A Day in Taos

Last weekend my younger brothers and parents came up for a visit. Josh and my brother decided they wanted to go skiing in Taos on Saturday, so my parents and Jack and I spent the day exploring the town. I love Taos and was so excited to show my parents around since it was their first time there.

Taos is just a little over 2 hours from Albuquerque, so it's a great spot for a day trip or a weekend visit. The drive there is beautiful and takes you through Santa Fe, so you can incorporate a visit there too. We stopped in Santa Fe for dinner on the way back at one of our favorite spots, Rooftop Pizzeria (more on that later).

The guys drove up earlier in the morning so that they could start skiing when the lifts opened at 9:00. We took our time getting on the road, so we got there a little later. We began by driving up to the ski area, which is about 30 minutes from the town of Taos. The town is down in the valley, and has a very "New Mexican" look with adobe buildings, open land, and the beautiful desert landscape. As you drive up the mountain toward the ski area, the landscape changes dramatically. Along the windy mountain road you are surrounded with beautiful alpine scenery and a stream running along the road.

The base area of the ski resort is small compared to those of most Colorado ski resorts, but for New Mexico, it's a good size. There are a few hotels and condos, shops, and restaurants. We met the guys for lunch at Stray Dog Cantina. It's right at the base of the mountain with great views, good food, and a great drink selection. The prices are decent (especially for a ski resort). The food is primarily New Mexican style food as well as burgers, sandwiches, etc. We all enjoyed our food and I'm sure we will try it again next time we are there skiing. I think it would especially be a fun spot for grabbing a drink and food after a long day on the slopes!

After lunch on the mountain, we headed back toward town. Between Taos Ski Valley and the town of Taos is a cute little town called Arroyo Seco. It's a great place to stop for a little shopping and the best ice cream you will ever put in your mouth. Taos Cow is a fun little spot with a wonderful assortment of unique flavors of ice cream. They also serve breakfast and lunch, but I have only tried the ice cream. My parents and I all had the Cafe Ole flavor which is coffee ice cream with cinnamon and chocolate chips. Unbelievable. If this were not 2 hours away, I might eat this ice cream everyday.

After our short stop in Arroyo Seco, we continued on to Taos. It is much like Santa Fe with a main plaza surrounded by restaurants, shops, and art galleries. Although it is smaller, so it does not have quite as many options. But there is still plenty to see and do.

On our previous visit to Taos, we discovered Twirl Toy Store and Play Space. We fell in love with it, but at the time Jack was still an infant, so he couldn't enjoy it. Now that he is 2, this is the perfect spot for him. Behind the cute toy store they have built a great play space in their enclosed courtyard. It is open from 10am-6pm and is FREE!

When we are visiting new places it is always nice to find spots like this where we can let Jack play and burn some energy. He absolutely loved playing here and would have stayed all day if we let him.

This is perfect for toddlers all the way up to older elementary-aged children. There are also plenty of spots for adults to sit and visit while they watch the kids play. I noticed on their website that they have classes and special events too, so we may check that before our next trip to find out if there is something fun Jack might enjoy.

Thanks Twirl for creating such a lovely and fun spot for kids like Jack to enjoy during their time in Taos!

On our way home, we stopped in Santa Fe for dinner. My dad mentioned that pizza sounded good and we needed a place that would be kid-friendly, so we went to one of our favorites, Rooftop Pizzeria. This is a great place for delicious and unique pizzas and great views. It's also very kid-friendly, which is a little more difficult to find in Santa Fe. I split the Number 3 pizza which has Grilled Chicken, Green Chile, Cotija and Asadero Cheeses and Toasted Pinon with Alfredo Sauce on Blue Corn Crust. It was named the best pizza in New Mexico in Food Network Magazine's "50 States 50 Pizzas." This pizza was so delicious with a nice little kick of spice from the green chile, but nothing too powerful. And the blue corn crust was delicious too! I have loved every other pizza I have tried there on other visits too.

Afternoon in Santa Fe

A couple of weeks ago, Josh and I headed up to Santa Fe for the afternoon. My mother-in-law was in town and happily agreed to stay home with Jack so that we could get away. I always love going to Santa Fe even with Jack in tow, but it is very nice to enjoy the city without an active toddler. We are able to eat at restaurants that might not be as child-friendly and take our time exploring the city and all that it has to offer.

One of the first spots we stumbled into during this visit was Collected Works Bookstore. We could have spent the entire day here looking through the wide variety of books and gifts, drinking coffee, and relaxing.

