Santa Fe Recs

[Texzilla58 4731]

Any mention of Santa Fe I get a hankering for breakfast at Cafe Pasqual’s. And a green chile cheeseburger at Santa Fe Bite.

And breakfast for me most places is a papas plate like that but just green chile. Good eats!

[ocugolf 1214]

10 hours ago, Texzilla58 said:

Any mention of Santa Fe I get a hankering for breakfast at Cafe Pasqual’s. And a green chile cheeseburger at Santa Fe Bite.

And breakfast for me most places is a papas plate like that but just green chile. Good eats!

Add in Geronimo's for dinner, and you've just had a perfect food day.

[Chopper 17230]

I think I put it in the burger thread a long time ago but the green chili cheese burger at Real Burger on Cerillos is excellent and getting it on a sopapilla (served non-sweetened of course) puts it over the top. The sopapilla makes a great bun/wrap because it's large, holds together and is complementary to the burger. The only downside is getting it as a double makes it way too sloppy to eat. Another great, cheap eat. Don't get me wrong, Geronimo and Pasqual's are amazing and in a different league but if you're there for a longer stay and want to explore...

Also the tacos and quesadillas at El Chile Toreado are unbelievable as well. Best quesadilla ever. They have a very nice toppings bar. This one has added marinated red onion, green chile and pico.

Edited March 16, 2022 by Chopper

[Chopper 17230]

A friend just went to Santa Fe and I gave her a list of restaurants. I'll paste here. Not comprehensive by any means.

Also if your wife or gf is looking to do some clothes shopping, Uli's near the plaza is highly recommended. She does well with casual professional and is very affordable. And if you call and speak with her (pronounced ooli) she'll pull items for you in advance. Also the place doesn't look like much when you walk in but trust me, esp for your wife and esp if you get the owner's assistance.

Relatively expensive and fancy, but world class food and service - Geronimo, Sazon. Each also offers happy hour prices and seating in their bar areas. Geronimo is a place you won't forget. Make reservations well in advance. Sazon is refined interior Mexican and is also incredible.

 

Radish and Rye - anything here but their fish dish was great imo. Beautiful space and bar. Possibly the best pork chop you'll ever eat.

 

Loved by tourists and locals - Cafe Pasqual's, Burger Stand at Burro Alley, Tune Up Cafe, Fiesta Oaxaca, The Pantry, Izanami at Ten Thousand Waves. The Pantry also has a new location a couple blocks from the plaza or the original on Cerillos.

 

Jambo - caribbean

 

Paper Dosa - Indian food that's a step above any other I've tried.

 

Local's favorites - Rowley's Farmhouse, Loyal Hound, Madame Matisse, Piccolino, Alicia's tortilleria. Piccolino's and Alicia's both count as "dives." Piccolino is basic italian pasta but so good and they do really well with fish, too. Their pizza is mediocre however.

 

Bakeries - Clafoutis is an amazing french bakery and cafe with a huge, spectacular pastry case

 

Sage Bakery - amazing breads, almond croissants, coffee

 

Dolina - owned by a woman from Slovakia. Slovak pastry and cafe.

 

Herve' wine bar. Great space to enjoy an hour or two. Small plates and sandwiches.

 

Edited March 16, 2022 by Chopper

[Borachio 416]

Went to The Shed on Saturday for lunch, did the call-in waitlist.  Did not disappoint!

[CooterBrown 18004]

I hope you don't miss the breakfast burrito at El Chile Toreado. Mixed meats + xmas style. My number one craving after moving away from there.

Oh. Hi.

This was legit. Everything mixed together and finished on the flat top unlike the assembly line taco and burrito places. Just great.

Confirmed on this second trip to Santa Fe is that all the mid range Plaza area restaurants are just okay. They’re relatively bland to cater to Midwest tourists. Even my kids commented that nothing was spicy. The high end restaurants are great and the local low and mid range places are great. Stay away from anything else.

[Brisketexan 105069]

3 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

Oh. Hi.

This was legit. Everything mixed together and finished on the flat top unlike the assembly line taco and burrito places. Just great.

Confirmed on this second trip to Santa Fe is that all the mid range Plaza area restaurants are just okay. They’re relatively bland to cater to Midwest tourists. Even my kids commented that nothing was spicy. The high end restaurants are great and the local low and mid range places are great. Stay away from anything else.

