My Uncle Don and I went to Santa Fe for a long weekend beginning July 20. His friends Gary and Joan were also there but they were not travelling with us. Here are the restaurants where we ate. Our choices were largely guided by information we received from this newsgroup. I would like to thank everybody for helping. I didn't keep notes, but I did keep some of the menus. A lot of this is written from my memory and some of the details are missing. If you are planning a trip to Santa Fe and/or Taos and you have any questions about any of these restaurants, send me an email or post your question and I will do my best to answer. I have the menus from most of the places we ate so I can give more details about what they serve for anyone who has an interest. Santa Cafe 231 Washington Ave. Santa Fe, NM 89501 505-984-1788 We arrived in Santa Fe on July 20. Let me say that Don is a manager and he makes schedules like one. I hope I never have to work for him, but you know I've worked for plenty of people just like him. What does this have to do with anything? He made a reservation at the Santa Cafe for Thursday night for an hour that was rediculous in comparison to our arrival time in Albuquerque. I pointed out that the schedule could not be met, but in typical managerial fashion he insisted that we could make it. The reservation was at 9:00. The restaurant does not seat anybody after 9:30. We did not arrive at the restaurant until after 10:05. Let me throw in here that I did call the restaurant from L.A. and advise them of our situation. They indicated that after 9:30 would be a problem. I go into all of this so I can explain how truely gracious they were when we arrived. We asked if it would be possible for them to serve us. The manager said that they were just about to close the kitchen, but if we could order within 5 minutes we could be served. After we placed our order, the pace of the meal was just as if we had arrived at 8:00. There was no attempt to rush us. We were given a suitable pause between each course. This impressed me greatly. For the appetizer we both ordered the Rare Coriander Crusted Ahi Tuna with Carrot-Daikon Salad and Chile-Cilantro Vinaigrette. The tuna was rare in the middle, cooked a scant 1/4 inch around the outside. We both love our tuna like this and we were very pleased. The vinaigrette was a very good match for the tuna. There were crunchy fried onions on top of the whole thing that were quite delicious. For the main course, Don had the Seared Chilean Sea Bass with Eggplant Caviar and Carrot-Chipotle Syrup. Don loved is fish and the sauce. I thought they were good, myself. He was not wild about the eggplant, which was a puree, but I liked it a lot. I have to admit, though, that I am partial to eggplant. I had Seared 5 Peppercorn Filet Mignon with Warm Potato-Roasted Pepper Salad and Caramelized Shallot Reduction. Basically, this was beef with a lot of pepper. I did not think that the sauce had enough flavor to make any kind of significant impact on the dish as a whole. The salad was basically potatoes and peppers with nothing special to sell itself. As such, I was disappointed by my meal. Both of our entrees came with the same crispy fried onions. Do they come on top of everything? We drank a bottle of Pinot Noir with the meal. The desserts are starting to get fuzzy. I had a chocolate thing that was a chocolate thing. You know what I mean? Maybe it was a flourless chocolate cake or something like that. It was not very memorable. It came with vanilla ice cream. The ice cream is made on the premises and it was very nice with a good vanilla flavor. Don ate a fruit dessert of some kind with sorbet. The sorbet was also very good. He was very pleased. We each drank a glass of Muscat with our desserts. We walked away from this meal feeling that the service had been very good. Don was in a fit of food ecstasy. I felt the satisfaction of having a good meal but not the joy of having a great one. I think Don would go back in a flash. He said it was his favorite meal of the trip. I would prefer to try some other restaurants in town next time. Total cost for 2 people including tax and tip: $160.00 Embudo Station U.S. Highway 68 We spent Friday driving up to Taos and beyond, stopping along the way for various and sundry activities. We stopped at the Santa Fe winery for a tasting. Have you found that some things are just not worth free? Well, the wine here is a prime example of this. Our first meal of the day was at Embudo Station. We were too full from the late meal the night before to attempt breakfast. Embudo Station is an enchanting place. It is on the banks of the Rio Grande. The tables are outside on the river. It was