Santa Fe Restaurant recs

[ludja]

Hey, glad you went and look forward to your comments when you do have a chance!

[MobyP]

Is anyone based in Santa Fe these days who might have or be able to take a good quality digital pic of the El Moleno fajita stand in the plaza? I'd really appreciate it. PM me for info.

[ou812]

Hello all

Can anyone suggest a few places to eat in Santa Fe?

Looking for some traditional cuisine.

[phungi]

I will be staying at La Posada de Santa Fe for a Board Meeting in April. Not sure wht restaurants that have been mentioned are close to there. Any comments would be appreciated.

[russ parsons]

i was just in SF last month and had a really good traditional NM meal at a restaurant I'd long forgotten about--tortilla flats on cerrillos road. it doesn't look like much--the last time i ate there, more than 10 years ago, it was a newly re-purposed chain restaurant and looked like it. they've expanded greatly since then, but it's still not swank. really terrific enchiladas and very, very good carne adovada. sopaipillas were really fresh and hot, too. also had good calabacitas and even their table salsa was fresh and good. very bargain priced, too.

place was packed with "real" new mexicans. made a nice companion to the "other" santa fe we enjoyed so much at breakfast at cafe pasqual.

[ludja]

Here is another thread from this past fall with lots of good discussion and recommendations as well: Santa Fe in Autumn

Look it over and come back with any questions you might have.

phungi: La Posada de Santa Fe is right in downtown Santa Fe. Almost all the restaurants discussed are within a 10 min walk. (A few that are outside town and require a car to get to are Bobcat Bite, Harry's Roadhouse and Bishop's Lodge.)

A bunch of people in that thread said they were traveling there in the last six months so maybe they'll give an update.

I'm curious if tommy or anyone else has tried out the Anasazi Inn in the last half year with the new chef?

[ludja]

Any updates from those that have been there in the last half year?

I"m wondering about people's impressions of the Anasazi Inn with the new chef.

Glad you had a good time, tommy! Short of full report, what were a few of your favorite food experiences?

[nypork]

I need a place that isn't to pricey and will cater to some finicky eaters(ie southwest food isnt their thing) Thanks

[JimmyR]

Too bad they're finicky. Mu Du is great. Quite a varied menu. If there are a lot of people you could try the Railyard.

[eyedoc]

We landed in Albuquerque last saturday and drove directly to Bobcat Bite for a green chile cheeseburger. While it was very good, I was disappointed. The burger was very juicy and the cheese/chile combo, my first, was excellent. But I thought the meat had very little flavor. I know they grind the meat fresh every day and it's one of the best burgers in the USA, but I think not. Maybe because it's cooked on a flattop instead of an open flame, but it needed more flavor. Toasting the bun is a genius idea though. Next was Harry's Roadhouse. Nice place and the food was very good. We only were eating Mexican/ New Mexican food this week and we did not have a bad meal. We also went back to Harry's for a breakfast. We both had daily specials. Should have stuck to the regular menu, but how many breakfast burritos can you eat in a week? Cafe Pascual's breakfast, while a bit more expensive, was the best we had. Terrific in all aspects especially the homemade chorizo. I had high hopes for the Pantry's breakfast, I had been reading so much about it, but it was pretty ordinary. But pretty ordinary in SF is really good. Tecalote's breakfast was a bit better and I would recommend it over the Pantry. Their bread basket is really good. And we also had breakfast at the Santa Fe Baking company. Although crowded, they have it down and I enjoyed the place. My favorite dinner was between La Choza and Maria's. I loved Maria's carne adovada and their tamales. Everyone's green chile was terrific and I will be missing the taste for a long time. Next year I will be buying some online at harvest time. We also tried Diego's which was just OK. On a day trip to Taos, we at at Orlando's. Very tasty, excellent green chile, but why did Bobby Flay think their carne adovada was the best. it was good, but not as good as Maria's. On the way back we stopped in Espanola. We asked a couple of peaple where to eat and ended up at Angelina"s. Again, high hopes, pretty good food, but nothing outrageous. On a drive through Madrid, we stopped for a green chile cheesrburger at the Mine Shaft Tavern. It was great. Not as big as Bobcat's, but much tastier and highly recommended. If they would only toast the bun. The highlight of the trip, foodwise, was Sugar's in Embudo. Great brisket burrito. Great. The nicest people and the tenderest brisket I ever ate. Not too smokey, just perfect. Unfortunately we didn't get a chance to try the Shed or Tomasita's. We also stopped at the farmer's market before we left on saturday and the flea market too. Picked up some green and red chile powder. Not sure what to do with the green but we will experiment. If anyone has a recipe for green or red sauce using the chile powder, please let me know. I know how to make chili, but I'm not sure about chile. Thanks to all.

