We have friends who are now sending their kiddos off to school for the first time. We also have friends who are basking in the warm glow of kid-free days (but, like, in a positive way). We have friends who don't even have kids but are just excited for summer to end so they can get back to layering clothes (see SFR's latest fashion column for more on that) and smelling that sweet, sweet chile roasting.
Regardless, we're curious how you handle your lunches and dinners now that school's back in session. The Fork checked out the school lunch situation a little while back (which you can read about here), but shoot us a message and let us know what your tips, tricks, hacks and shortcuts might be so we might share with other perplexed parents. Or journalists (who often eat their lunches hunched over their desks, like animals. If they eat lunch at all. Think of the journalists.) Anyway—let's get forkin'!
And while we're talking about sandwiches, we'd just like to mention that the adult grilled cheese at Boxcar (530 S Guadalupe St., 988-7222) has been rocking our world. A thick and gooey slab, this bad boy comes with bacon and green chile (or not, it's totally your call). Seriously, we had it twice in less than a week. We also hear Red Elvises are slated to return to Boxcar at 10 pm on Saturday, Sept. 23, with their signature Siberian rockabilly sound. Did we also mention there's never a cover there, and that the 1998 indie film Six String Samurai (which totally features Red Elvises) rules? Well, it does. Google it already. OK, fine—we did it for you: Here.
The New Mexico State Fair ends after this Sunday (that's Sept. 17), and if you haven't messed with all that awful (read: good) fair food you've come to love, plus deep-friend things that usually aren't deep-fried, cotton candy, funnel cake a-plenty and probably other food options we can't even begin to fathom yet, have you even truly lived? We're a mite old for some of the rides, but we still like the cool product demos of things like table saws and the animals are always way cute.
Speaking of way cute (though maybe not as cute as livestock), that's SFR copy editor Charlotte on the right and SFR groupie Beckie on the left, about to obliterate a funnel cake at the State Fair on Monday evening. If your mouth is watering, you might just want a funnel cake. Might.
Did you also know that Albuquerque's Marble Brewery concocted a special brew to celebrate the fair? It's creatively called New Mexico State Fair Pale Ale and there are special happy hours every day to celebrate that. Not gonna make it to the fair? No biggie—it's reportedly available statewide. Huzzah!
There are all sorts of options for getting there ("there" being Expo New Mexico, 300 San Pedro Drive NE, 505-222-9700), so check the site we linked just above for the many details. They even have advice for bicyclists.
As we speak, SFR is hard at work on our annual Restaurant Guide. You can get a look at the version currently out there by clicking right here. It's a great chance to get a handy overview of Santa Fe's many (and we mean many) culinary options, including a list of our Top 10 favorites, longer-form pieces and, we think, the best restaurant directory around. We'll have that out a little later this year but, in the meantime, check out the most recent one and let us know how you feel.
To that end, we're always looking for great new places to try—which includes stands, food trucks, little out-of-the-way bakeries, etc. Remember that you can always drop us a line at thefork@sfreporter.com whenever you wish to help share the wealth or point out something we may have missed.
We're also curious about how out-of-towners (or their friends) handle the whole chile situation. Believe us, we've moved out of Santa Fe before and found ourselves missing chile badly. So let us know how you get yours across the country (or even the globe) or if you are a good friend who figures out how to get your pals their fix.
See y'all next week!
What news do you want to see in this newsletter? We want to hear from you! Let us know! Email thefork@sfreporter.com
