I’ve highlighted a restaurant in my previous Santa Fe post already of Gabriel’s, which also offered a very cool artsy atmosphere and tableside guacamole on the way to Bandelier, and which I would definitely recommend again. My favorite Santa Fe Eats that we had overall during our entire trip was at The Shed, a very well known a family owned restaurant since 1953. They serve Southwest specialties but are especially known for their red chile sauce. It’s a little hidden off the Santa Fe Plaza since you need to go back a little bit to see the doors, and it’s reputation as a must visit may mean a line (they do take reservations) although we didn’t encounter any on the rainy day lunch we had.

The atmosphere is like a hacienda with lots of folk art that feels like a neighborhood joint in the heart of downtown Santa Fe.

The bar offers a pretty good selection of margaritas. And a vacation especially when our lodging is in walking distance of the Santa Fe plaza (and which offers a complimentary shuttle to and from downtown) means a margarita for lunch. It always feels so decadent to drink at lunch!

He ordered a vegetarian burrito in green chile sauce – and holy moly was it massive, fork to show scale! The green chile sauce was good, but would not be the best we had during the trip.

Meanwhile, I think I had the best dish since I got the cheese enchiladas (vegetarian so we could bot enjoy) in the legendary red chile sauce served with pinto beans & posole (stew of Nixtamal corn, lean pork, coarse red chile, garlic & oregano). Keeping with The Shed’s tradition, their New Mexican dishes are served with French garlic bread, which was a great break as I was scooping up the sauce by itself by the spoonfuls – it was spicy, smokey, and delicious. The Shed’s chile comes directly from a farm and is continuously ground on the premises for freshness. I now it doesn’t look like much, but it was fantastic.

Cool your tongue afterwards by not missing dessert: we were pleasantly surprised by the sophistication of this Zabaglione with Creamy Italian Custard, Cointreau, White Port

While The Shed was my #1 favorite for dining, and had the best red chile sauce, for green chile sauce our vote goes to no frills local diner Horseman’s Haven. It’s set back a bit from the busy Cerrillos Road – you have to look for it slightly behind a gas station – I drove by it twice before I found it. One of the reasons I write my blog is because I always adore reading blog entries myself when researching travel: and this entry by NM Gastronome on Horseman’s Haven is what convinced me to make this someplace to check out.

The vegetarian green chile at Horseman’s Haven has a depth that’s surprising given that most green chiles have pork in them in town – and the chile has a nice meaty texture as it is thickened with a roux. The regular green chile sauce is already spicy unlike most other green chiles you may come across, and then they offer a spicier Level Two made with Jim and Sandia peppers. Make sure you have tissue for your sweat and runny nose if you go with Level Two.

It is so spicy you may not be able to have more than a teaspoon or even a few drops. As much as I like spicy Thai and Indian food, I had to tap out after a few spoonfuls worth, though F ate it all up. So if you can take the heat, for green chile try Horseman’s Haven. I definitely suggest you order something large like a big burrito so you have something to eat between sweating with the green chile. Don’t be afraid to ask for the Level 2 on the side to be cautiously risky.

For a more moderate green chile experience, we went to Tomasita’s which is the typical huge Mexican restaurant great for huge groups that has been in business for more than 40 years. Their red & green chile from Hatch, New Mexico is cooked daily and they also use New Mexico pinto beans plus all entrees and specials include a sopaipilla, honey butter and New Mexico Honey from B’S Honey Farm of Albuquerque. A sopaipilla, if you haven’t had one before is like a fried bread.

I recommend the entree called Tomasita’s Big Bowl, which allows you to build your own bowl with any combination – red or green chile, beans, posole, ground beef or chicken served with a hot sopaipilla. I went with red chile for myself. F had Tomasita’s Vegetarian Mexican plate with Red and Green Chile, beans and rice, and in front you see a sopaipilla.

The other reason we went to Tomasita’s is because they have this super fun mariachi band called Mariachi Buenaventura that plays every Tuesday evening at Tomasita’s at 7:30 PM. What makes Mariachi Buenaventura stand out is that they are an all female mariachi band. If you are around on a Tuesday, these ladies alone make it worth a trip to Tomasita’s. When we saw them that night, I think there were twice as any as in the video below.

Have you had red or green chile before? Which one do you prefer?

Here’s the summary of my series of posts on Santa Fe, New Mexico Travels

• Bandelier National Monument
• Visiting Plaza Blanca
• Kasha Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument
• Santa Fe Art Scenes
• Santa Fe Eats