finlero's Profile
New Mexico Ice Cream?
Not to get all thread-drifty here, but what pastries do you like at SBPS? It's on my way to work, and I've been there a half dozen times, and I have yet to find anything that totally lines up with my personal tastes. Nothing even remotely bad, but everything has stayed inside the park for me. Their (clearly homemade) puff pastry dough seems just a tad heavy and dry, and although I'm usually the one ranting that pastries are too large and too bland (Chocolate Maven), I find these to be both slightly too small for a good breakfast and strikingly high-priced for that size (around 4 bucks). Again, they're anything but bad, just haven't found anything that knocks my personal socks off.
As a frame of reference, my favorite pastries in town: virtually anything from Cafe 25, cinnamon rolls and danishes from Dulce.
New Mexico Ice Cream?
Digging this thread up to leave a note that the Station coffeehouse at the Santa Fe Railyard serves Taos Cow ice cream. I'd never tried it before, but my scoop of lavender was most definitely not too sweet. Delicious flavor, although the texture wasn't quite smooth enough; never having had TC ice cream before, not sure if this is just the way it is or if it was a minor storage issue at the Station or in transit, but either way it wasn't egregiously out of whack.
The Station is a cool little Italian style coffeehouse anyway. They have a fairly serious-looking Olstoria espresso machine, I need to get back and try their coffee.
cross country trip need recs esp from Memphis TN to Albuquerque NM
Definitely Turquoise Room in Winslow. You can do a search for Flagstaff and Sedona, not really my stomping ground but there are some great tips on the board.
Phoenix is a big, often horrible city (I grew up there, I can say that), but there's great chow to be had if you search the Phoenix board.
cross country trip need recs esp from Memphis TN to Albuquerque NM
You should definitely get some green chile and other regional Mexican when you come through NM -- the chow roster goes a lot deeper than this, but it's probably the way to go if you're just passing through.
Blake's Lotaburger is a remarkably good fast food chain, and a great place to try a green chile cheeseburger. You'll find branches all along the NM stretch of I-40, including in Tucumcari, Moriarty, Albuquerque, Gallup, and Grants.
In Albuquerque, some of the best NM cooking is at Mary & Tito's near downtown. Breakfast burritos at the Frontier are also excellent. And I'll also throw in a plug for the phenomenal NY-style pizza topped with green chile at Giovanni's.
A few hours east, also check out the Turquoise Room in Winslow AZ, a surprisingly delicious upscale hotel restaurant.
Favorite all-day breakfast burrito in Santa Fe?
Yeah, I really like their tamales too, although I still nominally prefer the green chile and cheese ones to the vegan ones.
Also, just a note that since I wrote this, Posa's has started doing breakfast all day instead of just 'til noon.
kid-friendly but serious eats in ABQ?
I really like Ezra's Place. Grown up, well considered, upscale food that happens to be in a bowling alley. Classic Chowhound style find.
Santa Fe - Need to pick up lunch for my crew
Mucho Gourmet Sandwiches is reliably tasty.
Bumblebee would work well for burritos and the like.
Neither is my all time cravable fave, but both are in the regular rotation.
Joe's Diner [Santa Fe]
Yeah, I like Joe's pretty well too. I absolutely loved it the first couple of visits, but found that it suffered a little from the "magic trick effect", where the novelty wore off with repeat experiences.
I love the relaxed, neighborhoody feel, as well as the locally-sourced ethos, but at the end of the day I think the recipes are perfectly fine, not knock-your-socks-off great.
At this price point and overall playbook, I'd usually prefer to go to Plaza Cafe, which also uses a lot of fresh, local ingredients, but ultimately has what I think is better chow just about across the board. Regardless, still glad Joe's is there, and I still like to grab lunch or dinner there every now and then.
En route from Grand Canyon to Phoenix - delicious bites?
If you're looking for stuff in Phoenix itself, you might want to check the dedicated Phoenix board (http://chowhound.chow.com/boards/69). Although Phoenix doesn't stay open NYC-late, there are plenty of choices open well past 9 on a Sunday.
I'm not in Phoenix that often, but off the top of my head, within 15ish minutes of Sky Harbor:
* Delux Burger is an upscale CA-style burger joint (good salads and other things as well), and is open nightly 'til 2 a.m.
* Richardson's is New Mexican-style Mexican, actually pretty good even by NM standards (I live in Santa Fe), and is open nightly 'til midnight.
http://www.deluxburger.com/
http://richardsonsnm.com/
I'm sure the locals on the PHX board can help you even more. Good luck!
Betterday Coffee, Santa Fe: Stumptown Coffee, serious craft
"A huge part of the 3rd wave coffee culture is the local factor."
Interesting comment. Out of curiosity, is it your perception that this is a question of freshness, or of food miles? Or something else?
Dress codes in Santa Fe and Albuquerque
You'll be totally fine. The whole state is really informal.
