Page 105 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL FALL 2021 DISCOVERING SANTA FE

ust writing about our dining experiences in
Santa Fe makes our mouths water. This city
takes food seriously in a fun way. After all,
J no other state sports a red chile pepper on
its license plate, boasting it is the Chile Capital of
the World.
All kinds of cuisines are done well here — from
French to Chinese. But Santa Fe is best known for
piquant New Mexican dishes. Don’t call them
Mexican, or even Tex Mex, although you’ll find
similarities.
New Mexican cuisine is a delicious culinary
melting pot spiced by the majestic chile. Through-
out its history, the people who live here spurred
the culinary adaptations blended into this re-
gional cuisine. Native Americans, Spanish con-
querors, and European settlers all added to the
mix.
Santa Fe’s longtime restaurant favorites like Tia
Sophia’s, the Pink Adobe, and the Shed serve the
same classic New Mexican fare. Chefs in these
restaurants are passionate about everything they
serve and their treasured traditional recipes. As
one fellow writer put it, “They pour their love into
every tortilla and refried bean.”
Staples on New Mexico menus include beef and
chicken enchiladas, tamales, carne adovada (red
chile marinated pork), burritos, huevos rancheros
and chiles rellenos. Servers will ask you if you pre-
ferred red or green chile sauce on your enchilada,
burrito, or chile relleno. If you want both, you ask
for Christmas.
New Mexican cuisine and the dining experience,
especially in tourist meccas like Santa Fe, con-
tinue to evolve in sophistication and creativity.
Chefs like Mark Miller, whose Coyote Cafe
restaurant and cookbook were international sen-
sations in the late 1980s, showcased the exciting
possibilities. More recently savvy restaurateurs
have recruited star chefs to take the fine dining
experience to new levels, to the delight of visitors
like us who flock here annually.

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