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I just arrived in Santa Fe (to be reunited w/my wife and dog after 2+ months of being apart doing our various gigs) and my first stop, as always, was at Harry's Roadhouse for my usual inaugural burrito. Grilled chicken, black beans, red AND green chili (THAT is the part I haven't been able to duplicate at home), cheese, guac............it was a religious experience. There are so many great places to eat here for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It's also green chili harvesting time and you can smell them being roasted all around town.

Anyone else share an affection for SF cuisine?

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Grilled chicken, black beans, red AND green chili (THAT is the part I haven't been able to duplicate at home), cheese, guac............it was a religious experience. There are so many great places to eat here for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It's also green chili harvesting time and you can smell them being roasted all around town.

Anyone else share an affection for SF cuisine?

Yes, especially those smaller cafes and restaurants which haven't been hyped and overrated. While I dig visiting Santa Fe, there are aspects of the downtown scene which remind me far too much of Beverly Hills. The hipness factor has gone off the map with some.

I love New Mexican cuisine, however. I've never eaten at Harry's Roadhouse, which is now on my list. Ah yes, "Christmas" chile (red & green). I buy New Mexican chiles in our supermarkets to make some delectable chile sauces. When those green chiles from Hatch, New Mexico start appearing in restaurants, it's almost a religious experience.

hatch2k_sign.jpg

I love some of the restaurants in and around Las Vegas and Taos, especially this one in Chimayo, for a really special treat.

posole1.jpg

Posole, it's not just for breakfast anymore!

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Santa Fe was really great 20 - 25 years ago before it became a prime tourist, real estate, and art market. Much, if not most, of the population from that time has since moved elsewhere, because they could no longer afford to live there. And the town has sprawled into a city.

That being said, traditional New Mexican cuisine is my favorite "Mexican food". It's mostly from the chiles and the Native American influences I think. I can't get down to Santa Fe anymore. So I do my best at recreating traditional "SF cuisine" with homegrown and imported (from New Mexican sources) ingredients.

I don't usually enjoy the various newer "fusion" cuisines that now abound at Santa Fe's trendiest restaurants.

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That being said, traditional New Mexican cuisine is my favorite "Mexican food".  It's mostly from the chiles and the Native American influences I think.  I

Same here.

We have some good New Mexican places here in Phoenix.

One of the places is Los Dos Molinos, another is Richardson's.

For those of you in New York check out.....

http://www.losdosmolinos.com/index2.html

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My wife has been coming out here to SF for several summers now- she plays in the orchestra for the SF Opera. We are able to avoid the overly "touristy" places and frequent the more unknown dives. I usually have my own summer activities like jazz camps, etc. so I don't get out here 'til the end of August most of the time. By the time I get here, though, I'm TOTALLY jonesin' for some New Mexican goodies. One thing I didn't expect is that I've actually developed an appreciation for opera. It helps that they have the libretto on little monitors on the back of the seat in front of you- my problem was that I NEVER understood what the hell was goin' on. Some of the music is awesome, I must say.

BTW, just got back from lunch- the catfish tacos were awesome!

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My wife & I have visited Santa Fe since 1970.

Live here full time for the last several years.

Yes, there have been changes - but, overall I wouldn't want to be anyplace else.

The food overall is great in both the trendy & non-trendy restaurants.

All depends on what you like.

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Rooster, how have you been able to stand it?

Like any good Rooster, I crow at the crack of dawn, and then go back to sleep all day (in the AC, for sure!!! :P ).

Really, the way to deal with the heat is NOT to watch the local news, and totally ignore what the thermometer says, and especially to ignore what any of the weather forecasts say (I don't even watch 'em any more in the hottest part of the summer, 'cept to check weather.com and see if it's gonna rain or not).

I have always thought that once it gets up over 90 degrees, it just doesn't matter how hot it is, cuz it's just "hot". AND, knowing the numerical temperature (and heat index value) only makes it seem hotter than it would if you just thought "yeah, it's pretty damn hot", without obsessing about the details.

Seriously. ^_^

Edited by Rooster_Ties
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Since you been gone, I got a disc for you that I know you'll like.

Oh boy! New tunes! So you're diggin' the Harry Whitaker side, huh? Did you find the copy that was hiding at Streetside? It really grew on me.

Yup, got the one at Streetside. DAMN, what an album. Totally blown away by it.

The disc I got for you is by an up-and-coming trombone player (the competition that's hot on your trail :o;) ). The bonus is that Jason Moran is a sideman on the date. :excited:

Edited by Rooster_Ties
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The disc I got for you is by an up-and-coming trombone player.....

Let me guess.....is it Andre Hayward? Josh Roseman? Andre just won the Monk competition. They FINALLY got around to trombone; figures, after I'm "too old" to even enter.

I guess I'm more of an "up-and-chucking" kind of player...........

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I lived in Albuquerque from 1982-1984, it's where I met my wife. We went back a few years ago and the place had changed drasticly - no zoning laws?

No matter though, we cruised the region, had no hotel reservations or anything, just got off the airplane, rented a car, and drove wherever and did whatever whenver. We ended up finding this then-newly opened B&B called the Jemez River Bed & Breakfast Inn in Jemez Springs that was just incredible. Not an old house or anything like that, it's a thougroughly modern, specifically built facility with all the amenitites. It's located RIGHT at the base of the Sandias, and it's a hummingbird sanctuary - there's literally hundreds of thousands of them flitting around. Plus, there's the proverbial babbling brook flowing right through the grounds, and the owners had begun a vegetable garden that sprawled all over the grounds. Net result was a Shang-Ri-La type environment whre you could sleep to the sounds of a creek rustling, and stoll the grounds surrounded by lush greenery and hummingbirds everywhere. To top it off, the lobby had a bigass telescope trained on the mountains, and the brekfast was totally homemade, and some of the finest food I've ever had in a state that is blessed with truly GREAT food.

If the place is still open, I'd recommend it to anybody looking for a unique, and, dare I say it, enchanting experience. It's close to both Albuquerque and Santa Fe, and unless it's gotten totally spoiled (or is no longer in business), it's an experience you won't forget.

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  • 9 years later...

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