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Santa Fe, 'a magical place'

| March 28, 2018 1:00 AM

Sitting on a balcony overlooking the city of Santa Fe, my mouth smolders with the remnants of the green chile stew and eggs I enjoy for breakfast. This city is enchanting! Ancient red and brown adobe buildings are filled with shops of handcrafted jewelry, authentic pottery and the regional art created by people who are proud of their New Mexican heritage. My wife and my purpose for visiting Santa Fe is the food. There are amazing restaurants on every street and avenue in this city. The trinity of cultures, Native American, Spanish and Anglo, give this city the foundation for her eclectic food offerings.

Chile are the foundation of this society. Differentiating New Mexico chile from its tomato, bean or meat based cousins from Texas or California, New Mexico “chile” ends with an e not an i. The spelling of the word chile is not the only difference. Ordering chile, whether red or green, may get you just that — a bowl of chile; no beans, no meat. At many restaurants you can get meat or bean chili too, but you need to specify what you want.

Restaurants will bring you a taste of their chile on request so you can calculate whether it is hotter than you want before you order. This is a must for the occasional chile eater. In my experience, chile labeled “medium heat” is just hot enough for my inexperienced mouth. Experienced chile eaters will love the taste a hot chile offers — bright and deep flavors, a great “back-of-the-tongue” heat with rich expansive flavor.

Smothered on a menu refers to having a chile sauce poured over your burrito or enchilada. The New Mexico state question is red or green; referring to what type of chile you want with your meal. If you answer “Christmas” you get red chile on half the plate and green chile on the other half. This is an amazing way to add character to your meal while tasting the difference between the two chiles.

Santa Fe also offers fine dining with a New Mexican flair and no place does it better than the Coyote Cafe. The food at this restaurant is amazing only eclipsed by the service. The typical service expectations are met; water glasses continually filled, plates removed when empty, silverware replaced with every course. What makes this service exceptional is our server Nate.

My wife and I order Crab and Corn Enchiladas made with a vanilla crepe, Veracruz salsa and fresh crema and Squash Blossoms stuffed with lobster accompanied with sweet roasted corn and Hoja Santa crema as starters for our meal and tell Nate we are going to share the plates. Instead of bringing two separate starters and charging a “split-plate” charge like many restaurants, Nate asks the chefs to create two separate appetizers that are artistically prepared and taste as amazing as they sound.

We ask Nate a lot of questions, “What margarita should we order? What is a silver coin margarita? What wine pairs with our food? How are the sauces made? What is the history of the restaurant?” Nate changes from a server to a friend.

I ask Nate about local wines and how they compare to other wines in the world. Nate excitedly asks us to stop eating our enchilada because he has something he wants us to try. Moments later he brings two complementary flutes of Gruet sparkling wine, bottled in Albuquerque and asks us to try it with our food. The pairing is spot on and adds to our meal.

During the night we talk, visit, share stories and laugh. Ending our meal, we order the Tamal Bread Pudding and Nate says, “Stop! You have to try the Banana Cream Pie. If you don’t like it, I’ll eat it and bring you the bread pudding.” We order the pie and as soon as the pie arrives at our table, so does the manager with two glasses of complimentary Moscato. “Try this,” she offers. “It pairs perfectly with the banana cream pie.” She is right.

I eat out regularly, write about food, am a Certified Executive Chef and am trained at the Culinary Institute of America. My resume offers some suggestion that I should understand exceptionality when I taste and experience it so when I say that this is one of the best prepared and served meals of my life, it should carry some weight. The bar is raised.

What makes this meal exceptional is the passion behind everything done in the restaurant. The decor, the service, the beautifully prepared food, the friendly people; The Coyote Cafe is a must-try for every foodie in the world.

Santa Fe is a magical place. The air is clean with the slight sweet smell of burning pinon wood and roasted chiles, the people are friendly and helpful, the scenery is beautiful and the food is exceptional. This land of enchantment will haunt me for months, calling me back to visit the ancient land of the Anasazi. Hopefully, preparing some of the meals I’ve eaten here, at home, will hold me over until I can return, which I hope will be soon.

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Send comments or other suggestions to William Rutherford at bprutherford@hotmail.com or visit pensiveparenting.com.