Santa Fe: Eating
Santa Fe has been renowned as a culinary hot spot since the 1980s, when a stupendous feat of marketing managed to make dishes such as banana-crusted sea bass seem quintessentially Southwestern, and now has more quality restaurants per head than any other US city. Even if you don't pay the wallet-busting prices of the big-name attractions, there's some memorable dining to be had, and the sheer inventiveness of the city's menus makes up for its lack of interesting ethnic alternatives.Aztec Café 317 Aztec St tel 505/983-9464. Counterculture hangout off Galisteo Street, offering a travelers' notice board and a nice patio, plus coffees, pastries, light meals and live music.
Coyote Café 132 W Water St tel 505/983-1615. Celebrity chef Mark Miller's showcase restaurant, just off the plaza. The à la carte prices are ferocious, but the $42.50 set meal provides a good-value sampler with dishes such as lamb fig sausage tamale and red-banana-crusted sea bass. For a cheaper taste, try the less-expensive rooftop café.
Geronimo 724 Canyon Rd tel 505/982-1500. Canyon Road's classiest option, with a streetfront patio and a cool inner courtyard, serves contemporary fusion cuisine with Mexican touches; dinner entrees are mostly $18-27.
La Casa Sena 125 E Palace Ave tel 505/988-9232. Lovely courtyard restaurant, a block from the plaza; zestful Southwestern lunches, with entrees around $10, are the best deal, though the $42 set dinners are consistently good. La Cantina , adjoining, is a little cheaper and its staff perform Broadway showsongs as they work.
Mu du noodles 1494 Cerrillos Rd tel 505/983-1411. Largely but not exclusively vegetarian place, near the hostel. Its pan-Asian menu may not always be authentic, but it's still tasty. Closed Sun.
Ore House on the Plaza 50 Lincoln Ave tel 505/983-8687. "Nueva Latina" restaurant, where the menu ranges from $5 green-chili stews to elaborate $26 dinner entrees, and the on-plaza location, complete with ristra -garlanded balcony, is unbeatable.
Tecolote Café 1203 Cerrillos Rd at Cordova tel 505/988-1362. Inconspicuous joint, two miles south of downtown, renowned for great breakfasts - burritos, huevos rancheros and the like. Daily except Mon 7am-2pm.
Tia Sophia's 210 W San Francisco St tel 505/983-9880. Spicy, very inexpensive Mexican diner west of the plaza that's a huge hit with lunching locals. Daily except Mon 7am-2pm.
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