Restaurants

Green chile puts bite in Hawt Pizza at Low ‘n Slow

Green chile puts bite in Hawt Pizza at Low ‘n Slow

The Low 'n Slow bar inside Santa Fe's Hotel Chimayo (125 Washington Ave, Santa Fe; 505-216-1066; hotelchimayo.com) draws its inspiration from the Lowrider culture of northern New Mexico. Inside the bar, that translates into hot car artwork and chrome hub caps. The hotel's own modified 1964 Chevy Impala might be parked out front. Hotel guests can climb in to cruise around town on a guided tour. The bar isn't just for drinking (though the Chimayóso Margarita rimmed with Chimayó red chile is certainly popular). Half the space is devoted to Hawt Pizza Co. The roughly 12-inch pies are adequate to feed two people with modest appetites. But they're good enough that many folks want their own. As a nice stylistic compromise between New York thin...Read More
Green Chile Chronicles begin in Cimarron, NM

Green Chile Chronicles begin in Cimarron, NM

Green chile isn't just a vegetable — it's the iconic flavor of New Mexico. It's a motif that runs through almost all of our experiences in the state. Once we crossed the line from Oklahoma into New Mexico, we could have driven straight to the little Santa Fe casita that we had rented for the month of April. Instead, we hightailed it to Cimarron, a mountain town right out of the Old West. We went for the St. James Hotel (617 South Collison Avenue, Cimarron, NM; 575-376-2664; exstjames.com). The hostelry is the stuff of Western legend — plus it also serves green chile mac-and-cheese in its barroom restaurant. Founded in 1861, Cimarron was a trading crossroads where the high plains met the Rocky Mountains. After...Read More
Chicken at Stroud’s skips the fryolator

Chicken at Stroud’s skips the fryolator

When we researched Kansas City, Kansas, we expected to find that the James Beard Foundation had bestowed the America's Classic designation on a barbecue joint. But instead, the Beard folks have honored Stroud's as “The Home of Pan Fried Chicken.” Actually, Stroud's did begin life as a barbecue restaurant in the 1930s, but introduced pan fried chicken during World War II when beef was scarce. The original Stroud's, which sounds like a colorful joint, closed in 2006. But the pan fried chicken has demonstrated real staying power. The restaurant now has three locations including the one we visited in Overland Park (8301 West 135th Street, Overland Park, Kansas; 913-499-0135; stroudsrestaurant.com). The modern restaurant sits in a little shopping mall. But our waitress told us that...Read More
Who could pass up a hot salami sandwich?

Who could pass up a hot salami sandwich?

We made an exception of scheduling only dinner at James Beard American Classics when we discovered an irresistible deli/sandwich shop in a city we'd be passing around noon. Besides, it was only a 10 minute detour from the interstate to enjoy lunch in a historic Italian American neighborhood in St. Louis. How could we possible drive past? Gioia's Deli (1934 Macklind Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri, 314-776-9410, gioiasdeli.com) has anchored a corner of “The Hill” in St. Louis since 1918. It sits across the street from Berra Park in the Italian American neighborhood. Although the park is not named for Yogi Berra, the Yankees catcher and manager did grow up here and locals are happy to point you to his house. We like to imagine that...Read More
St. Elmo Steak House is Indianapolis classic

St. Elmo Steak House is Indianapolis classic

St. Elmo Steak House (127 South Illinois Street, Indianapolis, Indiana; 317-635-0636; stelmos.com) sits in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, near Lucas Oil Stadium. It's the snazziest America's Classic that we've encountered. “Famous Since 1902,” the dining room turned out to be a bit more formal, fancy, and (frankly) expensive, than we were bargaining for. Fortunately, St. Elmo also boasts a “Chicago saloon-style” bar, built around an actual wooden bar made by the Brunswick family of bowling alley fame for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. There are a few tables in the bar area, but grabbed a couple of barstools to watch the action while we ate and drank. St. Elmo's was busy enough to be lively, but not so busy that the bartenders didn't have...Read More
Following James Beard to Santa Fe