[birder53]

My husband feels the same way about Bobcat Bite's burger. He likes the burger at Cafe Pasqual's. As far as comparing The Pantry to Tecolote, it all depends on what you order. I like the breakfast burrito at The Pantry but never had one at Tecolote. I like the coffee better at The Pantry. We had breakfast once at Harry's and it was just okay. Again, it might be a matter of knowing what they do best and what you like best. We live pretty close to Harry's and Bobcat, so we'll be there again, but Santa Fe has many wonderful places to try and we haven't had a bad meal yet.

[Benjamin B]

I just moved to Santa Fe in September (After a short stop over in Las Vegas to eat at Bouchon on my birthday) and I have had occasion to eat at a few places. I noticed that people were wondering about the new chef at the Anasazi and I happened to go there on Dec 3rd for dinner. Here are a few impressions:

Second St. Brewery: Far better beer (IMO) than SF Brewing Company. The St. Georges IPA is particularly good. Food is straight forward pub/bar food for the most part. Growlers to-go are a pretty good deal and many of my friends carry them in the car (empty of course) just in case they decide to swing by to get some for home.

Kohnami Sushi: I only have had lunch here, but the sushi bento was particularly fresh and well priced. I believe it was only $9.99 for the pieces of Nigiri and Miso soup. The fish was thick cut, thicker than most I have seen, and the hamachi was excellent. They also had bluefin toro available, but I did not try any.

Pranzo: The food was OK, not excellent. I had the early bird deal on a Sunday and had the Petto Di Pollo. The chicken was a bit dry, but otherwise it was ok.. Nothing to write home about. Wine by the glass was half price at the time for a few hours and I was on my own so I just relaxed for a while and drank a few glasses... it was early, and empty.

La Boca: This consistently gets great reviews from everyone I talk to. I went and had mussels in a truffle creme sauce along with a couple glasses of wine. The one white they picked for the mussels was very good and I will have to go back in a couple days to both have it again and get the name to order it from our wine buyer. My companion had some of the Boccadillas with the La Boca salad and said they were excellent. I tried her salad and it was quite good. We shared the chocolate pot de creme and it was very rich, creamy, perfect consistency... too much for one person, neither of us could finish.

Ore House: I didn’t eat here, I just sat at the bar and had drinks. The margaritas were good. I also sampled some of the nicer tequilas. The prices for the top end stuff was definitely on the higher side ($20-30), but it was excellent tequila (some I've had, some new). The bartender was very knowledgeable, and also entertaining. The view of the plaza is good, and the balcony is heated. This was in December, and people were happily eating out on the balcony in open air. I will need to go back for drinks again. As a side note, the house brew beers (both of them) were not very good and I was disappointed with them, but in compensation the bartender recognized that I wasn’t enjoying and removed them from the bill without being prompted.

Old House: We simply went for drinks and a small meal in-between meals. We had a couple glasses of wine, but they were quite overpriced. The server talked them up and from his description I recognized the description as being a Las Vascos Cab, one of my regular inexpensive choices when I buy wine for everyday drinking. I said, why not... it was $12 a glass. A bottle is $9.99 at Whole Foods. I don't expect it to be CHEAP... but whatever. Enough complaint. We had a little Chefs sampler of 3 dishes which came out in 3 small crocks/pots on a single long plate. One was an orzo which was very good and stood out as the best of the set, another was a shrimp dish and finally a set of sausage and greens with figs. All three were nice and well done, perfect for a snack in-between meals at the bar. Service was quite good. I have also had a margarita there that was exceptional, some sort of house margarita named for I think Dave or Dan. I will go back for a full dinner soon.

Anasazi: We went for dinner, fairly late. It was a Monday and there was no wait. The dining room was almost completely full. The atmosphere was great, the service was exceptional. We started with the semi boneless quail which had some foie gras and figs incorporated into the dish. The quail was very nicely done and had a wonderful smokey flavor making me think it was probably done in a wood burning oven. Certainly it would make sense as that many places in Santa Fe have kivas and wood stoves blasting at this time of year. Next I had Lamb Two Ways and it was incredible. The mustard chop was as better than almost any lamb I've ever had and the bacon wrapped lamb was also tremendously good. Both were a perfect mid-rare as I requested and accompanied by a small stack of tiny potato/corn pancakes. My friend had the pan seared sea bass and the bite I had was very good and nicely done. She enjoyed it a great deal, but since I had been dragging her around making her eat all day she was unable to finish everything. I had already ordered a cheese course and we picked at it some for a while over conversation before I had a candied beet salad with endive and butter lettuce for desert. I like salads for desert, and it was a very nice light finish to a very heavy meal. The waiter suggested a port to accompany it and it was definitely a very good pairing. I would say this was overall the best I've had here in Santa fe so far.

