Santa Fe: Dining with a 13- and 15-year-old (a vegetarian)
 

My wife and I are leaving for Santa Fe on Thursday with our two kids, who are 15 and 13 years old. I've seen a number of excellent exchanges on this board about eating in Santa Fe, but I wonder if I could get some recommendations that are more specifically targeted to our situation. We won't be going to high-end places; we need moderate and casual. We will be within a few blocks of the Plaza, although we will have a car. My kids are moderately adventurous from a culinary standpoint, but would shy away from anything with incendiary spices. And my daughter is a vegetarian. I would love to get 2 or 3 good breakfast recommendations, as well.

Hopefully BeachGirl247 and DebitNM will be along soon to offer specific suggestions, but just about any restaurant will be able to accomodate your daughter's food needs.

You don't have to have chile if you eat in a Mexican or New Mexican restaurant. If you want, you can ask for some on the side or skip it altogether. Ask your server if the red or green is milder, too.

Have fun in the City Different!

Lee Ann

As a vegetarian myself, also check if they use lard (animal fat) in what would otherwise appear to be a vegetarian dish. Lard is common in Mexican cooking.

Santa Fe is a pretty pricey town. Here are a few places that are reasonable and work well for vegetarians:
Vinaigrette a salad-based restaurant
Rooftop Pizza or Pizza Espiritu
Jambo Cafe African/Caribbean there is some spice in some of the food, but not killer
Piccolino is large-portion Italian. Food is decent and occasionally one of their specials is brilliant.
Counter Culture is another place locals go, they do breakfast, lunch and dinner
Backstreet Bistro has a good selection of soups for lunch and the prices are reasonable
Harry's Roadhouse about 10 minutes out of town is reasonable and good. Be prepared to wait. They don't take reservations and are almost always busy.
Want to spend a little more try Mu Du Noodles, the pan-Asian menu is great and a little more, Cafe Pasquals.
Most of these places have websites with menus.
Hope this helps.

Great suggestions from santafefoodie. I would throw in Anapurna but I don't know when it's going to reopen.

I know that Tomasita's has a vegetarian red chile if you want to have New Mexican.

Love Mu Du Noodles.

A moderate/casual lunch/dinner place that has vegetarian options along with a chip and salsa bar is Bumble Bee's (http://www.bumblebeesbajagrill.com/). There is one at Jefferson and N. Guadalupe. And it has a drive-thru.

There is a vegetarian cafe on the south side of Santa Fe at the Plants of the Southwest (http://www.plantsofthesouthwest.com/) that has a daily rotating lunch menu. The local nursery is on Aqua Fria and Henry Lynch - and down a dirt hill.

BeachGirl had a huge list on another thread.

Most places have non-meat items and some have vegetarian green chile stew, so the girl should have few problems finding acceptable food options.

Jeffergray

You've probably returned from your trip, but I wanted to make a recommendation to you and to others like myself who are travelling to Santa Fe with teens and vegetarians (sometimes one and the same) in tow.

First, thanks to all who have made suggestions. However, there is a difference between being able to get a cheese enchilada at a restaurant and having a choice of vegetarian options -- especially when travelling and eating just about every meal in a restaurant!

The recommendation I have is particularly noteworthy I think, because it is so unexpected. Cowgirl's BBQ. Yes, you read that right! Our family of six consists exclusively of vegetarians and pescadarians (fish eaters.) No beef. No chicken. You would wonder why we would even consider Cowgirls! Well, we were interested in the music and so I checked out the menu as well.

We have literally just returned to our hotel from a fun evening at Cowgirls. Many veggie options -- including tofu fajitas, a butternut squash caserole, veggie chili (in a few different permutations), veggie burgers, salads and more.

And we had fun with the music. FYI my kids are aged 11, 14, 16 & 18.