As I innocently stopped into the Plaza Café Southside (3466 Zafarano Drive, 424-0755) for dinner last night, I stumbled upon Santa Fe history in the making! Local mural artist and painter Robb Rael is creating an epic work of art all around a Jumbotron-esque stove-hood-reminiscent hangy thing that comes down in the middle of the restaurant (does anyone know what that would actually be called?), and he was there working on it while a friend and I ate.

Check out a few pictures of the work in progress, as well as the two sides of the mural that are finished.

And as for the food, I got a ribeye steak with vegetables and mashed potatoes ($15.95) and a raspberry milkshake ($5), both of which were heavenly. My friend got the grilled chicken adobo salad with lemon-cumin dressing ($11.50), one of the most colorful salads I've ever seen, and so big it was practically falling off the plate. I pilfered some, and it was awesome. All in all, a marvelous evening!

Get to the pictures below the jump...

Click on any image for a larger version.

This was my personal favorite part—being able to see the sketches from which he paints! Looks like we have a cowboy in our future...