I hope that this give a little bit of a clue as to the current state of things, although I think I don’t quite have the knack for "reviewing" as some do. Thanks!

[LikestoEatout]

I'm glad to see mention of the Ore House, I think it's very much overlooked. We enjoy enjoy afternoon drinks and snacks on the balcony, what better place to enjoy the Plaza! They have a very generous happy hour but it's been a number of years since we have eaten dinner there.

[gfron1]

Rio Chama

I went on the recommendation of a friend who has impeccable tastes. I ordered the silver coin (cointreau and silver tequilla) which was very good. I didn't get the message to dine in the bar, but that must have been the plan since the other rec was nachos which weren't available in the dining room. We went ahead and had a meal since we were so tired and hungry by the time we got there. I'll be as nice as I can about this. The service, while very friendly, was painfully slow. My Venison Osso Busco was dry and so uninspired. We had a fondue appetizer which reminded us of a can of chile con carne. My spouse had a chicken dish which was just okay, but he raved about the polenta. I can tolerate any meal with enough wine, but my temprillo was totally undrinkable. I left 3/4 of a glass on the table which is not something I have ever done.

Okay, to be fair, we were sent for a bar experience and ate in the dining room. The Governor also happened to show up which put the staff in a tizzy. Either way, I won't be back for a dinner any time soon, but if my friend invites me for drinks, I'll be there in 5!

[gfron1]

Café Paris for breakfast

We were heading to Pasquel and decided to try something less obvious, so we wandered down Burro St. and found Café Paris. They had a small but nice breakfast menu including omelets, crepes and pastries. I had the Omelet Lyonaisse with an Almond Croissant. Both were very good. The croissant made me particularly happy since it was appropriately baked - meaning done, not mushy. They serve Illy espresso for those who care. It was a good choice. Cost: about $12 per person.

[gfron1]

Café Pasqual for lunch.

I had always assumed this was just a tourist trap, but it was really good. Not REALLY good, but really good. I had the molé enchilada with a hefeweizen, and then I saved room for dessert.

We were then off on our chocolate excursion. First stop Todos Santos. It received lukewarm reviews by Verjuice on this shop but I never pass an opportunity for chocolate. It took a bit of duck and dodge to find the shop, but I'm very glad we did. First, I didn't realize I was amongst greatness. For such a posh name, Hayward was very down to earth and friendly. We chatted for quite some time (apparently long enough to get a discount). I haven't tasted his creations yet, but I will report on the Fine Chocolate topic when I do. His packaging is absolutely unique and gorgeous. I bought a truffle pack (mixed his creations and others), and his bean to bar.

You can see that I also bought an Askinosie bar since I had never had them before.

I was really wanting to eat, not just buy, chocolate, so we took a walk to Kakawa. On the way we learned that the Mi Corazon chocolate shop had closed after a very brief stint. Verjuice had given another lukewarm review of Kakawa based mostly on experiences when the owner was not present. I empathised since I'm sure our customers feel the same way when we're not around. But we were in luck - the owner, Mark Sciscenti who has at least local fame was around. He is a self-taught chocolate historian and lecturer and certainly is enthusiastic about his work. My only critique is Mark's use of "I only use the finest chocolates." That's a phrase best used in brief sales pitches, if at all. I wanted details - tell me about varietals, country of origin, where you found the recipes...all of which he was happy to share with us when he realized we weren't just shop and run customers. We enjoyed (and I do mean enjoyed) four tazas of chocolate: Chili (ancho, agave), 1644 Spanish (canela, nuts, rose and spice), 1900's Oaxacan (nutty, cinnamon, almond, orange and rose blossom), and 1692 French Lavender. I especially liked the Oaxacan. It was so wonderfully complex and interesting (in a good way).

Almost all of his cups had chips, but I'll chalk that up to chocolate jitters.

We then bought a foursome of his truffles for later consumption: Savory Rosemary, Savory Basil, Mezcal, and peach something. All were unrefined, but I think they'll be good - we'll see tonight when we meet up with Verjuice and friend.

[misstenacity]

I just recently had the Savory Thyme truffle, and the "hot chocolate" with blue corn and spices (Mayan?).