Reservations needed in Santa Fe and Albuquerque?
Obviously longer is safer, but in my experience, reservations are pretty easy to come by, except maybe around Indian Market or the Balloon Fiesta.
Reservations needed in Santa Fe and Albuquerque?
Fair question. Shortly prior is generally totally fine.
Best breakfast burritos in Santa Fe?
I asked this about two years ago and wound up answering my own question:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/688356
I also really like Plaza Cafe, which specifically offers to-go-only breakfast burritos.
Blake's is quite good too, but they stop serving at 11.
Local folks....where would you dine in Sante Fe if you had 4 nights?
As you might imagine, that question gets asked a bunch here, so you'll get a lot more ideas with a board search, but to get you started:
I think that eating near the Plaza is a lot like eating near Faneuil Hall/Times Square. Not impossible to eat well, but the deck is stacked a bit against you. Tomasita's and Tia Sophia's (both within walking distance) are fine, but not especially good. Similarly, I went recently to Casa Chimayo and thought it was kind of meh (although the digs are fun), but there has been enough good feedback here on it that I'll give it another shot at some point.
Regional places worth a drive (search for any of these for more info): the Ranch House, Horseman's Haven (no alcohol), Harry's Roadhouse, Bobcat Bite (no alcohol), Los Amigos, El Rancho de Chimayo (40ish minute drive, but worth it for the chow and the scenery along the way), Plaza Cafe Southside, Santa Fe Brewing Co, Tuneup Cafe.
Local folks....where would you dine in Sante Fe if you had 4 nights?
Hey Blumie, long time no see since my Boston board days, hope you're well!
Yeah, the Cantina isn't exactly a chow revelation for food or drink, but the vibe is fun. Like rcurtism says, it can get pretty chilly, so that may a non-starter.
If you'd like to stay downtown, I'd sooner send you to the Shed. Reasonable prices, excellent margaritas, beautiful digs, and although it's not the very best NM-style in the city, it's definitely the real deal. They also have a number of safe, non-threatening options for the less chowishly-inclined and or spice averse in your group, and they take reservations for larger groups.
Santa Fe - brunch recommendations on Mother's Day
I had a business dinner at La Plazuela about a year ago and must say that the food was significantly better than I might have expected. It's an upscale hotel restaurant that necessarily needs to aim for inoffensiveness instead of chow revelation, but the food actually had some decent flavor, the presentations were remarkably thoughtful, and the prices were a few bucks less expensive than I might have expected. No, that wasn't exactly a recommendation.
Agree that the food at Santa Cafe isn't all that, but the outdoor seating (and the indoor seating as well) is really lovely.
Local folks....where would you dine in Sante Fe if you had 4 nights?
Personally? Yeah, they make a great margarita with agave nectar, and a number of other semi-legitimate craft cocktails, and it's a beautiful, secluded spot.
Santa Fe - brunch recommendations on Mother's Day
I'll second Terra at Encantado; it runs expensive, but I think they have the best brunch in town by a good margin.
Local folks....where would you dine in Sante Fe if you had 4 nights?
Sounds like you won't leave hungry. Do write back and let us know how you fared. There aren't that many NM locals posting regularly on CH, it's always nice to get feedback from visitors in terms of what worked.
Local folks....where would you dine in Sante Fe if you had 4 nights?
It actually works pretty well with music, just a solo guitar or vocalist and guitar smushed into a corner. I think the music actually makes it feel extra European, with lot of energy in a very small space.
Agree with andrewtree that the chow at La Boca is terrific, although I'm not sure it has a lot of Santa Fe local color; ditto Jambo all the way around. But if food itself is your biggest decision driver, it's hard to argue with the quality at either.
Local folks....where would you dine in Sante Fe if you had 4 nights?
Bobcat bite - to my knowledge, no outside seating, no BYO.
Terra - the bar is definitely inside/outside and it's fantastic. I *think* you can dine al fresco as well. Seasonal warmth is always a crapshoot in N-NM, but mid-May should generally be fine. It's a desert, so the temperature tends to plummet as soon as the sun goes down, but Encantado has a number of first world amenities like outdoor space heaters.
For a while La Choza (which incidentally means "the shed" in Spanish) seemed a little better and more consistent than the Shed, but my last experience at each flip flopped. To me, the Shed is a vastly more charismatic space, so I'd go with that. Again, I don't go to either unless I'm with out-of-towners, but it's still a pretty canonical example of NM-style chow.
Local folks....where would you dine in Sante Fe if you had 4 nights?
Since it sounds like you know how to search the boards, I won't go into too much detail on this thread, but here are my four, scrubbed of Italian and Japanese suggestions, tailored for chowish visiting tastes, a board search will turn up tons more info on any of these. I don't really go to any of these unless people are visiting from out of town, but I enjoy myself when we go:
* The Shed - quite good NM-style in beautiful digs downtown, good margaritas.