Man....I remember when the Plaza Cafe was a real diner -- I'm talking 30-40 years ago.  Shit, back then, there was a Woolworth's on the plaza with a kick-ass old school breakfast/lunch counter.

My dad would work in Santa Fe for a couple weeks every summer.  Mom and I would tag along, but he had the car, so we just walked everywhere.  One of our routines was to grab a newspaper, stop at the Woolworth's, and have breakfast (coffee and a cigarette for mom), read the paper, and chat with the staff and the locals.

And sometimes lunch at the Plaza Cafe.  Diner grub, but also some creative specials -- I remember a great special of lengua in green chile, and one time (more recently, maybe 20 years ago), they made a pumpkin pozole that my wife and I still talk about.  Santa Fe was a lot simpler back then.

More recently, I took the family there for spring break.  Middle of the day, I got a phone call from opposing counsel on an issue that had been pretty contentious and had to be dealt with.  I sat on a bench in the middle of the plaza and had my conversation.  Later, my kids explained that they were embarrassed because the whole world could hear me tell opposing counsel "that's fucking bullshit!" about something or other.  I explained to them "well....it WAS fucking bullshit."  So, there's that.

[UnivTex34 1763]

12 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

Oh. Hi.

This was legit. Everything mixed together and finished on the flat top unlike the assembly line taco and burrito places. Just great.

Confirmed on this second trip to Santa Fe is that all the mid range Plaza area restaurants are just okay. They’re relatively bland to cater to Midwest tourists. Even my kids commented that nothing was spicy. The high end restaurants are great and the local low and mid range places are great. Stay away from anything else.

goddamn I hate you right now....

[Johnny Sack 8397]

6 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Man....I remember when the Plaza Cafe was a real diner -- I'm talking 30-40 years ago.  Shit, back then, there was a Woolworth's on the plaza with a kick-ass old school breakfast/lunch counter.

My dad would work in Santa Fe for a couple weeks every summer.  Mom and I would tag along, but he had the car, so we just walked everywhere.  One of our routines was to grab a newspaper, stop at the Woolworth's, and have breakfast (coffee and a cigarette for mom), read the paper, and chat with the staff and the locals.

And sometimes lunch at the Plaza Cafe.  Diner grub, but also some creative specials -- I remember a great special of lengua in green chile, and one time (more recently, maybe 20 years ago), they made a pumpkin pozole that my wife and I still talk about.  Santa Fe was a lot simpler back then.

More recently, I took the family there for spring break.  Middle of the day, I got a phone call from opposing counsel on an issue that had been pretty contentious and had to be dealt with.  I sat on a bench in the middle of the plaza and had my conversation.  Later, my kids explained that they were embarrassed because the whole world could hear me tell opposing counsel "that's fucking bullshit!" about something or other.  I explained to them "well....it WAS fucking bullshit."  So, there's that.

One of my good friends from college would call his coffee and cigarette breakfast the "Don Williams" (Coffee black, cigarette.  Start my day, like all the rest)

[Chopper 17230]

23 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

This was legit. Everything mixed together and finished on the flat top unlike the assembly line taco and burrito places. Just great.

Yes! Glad you enjoyed. That food trailer has been in SF for years and this is its third location. First the father ran it, now daughter. They are both awesome people and their attention to detail is great.

[CooterBrown 18004]

Just noticed this sign at the neighbor’s house.

[CooterBrown 18004]

Final report as we head back to Austin tomorrow.

This is my second trip here and I’m less in love with Santa Fe than I was after my first trip.

For a city with a ton of restaurants, there’s not a lot of restaurants. There’s little variety.

The major problem with all the mid range New Mexican restaurants is that there’s one recipe for each dish and no variation allowed. Every place is interchangeable. A few weird things they all had in common was that every place undercooks beans and rice and food is served lukewarm. Tomasita’s, The Pantry, Del Charro, La Choza all were the exact same.

Best meal was Rowley’s Farmhouse Ales. Very good beers and every dish was excellent.

The Shed was the best nice New Mexican but El Callejon was the best Mexican and better overall.

El Parasol was the best dive and I’d rather go there for New Mexican than any of the others. Bumblebee’s Baja Grill was great fast casual. Those two were the only restaurants with spicy food.