We also strolled up Canyon Road, which is well-known for its wonderful art galleries. I recently met a man from Santa Fe on a flight from Houston to Albuquerque. He mentioned he has an art gallery on Canyon Road. He gave me his card and I told him I would visit the gallery the next time we were in Santa Fe and I am so glad I did! The Zaplin-Lampert Gallery has a beautiful collection of primarily western art from the 19th and 20th centuries. It was a treat to walk around and look at the incredible pieces. Although I could only afford them in dreams, I still enjoyed dreaming!

No visit to Santa Fe is complete for me without a stop at Design Warehouse. It is filled with wonderful modern furniture, gifts, and accessories I love to walk around and drool over. If I win the lottery someday I plan to furnish my entire house with their goods. And if you're ever in Santa Fe and would like to buy me a gift, anything from this store will do.

After daydreaming at Design Warehouse, we decided to walk across the street and enjoy some tapas at La Boca. I have been there before with friends and wanted to go back and let Josh try it. Once again, I was very pleased with my meal, and Josh loved it too.

We decided to order three different tapas to share. We asked them to bring them out one at a time so that we could take our time enjoying each one. We had the potatoes and chorizo with a fried egg, the shrimp tacos, and the bruschetta  with mushrooms, fried egg, truffle oil & reggianito. 

The food was all delicious once again, the service was great, and the atmosphere was wonderful! This is definitely on my list of Santa Fe favorites and I look forward to returning there soon!

Happy To Eat My Greens

I tend to avoid restaurants that focus on salad as the main course. They conjure up images of either wilted greens in a buffet-style restaurant complete with early 90s decor or the type of place only girls who don't like food would frequent. Those who see food as an enemy rather than a friend, i.e., not me.

My opinion of this was altered when I saw a new restaurant open up here in Albuquerque. And after checking out their website and reading reviews, I knew I had to give it a try. Vinaigrette is a salad bistro that started in Santa Fe and recently opened up a second location here in the Duke City. My parents and sister were in town last weekend, so I suggested we give it a try for lunch.

The atmosphere is bright, colorful, modern, and fresh. Just like the incredible food. I ordered the I Yam What I Yam Salad which is baby greens with pancetta, pomegranate seeds and a haystack of maple-glazed yam shoestrings with maple mustard vinaigrette. Amazing. This was the best salad I have ever eaten. It was fresh and flavorful and I did not leave any of it on my plate! I'm not generally a huge fan of salad, but I could eat this one everyday. It was perfection. Vinaigrette has the salad down to an art. Each is perfectly dressed, not drowning in dressing, a little in every bite, just enough to add a hint of flavor. I also appreciate that each ingredient in their salads are proportionate to one another. Some restaurants try to make their salads look like works of art by slapping huge ingredients on top of a bed of greens. But the problem with that is it becomes very awkward to eat as everything is a different size and you wonder if you should be using a knife.

The menu is primarily salads, but there are a few sandwiches, soups, and other items. My sister ordered the Cuban Torta, which is mustard-roasted pork shoulder and green chile ham, griddled with red onions and Swiss cheese on a split roll with avocado and mayonnaise, chipotle and sweet relish. She had a side Greek Salad with it as well. It is chopped cucumber, tomato, bell pepper, red onion and crumbled feta cheese, with a classic vinaigrette. She loved hers as well. My parents loved their meals too.

After  a wonderful first visit, I had to go back. My mother-in-law is in town for the weekend, and I thought she might enjoy it as well. So she, Jack and I decided to head there for lunch today. In the photo above you can get a better idea of the interior and notice Jack eating his goldfish with a spoon as we waited for our meal. The mind of a toddler is fascinating.

We ordered Erin's Mac and Cheese for him and he absolutely loved it. Much better than the goldfish. We liked it too (we each tried a bite). It was served with fruit and veggies on the side. 

I ordered the sandwich and salad duo with the Morty and Cheese which is Mortadella and tangy melted robbiola with scallion yogurt sauce, on griddled and pressed ciabatta and a side Cobb Salad. I asked for baby greens because I'm weird and don't like romaine. They kindly obliged. The sandwich was delicious and the salad was too!

My mother-in-law ordered the soup and salad combo. She chose the soup of the day which was a green chile corn chowder and the Omega salad which is leafy greens chopped and tossed with sweet corn, diced bell pepper, tomato, avocado, red onion, cilantro and toasted pine nuts with blue cheese vinaigrette. She raved about hers as well.

I love that Vinaigrette serves fresh, flavorful food that is perfectly portioned. You leave feeling satisfied, not stuffed. If you find yourself in Albuquerque (or Santa Fe), give it a try. You will not regret it!

