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Santa Fe has some of the most magnificent and diverse restaurants in the world. On a special night we may go to The Compound, Geronimo or La Casa Sena for a sensual feast of exotic ingredients put together like an edible sculpture from the cover of Gourmet. Another day we might head to The Shed, Horseman's Haven or Maria's to dig into a familiar plate of fiery chile with handmade tortillas and locally grown pintos that have been slow-cooked the same way for generations. But even as our passion for tradition endures, we avidly explore new cuisines, and our hunger for different flavors is sated at places like Pyramid Café, Kasasoba and Mu Du Noodles. In this year's edition of SFR's Restaurant Guide, you will hear about these and other restaurants that comprise our 40 Favorites list for 2006.
Our Restaurant of the Year, le Moyne's Landing, has only been open since this spring, but already it's become a
favorite. Louisiana native Honey
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Howard's Creole/Cajun food presents an ethnic treat for Santa Fe, and just one spoonful of her crawfish étouffée takes us on a sensory trip to the French Quarter. For a sensory trip to heaven, we turn straight to chocolate. This year we've included a guide to some of our favorite spots for a chocolate fix, from café/bakery/teahouses like Chocolate Maven to more specialized destinations like Kakawa, where ancient recipes for drinking chocolate meet modern-day palates.
Santa Fe is home to an inordinate number of talented chefs, folks whose utter joy in the kitchen can be tasted on the plate. We are thankful so many of them buy from local producers,
support the Farmers Market and donate
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generously of their time and money to community organizations. The spotlight is always on the chefs and
owners, but every wonderful meal we enjoy is the result of the hard work of a whole team of less lauded players. Some of the hardest-working people in town are these invisible prep cooks, line cooks and dishwashers who spend their days singeing their arm hairs over giant grills and lugging steaming crates of dishes from one soggy end of the kitchen to the other; bussers and servers who leave home early in the morning and don't return home until late at night, working double shifts to pay back student loans. To all of you who do most of the work and take the least credit, we say thank you. Muchas,
muchas
gracias!
