From the Archives #2: The Picky Eater's Guide to Eating in the Southwest (well, New Mexico)

Note: My mom is still slaving over the PaRiS Guide; so here's the rest of the old article about restaurants in New Mexico.

You could make a lot of guacamole in this mortar!

A few years back we went to Santa Fe and Taos in New Mexico for a vacation. It was my second visit there, so I knew there were some restaurants that would be okay for me. I was sort of worried that my parents might want to try someplace new. And, of course they did. So, here’s my diary of a few places to eat in New Mexico if you eat like me:

Meal #1: The Frontier (Albuquerque)
Rolled off the plane and into a PT Cruiser – not exactly my parents’ style. Wheeled over to the Frontier for lunch, a restaurant my mom found on the “Road Food” website. My parents eat enchiladas and burritos smothered in sauce. I eat garlic French fries. I resisted trying one of the homemade tortillas until my parents practically shoved it down my throat. It turned out to be pretty good – soft, fresh, and bland.
My mom ordered one of the Frontier’s world famous cinnamon rolls to share with me. It was huge, but swimming in something that tasted suspiciously like margarine. The John Wayne portraits and quasi-Native American décor were funky.

Meal #2: Café Pasqual’s (Santa Fe)
It was snowing when we got downtown. We had some time to kill, so my mom found the bead shop off the Plaza that I liked the last time we were in Santa Fe. My dad bought me a string of pearls for a pre-birthday birthday gift. We still had time to kill before our reservation, the shops were closed, and it was too cold to walk around, so my mom suggested that we get a drink in the bar at the La Fonda Hotel. This was weird, because my mom almost never drinks. I had a bad feeling about this.

The bar, called the “La Fiesta Lounge,” was warm and dimly lit. There was someone playing the guitar in the corner. The walls were painted with murals of old Santa Fe. If it hadn’t been a bar, I might have liked it. My dad ordered a beer, which is no big deal, but my mom ordered a Margarita! I refused to have anything, and just sat and glared at my mom, watching for signs of drunkenness. She just seemed to get a little more cheerful. Finally it was time for us to go to Café Pasqual’s.

Even though we had a reservation, we had to wait for our table in the crowded little entry. Usually people just stand outside on the corner until their table is ready, but with the snow getting heavier, everyone was crammed inside. Our table was definitely worth waiting for. Pasqual’s has two levels, and we were on the top one, which is like a balcony overlooking the main floor. They have lots of papel picados, which are Mexican paper cuttings, and other bizarre Southwestern-ish things for decorations.
My parents both got the “Plato Supremo,” a Chile Relleno, Chicken Mole Enchilada, Napo's Tamal, and Cilantro Rice for $27.00. I thought it all looked suspiciously spicy and slimy, especially the tamale wrapped in banana leaves, but they had their plates cleaned in a jiffy. I had the garlic mashed potatoes, which I had last time, and knew would be great. My parents made me get some sautéed sugar snap peas, which also turned out to be pretty good. We were all too stuffed to have dessert. And the waiter forgot to bring my dad his beer, which was fine with me, since it would have been his 2nd one of the evening.

Peppers & tomatoes
at the Santa Fe Farmers' Market

Meal (really a snack) #3: Santa Fe Farmers’ Market
If you go to Santa Fe, try to be there on Saturday, so that you can go to the Farmers’ Market. It is one of the best. There is a lot of handcrafted merchandise that I really like, like soaps with herbs, and things made with beeswax. Of course, they also sell food there, and we really liked the Mediterranean flatbreads that came in both sweet and savory flavors. There’s a bakery that only sells at the market, and I am prepared to certify that they make the best challah in the Western United States. Trust me, I know what I’m talking about, because at home I eat about half a loaf of Campbell Baking Company challah a week.

Meal #4: The Trading Post Café (Taos)
We drove to Taos so that my mom and I could go to our favorite yarn store, La Lana. I like to spin fiber, and my mom likes to buy yarn. It seems like she buys yarn more than she knits with! After La Lana, we went to the Trading Post Café for lunch. I really liked it when we were there two years ago, and it was just as good this time.

They have great fresh bread there, which is very important for me; because that means I can always make a meal out of the bread if I don’t like what I ordered. My parents took a long time to decide on what they wanted, because the waiter told them a huge list of specials of the day, and mom had trouble remembering them. She finally ordered corn chowder with cilantro oil, and a plate of seashells with shrimp and scallops in them that were sitting on a pile of tortilla chips. She also got salsa and guacamole. She must have liked it, because she shared the soup with my dad, but she wouldn’t share the seashells. My dad got a big salad with disgusting looking pink pieces of salmon spread all over it.
I got plain pasta with butter. I think they make their own pasta there, because it reminds me of the great pasta they used to have at Stokes Adobe restaurant in Monterey (CA). After all the bread and pasta and seafood and salad, we were too stuffed to have dessert.

After lunch, my mom dragged us to her favorite place in Taos, next to La Lana, the Millicent Rogers Museum. It’s in an adobe house way out of town. The lady who lived there, Millicent Rogers, was an heiress and a famous fashion plate in New York. When she moved to Taos, she started buying Native American crafts, especially jewelry, like crazy. In fact, the claim is that she, all by herself, revitalized the Southwestern Native American craft market. In her house, you can see some of her collection – pottery, rugs, religious folk art, etc. I always enjoy the rugs, because I’m interested in weaving; and am amazed by all her silver and turquoise necklaces and bracelets. After that we drove back to Santa Fe along the windy road that goes through Chimayo.

Meal #4 Tecolote Café (Santa Fe)
I probably shouldn’t even be mentioning this restaurant, because I drew the line with my mom and refused to eat breakfast here. So, she went by herself and came back raving about the atole ́ pin ̃on pancakes (that’s blue corn and pinenuts for the non-Spanish speakers). I was happy to have a good old chocolate yogurt and some stale baguette, and to keep her from dragging me there for another meal, which is what she wanted to do.

Now, if you ask me where my favorite place to get food in New Mexico is, I would answer, in a second, the Whole Foods store in Santa Fe. They have a counter where I could get fresh udon noodles to take out, and I even figured out that I could ask the guy to leave off the spinach, so I got just what I wanted, plain noodles and broth. Plus, they have chocolate crackle cookies that are almost as good as my mom’s, and fresh baguettes. My mom likes to get the New Mexican style dishes like quesadillas and chili-rub tri-tip, and the salads. There was even a lady making homemade tamales on the weekend. They have everything I like there, so it felt almost like home, which is what I like when I travel, at least as far as food goes!

Food outlets mentioned:
Café Pasquals’ – 121 Don Gaspar, Santa Fe. 505-983-9340. Serves breakfast, lunch, & dinner.
Frontier Café – 2400 Central Ave. SE, Albuquerque. 505-266-0550. Open 24 hours.
La Fiesta Lounge (in the La Fonda Hotel) – 100 E. San Francisco Street, Santa Fe. 505- 982-5511. Live music every night.
Santa Fe Farmers’ Market (in the Railyard) –1607 Paseo De Peralta # 1 Tues. & Sat 7 am -12: pm; Thurs. 4-7 pm.
Tecolote Café – 1203 Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe. 505-988-1362. Serves breakfast & lunch.
Trading Post Café – 4179 NM 68 at NM 518, Rancho de Taos. 505-758-5089. Serves lunch & dinner. Whole Foods Market – 753 Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe. 505-992-1700.