Cha Chi's

Do you have certain restaurants that hold a special place in your heart? These places are usually those that bring about good memories of great food, good times with friends and family, and a special place and time in your life.

For me, one of those places is Cha Chi's in Las Cruces, New Mexico. After graduating from college, I lived and worked in Las Cruces for three years. It is the place where Josh and I began dating, were engaged, and spent our first year of marriage. So, naturally, Las Cruces is a special place for us. One of the things we loved most about Las Cruces is the delicious New Mexican food. There were so many wonderful places to eat fresh, flavorful, spicy dishes. We could have eaten out everyday! Among those restaurants, one of our favorites was Cha Chi's. We would often go there for breakfast burritos on Saturday mornings, and for tacos, burritos, and everything else for lunch and dinner throughout the week.

The two best things about Cha Chi's (in our opinions), are the chips and salsa and the horchata. Their salsa has a rich, spicy, flavor and a deep red hue. I could eat it for days. Literally. It is my favorite salsa ever, and I am quite the salsa snob. If you are unfamiliar with horchata, it is a rice milk infused with flavors such as cinnamon. It can vary from place to place. This cool, sweet beverage is the perfect match for the spicy salsa.

When we were down in El Paso this weekend, Josh and I went up to Las Cruces for an afternoon to see friends. We picked up food to go from Cha Chi's to bring to our friends' house. Usually when I eat at Cha Chi's I order the chicken tacos al pastor. They are corn tortillas filled with flavorful grilled chicken and cilantro. So simple, yet so delicious. It comes with three tacos and beans and rice. It's plenty of food, so Josh and I usually split it (which also makes our meal inexpensive). This time, however, Josh wanted a burrito, so I decided to get one too. I ordered a chicken burrito smothered with red chile and cheese. It was very good, but the chicken tacos al pastor are still my favorite!

If you live near Las Cruces or just happen to be driving through sometime, give Cha Chi's a try. It is delicious, flavorful, and budget friendly!

 

El Paso Eats

This weekend we went down to El Paso to visit my parents. They lived in East Texas for almost thirty years, until last summer when my dad was offered a job in El Paso. We were so excited for them to move nearby! To some of you, having your parents 3 1/2 hours away seems far, but to me, it's the closest I have lived to them since graduating from high school!

Many people seem to give El Paso a bad rap. They think it's just some dirty border town out in the middle of nowhere. And I must admit, I was among these people until I actually visited the city for the first time while in college. I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered it is a beautiful, unique, international city. The Franklin Mountains and desert landscape set it apart from almost any other city in Texas, and the influence of the cultures of Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico give it character unlike any other place. It's also a much bigger city than most people assume. The population of El Paso is 665,000, and it's neighboring city of Juarez, Mexico has over 1 million residents. So El Paso has a much more urban feel than you might imagine.

One thing my parents love about El Paso and I enjoy while visiting, is the seemingly endless number of great restaurants. And not just Mexican food. On Saturday night, my parents watched Jack for us, so Josh and I went to dinner at Cafe Italia. It's a great little neighborhood brick oven pizzeria. We ordered the Smoked Pizza which had bell peppers, Italian sausage, and smoked mozzarella (I did not take any pictures, sorry). It was plenty for both of us, we finished it and were full afterward. If you have more of an appetite, I have heard their salads are good as well. And at $15, it was a great deal! They do not serve alcohol, but are BYOB with a $5 bottle charge. If we would have known this ahead of time, we definitely would have brought our own bottle. The service was fast and friendly, and although the decor was nothing to write home about, the atmosphere was nice as it was full of happy diners.

On Sunday we were planning on going to brunch at Crave, which is one of my parents' favorite restaurants, but the wait was 20 minutes, and with a toddler in tow, we did not want to wait. So we headed to Basico Bistro, which is a newer place near my parents' house. The atmosphere is modern, bright, and hip. The large windows not only let in plenty of southwestern sun but also provide beautiful views (as you can see in the picture above of Jack, my mom, and me).

Before our meal they brought out lovely homemade biscuits. They had a nice, sweet flavor. For brunch I had the Basico Benedict. It was a nice, classic Eggs Benedict. My mom had the same. We both enjoyed it. My dad and brother ordered the omelet of the day which was green chile and cheese and both liked it. Josh had the smoked salmon omelet and enjoyed it as well.



The brunch at Basico was very good, the service was great and the atmosphere was wonderful. I look forward to trying it for lunch and dinner in the near future as well.