Following James Beard to Santa Fe

Since 1998, the James Beard Foundation has honored a handful of “America's Classics” each year. The foundation probably didn't intend the list to be a travelers' database for touring the country, but that's exactly how we use it. When we set out at the end of March to drive from the Boston area to Santa Fe, we broke the trip into 7- to 8-hour segments, then looked for an America's Classic. We knew that these homey, often mom-and-pop casual restaurants would guarantee a welcoming place with local character after a day on the road. Once we'd settled on a place to eat, we looked for a nearby modest motel. The Anchor Bar (1047 Main Street, Buffalo, NY; 716-883-1134; anchorbar.com) in Buffalo, New York, was our...Read More
Hot dog, Iceland’s unofficial national fast food

Hot dog, Iceland’s unofficial national fast food

Judging by America's local-pride food blogs, you'd think that any of a dozen cities in the U.S. invented or perfected the hot dog. But not even New Yorkers who adore Coney Island red hots can claim a greater loyalty to the humble frankfurter than Iceland. (Close as we can tell, the particular sausage originated in Frankfurt, Germany, but that's another story.) You'll find the most important culinary landmark in Iceland at Tryggvagata 1 in Reykjavik. That's the location of Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur (www.bbp.is), the kiosk whose name (we're told) translates to English as ‶best hot dogs in town.″ Opening at 10 a.m. and closing between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. (longer hours in the midnight sun of summer), it has been in the same spot...Read More
Lamb with a view at Reykjavik’s Grandi Maðöll

Lamb with a view at Reykjavik’s Grandi Maðöll

Everything old is new again in Reykjavik, not least the ‶Old Harbor″ district. Just a two-minute walk along the harbor from the oldest city restaurant, Kaffivagninn (see this post), the soaring interior of Grandi Maðöll (Grandagarður 16; +354 787 6200; grandimatholl.is) beckons diners hungry for an indoor fix of street food with a good harbor view. In case you hadn't guessed, maðöll is Icelandic for ‶food hall.″ (The ‶eth″ is pronounced like a ‶th″ in English and is often spelled that way as well.) Grandi Maðöll is one of the city's newer dining ventures. It contains eight food vendors offering mainly Icelandic foods, such as fish and chips, as well as two world cuisines popular in food courts everywhere: Italian pastas and Indian curries. In...Read More
Icelandic lobster soup warms a chill evening

Icelandic lobster soup warms a chill evening

We had read that Iceland's famous ‶lobster soup″ was a special dish widely served at the winter holidays. Given that there's only about four hours of daylight at Christmas, Icelanders definitely need something to cheer them up. But during our Reykjavik visit in late August, lobster soup was ubiquitous on the city's menus. So much for seasonality — or don't believe everything you read on the Internet. According to Iceland Fisheries, the lobster season is April into September All of our research — including asking locals — pointed us to the Seabaron, or Sægreifinn in Icelandic (Geirsgata 101, Reykjavík; +354 553 1500; facebook.com/saegreifinn.seabaron). Everyone agreed that it was famed for lobster soup. The casual grill house squats at the harbor's edge in a lurid green...Read More
Kaffivagninn serves authentic fish and chips

Kaffivagninn serves authentic fish and chips

The oldest restaurant in Reykjavik, Kaffivagninn (Grandagarði 10, Reykjavík; +354 551 5932; kaffivagninn.is), began as a harborside food truck in 1935. Sound out the name and it turns out to be an Icelandic cognate for ‶coffee wagon″ in English. But it also serves delicious fish. On a sunny summer day, Kaffivagninn's location on the city's gorgeous harbor is about as picturesque a place as there is to eat some of the freshest fish in the world. And fish is a lot of what Iceland is about. The fishing industry is essential to Iceland's identity and second only to tourism in its economic impact. The only fish on the breakfast menu at Kaffivagninn is (unsurprisingly) smoked salmon. Breakfast fare is 990-1890 krona (USD $7-$13.50). The only...Read More