The Colorful Eateries of New Mexico

The Colorful Eateries of New Mexico

Jon Rizzi

Red or green? If that’s how you define New Mexican cuisine, your palate—and palette—is in for a colorful surprise.

Santa Fe and Albuquerque lead the way in innovative eateries.

In Santa Fe, The Compound Restaurant is a classic Canyon Road restaurant, with some of the most flavorful and daring food in the Southwest. Across the street sits the equally refined Geronimo, and on the Plaza, you’ll find 315 and Anasazi. For more regionally representative, less formal fare, duck into The Shed, Café Pasqual’s, Blue Corn Café (which now has a brewery in a separate location), Coyote Café, Cowgirl BBQ, or the Pink Adobe. And by all means, if you’ve played golf at Towa or Black Mesa, head to the impeccably appointed Red Sage Restaurant at Buffalo Thunder, which plies diners with inspired Native, European and Latin cuisines.

The popularity of TV’s “Breaking Bad” has spawned a minor tourist boom in Albuquerque, but the city has finer restaurants than Los Pollos Hermanos and better cooks than Walter White.

Topping the list is the impeccably appointed Bien Shur, perched atop the Sandia Resort & Casino. Pair your perfectly turned cut of Angus with one of six mouthwatering sauces and a panoramic view of the watermelon-colored mountains, championship golf course and the lights of Albuquerque. Another superb hotel restaurant, The Corn Maiden at the Hyatt Tamaya, dishes up Native classics like k’uchininak’u (a combination of chorizo, Fresno chicken and chile-rubbed rib eye) in an ersatz pueblo atmosphere.

Authentic Albuquerque eateries also include the venerable El Pinto and Frontier, both of which have hosted multiple celebrities and U.S. Presidents; and the chef-driven Restaurant Jennifer James, Scala, Zacatecas, Rancher’s Club, Savoy, Farm & Table, Seasons and Zinc.

For the true “Foodie” looking for more info on these great restaurants and other New Mexico culinary musts, visit:

New Mexico Tourism Department
www.newmexico.org

Albuquerque Convention and Tourism Department
www.itsatrip.org