Santa Fe

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
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
Santa Fe Farmers Market rich with green chile

Santa Fe Farmers Market rich with green chile

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?

Why not red chile with pancakes?

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

Enjoying the culinary versatility of green chile

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
Going green (chile, that is) in northern New Mexico

Going green (chile, that is) in northern New Mexico

Green chile is the signature flavor of New Mexico. The plant seems to thrive in the thin soils along the river and stream valleys feeding into the Rio Grande. Many cultivars are named for the towns north of Santa Fe, like Española and Chimayó. Albuquerque-based Hatch Chile Company has become synonymous with the best green chile peppers on the planet. Simply put, chile is the cornerstone of New Mexican cuisine. To get a taste of the state's traditional cooking, my friend Patti and I drove about 25 miles north to the little town of Chimayó. Situated in a valley of the Sangre de Cristo mountains, the town is perhaps most famous for the Santuario de Chimayó, a Catholic chapel some believe to have healing powers....Read More
Toasting Santa Fe’s Day of the Dead

Toasting Santa Fe’s Day of the Dead

Someday I'll look back and say that I was there at the beginning. When my friend Patti and I left San Antonio, Texas, we flew to Santa Fe, New Mexico, for that city's first official Day of the Dead observances. Santa Fe's two-day gathering was more modest that San Antonio's well-established event. But what it lacked in size, it made up for in heart. We missed the Friday-night kick-off, but were on hand for the full-day of events on Saturday. Early in the day, people gathered in Santa Fe Plaza to prepare ofrendas (as the altars to deceased loved ones are called), listen to strolling mariachis, and have their faces painted as skeletons and Catrinas. As darkness fell, lights twinkled from the trees and the...Read More