Santa Fe Archives - Hungry Travelers

Santa Fe

Chile Friday at Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta

Posted on September 30, 2024September 30, 2024 by Pat and David

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

At the heart of northern New Mexico tomatoes

Posted on September 21, 2024September 21, 2024 by Pat and David

We first visited northern New Mexico back in the 1990s to write about chile peppers being bred at New Mexico State University's extension service farm. Rather than develop hybrids, the breeders were cross-pollinating traditional chiles with desirable characteristics to develop chile peppers with various heat levels that were suitable for different growing conditions. In other words, they were taking a scientific approach to seed selection the way farmers have been doing it since the advent of agriculture roughly 12,000 years ago. This fall, at the Santa Fe Farmers' Market, we discovered that the practice is alive and well with all sorts of plants. We spotted a chip-n-dip bowl with three piles of diced tomatoes and a jar of toothpicks. “Free samples” the sign advertised. Post-It...Read More

Green chile’s culinary apotheosis at Bishop’s Lodge

Posted on May 26, 2023May 15, 2023 by Pat and David

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

Posted on May 22, 2023May 11, 2023 by Pat and David

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

Posted on May 19, 2023May 19, 2023 by Pat and David

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

Posted on May 15, 2023May 11, 2023 by Pat and David

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

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

Posted on May 9, 2023May 8, 2023 by Pat and David

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

Santa Fe Farmers Market rich with green chile

Posted on April 28, 2023April 17, 2023 by Pat and David

Our first morning in Santa Fe was a Saturday so we made a beeline to the Santa Fe Farmers Market. It operates all year long in the Railyard (railyardsantafe.com), an emerging redeveloped district south of the old city center. Several art galleries, cafes, and breweries have opened in the Railyard and it's home to a weekend “world market” as well as a market of artists and artisans. It's also the northern terminus of the New Mexico Rail Runner commuter rail service between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. But we were after food to cook in our casita kitchen. Vendors set up their tables in the large warehouse building adjoining the train tracks. In the summer, the market spills out onto the plaza around the building. But...Read More

Why not red chile with pancakes?

Posted on February 3, 2023January 21, 2023 by Pat

As a New Englander, I thought I knew everything that anyone would need to know about pancakes. They are pretty simple, really. Just pour on plenty of Vermont maple syrup, add a little pat of butter for good measure. And dig in. But Cafe Pascual's (121 Don Gaspar Avenue, Santa Fe, 505-983-9340, pasquals.com) in Santa Fe taught me a thing or two. For more than four decades, Cafe Pascual's has been serving three meals a day in a historic adobe building just a block off the main plaza. The colorful wall murals and old Mexican tiles make it a particularly cheery place to start the day. (Late risers can order off the breakfast menu until 3 p.m.) Like Rancho de Chimayó, it's a James Beard...Read More

Enjoying the culinary versatility of green chile

Posted on January 27, 2023May 15, 2023 by Pat

At home, we make a pretty traditional version of green chile cooked with onion, garlic, a little ground beef, and freshly crushed cumin and coriander seed. (We also add puréed tomatillos, but that's another story.) It's a staple of our diet, served over rice and topped with a bit of sour cream to soothe the heat. Or we spoon the sauce over eggs and tortillas as a verdant variation of huevos rancheros. My last visit to Santa Fe proved that green chiles are much more versatile. They can star equally in both casual and fine dining. The green chile cheeseburger, for example, has become an icon of New Mexican cuisine. The state tourism office modestly admits that it didn't invent the hamburger sandwich. (That honor...Read More