it's the same ol' packaged stuff you get at other highway beef jerky stands ($8 per package, $20 for three) -- although the "energy" line is spiked with caffeine, guarana seed extract, and vitamins, which does take it out of the realms of the norm. Plus, it's a good gimmick and the store plays it to the hilt with its aliens-run-this-place theme -- there's even an alien fortune teller! There's also nuts and dried fruit and other snacks. Worth a stop.
