All photos by Juliet White
Charles Goodnight originally invented the chuck wagon to feed cowboys during a cattle drive between Texas and New Mexico, so it is only fitting that the chuck wagon’s modern-day descendants have rolled into Santa Fe dispensing gourmet food. These are six of Santa Fe’s best food trucks: (more…)
Torte at Sage Bakehouse. All photos by Juliet White.
Baking at high altitude has its challenges. Cakes emerge from the oven with the appearance and texture of a frisbee, bread rolls metamorphose into rocks, and there’s a ten-second window before cookies mutate from underdone to charred. In Santa Fe, it’s best to leave the baking to the experts. (more…)
Chicken enchilada at Casa Chimayo. All photos by Juliet White.
Enchiladas are a staple of Northern New Mexican cuisine. Many of Santa Fe’s restaurants, from drive-thru joints to high-end establishments, feature the dish. Although the basic ingredients remain the same, the city offers many creative approaches to this archetypal food. (more…)
With the plethora of carb-heavy Mexican and Southwestern restaurants, eating healthy while dining out in Santa Fe can be a struggle. For a meal that’s good to both your body and palette, hit up these three eateries.
Vinaigrette
709 Don Cubero Alley, Santa Fe
(The nearest intersection is Cerrillos Road and Don Diego Avenue. The restaurant is slightly set back from Cerrillos Road.)
Vinaigrette is so healthy that there are even vegetables in the bathrooms. Admittedly, they are made from wood – a cucumber marks the door of the men’s and a half a head of cabbage signifies the women’s – but it demonstrates this salad bistro’s dedication to produce. The restaurant even has its own ten-acre farm, located twenty minutes from Santa Fe. During the peak growing season, the farm supplies about seventy percent of Vinaigrette’s produce – the epitome of the farm-to-table movement. (more…)
Tia Sophia’s Breakfast Burrito. All photos by Juliet White.
Nowadays the breakfast burrito can be found on the menus of fast food behemoths like McDonald’s and Carl’s Jr. However, its creation is attributed to a Santa Fe café, and chile smothered breakfast burritos remain a popular and portable New Mexican breakfast choice. (more…)
Wasabi Caesar salad at Geronimo. All photos by Juliet White
Unless you’re visiting Santa Fe for the Edible Art Tour – when restaurants team up with galleries – it’s challenging and expensive to experience the city’s fine dining scene in one visit. However, many high-end restaurants offer bar menus, whose selection and, in some instances, portions are smaller, but so too are the prices. These five under-advertised menus give a whole new meaning to the term “bar crawl.” (more…)
Green Chile Cheeseburger. All photos by Southwest Compass
New Mexico has the oldest regional cuisine in the United States. Native Americans have inhabited the Southwest for roughly 1,500 years and Santa Fe, the state capital, was established more than four hundred years ago. Northern New Mexico’s history and food are inextricably intertwined because as power shifted and cultures merged, so too did the local food. Santa Fe was the terminus point for both El Camino Real (from Mexico City) and the Santa Fe Trail (from Missouri). The influences of the Native Americans, Spanish, Mexican, and Anglo settlers have shaped New Mexican cuisine. (more…)
