My husband and I visited New Mexico for the first time in late September, early October. We enjoyed everything from the 50th Annual Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, to art and history museums to Bandelier National Monument and a Day at Taos Pueblo to celebrate the San Geronimo Feast Day. Home base for the week was the Inn of the Govenors in Santa Fe.
Outside Museum HillWe researched many restaurants ahead of time and most of the places we tried, we loved. Almost all were casual and didn’t offer reservations.
Day One: Del Charro: My first and favorite Margarita of the trip. (See notes below “The Margarita Trail).
“Del Charro Double Barrel Tequila Reposada from Casa Herradura infused with Hatch Chiles.” Needing a quick bite after arriving, my husband and I went headed to our hotel’s saloon and split Nachos Royale (grilled chicken breast, chipotle cream sauce, black beans, cheddar and jack cheeses, pico de gallo and fresh jalapenos.) Tastiest nachos we have ever had. Usually, we don't eat at our hotel, but this place is popular with locals and it was always full of people no matter the hour.
La Fonda’s Bell Tower. Drinks and a beautiful sunset view (Silver Coin Margarita: Corralejo Blanco; Cointreau and fresh lime. Open late spring through late fall, bar closes early.
Dinner at Café Pasqual’s: I had mole rolled enchiladas organic roasted chicken, corn tortillas, cilantro rice, orange and jicama salad, corn torte (best part of meal).
Because of the long wait, we accepted immediate seating at a communal table. Usually this would be fun, but there was no mingling and it felt odd. Food was good but expensive and didn’t match the atmosphere. I agree with a 2012 LTH posts from both Thaiobsessed and Bill/SFNM who mentioned they wouldn’t return.
Day Two: Lunch at
Tia Sophia. I had enchiladas with green chilé sauce, beans, rice and warm sopapilla with honey, which I loved. Can’t recall our whereabouts for dinner.
Day Three: San Geronimo Day at Taos Pueblo, fry bread tacos, water, shaved ice from food trucks.
About a mile north of Taos, The Taos Pueblo is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the US.
The mud-and-straw multi-story pueblo dwellings have sheltered Tiwa-speaking Native Americans for more than 1,000 years. The public is invited to certain ceremonies throughout the year. San Geronimo Feast Day is one of these ceremonies.
If you ever want to take in the San Geronimo Feast Day, feel free to PM me for more info. There is little information online or in guidebooks. The celebration includes dance, foot races, clowns “Koshares” and pole climbing all of which have cultural and spiritual significance. We felt honored to share in the day which was unlike anything we have ever experienced.
I can’t stress enough not to bring phones or cameras as they will be confiscated, which we witnessed. They ask you respect their rules (no photos) and customs which are posted prominently. Yet signs were still ignored and it didn't go well for those who ignored. (One man was tackled by the Koshare and several police officers and removed from premises, not sure what happened next.)
Between the lack of set times for events and the lack of our phones for the day, it was a good lesson for us to just be present and let the day unfold.
“It will happen when it happens,” was the common reply if you asked the time of the next event. It felt like we stepped back in time, unforgettable.
Dinner: Plaza Café Another delicious silver coin margarita. We both had BLTAs (bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado on green chilé cheddar bread, fries and coleslaw (spicy, vinegar mix). Husband also had a chocolate shake which he shared with me, fantastic.
Though our day at the Taos Pueblo was fascinating experience, it was also challenging, with little shade, long lines for food, drinks and water. After a day in the hot sun, everything tasted perfect. The fries were the best I’ve ever had; husband said the same. Loved the spice from the green chilé in the cheddar bread. Because we were tired and hungry, we appreciated and loved each bite.
Day Four:50th Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta followed by lunch at
The Pantry (family owned since 1948, two locations, one was right next to our hotel, but better reviews for the one at 1820 Cerillos Road). Sat on stools at the counter, diner-atmosphere, great staff. Husband had chicken-fried steak, chilaquiles for me. Breakfast served all day.
Drinks at
Coyote’s (not a great place for sunset, one of the few places we didn’t get excellent service) Dinner at
Tomasita’s. More sopaipillas, delicious with honey from a family-owned honey farm in Albuquerque. Every restaurant asks, Red, Green or Christmas (mix of types of chilé sauce). Their site has a nice description of all the work that goes into harvesting and making of the chilé paste. They only add an olive oil-based roux and garlic. Fun fact: one fresh medium sized green chilé has as much vitamin C as six oranges!
I had blue corn enchiladas, pinto beans, Spanish rice, green chilé.
