Good food in Taos and Santa Fe

Old Jun 13th, 2012, 10:07 PM
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Good food in Taos and Santa Fe

Looking for the best these 2 towns have to offer in the way of dinners--looking for great food at a reasonable/cheap price that serves good portions. Thanks for your help
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Old Jun 14th, 2012, 01:07 AM
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You will probably be better off starting on Chowhound or even Yelp. It will be easier to survey restaurant types, offerings and prices there than to ask what a bunch of strangers liked on their last visit. Then you can come back to confirm suggestions.

Be aware that there are big differences between New Mexican food and Mexican or Tex-Mex or Cali-Mex, and you may run into these on various posts.
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Old Jun 14th, 2012, 01:54 PM
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Check the threads in the New Mexico folder. BeachGirl247 started a Santa Fe restaurant thread that gets updated fairly regularly.

Are you looking for a specific type of cuisine? And what do you want to spend on a main course?

We had great meals a year or so ago at Andiamo! and the Cowgirl Hall of Fame and BBQ, both in Santa Fe's Railyard area.

Lee Ann
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Old Jun 14th, 2012, 02:49 PM
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Tomasita's for lunch in SF. Coyote cafe is good and so is Andiamo. La Choza is decent.

Food in Taos is decent but the "better" places do NOT offer that much for the extra expense. The Old Blinking Light is a standby.
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Old Jun 14th, 2012, 03:06 PM
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We like The Shed or its sister restaurant, La Choza, which has the same menu but more locals dining there, for New Mexican food in Santa Fe.

DebitNM has lots of good recommendations for food and sights to see in Santa Fe. Use the search box at the top of this page or click on her name here to see her archived posts. Chowhound.com also has lots of good information. Look for recent dates on posts for the most up to date information.
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Old Jun 14th, 2012, 03:51 PM
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Taos-
Orlando's - best Mexican
Michaels - breakfast or lunch, not so much dinner
Graham's Grill
Love Apple
Dragonfly Cafe
Lambert's
Gutiz
Five Star Burger [if you need a GOOD burger and fries fix]
Jeff's Joint BBQ

Eaten at all of the above, can't go wrong.

-------
Santa Fe -
casual:
Bobcat Bite [lunch]
Tune-Up Cafe [lunch]
La Choza [over The Shed]
Vinaigrette[lunch]
Andiamo! [dinner]
Bumblebee's Baja Grill [l or d]
Burro Alley Cafe [d]
Harry's Roadhouse [l]
Chocolate Mave Cafe [breakfast or lunch]
Tecolote [breakfast]
Upscale dinner:
Restaurant Martin [outside dining]
Bistro 315 [outside dining]
The Compound [outside dining]
Trattoria Nostrani [they have a no scent policy]
La Boca [not quite as upscale, closely packed tables, noisy]
Cafe Pasqual's

Enjoy!
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Old Jun 14th, 2012, 03:57 PM
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oh my, I should have looked at the OP more carefully. Ignore the upscale dinner suggestions in Santa Fe.
And skip Lambert's in Taos.

Add in Santa Fe:
Casa Chimayo
Jambo
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Old Jun 15th, 2012, 03:28 AM
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There used to be a restaurant serving Tiwa food on the road from Taos to Taos Pueblo. Does anyone know if it is still there? I can't remember the name, but the food struck me as delicious and different from New Mexican and Mexican food.
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Old Jun 15th, 2012, 05:04 AM
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Thanks for your post Deb!
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Old Jun 15th, 2012, 05:45 AM
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WOW, so many good places and so few days to try them all out--thanks to everyone for all of their suggestions--many people have mentioned tomasitas and Tune up Cafe (it was on Diners, Dives and Drive in show as having great food
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Old Jun 16th, 2012, 03:36 PM
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You're right, there are a lot of good restaurants in Santa Fe!

I can't find my old post so I'll throw out some of our favorites we visit regularly:

Tia Sophia's - breakfast & lunch
Café Pasquals - breakfast, lunch, dinner *excellent molé
The Shed - best red chile, great courtyard
Del Charro
Harry's Roadhouse
Tomasita's - yummy sopapillas
Tune-up Cafe - breakfast
Coyote Cantina - rooftop dining. Get a seat along the wall for sunset views and people watching


Terra @ Encantado - best sunset view, resort just 10-15 min north in Tesuque
Anasazi - patio menu and dining room, too
Bistro 315 - great wine list as well as prix fixe menu, too.
La Casa Sena - beautiful courtyard dining for lunch or dinner
La Boca - tapas place so not large portions but meant to order several for dining
Bishop's Lodge patio - brunch or afternoon drink

Enjoy!
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Old Jun 21st, 2012, 11:25 AM
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For both La Casa Sena and La Choza consider using restaurant.com If you do use this site, make sure you find the key code word that you apply for a larger discount. We had $100 dollar coupons for $4 dollars and had to spend $200 that included drinks. Easy. We had seven people with us. The best discounts have not been available lately, but it's still worthwhile. Richard P.S. Normal price for a $25 is $10. A $50 is $20, but then discounts apply and they change weekly. We had a 90% off discount, so for the $100 that costs $40, apply the 90% and it was $4. But that doesn't happen too often. So if it was 50% off, the $10 dollars would be $5 dollars. Confusing??
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Old Jun 21st, 2012, 12:06 PM
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We really liked The Shed, and Bobcat Bite has great burgers - they've been written up in a lot of foodie magazines like Bon Appetit even though it's a tiny hole in the wall type spot. We had a good breakfast at Pasqual's.
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Old Jun 24th, 2012, 03:35 PM
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Just back from Santa Fe. We tried La Boca for happy hour and found the tapas very good but the service was very slow even though it was not particularly crowded. Dinner outside at The Compound was excellent!
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Old Jun 26th, 2012, 05:09 AM
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We also just returned and had one of the best lunches we've enjoyed in the courtyard of La Casa Sena. The service and food were excellent and the ambiance made it even better.

Terra at Encantado was very good as well. However, the chef is leaving in July and I haven't heard where he is going yet.
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Old Jun 26th, 2012, 08:18 AM
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Todays discount for La Casa Sena at restaurant.com is a $25 dollar coupon for $4 dollars. The key code word is FUN. A $50 dollar coupon for $8 You do have to open an account at no cost.
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Old Jun 26th, 2012, 09:23 AM
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Do pay attention to the minimum amounts that have to be spent to use the restaurant coupons [also - some places allow liquor to be counted towards the amount spent, other do not]. And, they don't allow take out. SO, just read the fine print.
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Old Jun 26th, 2012, 10:47 AM
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Very true. A fifty dollar coupon requires you to spend $100 and usually does include liquor. We used four $100 coupons in Sante Fe and were required to spend $200 that included liquor. Easy with seven people. Bottom line, they work.
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Old Jun 26th, 2012, 11:00 AM
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Some places we can spend $200, others not. Just saying, need to read the fine print.
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Old Jun 26th, 2012, 11:15 AM
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Having used these coupons a number of times, not only in Sante Fe, but Vermont, D.C., and Florida. There has been no fine print to concern yourself with. Everything is spelt out, basicly as DebitNM said. There is fine print at the bottom of the coupon, but it has never concerned me. The first few times I used them, I did call to see if liquor was included because it doesn't say. I called to see if they accepted these coupons because I was aprehensive. As for as liquor is concerned, It will only say if liquor in not included. At times it may say they can be used only on certain days. Will use two again in D.C. this September. I'm looking at a coupon right now. It's simple, even for me. Just have to develope a confidence that they are accepted.
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