Fantastic stuff, but definitely not cheap...

I haven't yet torn into the 4 bars I bought - all Madagasgar to attempt a theme.

[gfron1]

I finally had the truffles last night and didn't really care for any of them. Its funny because he kept saying "only the highest quality chocolate," but I've tasted a lot of highest quality and didn't recognize his. On the contrary, Todos Santos uses Valrhona and it shows.

But I want to re-emphasize that I completely loved his drinks. They were worth every cent.

[birder53]

I finally had the truffles last night and didn't really care for any of them.  Its funny because he kept saying "only the highest quality chocolate," but I've tasted a lot of highest quality and didn't recognize his.  On the contrary, Todos Santos uses Valrhona and it shows.

But I want to re-emphasize that I completely loved his drinks.  They were worth every cent.

←

Finally got to Todos Santos, which is really tucked away in the back of a courtyard and easy to miss! I bought one dark chocolate truffle filled with almost liquid caramel and topped with Hawaiian sea salt. Wow! Not too sweet (I really don't have a sweet tooth at all) and the center was almost liquid. The combination of flavors and textures was wonderful. $2.50+ tax for this tiny, tasty bite! The shop is loaded with Day of the Dead designs and milagros. Love it!

[Benjamin B]

I haven't seen any action in this thread for a while so I'll throw this in here.

La Boca: We just did the Spontaneous Chefs Tasting Menu which was very reasonably priced @ $55 for 5 courses and $25 for Wine Pairings. As usual everything was quite nice. We were there late and this is the off season so the restaurant was pretty empty.

1: Fried Oyster with Caper Aioli and Watercress

Wine Pairing: Prosecco

2: Shrimp Chimichurri with White Anchovies

Wine Pairing: Dry Manzanilla Sherry

3: Pan Seared Sea Scallop with Ibores and Pancetta in a Piquillo Pepper Sauce

Wine Pairing: Sauvignon Blanc (French, Sancerre)

4: Duck Breast and Morcilla with a Sherry Reduction.

Wine Pairing: Pinot Noir (French)

5: Flat Iron Steak in a Caramel Sauce with Homefries

Wine Pairing: Cabernet Sauvignon (Argentinian)

Everything was very good. The Duck breast and Morcilla dish stood out above everything else. The sherry reduction was exceptional .

We had Lunch at Cafe Pasquals and it was excellent. I had the Chrozio Burrito and Sarah had the Blue Lady Enchiladas with chicken. I think I might say that's my favourite breakfast burrito I've had since moving to Santa Fe.

[ulterior epicure]

I haven't seen any action in this thread for a while so I'll throw this in here.

La Boca: We just did the Spontaneous Chefs Tasting Menu which was very reasonably priced @ $55 for 5 courses and $25 for Wine Pairings. As usual everything was quite nice. We were there late and this is the off season so the restaurant was pretty empty.

1: Fried Oyster with Caper Aioli and Watercress   

Wine Pairing: Prosecco

2: Shrimp Chimichurri with White Anchovies   

Wine Pairing: Dry Manzanilla Sherry

3: Pan Seared Sea Scallop with Ibores and Pancetta in a Piquillo Pepper Sauce 

Wine Pairing: Sauvignon Blanc (French, Sancerre)

4: Duck Breast and Morcilla with a Sherry Reduction.

Wine Pairing: Pinot Noir (French)

5: Flat Iron Steak in a Caramel Sauce with Homefries

Wine Pairing: Cabernet Sauvignon (Argentinian)

Everything was very good. The Duck breast and Morcilla dish stood out above everything else. The sherry reduction was exceptional .

We had Lunch at Cafe Pasquals and it was excellent. I had the Chrozio Burrito and Sarah had the Blue Lady Enchiladas with chicken. I think I might say that's my favourite breakfast burrito I've had since moving to Santa Fe.

←

Benjamin B, I'm so glad you bumped this thread. I'm headed to Santa Fe later this year and am hoping that I might get some good advice from board members here. Care to update any of your reviews posted upthread on December 8, 2007?

Is Cafe Pasqual's still a favorite here?

[Benjamin B]

Benjamin B, I'm so glad you bumped this thread.  I'm headed to Santa Fe later this year and am hoping that I might get some good advice from board members here.  Care to update any of your reviews posted upthread on December 8, 2007? 

Is Cafe Pasqual's still a favorite here?

←

I'm surprised this thread doesn't get a bit more bumping than it does, but I guess I'm as much to blame as anyone else for that.

