The best dining tip I can give anyone in a new city is to ask the locals. They usually know where you can get the best food at great prices and that way you can stay away from the typical tourist traps. I will admit, there are times, that I don't mind dining in touristy areas, because the view might be stunning or it might be a great vibe, but very often, I find mediocre food at tourist hangouts, because the restaurants know that they don't have to rely on returning business.
As we were walking around in a great little shop called The Chile Shop, we started chatting to the guy who worked there. He was very friendly and eager to help us by answering any questions we might have had without being pushy to get a sale. We asked him for some restaurant suggestions in town and he immediately said "Tia Sophia" and "Del Charro". That night, we had drinks in the hotel bar and as we were chatting with the bartender, she told us that if we were looking for great food at excellent prices, we should go to "Tia Sophia" and "Del Charro", and that is exactly what we decided to do. After all, 2 locals suggested the exact same places...it was a sign.
That night I googled both restaurants and I'm very happy that I did, because I realized that Tia Sophia was not open on Sundays and they only served breakfast and lunch. That helped us plan our second day in Santa Fe. (yes, I am that girl who will plan my day around the restaurant that I'll be visiting.)
The door to yum-ness
We arrived at 12 noon sharp. The reviews for the restaurant were very positive for the most part and all of them said that you had to be prepared to wait if you arrived a bit later, so we got there early and got a table within 10 minutes. Now let me tell you about the decor...I wish I could, but I don't really know what to say about it. It looks like that is the way the restaurant looked when it first opened up and nothing has changed. There are no frills, no fancy things, just basically tables and chairs or booths and a few odd things hanging on the walls. Someone called it “homey”, I don’t know what to call it. Even though I usually like a bit of a nicer ambience, the unpretentiousness of the place just really appealed to me. They don't really care about faffing the place up, or over-friendly service - their goal is to serve excellent New Mexican cuisine, at fantastic prices – and that is exactly what we got. The clientele was a great mixture of visitors and locals and that, mixed with the “let-it-be décor”, the fact that they are not open on Sundays, the fact that people are willing to wait for a table and the great food, are all the clues you need to know that this place has a winning recipe. (or a few, from what we tasted)
The sopapilla was fab - just a bit of honey and I was in doughy-goodness-heaven. In fact, right about now, I'm seriously craving one. The rest of our meal was great too. We both ordered combo’s, the chili rellenos and enchilada combo and the enchilada and chicken taco combo (both come with sopapillas – a type of fried pastry served with food or as a dessert). Both combos were great, both super tasty and both well priced. In fact, I don’t think I saw anything on their menu over $10. Bargain!
In my opinion, every visitor who comes to Santa Fe and would like some honest traditional New Mexican food, should come to Tia Sophia – they won’t be disappointed.
No comments:
Post a Comment