so pleasant to sit there, under the shade of a tree with the river rushing by. There were some inside tables also but I cannot imagine sitting at one. We shared an appetizer of smoked trout. They tout this pretty heavily on their menu as their signature dish. They do their own smoking on the premises. The trout comes with chips and salsa. I did not think the trout was that good and I would not order it again. It was overcooked. The smoky flavor was nice but the trout itself was too dry to enjoy. The salsa, on the other hand, packed quite a wallop. I really enjoyed eating it. Don ate a smoked turkey sandwich, again smoked on the premises. I did not taste his sandwich but he reported the turkey to be moist and tasty. I had the tamales with both red and green chile sauces. The tamales were fresh and moist and contained whole kernels of corn. The red sauce was pretty bland, but I had forgotten until I tasted the green sauce how much I like New Mexican green chile sauce. Embudo Station brews its own beer. I could not resist so I had a Porter. It was a little sweet for my taste but I really liked the quality of the effervesence. Don drank a diet Coke. We did not want to leave. While the food itself was not outstanding, the whole experience was. The service was top-notch and the food was good. The ambiance was perfect. No doubt about it, next time we are driving past this restaurant at meal time, we will stop. Total cost for two people including tax and tip: $33.00 Jacquelina's Restaurant 1541 South Santa Fe Road Taos, NM 87571 Continuing up the road, we stopped at the La Chiripada Winery for a tasting. We found the 1994 Reisling Special Reserve and the late harvest Reisling to be very drinkable wines. Neither were special enough to lug home on an airplane, but had we driven to New Mexico, we would have purchased some. After much driving around and hiking we stopped at the Taos Inn for a before dinner drink. Don had a Marguerita on the rocks and I had a Bombay Sapphire martini. I've had better Margueritas in my life. It was too sweet for one thing. The martini, however, was magnificent. I thought the Taos Inn had a lot of character. I would not hesitate to stop here for a drink again. Don called Jacquelina's from L.A. and spoke to the chef. He asked the chef if he would be willing to make a special meal for us of his own choosing. The chef was delighted to have this opportunity. When we arrived at the restaurant, Gary and Joan were there. We knew this was a possibility but we were surprised in any event. Gary and Joan had decided to order off of the menu rather than join us in the special surprise meal. The meal provided for Don and me was amazing. Course 1: Steamed Manilla Clams and Mediterranean Mussels with Saffron, basil, shrimp broth. The seafood was fresh and prepared to perfection, but the broth was too salty for my taste. Course 2: Duck Leg Confit in Puff Pastry with Balsamic Vinegar, Chiptole Chile, Smoked Chicken Sauce. This dish was outstanding. The dish had an overall rich and buttery flavor. The smokiness of the sauce matched the richness of the duck perfectly. Course 3: Poblano Chile Relleno Stuffed with Goat Cheese with a Sun-dried Tomato, Ancho Chile Sauce. When I ate this, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. All of the flavors used in this dish are very assertive but they did not clash. It is a strongly flavored dish that really works. Don did not care for it, but I do not know why. Course 4: Roasted Lamb Tostada with Orange, Jicama, Cilantro Salad and an Habenero, Onion Salsa. By now I could barely eat, I was so full. I didn't care for the tostada that much but the salad was very refreshing and perfect to have at this point in the meal. The salsa was too hot for any human in my book. I was really losing interest in what Don thought at this point. Course 5: Seared Yellow Tail Tuna with a Tequila, Tomatillo Vinaigrette. My piece of fish was perfectly cooked, but Don's was overdone. Given what was on my plate, the dish was delicious. Given what was on Don's plate, the dish was dry and uninteresting. Course 6: Chocolate Mousse Mille-Fuille with Orange Shortbread Cookies and Cocolate and Vanilla Sauces. Somehow my appetite came back with the arrival of dessert. I think that this is a testament to how good the dessert was. I've had so many chocolate mousses in my life that I could go the distance without eating anymore, but this was very delicious and the shortbread balanced the mousse in a way to make it something out of the ordinary. I'm sorry that I absolutely cannot remember what Gary and Joan ate. They ordered a starter and a main course. The chef thought that it might be awkward at our table with