Chile peppers

Pining away for spicy autumn soup with piñons

Pining away for spicy autumn soup with piñons

Driving up a remote single lane road north of Taos, headed to the D.H. Lawrence Ranch, we had to weave around cars and pickup trucks parked on the roadside every 50 yards or so. We saw people of all ages crouched on the ground, picking away at the dirt or picking over something on blankets they'd spread under the bristly branches of roadside pine trees. It finally dawned on us that they were collecting piñons, aka pine nuts. Piñons are one of the great delicacies of New Mexico, and one of the region's most ancient foods. The trees grow wild and the nuts are apparently free for the taking on public land — including the roadside rights of way. Once we started paying attention, we...Read More
The two-handed taste of New Mexico

The two-handed taste of New Mexico

We love a good food origin story. Just to prove it, we drove more than two hours each way from our base in Santa Fe to San Antonio. San Antonio, New Mexico, that is — not Texas. The little village of fewer than 100 people is the birthplace of the Green Chile Cheeseburger. Now it's true that the burger has practically become synonymous with the state of New Mexico. There are, after all, 51 stops on the state's Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail. (newmexico.org/things-to-do/cuisine/culinary-trails/green-chile-cheeseburger-trail/) It's hard to imagine that there was ever a time when New Mexicans weren't munching down on their signature burger. But New Mexicans seem to agree that the Green Chile Cheeseburger first appeared at the Owl Bar, opened by Frank Chavez and...Read More
Chile Friday at Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta

Chile Friday at Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta

A mariachi band was playing along the fence and the aroma of roasting green chile wafted through the air at the entrance to Fort Marcy Park in Santa Fe. There was no doubt about it: It was Chile Friday as the Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta (santafewineandchile.org) reached its climactic weekend of five days of eating, drinking, and talking about food and wine. The Fiesta began as a single Saturday afternoon event in 1991 with 20 restaurants and 20 wineries. Counting all the specialty wine dinners leading up to the broader public events, it now features more than 60 participating restaurants and 90 winery partners. Chile Friday joined the lineup just three years ago. The emphasis is on chile-based food. The 2024 showcase featured...Read More
Eating at the omphalos of the breakfast burrito

Eating at the omphalos of the breakfast burrito

At the temple of Apollo at Delphi in Greece, a round stone covers a deep hole that plunges into the earth. According to myth, this well stone is a sacred spot that marks the center of the earth — the bellybutton from which all creation sprang. If you like breakfast as much as we do, Tia Sophia’s (210 West San Francisco Street, Santa Fe, NM; 505-983-9880, tiasophias.com) is the omphalos of the breakfast burrito. A breakfast and lunch stalwart just off the plaza in downtown Santa Fe since 1975, Tia Sophia's specializes in New Mexican comidas nativas, or local cooking. Founders Ann and Jim Maryol aspired to create a casual diner serving good food at good prices and catering to local tastes. This was back...Read More
Green chile chowder an all-season pleaser

Green chile chowder an all-season pleaser

During our sojourn in Santa Fe last spring, we took ample advantage of green chile — even though the vegetable was out of season. Every supermarket stocked at least a few brands of frozen green chile. The peppers were invariably fire-roasted, peeled, and chopped. While frozen green chile doesn't seem to have made it to our Boston-area markets, seeing local chiles at the farmers markets reminded us of a favorite dish we made in Santa Fe. That would be green chile corn chowder, amped up with diced roasted chicken and simmered with potato cubes. The potato cubes are a New England thing, we suspect. But with corn, potatos, and some green chiles in the local markets, we revived the dish for the sudden chill of...Read More
Green chile’s culinary apotheosis at Bishop’s Lodge

Green chile’s culinary apotheosis at Bishop’s Lodge

It might be a relative newcomer to the Santa Fe scene, but Bishop's Lodge (1297 Bishops Lodge Road, Santa Fe, 505-390-323; aubergeresorts.com/bishopslodge) became one of our go-to spots in the city. Established in 2021, the resort is just four miles north of the Santa Fe Plaza, yet feels like a stylish oasis in the mountain desert. Lit by late-day sun and backed up by the Sangre de Cristo mountains and the impressive cumulus clouds that coalesce above them, the resort projects an iconic presence at the crest of a small hill. We found ourselves gravitating to the resort's lounge and restaurant, SkyFire, for its tranquility and for its striking sunset views. During our stay in Santa Fe, the great Nacha Mendez (nachamendez.com/events) was playing the...Read More
Green chile rules at Santa Fe’s Inn & Spa at Loretto

Green chile rules at Santa Fe’s Inn & Spa at Loretto

Santa Fe is laced with hiking trails, particularly on the outskirts of the historic downtown. It's less well endowed with walking trails — paths that require no special shoes, walking sticks, or other gear. The best of the downtown routes is the Santa Fe River Trail. It quickly became our go-to light exercise route. The paved sidewalk along Alameda Street skirts the downtown in favor of scenic plantings of flowering trees and public art installations along the riverbanks. Much of the route includes a packed-dirt path along the opposite bank, with periodic bridges so you can switch back and forth. Another reason it became one of our favorites is the proximity to the Inn and Spa at Loretto (211 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe;...Read More
Brazen Cowgirl pulls no punches with True West BBQ

Brazen Cowgirl pulls no punches with True West BBQ

You might have caught a hint of praise in our last post for the artfully subtle use of green chile in Sage Bakehouse's compound butter (hungrytravelers.com/from-the-capitols-art-to-sages-artisanry/). Well, we also like a wholehearted embrace of big flavors. Few eateries in Santa Fe employ green chile so potently as Cowgirl BBQ (319 South Guadalupe Street, Santa Fe, NM; 505-982-2565; cowgirlsantafe.com). Cowgirl is one of the city's most beloved culinary hangouts. Unlike any other barbecue house we know, the kitchen offers a broad vegan menu to supplement the usual carnivore's delights. Established in 1993 as a New Mexico scion of the Cowgirl Hall of Fame Restaurant in New York's West Village, Cowgirl quickly became an anchor of Santa Fe's Guadalupe district. By virtue of its proximity to the...Read More
From the capitol’s art to Sage’s artisanry

From the capitol’s art to Sage’s artisanry

In the course of our Green Chile Chronicles in Santa Fe, we visited a lot of bakeries to see what they might be doing with the state's signature vegetable. The upshot was that we ate a lot of biscochitos, the official state cookie, but mostly struck out on green chile baked goods. (More about those biscochitos later.) Then one day we took a different walking route returning from a visit to the state capitol building's astounding art collection. That's when we discovered Sage Bakehouse (535 Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe, NM; 505-820-7243; sagebakehouse.com). The artisanal bakery, a fixture in the City Different since 1996, even serves breakfast and lunch in a small cafe on the premises. Santa Fe has enough museums and art galleries to make...Read More
Legendary Western vibe still animates Las Vegas, NM

Legendary Western vibe still animates Las Vegas, NM

Long before Nevada's famous Sin City sprouted in the desert, a New Mexico town by the same name was literally America's gateway to the West. Set in the foothills of the Rockies just west of the Great Plains, Las Vegas, N.M., flourished as a key node on the Santa Fe Trail. For traders heading west from Old Franklin, Missouri, Las Vegas was the first city they would encounter after more than a thousand miles crossing the open plains. That was assuming they survived the weather, the outlaws, and various bands of Indigenous warriors who thought they had no business there. Las Vegas's heyday began with the Mexican-American War, when U.S. forces used the Santa Fe Trail to invade Mexican territory in 1846. The arrival of...Read More