Last weekend, a few SFR staffers traveled to San Francisco for a conference. We were there to learn about digital development in the news industry, but I had another goal: unlocking the secret to creating a vast and vibrant food and drink scene in Santa Fe.

For me, the greatness of a city is measured not by infrastructure or employment levels, but by the quality of their hood Chinese food establishments. Luckily for Santa Fe, Chopstix Oriental Food To Go calls the place home.

Be it down-home alphabet, Warholian tomato or perhaps sexy clam chowder, few things scream out comfort food quite like soup does. The fine folks at the Food Depot know this.

When it’s time to eat, and I crave a croissant, a cinnamon twist or a cookie, Cerrillos Road is not the first place I think to go. However, now that I’ve tried the treats at Panadería Zaragoza, I’m determined to make the trek more often.

A couple weeks ago, my sister and I were on the Plaza holiday shopping for our parents, feeling both uninspired and hungry. It was really cold that day, and nothing sounded nicer than tucking into a warm bowl of soup. 

Around noon on a clear, chilly December day, Steve Schmidt stands in front of his custom-built barbecue smoker in an empty lot on Cerrillos Road, country music playing from a small radio, the aroma of meat and hickory smoke filling the air.

The cathedral-ceilinged spot at the entrance of the Pacheco Street Lofts reminds me of cafés in Napa, where healthful and mindful living feel bright, spare and fresh-faced instead of funky, Boho-cluttered and warmly alternative.

More and more, I find myself in far-flung reaches of town in the middle of the day. I’m usually running around for work, meeting with clients or vendors, and need to find a tasty lunch on the quick—and preferably, cheap.

The Beestro (101 W Marcy St., 629-8786) might be so named for the quick grab-and-go-type lunch service customers expect when buzzing in and out of the tiny, new take-out spot on West Marcy Street.

 Santa Fe restaurants exhibit strange timing, making them seem connected. Soon after SFR published its 2011 Restaurant Guide, for instance, four acclaimed fine dining spots closed almost simultan