what's new in Northern NM/Santa Fe

Question

I have been going to New Mexico on a regular basis for about 10 years. I can't wait to return for the first time in 18 months over Labor Day weekend. I am wondering what might be new and/or improved restaurant wise, especially in Santa Fe. Over the years we have had great meals at Geronimo, Ristra, Harry's, Pasquale's (but not dinner!), Sugar Nymph's in Peñasco. Have tried a number of the other often recommended spots including El Farol, Chimayo, Casa Sena, santacafe. Still haven't been to the Conpoind (should we?). Would be grateful for tips from those in the know! Thanks.

Answer

We were in Santa Fe two weeks ago.

Tapas at La Boca http://www.labocasf.com/ was excellent, and not cheap. They had blood sausage on the menu which I haven't seen too often.

We had dinner at Cafe Pasquals http://www.pasquals.com/ which was very good, but left none of us exclaiming over.

Finally, the drinking chocolate as Kakawa's https://www.kakawachocolates.com/ had us making a second stop for more.

Answer

The Shed and La Choza are sister restaurants, with similar menus. Parking is much easier at La Choza.

Answer

We had a fantastic journey to Santa Fe! Here is a truncated eatinerary:

-- Dinner at Geronimo: This place never disappoints. Sure the prices are steep but always feels worth it. Service is impeccable, we love the space, and the food is consistently excellent. Couldn't resist the shrimp again this time.
-- Dinner at Radish & Rye: This was a real hit. I always loved the Ristra space but the food was inconsistent. Radish & Rye preserved the best elements of the space and the service was impeccable. So was the food -- each course delighted as did the cocktails. Definitely would return here.
-- Dinner at Eloisa: This disappointed. The space felt rather generic - didn't really fit in Santa Fe. The service was pretty lousy; the waiter couldn't explain the items on the menu and we had to flag him down on several occasions. And the food seemed meh.Pastrami Tacos were interesting as an app, the chile primavera left a bit to be desired.Duck Enfriojalada was just ok (fairly bland actually); the elk was better. I wouldn't recommend this place and a friend who lives in Santa Fe and is up on the food scene thinks it's way overhyped.
- Dinner at Tune Up: This is a low key place where locals go, and is consistently tasty. Nothing fancy but definitely solid dinner. I wouldn't go out of my way to send folks there, but if you're looking for a more low-key place to have a solid meal, this fits the bill.
-- Lunch at Sugar Nymphs in Penasco while driving the High Road to TAOS. Always a delightful cafe; the food is solid if not extraordinary but it's definitely the best roadside cafe I know! The cakes are delicious .... if overwhelming.
--- Lunch at Izanami at Ten Thousand Waves. This izakaya was quite a pleasant surprise. The setting is unbeatable. Service was ok -- very friendly but rather checked out (hippies seem to run the place). But the food was quite tasty and definitely worth visiting before/after Ten Thousand Waves.
-- Breakfast at Pasquale's. Always worth the wait, IMHO.
-- Breakfast at The Range in Bernalillo. On the drive from ABQ to Santa Fe we usually stop off here.Solid NM diner food.

Thank you friends for the input!

Answer

Thanks for all the recommendations on this and other NM threads. We just got back from a wonderful week in Santa Fe, Taos and Albuquerque. We ate at a lot of the places mentioned in these threads and a couple that weren't. Hopefully I can remember all of them because I don't have my list in front of me:

Tia Betty Blue's (ABQ): lunch special was a large frito pie with carne adovado which we split. Delicious.
The Shed (SF): amazingly spicy salsa and great enchiladas. 
Plaza Cafe (SF): I had the chicken enchiladas with mole and my husband had the chicken mole bowl. Very good. And the apple caramel pecan pie for dessert was great!
Geronimo (SF): really nice fine dining. I had the 4 course vegetarian mushroom dinner and especially loved the wedge salad with crispy bits of mushroom filling in for the bacon. There was also a butternut squash bisque and manicotti and a lemon crepe for dessert. My husband had the elk and enjoyed it very much. I think he had a mushroom bisque to start with and the creme brulee assortment for dessert. It was too much food really. We should have shared my dessert. The portions were surprisingly hearty for that kind of restaurant.
Tried to stop at Sugar Nymphs on our way to Taos but they are only open Wed-Sun in the off season. I wish their website had said that. Orlando's and Michael's in Taos were also closed until mid-December. Oh well!
La Cueva (Taos): had some very good tacos out on the patio.
Taos Diner II: our backup for early breakfast after discovering Michael's was closed. Had a decent hearty breakfast. i had scrambled eggs with green chilies and cheese. The biscuits were excellent! 
Love Apple (Taos): We really enjoyed our meal here. We started with the caramelized onion, apple and blue cheese quesadillas. Loved the chipotle orange crema they were served with. I had the rainbow trout and my husband had the chicken. I really liked the quinoa fritter my fish was served with, too. The atole ice cream for dessert was tasty and different. 
Gutiz (Taos): a very nice place for breakfast. I loved the brioche french toast and my husband enjoyed the eggs benedict except was not happy they were served in a bowl. Made them very hard to cut and eat. 
Monroe's (ABQ): a very friendly, neighborhood kind of place. The folks at the B&B recommended it. My husband enjoyed his green chili cheeseburger and I loved the huevos rancheros. The fried potatoes they came with may have been the best I've ever had, too. 
La Merienda at Los Poblanos (ABQ): this may have been our favorite meal. Everything was so good, but also relaxed. We started with a cheese plate then I had a green curry roasted butternut squash with quinoa wrapped in a cabbage leaf (tasted much better than that sounds) and my husband had the pork with corn. We finished off with tres leches cake with quince. Everything was superb. I still think about the taste of the lavender margarita I had there.
The Range (Bernalillo): what a fun place! We shared a cup of the green chili chicken stew and a plate of blue corn cheese enchiladas for a light lunch. Both were delicious.
Vinaigrette (ABQ): a good place for a nice big salad. We weren't so happy with the service, though. We were tucked away in a corner and forgotten most of the time. But the salads were good.

For places to say, I highly recommend The Inn at the Alameda in SF and Bottger B&B in ABQ. The Taos Inn was ok but the furniture was old and the room wasn't super clean and they don't give you breakfast.

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Geronimo

Harry's Roadhouse

Puerto Peñasco Restaurant

El Farol Restaurant

Chimayo Chile Brothers, LLC

La Casa Sena Wine Shop

Looks good!

what's new in Northern NM/Santa Fe

Discussion Summary

Geronimo

Harry's Roadhouse

Puerto Peñasco Restaurant

El Farol Restaurant

Chimayo Chile Brothers, LLC

La Casa Sena Wine Shop

Arroyo Vino

Joseph's Culinary Pub

La Choza Restaurant

Horseman's Haven Cafe

The Santa Fe New Mexican

Jambo Cafe

Paper Dosa

El Paragua Restaurant

The Compound Restaurant

Cafe Pasqual's

Kakawa Chocolate House

Tune-Up Café

Second Street Brewery at The Railyard

Second Street Brewery

The Original Plaza Cafe

Inn on the Alameda

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