Updated/New:

Old House: Ate some pre-dinner/bar snacks there one night recently. Seems they've done away with their little mini-tasting menu at the bar. They do have a 1 hour long "Pre-Theatre" menu that is 3 courses and gives about 3 choices in each course. It's like an "Early Bird Special" sort of thing.

I had pan seared scallops with a saffron veloute and prickly pear puree. The scallops were very nice, not over or under cooked, seared properly. They were buried under a pile of Kataifi which went well with the dish. The prickly pear added a nice tartness. I also had their "East Meats Southwest" and Lump Crab dish. Neither of these really stood out and were good, but nothing too excellent. I must say that when I went in it was about 8pm and they were DEAD. I think we were the only people left in the restaurant, which was shocking compared to the last time I was in there. They were very nice and gave us free amuses to start (in house cured salmon and american sturgeon caviar) and some hand made gelee candies at the end. Hopefully I can actually get out and do the tasting menu with pairings next time. It looks reasonable for $75 food only or $100 with pairings (6 courses).

I ate at the Anasazi a while back and I wasn't that impressed really. Since Martin Rios moved off to Geronimo I hear the quality has dropped way off. This was probably 4 months ago so I won't go into it much, but I hear consistent things that indicate things haven't changed much since I last went.

Speaking of Martin Rios, I spoke with him while I was catering a dinner with him a couple months ago and he said he was planning on expanding the bar menu at Geronimo and doing some other "economically friendly" things to get people out and about during these dreary economic times. I haven't gone to see him yet, but I'm looking forward to going to Geronimo and seeing what changes have been made.

Ore House is still a good place to grab a bite to eat and have a margarita if you are right around the plaza. Food is Ok, not amazing. Drinks are good and the tequila selection is very nice. The balcony is perfect in summer/fall and they have live music on weekends.

La Choza is definitely my choice for New Mexican food! The menu has all the classic new mexican items and if you go at lunch you can get things pretty darn cheap as well. The margaritas are OK, not great but the food is top notch in comparison to Tomasitas or other "classic" Santa Fe tourist trap New Mexican food places. Not to say that Tomasitas is bad, just not nearly as good.

Kohnami is my choice for Japanese food at lunch. The deals are nice, the service is very very friendly and fun and the sake isn't terribly priced either. I have eaten here at dinner and it is still very good but if you want sushi then Shoko is the best in town. The white tuna at Shoko was as good as any I've had in NY or SF and the sashimi is always amazingly fresh. I ate here on my birthday and had a ridiculous quantity of sashimi, nigiri and maki as well as quite a bit of sake and every single thing was fabulous. I've eaten there since and be I can't say that its over all quite on par with top notch sushi houses in the major US cities in every aspect, but it's damn good for being in Santa Fe... in the desert.

As always, La Boca is probably my favourite for "best bang for your buck" gourmet food/wine in Santa Fe.

Oh, and to answer your question about Pasquales: Yes. I've eaten there a couple more times, always for breakfast/lunch and it has always been DELICIOUS. The one thing I always here about Pasquales is this: Eat there for Breakfast/Lunch, not dinner. I don't know if this is true or not, but almost all the locals that I talk to about food (many of which are in the food industry) say this.

I also hear, but have not confirmed, that Coyote Cafe is now the best food in Santa Fe. I hear this from several of my catering friends and a couple of chefs.

I hope that helps!

[nibor]

La Boca: I absolutely love this place. I have actually gone for a walk after a so-so dinner at home just to smell La Boca fumes from outside their front door. Make sure you book ahead - it is small.

Maria's: Incredible tequila menu. The place to go if you are thinking tequila for dinner. I can't eat Mexican/New Mexican food due to a chili problem so am no judge of the food. I think it is only ok. Nonetheless we ate (well, he ate, I drank) at Maria's at least once a week last summer on those nights when you just don't feel like cooking.

Cafe Pasqual's: I don't know why, but dinner is really not very good. An afterthought?

Trattoria Nostrani: My favorite in SF but expensive enough to be somewhat of a special occasion place. You will read hateful reviews online. Some are from people who showed up smelling perfume-y after being told it was not tolerated. Others are from people who really just don't like paying this much, despite the quality of food. Or who otherwise didn't like the place for whatever reason - snooty waiters, etc. In my experience the waiters are adorable- once they know you are into food. One night we ordered a foie appetizer. The waiter brought Sauternes gratis thinking it an oversight on our part.

[ulterior epicure]

Benjamin B and nibor - what a pleasant welcome to this forum. Thanks, both of you, for your input. I'll look up these restaurants and get back to you if I have any questions.

[ulterior epicure]

Gosh I wish the La Boca website was working!