El Chile Toreado was the best breakfast hands down. Just a prefect breakfast burrito.

Whoo’s Donuts were great but they cost $35/dozen. The blueberry blue corn cake donut was the best.

Boxcar and Weck’s, the New Mexican Chili’s and Denny’s, are respectable for that they are.

There’s zero nightlife here. Even the breweries are absolutely dead on Friday night.

Did some great light hiking. Hit Bandelier, Valles Caldera, Upper and Lower Atalaya Mountain, and La Cieneguilla Petroglyphs.

[Chopper 17230]

On 3/18/2022 at 9:37 PM, CooterBrown said:

Final report as we head back to Austin tomorrow.

This is my second trip here and I’m less in love with Santa Fe than I was after my first trip.

For a city with a ton of restaurants, there’s not a lot of restaurants. There’s little variety.

The major problem with all the mid range New Mexican restaurants is that there’s one recipe for each dish and no variation allowed. Every place is interchangeable.

The Shed was the best nice New Mexican but El Callejon was the best Mexican and better overall.

El Parasol was the best dive and I’d rather go there for New Mexican than any of the others. Bumblebee’s Baja Grill was great fast casual. Those two were the only restaurants with spicy food.

Whoo’s Donuts were great but they cost $35/dozen. The blueberry blue corn cake donut was the best.

There’s zero nightlife here. Even the breweries are absolutely dead on Friday night.


 

Don't disagree with anything you say. Just will add,

- during low season, if there's night life it's pretty much limited to live music at the Santa Fe Brewing HQ (outside town about a 20 minute drive) or at Meow Wolf. From glancing at the listings it appears they're not booking all that many shows though, perhaps due to covid effects. In town the Cowgirl is pretty much all there is but not 'til it gets warmer at night. Unless of course there's a free show at the Railyard or the Plaza; that's all during summer though. Also there's always the Tesuque Casino maybe 10 minutes outside of town. Built 2 years ago and a step above others.

- for long stays and added food variety there's a few options that I can think of...not much but - Dumpling Tea House off the Plaza, Mampuku Ramen, Jambo Cafe, or pasta at Piccolino. Also for Vietnamese, Pho Ava. And Izanami is excellent.

- for donuts, Craft Coffee & Donuts is donuts made to order at the food trailer park at Old Santa Fe Trail and Paseo de Peralta. Best to call it in or place your order on-line - pretty sure they have their own app. Whoo's is okay but way overrated imo.

- the warmer nights of July and August bring Opera season but once the opera is over they bring in some big touring acts and the facility itself is amazing. It's fun to go once even if you don't like opera. Problem is the nights get cold before October so there's not a lot of opportunity.

Cafe Castro was always my favorite for New Mexican food. I heard they were struggling due to the pandemic and had switch at least temporarily to counter-service only, but worth checking.

[texasdago 7568]

Big fan of Tesuque Village Market... not in Santa Fe proper per se but, man, it's like an 8 minute drive. Great local place tucked in Tesuque.  Mostly locals.  Austin vibe.  Strong cocktails... definitely one of our favorites.  Been four times over our past two two trips.

[Hank Kingsley 20906]

On 3/16/2022 at 2:46 PM, Chopper said:

Dolina - owned by a woman from Slovakia. Slovak pastry and cafe.

Co-sign on Dolina. Their gingerbread is amazing and the bacon & date scone will change your mind if you hate/dislike scones. 

 

[CooterBrown 18004]

Forgot to mention Chocolate Maven. Killer bakery...tried quite a few different baked goods and everything was good. The green chili and cheese stuffed croissants were glorious.  The house made chimayo chile potato chips were also top shelf.

[closetojumping 62565]

I had only been to Santa Fe once, twelve years ago, before landing in ABQ this morning with my wife and heading up. I sent her this thread and she did her own research. 

We did The Shed for lunch and I had chicken enchiladas Christmas style and a pork taco. It was terrific. Good, easy rec. 

Went to Meow Wolf with both of us being purposely ignorant about what it is. I thought it was fun and I would love to bring a few of my weird/nerdy kids to it. My wife, who is razor sharp but not super artsy, basically just went along with it and afterwards told me she wasn’t sure what in the fuck she just witnessed. I told her we now have to go to the new one in Vegas in a few months. She seemed … less than enthused. 