* Geronimo - nicely done high-end Southwestern dining in a beautiful space on Canyon Rd.
* Harry's Roadhouse - tasty food (burgers good, NM stuff good, salads good, specials good, desserts good, avoid pizza and BBQ), fun and frenetic digs, again good margaritas. (Bobcat Bite, a few miles down the road, has even better burgers but no alcohol.)
* Terra at Encantado - excellent upscale new American with Southwestern accents, good drinks, stunning views.
Solo dining in Santa Fe & Taos
Also, finally got to La Boca a few weeks ago, a tiny, truly good tapas restaurant downtown with a small, but pleasant bar at the back of the room that would be great for solo dining.
Santa Fe has several tapas joints, including El Farol and El Meson, both of which are great spots for live music. El Meson's food is significantly better than El Farol, but in terms of pure chow, neither holds a candle to La Boca, which has some of the better Spanish food I've had anywhere, including in Spain. La Boca is also really into its sherry, so it could be fun to grab a few unusual glasses of jerez while you're in there.
Solo dining in Santa Fe & Taos
Good suggestions all around. One other I'd add is the bar at Ristra. I think the dining room menu isn't really worth the money, but the bar menu and cocktails are quite good and significantly more reasonably priced.
Solo dining in Santa Fe & Taos
Welcome back in advance! Out of curiosity, what worked and didn't work from your last trip? Might get us thinking in the right direction for you...
albuquerque & santa Fe
The best thing you could do would be to start with some board searching.
Here's every thread that mentions Albuquerque or ABQ from the past 5 years:
http://www.chow.com/search?query=albuquerque+or+abq&board_name=Southwest&search_board_id=6&type=Topic&from_date=1+year+ago&board_parent=&search_board_id_btn=6&from_date_select=1+year+ago&user_name=&post_title=&search_board_id_btn_pop=6&sort_mode=best_match&recipe_source=#!query=albuquerque+or+abq&board_name=Southwest&search_board_id=6&type=Topic&from_date=5+years+ago&board_parent=&search_board_id_btn=6&from_date_select=5+years+ago&user_name=&post_title=&search_board_id_btn_pop=6&sort_mode=newest
And here's same for Santa Fe:
http://www.chow.com/search?query=santa+fe&type=Topic&board_name=Southwest&search_board_id=6&from_date=1+year+ago#!query=santa+fe&board_name=Southwest&search_board_id=6&type=Topic&from_date=5+years+ago&board_parent=&search_board_id_btn=6&from_date_select=5+years+ago&user_name=&post_title=&search_board_id_btn_pop=6&sort_mode=best_match&recipe_source=
If you can specify types of food you like, or price points, or anything else to help narrow it down, you might get more interesting "live" responses. Hope this helps!
Le Pod, Santa Fe: really delicious French food truck
The food truck revolution is clearly hitting Santa Fe. Had a delicious lunch recently at Le Pod, a shiny Airstream trailer in the parking lot on the southwest corner of Paseo de Peralta and Old Santa Fe Trail.
Highlights:
* Potato, leek, & green chile soup - thick, big depth of flavor, balanced level of spice.
* Buckwheat crepes (they also have a standard batter) - a rarity in the States, they use a terrific batter with some unusual sweet spices (e.g. nutmeg) that work surprisingly well for savory crepes. The Normandie (braised pork, caramelized apples, fried onions, and cornichons) was excellent.
* French dip - I'm not sure I liked it as a pressed sandwich, but the combination of roast beef, horseradish, brie, and onions was delicious, as was the au jus.
The also have some good looking "frog dogs", hot dogs served in hollowed out baguettes, as well as a short list of sweet crepes. Most expensive thing on the menu (smoked salmon crepe) is still south of 8 bucks.
Really excellent addition to the Santa Fe lunch scene, which will only get better as winter continues to give way to spring. Open weekdays 11 - 4.
Fan Page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Le-Pod-Curbside-Cuisine-Gourmet-on-the-Go/254944661220739
Menu:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=255083664540172&set=a.255083474540191.56749.254944661220739&type=3&theater
Santa Fe Fine Dining that isn't Stuck in the '90s?
Just one hound's opinion, but I think Vinaigrette is perfectly fine, but not really OMG great.
It's a cool concept, and the laid-back feel is really pleasant, but at the end of the day it's still just a place to grab a tasty salad. I also find it to be pretty expensive; I understand that local, organic sourcing (including growing a lot of their own greens) isn't cheap, but I'm not sure that quite justifies some salads clocking in close to $20. Definitely worth using the Groupon, though, it's anything but bad.
Talenti Gelato -- crazy good supermarket gelato
I do not, but I have a feeling somebody around here probably does...
If Van Rixel is good, I'll poke around and find it -- is it also available at Whole Foods? Other stores?
