El Tesoro Cafe

July 25, 2008---today is my Dad's 65th birthday. Happy Birthday, Dad!
Today, I had lunch at El Tesoro Cafe located at the Sanbusco Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
My husband and I both had the chicken blue corn enchiladas, Christmas (which means both red and green chile sauce on top and all over the plate) and it came with rice and black beans. It was delicious. The chicken was grilled, the rice just right, beans were just fine and the chile was hot enough but not too hot. For $20.00 this place is definitely good bang for your buck.

Bobcat Bite

Way out on Old Las Vegas Highway in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is a little shack of a place called Bobcat Bite. It is the best burger you will have in North America. It has even been featured in a documentary on Food Network. The green chile cheeseburger with home fries and coleslaw is what I get each time. I get my meat cooked medium well, and it's still juicy and delicious. The wait can be horrendous, so get there at a random hour not necessarily lunch time. It's open from Tuesday's thru Saturday's from 11 AM till about 7 PM. It is awesome and I highly recommend anyone who enjoys a good burger to go and check it out.

Farmer's Market on a Saturday Morning

Wow...going to Farmer's Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico on a Saturday morning is such an amazing natural high. The energy is crazy to say the least. I try to get there in the 8 AM hour, although they open at 7 AM. You get all types at the Market, and I overheard someone saying going to the Market is a lot like gambling at a casino---you bring x-amount of money and once it's gone, it's game over. The best greens I have found to date is Mr. G's Greens. Not sure how to describe where his booth is, but if you see a big line up---he has the best salad and basil I've ever had. There's this Taos Farms Tomato stand, for lovely tomatos, but the guy who owns it or works it is not very friendly. Mr. G., however, is. Crumpackers is a good bakery that makes good spinach feta quiches and pecan tarts. Their cinnamon buns are surprisingly good. I just found this new bakery with a funny name like Intergalactica or something like that, and they have awesome flat bread like garlic and arugula and green chile. Just bought an 4.6 pound organic whole chicken the other weekend---cost me $18.00 but I think it was worth it. Try to get out of there as fast as you can. It's a zoo to get parking and people who haven't had their morning's coffee are wretched.

Plaza Cafe

Talk about a tourist trap---Plaza Cafe, on the west side of the Plaza of Santa Fe, New Mexico, this restaurant will disappoint you. I strayed from my usual gyro plate the last time I went, and that was a mistake. Stick to what is good. I attempted to try something new by ordering the special sandwich of the day that came with fries. It was a very grissly piece of steak, squished between some refried beans and sauteed peppers. It was a disaster for $11.00. The service was awful to boot. Last summer, I ordered the red velvet cake, as I am a huge fan of this cupcake store in NYC that makes fabulous red velvet cupcakes. Well...can we say...yuck in a major way? Yes, I think we can. When I took my first bite, there was something gelatinous inside the cake. I asked what it was---it was coca cola gelatin bits inside the red velvet cake! Totally disgusted, I could not eat it. I can not recommend anything else but the gyro plate with fries here, and order anything else at your own risk.

Bumble Bee

For a semi-fast and hearty meal at a reasonable price, Bumble Bee in Santa Fe, New Mexico is a good one. They have excellent grilled chicken to put inside a burrito, taco or salad. A salsa bar also compliments their homemade tortilla chips. The only downside is whenever I eat their pico de gallo, I can't seem to shake the taste of onion out of my system. They used to be pretty reasonable price wise, but I definitely justify the price for the wholesomeness and convenience of not having to make a meal. About $10.00 will run you a burrito these days.

Yoberri

For anyone who enjoys a good frozen dessert, I highly recommend Yoberri in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is located on the corner of San Francisco St. and Guadalupe, next door to Il Vicino, the pizzeria. I went 2 nights in a row for the pomegranate flavor. It has wonderful consistency, taste and for $2.70 for a small cup, it is definitely affordable. It may be frozen yogurt, not gelato, but it is way better than the gelato stores in town like Ecco. The mango/agave flavor will be in the store forever, but other flavors, like my beloved pomegranate will come and go. This week (July 21st, 2008) blueberry is supposed to come into the picture.

Inn at the Anasazi

Last Friday, I went to the Inn at the Anasazi in Santa Fe, New Mexico for some outdoor patio eating. The cooking instructor from Las Cosas at the De Vargas Mall, John Vee, recommended it and I wanted to give it a try. So my girlfriend, my baby and myself went to check it out.
It was excellent. Talk about spending $$$, though. We started off with a basket of chips with 3 dips, 1 being guacamole (it needed a punch, salt perhaps? Or more lime juice and jalapeno?) and 2 types of salsas. We ordered an ahi tuna wrap that was very good, and an order of crab ravioli. They were both very good. After 2 iced teas, and tip, the bill ran around $60.00+. (That seems like the magic number for dinner for 2 in Santa Fe, NM doesn't it?) I would definitely go back again but to try the trio of small buffalo burgers with fries---that looked amazing!

Cafe Cafe

As we were driving home from a decent but overpriced dinner this evening, it occurred to us that perhaps I should set up a blog on my favorite places to go for food. Hence, blogger.com! This is my first time blogging and hopefully not my last. I enjoy eating, cooking and rating food of all kinds.

Tonight, we had dinner at Cafe Cafe in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A fairly new Italian restaurant on Sandoval cross street being Cerrillos. We had a large bottle of sparkling Pellegrino water, I ordered the clam linguine and my husband had the breaded veal that had a bit of pasta on the side. We spent $61.00 including the tip. It has nice ambiance, but for pete's sakes, $7.00 for a bottle of sparkling water and $19.00 for a smallish plate of clam pasta, and $23.00 for a piece of veal is ridiculous. As much as I enjoyed the meal as it was good, I think lunch will be better bang for your buck. I will definitely not go back there again for dinner.