Don and me eating so many courses and Gary and Joan eating so few, so while we were eating our chile rellenos, he gave them a beautiful mushroom soup made with Portabello mushrooms and one other mushroom that I cannot recall. He also gave them the same dessert that Don and I were eating. He did not charge one penny for these extras and I was overwhelmed by his generosity. My only disappointment with the service was when we asked for help with a wine selection. Choosing the right wine was impossible because we had no idea what we were going to eat. Our waiter told us that the meal was so varied that any wine would do. This seemed difficult to believe, but we could not get any wine help no matter what we said. We wound up drinking a bottle of Merlot, which was absolutely the wrong wine. The price that Don and I were charged for our special meal was $30 a piece. I still cannot get over it. I feel guilty for receiving so much food at such a low price. I feel like somehow I have taken advantage. It is just unbelievable. I already intend to return. I have no doubt that Don will return also. Total cost for 4 people including tax and tip: $170.00. Included in this total is a $20 extra tip for the kitchen for preparing the special meal. Paul's Restaurant of Santa Fe 72 West Marcy St. Santa Fe, NM 87501 505-982-8738 Saturday was a day for hanging around Santa Fe and shopping for turquoise. Because of the size of our dinner, we had no room for breakfast again. We wanted to have a light lunch because we were having an early dinner before the opera. I keeping with this desire, Don ate a turkey sandwich and I ate a salad. The turkey sandwich also had smoked gouda, which Don removed because he doesn't eat cheese. I ate some of the cheese and liked it a lot. Don did not like this turkey sandwich as well as the one he ate at Embudo Station. I did not try it. My salad came with grilled eggplant. Now, I've eaten a lot of grilled eggplant in my day, but this was better than the rest. I wondered what they had done to it so I asked our server. She said that the chef slices the eggplant, coats it with olive oil, and grills it. The reason it comes out so good is that it is sliced very thin. She explained to me that most grilled eggplant is more thickly sliced and so it cannot be cooked as thoroughly before burning as a thinly sliced eggplant. Amazing. The salad was good. The eggplant was terrific. Don drank a diet Coke. I drank iced tea. I found our server to be very patient and helpful. Don often tries to rearrange menus to fit his diet and the server tried her best to accomodate his desires. I did not get the impression that Don was anxious to return but I am. I think it takes real talent to do something simply and make it outstanding. On the strength of my salad, I would like to go back and explore the dinner menu. Total cost for 2 people including tax and tip: $17.50 Inn of the Anaszi 113 Washington Ave. Santa Fe, NM 87501 505-988-3030 Don and I hooked up with Gary and Joan for dinner. My general impression of the menu here is that it is too precious, too fussy. I think it is very hard to make this kind of menu work. Gary ordered the $30 prix fixe meal. His first coarse was Organic Sun-dried Tomatoes with Spicy Mustard Greens and Peppered Brie. Gary is not big on sharing tastes or describing his food so I cannot say how this was. Joan ordered the Mixed Field Greens with Organic Yellow Tomatoes and Walnut Vinaigrette. It was a basic salad. The walnut vinaigrette was not special enough to raise the salad out of the ordinary. Don ate the special soup. I can no longer remember what it was. My appetizer left all of the others in the dust. I had the Romaine Leaves with Anchovy-Chipotle Chile Dressing, Aged Reggiano Cheese, and a Red Chile Snake Cracker. I cannot tell you how truly outstanding this salad was. The lettuce was fresh, cold, and crunchy. The cheese was extremely flavorful. The dressing was just about the best salad dressing I've every had. I asked for the recipe and they said that they would send it to me. I have not received it yet. Gary's main course was Mesquite Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Chuka Cherry Polenta, Organic Baby Squash, and Shallot Marmelade. I was only permitted to taste the the polenta. I was afraid that it would be too sweet but it was actually delicious. Don had the Achiote Charred Rare Tuna with Wasabi Aioli, Fried Wonton, and Chilled Soba Noodle Salad. The Aioli was really nice with the tuna but the soba salad was what I liked most about Don's dish. Joan and I both had the Pecan-Cashew Crusted Halibut with Peach-Citrus Coulis and Green Chile Risotto. There was as much crust as there was fish, and