Day Five: Bandelier National Monument
Lunch at
Rancho de Chimayo. The century-old adobe hacienda is tucked into the mountains. Off the high road to Taos, the drive is spectacular, but this is one of a couple restaurants we visited that I can’t recommend. LTH’s Bill/SFNM had given fair warning from years ago but it looked like he had a better experience in 2011. Either way, many years from then until 2022 and we were willing to take chance as we were in the area to see El Santuario de Chimayo.
It had been a rainy morning and after a 30-minute wait, we were offered seating in the patio which was covered with clear plastic. There was a large bucket next to the table to catch drips, felt like a hot house.
We requested to wait until there was indoor seating was available. Once seated, I was surprised to see so many empty tables. I imagined they didn't have enough staff to utilize all their space. I don’t think our dining room had AC but it felt a little cooler. I ordered my lunch with no meat, came with meat, no apology or offer to correct. Flies everywhere and poor service all around. Many rooms to this place and on the way to the restroom, I was shocked at the mess on the various dining room floors and in the bathroom. It was about 3 p.m. My server forgot my guac and sour cream. I asked manager, who was the only person I could find and he hollered into kitchen that our table needed these things. He was close to kitchen and could have helped, but it was like he had to stay in one spot and sweat. There were two women if gift shop, one ringing up and one sitting and putting purchases into bags. Not many shoppers and I was thinking one of them could get sweep the floors. (I have a habit of looking for ways businesses could streamline efficiencies to improve service.) Bad experience all around and with so many places with great food and service, I wouldn’t bother.
Dinner: Market Steer Steak House and Secreto Lounge. Both located in the Hotel Saint Francis. We loved the spare design of the lobby of this historic building.
Hotel Saint Francis lobbyWe enjoyed our complimentary smoked sage margaritas from
Secreto Lounge (14 Espolòn Reposado, Grandeza Orange Liqueur, Pressed Lime, Hickory Smoked Sea Salt Rim). We arrived a few minutes early for our 7:15 reservation and were told they seat at the exact time. 20 minutes after our reservation time, we appreciated the host’s apology and the cocktails he had delivered.
Shrimp cocktail with mezcal cocktail sauce was a nice, unusual presentation in a metal bowl filled with smooth round rocks topped with shrimp.
Tasty “branding iron onion rings,” followed by a wedge salad of baby iceberg, house bacon, red onion, tomatoes, blue cheese crumbles and smoky blue cheese dressing (good, but choice of lettuce makes it less crunchy than I prefer).
My husband ordered a 14-oz New York Strip. You can add “enhancements” for $4 or a flight of sauces for $16. Husband ordered peppercorn demi from a selection including horseradish caramel, roasted Fresno chimichurri and others.
The sides fell flat. Mac N Jack was way too salty and the Green Chilé Risotto was even more salty and inedible.
This was by far our most expensive restaurant option and though I am not a steak-lover, my husband is, and he was looking forward to this meal. Though the host and other servers seemed great, our server seemed like he was reading from a script. The young man filling water glasses had much more personality. Servers can enhance the dining experience and unfortunately ours detracted from the evening.
Day Six: Meow Wolf followed by lunch at
La Choza.
Don’t know that I would ever do Meow Wolf a second time but was glad we saw this 20,000-square-foot exhibit created by more than 100 local artists. Fodor’s calls it a “strange, almost impossible to describe experience.” Interactive and fun.
Delightful lunch at
La Choza, sister restaurant to the Shed. Margaritas while waiting for table. Clean and spacious. Great service and staff. Can’t remember what my husband ordered but I had a burrito with pinto beans and the star of my lunch: posole.
La Choza’s menu describes offers two versions New Mexican Posole described as a pueblo stew made from Nixtamal corn, pork, coarse red chile garlic and oregano. Posole a La Mexicana is served with avocado, onions, cilantro, purple cabbage and fresh lime. I am more familiar with this later version.
My daughter’s Mother-in-law lives in Mexico and she has tried to teach my daughter how to make her pozole via phone (no family recipes written). At their house, it’s a Christmas Eve staple. It’s a lot of work with many steps and a long cooking process, so when my daughter makes it, she makes gallons at a time. La Choza’s had green chilé and pork. I loved the spicy flavor and slightly chewy texture. I think I could eat this dish daily.
Dinner: Jambo CaféWe knew ahead of time that most of the restaurants we wanted to try were casual and none took reservations. Still, we were surprised to have a 45-minute wait on a Monday at 8. This place was busy with the host taking phone orders, seating guests, cleaning tables. The Kenyan born owner is also the chef who received a 2022 James Beard nomination for Best Chef in the Southwest.
Our waitress explained that one reason they are so busy is that they’re closed Sunday and people are craving their food by Monday. We were happy to have waited. My husband had Jerk Chicken and pita bread. I had coconut lentil stew with Roti. Our palates appreciated the refreshing change in flavors.