Went to Vino Arroyo tonight. Not sure if it was a rec here or elsewhere, but it was excellent. We had sardines and toast, pork tagliatelle, and then she had wagyu steak and I had the duck. I would highly recommend this place. Also, they had great wine at low prices. 

Anyway, thanks for the help and doing a bunch of the additional recs over the next few days if the hiking doesn’t kill me first. 

[texasdago 7568]

If you have the time, drive north to Vivac Winery - they're doing a nice job with New Mexico grapes.  Between Santa Fe and Taos and by the Rio Grande - beautiful drive once you get past Espanola.

[HookEm 2463]

I love hiking in the Sangre de Cristo wilderness.  If you are in Santa Fe, there are some great hikes from Ski Santa Fe.  Have gone just about every year since 1984.

[closetojumping 62565]

Had a good time today. 

Did a chorizo burrito at Cafe Pasquale’s and a spicy virgin bloody mary. Terrific. Asian 23 year old female pic attached, Christmas style. 

Hiked to Packacho Peak at 8600 feet. We got caught in an unexpected snow storm up there. It was a lot of fun. 

Bought a longhorn specific sculpture while fucking around and pretty happy with it long term. 

Went to Market Steer tonight and part of the menu included beef bacon. I had to try it. Fucking delicious. Would recommend that steakhouse as your SF steak place. 

Chorizo Christmas Breakfast Burrito:

 

[Victor Lazlo 1776]

Patiently waiting on the Asian 23 year old female pic. 

[Lat22 4010]

Partying our asses off all weekend at the Bishops Lodge bunkhouse. 

[RMac5 1551]

In SF a couple of weeks ago, had the griddled polenta at Pasqual’s, everything they serve is so damn good.

Edited April 2, 2022 by RMac5

[Chopper 17230]

One of the best burgers in Santa Fe - Alien Burger at Second Street Brewery Railyard location.

It may be better without the guac so think about getting it on the side. But the blue corn-dusted and fried chile relleno, stout queso, smoked bacon, chile jack cheese, crispy fried onions, hatch chile and brioche bun are on point.

[po elvis 2070]

Thanks for the rec on El Chile Toreado chopper. Had it for lunch. Asada and al pastor tacos and adobado quesadilla. Everything was so good. Best quesadilla I have had. Will get over there for breakfast burrito at some point.

[Chopper 17230]

7 hours ago, po elvis said:

Thanks for the rec on El Chile Toreado chopper. Had it for lunch. Asada and al pastor tacos and adobado quesadilla. Everything was so good. Best quesadilla I have had. Will get over there for breakfast burrito at some point.

I'm not sure if it's still on the secret menu but the carne deshebrada is awesome too if you happen to go back for lunch. The way I found out about it is that I was having a conversation with the father of the current owner and it's what he would always order. [He ran the food stand for many years when it was located in front of the old Ace Hardware on Siler Road. His daughter went to culinary school to train as a professional chef but decided she wanted to be in Santa Fe and run the trailer.]

[po elvis 2070]

Ate at La Choza tonight. Had read a review of someone saying that the food was bland and they relied on their Chile for flavor. That was exactly my impression. I had the ribeye with enchilada with red sauce. I wasn’t expecting a great piece of meat at a place like this but while it looked good and was cooked well,it didn’t have much seasoning at all. The enchilada was great though. I would go back and order the enchilada plate. The GF’s sopapilla with chicken adovado was very bland. Despite this, I liked the place.

[dmtx 159]

Headed to Santa Fe next week. This is our fifth trip to Santa Fe. Never been this time of year, previous four times were in the summer.

Anything new that is not to miss, activity or food wise?

Geronimo's and Sazon are booked. Maybe Market Steer, Radish & Rye, italian recommendation.... of course pasqual, el chile toreado, we always hit up La Choza/The Shed and Tia Sophia's. 

 

[Chopper 17230]

7 hours ago, dmtx said:

Headed to Santa Fe next week. This is our fifth trip to Santa Fe. Never been this time of year, previous four times were in the summer.

Anything new that is not to miss, activity or food wise?

Geronimo's and Sazon are booked. Maybe Market Steer, Radish & Rye, italian recommendation.... of course pasqual, el chile toreado, we always hit up La Choza/The Shed and Tia Sophia's. 