as such the fish was completely lost in the dish. The coulis was too sweet, also contributing to overpowering the fish. The risotto was dry rather than creamy. We drank a bottle of Sauvengion Blanc with our meals. For dessert Gary had Tequila Poached Pears Stuffed with Maple-Cinnamon Mascarpone Cream served with Raspberry-Thyme Sauce. He did say that he enjoyed the dish but he said that the pear was hard as if it had not been cooked. Don had sorbet. I cannot remember what Joan ate. I had a banana shortcake with banana poppyseed ice cream. Nothing to write home about. In each course except dessert we were able to find one person's order that was very good. We found desserts to be unexceptional. Also, the selections of dessert wines were so outrageously priced that we refused to drink any. Our server was very personable, we just didn't see enough of him. His assistent, who took our dessert order, was completely humorless. He never smiled. He had no interest answering our questions. I don't think that any of us are planning to race back, but it they don't send me my promised recipe I may need to go back for more of my first course salad so I can analyze it more closely to try to duplicate it at home. Total cost for 4 people tax and tip included: $210 Tesuque Village Market Tesuque, NM I've always been real fond of Tesuque Canyon and I considered buying property there in the late 1980's but I never followed through. For nostolgia's sake we took a Sunday drive through the canyon. At the end we decided to stop at the Tesuque Village Market for breakfast. We had already decided against breakfast because we were planning a big lunch but here we were. Here it was. We broke down. Don had sourdough toast with jam and tea. He was disappointed that they don't have Egg Beaters. Tesuque Village Market bakes their own bread and the sourdough toast was very good. I ordered the French toast, which is made with thick slices of the made on the premises sourdough bread and served with real maple syrup. It was very good French toast. The bread had a lot of texture and a good bite. I drank coffee with my breakfast. Our server was overworked and could not possible give proper attention to the diners. Had this been an extravegant meal I would have been unhappy but for a simple meal in an unpretentious restaurant, it was good enough. I would have been a little happier had I been able to get the server's attention more immediately when I needed it. Don would not be willing to go back for breakfast because of the lack of Egg Beaters but on the strength of the bread he would go and try another meal. I would eat breakfast there again easily. Total cost for 2 people with tax and tip included: $10.50 The Corn Dance Cafe 409 W. Water St. Santa Fe, NM 87501 505-986-1662 The meal I was most looking forward to before the trip was lunch at the Corn Dance Cafe. The fact that it is an Indian restaurant meant that for me I would be eating something different and I always look forward to new eating experiences. This meal was the most disappointing of the trip, but I don't think that it's because of the anticipation. I think it's because the restaurant just isn't that good. All of the food was very bland and not well-prepared. Don started off with the Indian Triad of Marinated Corn, Beans, and Summer Squash. What can you say? It was just there. The marinade added no flavor to the vegetables. I had the Mixed Organic Baby Greens and Lettuces with a Pinon-Sage Vinaigrette. Same thing. I couldn't even taste the sage. For the main course Don ate Kick-Ass Buffalo Chili. It didn't kick his ass although I thought that it was a decent chili. I had Pan-Roasted Medallions of Free Range Wild Turkey with Cranberry-Pinon Sauce and Cornbread Dressing. My meat was so dry that I could hardly eat it. There wasn't enough sauce on the plate to help moisten or flavor the dish. The dressing was equally dry and bland. The main course was served while we were still eating our starters. I never find this acceptable. If I am eating at a coffee shop I will overlook it but in an expensive restaurant there is no excuse. We lodged a complaint with the manager and the waiter came by and apologized. We each had a glass of Gerwerztraminer with the meal. For dessert, Don had a Little Big Pie with a fruit filling (I forget which fruit) and whipped cream. I liked the breading that was the pie shell. I had a more typical pie. It was filled with strawberry and rhubarb and topped with whipped cream. It was the best part of the meal, but that is not saying much. Total cost for 2 including tax and tip: $70 Kay From [email removed] Tue Aug 8 08:02:17 EDT 1995 Article: 18234 of rec.food.restaurants
Santa Fe, NM