Day Seven:Lunch:
El Callejon. Whereas most of the other restaurants featured New Mexican fare, the food here is from Central Mexico, the Aguascalientes area. Had a nice chat with owner Raul Morales and his daughter, our server Sophia. I had chilé relleno filled with asadero cheese, with rice, beans and corn tortillas. Nice meal with even nicer hosts.
Dinner: The Ranch HouseWe had pulled pork sliders. I had brisket enchilada and husband had baby back ribs with green chilé sauce BBQ beans. This restaurant was another miss. Nothing memorable to report here, would skip.
Day Eight:Lunch at
The Village Inn, an all-day breakfast chain next to rental car return/airport. I had remembered eating at one many years ago when I lived in St. Paul Minnesota for college. We popped in for breakfast at lunch before we rushed to our flight. Quick, friendly service.
Tips and Miscellaneous:*We loved our hotel,
Inn of the Governors, great staff, service and location. Made-to-order breakfast included daily. Also, daily $15 food/beverage credit. We reserved the largest style of room and we were glad to have the extra living area. We enjoyed our kiva (extra wood available in lobby).
We had rental car and appreciated free parking. Never made it to the pool. Welcome gift of sherry, biscochitos (highly addictive cookies flavored with cinnamon and anise), almonds and dried fruit.
*Taking time to write this made me appreciate all of your contributions even more than I already do. Due to time constraints, I never shared intended posts for New Orleans, Alaska, San Antonio, Denmark and other trips. I was bound and determined to post this time. Our days started early and were action filled. Though I took 100s of photos, sometimes, I forgot to take photos of our meals. Thanks to LTH’s Ronnie Suburban for helping me to post the photos I’m sharing here.
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Museum of International Folk Art. We joined a docent-led tour at 10 a.m. and that added so much to our experience here. Breath-taking collections. Saw many art and history museums and would be happy to share more detailed itinerary with anyone planning a trip here.
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Margarita Trail. You can download full version of app for $2.99 to collect stamps and get $1 off each signature margarita (long list of participating locations). Other prizes for more stamps, but we were not that invested. We did collect our Margarita Trail t-shirts (5 stamps each) at the Santa Fe Visitor Center. Margaritas are not my usual drink of choice but enjoyed trying several variations. Was glad when we had “earned” our shirts and I moved on to wine and other spirits.
This idea is gimmicky, but I think it has helped the Chamber to drum up business for restaurants. You might try a place you hadn’t planned to try because they are featured on “The Trail.” I don’t know how the Chamber could change this promotion to include local wines, ciders or other consumables which Santa Fe features. My husband and I couldn’t think of anything clever, but I think the tourism center could create something similar to promote more home-grown, local options.
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Bus to Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque. We debated driving ourselves but after much research, we decided to arrange a ride via bus through Chamber of Commerce.
We laughed that this was the best decision we made our during our entire trip. Driving looked like a nightmare, and we saw thousands of cars stuck in traffic who probably were not going to make it in time for mass ascension.
Special lane and entry for busses and no long walk to festivities. We were picked up a couple blocks from our hotel and made it in plenty of time. Worth every penny! We got on bus at 4:15 a.m. and we would have had to be on road much earlier if we had driven ourselves. We were dropped off right in front of all the action which begins at 5:45 a.m. My countless photos do not capture he spectacular sites of the fiesta. We were there for opening day and it was magical!
Morning GlowBalloon FiestaUnlike cruises or beach vacations, this kind of vacation takes planning. Not for everyone, but if you enjoy history, art and nature, I would highly recommend a visit to this part of New Mexico.
When I travel, I like to read books from the area we visit. During and after this trip, I read:
"Bless Me Ultima," by Rudolfo Anaya
"Death Comes to the Archbishop," by Willa Cather
"Red Sky at Morning," by Richard Bradford
I only listed restaurants I’d revisit and all are in Santa Fe:Del Charro, Inn of the Govenors, 101 E. Alameda Street
La Fonda on the Plaza, Bell Tower Bar, 100 E. San Francisco Street
Tia Sophia’s, 210 W. San Francisco Street
The Plaza Café Southside, 3466 Zafrano Drive
Tomasita’s, 500 S. Guadalupe Street
Secreto Lounge, Hotel St. Francis, 210 Don Gaspar Avenue
La Choza, 905 Alarid Street
Jambo Café, 2010 Cerrillos Road
El Callejon Taqueria & Grill, 208 Galiesteo Street
Last edited by
janeyb on November 3rd, 2022, 11:52 am, edited 1 time in total.