 

Radish & Rye is awesome. Only disappointing menu item I've had there was the fish and that was because the spice was overwhelming to the flavor. Their pork chop is amazing.

Market Steer is great too. There I found it's best to stick with the steaks and cuts, that's what they do best.

Sazon and Geronimo's each have bar menus and accept drop-ins - or at least they used to but may be worth checking.

As far as italian, if the prices at Sassella don't turn you off, it may be worth a shot. I had a disappointing experience there with both food and service but that was a while ago, and the fact that they've stayed open despite the tourist slow down of the past couple years is a feather in their cap. Their space and patio are both awesome. The local's choice for italian is Piccolino but it may be too low brow for what you want. Very New York Italian. I don't recommend their pizza or sandwiches but their pastas and entrees have never failed. It's about a 10 minute drive from downtown.

 

 

 

 

[Texas Jeff 1945]

Tip for visiting Bandelier:  The early bird gets to park.  And hike in the shade.

We heard parking was tight and we called ahead to ask.  The person on the phone said to get there by 10:15 or risk not being able to get in until late afternoon.  She said the shuttle wasn't running because they could not hire enough drivers to make it work.  So we left Santa Fe just after 7am and got there just before 8am.  You can pre-pay and pre-print parking passes before you go, but you need to know your license plate number.  We bought a pass online and printed it out at our hotel.  The visitor's center opens at 9am, but you can enter the park anytime after dawn.  There is also a machine at the entrance that prints parking passes, but we didn't try it since we already had a pass.

Our reward was plenty of parking in their tiny parking lot and a cool, shaded morning hike with plenty of solitude.  All of the good stuff is in shade in the morning and we only saw two other hikers while doing the main loop.   We got back to the parking lot around 9:30 and saw crowds headed out for the hike.  We saw the last parking spaces fill up and there was a line to get in the park when we drove out.

So if you go, arrive early.  Mid-week crowds may be less intense than weekend crowds, but parking is a problem.

Also, check the times and dates for every museum or restaurant that you know you plan to do.  They all have different hours and are closed on different days of the week.

[brownboy 45]

am going soon to just F around since JSX flies to Taos and there's not enough to do in Taos for a week.  Appreciate the recs here tho I'm not a foodie and will be looking for good beer bars and to do some light hiking.  made notes and will go Inn of the Anasaz, Draft Station, Tumbleroot, Second Street. Santa Fe Brewring Tap Room, Desert Dogs, and Rowley's.  Not worried about things closing early as I'll do a morning hike, afternoon beers and pass out after dinner

[texasdago 7568]

Your comment about Bandelier and getting there early... reality is that this applies to any national park, national monument, etc.  Went to Crater Lake NP and got there relatively early from a "quieter" entrance and there were three cars in line (including us).  Left in the mid-afternoon and another entrance had cars lined up stuck and not moving on both sides of the highway.  Found that the early experience also mattered in the Redwoods.  Always go early.  Always.  100% of the time.  

[jw4381 3070]

About to land in ATX bitches!

JSX is the shiznit. 

Edited September 21, 2023 by jw4381

[Shoxthemonkey 1977]

We spent last week in Santa Fe doing a combo Thanksgiving/Christmas with our kids. We stayed at the Inn of the Governors and every room had artwork from the same artist in it. I'm not sure what we did to deserve the "Padre molesting a monkey with a feather" room, but that's what we were given.

[Carl Spackler 3479]

1 hour ago, Shoxthemonkey said:

We spent last week in Santa Fe doing a combo Thanksgiving/Christmas with our kids. We stayed at the Inn of the Governors and every room had artwork from the same artist in it. I'm not sure what we did to deserve the "Padre molesting a monkey with a feather" room, but that's what we were given.

Username (and hotel room) fits . . .

[JCHIL 414]

On 3/21/2022 at 9:42 AM, texasdago said:

Big fan of Tesuque Village Market... not in Santa Fe proper per se but, man, it's like an 8 minute drive. Great local place tucked in Tesuque.  Mostly locals.  Austin vibe.  Strong cocktails... definitely one of our favorites.  Been four times over our past two two trips.

Big fan as well. legit food and new mex mex.  My go to stop when driving from ABQ to Taos

[NoRagrets 1125]

Casa Chimayo was solid and almost no wait.