As we speak, Santa Fe Music Week is in full swing and still has five days left and, in case you didn't know, is this thing Santa Fe city tourism is doing wherein all the musical happenings around town occur under one umbrella. It's meant to be an economic driver and tourist magnet, but it's also kinda kooky and fun and music is cool.
And though we're sorry that the timing of The Fork means the first few days will sadly be left out, we wanted to highlight a few things along with dining options to accompany them … y'know, for if you're psyched on Music Week and are telling people things like "…and then we can grab a little bite together because friendship and dining out are both fun!"
So here we go:
Thursday August 29, for example—which is tonight—features a screening of New Mexico Rain, a documentary short about the life and times of local country legends Bill and Bonnie Hearne playing at the Lensic Performing Arts Center. We had a big ol' cover story on Bill earlier this year, and the movie is amazing. The screening starts at 7:30 pm, and if you're gonna be down by the Lensic anyway, we have two suggestions: The Burger Stand (because the burgers are bonkers and they have something like six awesome sauces including one with marshmallow in it and because they also have damn good falafel, which you wouldn't expect) or Los Magueyes, at which we had one of the best Mexican-style enchiladas of our lives. Also at Los Magueyes, you can find the musical stylings of one Charles Tichenor from time to time, a man who takes inspiration from the politically-charged cabaret theaters of Paris (the one in France; sorry, Texas).
Friday August 30 heralds the 95th Annual Burning of Zozobra. Now, people are going to tell you to not eat the fair food and watermelon juice and stuff from the on-field vendors, but these people would be wrong! Zozo is also a great time to throw together a picnic to take early with things from Cheesemongers and/or the Dr. Field Good's butcher shop. If you want to do a sit-down thing, nearby Guadalupe Street boasts Fire & Hops, Pizzeria da Lino (whose sister joint next door, Chili Line Brewing, serves up unique smoked beers) and Theo Gio's Mac & Cheese (formerly Macalicious).
Saturday August 31 has some great shows, like the totally free one with Fantastic Negrito in the Railyard at 7 pm (it's a no-brainer to eat at Second Street Brewery—where they have a burger crammed with chile and cheese INSIDE THE EFFING BURGER—or Violet Crown, and no, Beckie, you don't have to see a movie to eat there; and yes, BECKIE, the veggie burger at Violet Crown rules). Too slammed in the Yard of Rail for you? Bill Hearne rides again at Second Street's original location (where food is, like, right by the music), guitar genius Joaquin Gallegos plays at Eloisa at 6 pm (great tacos over there, btw) and Vanilla Pop plays a late-night 10 pm set of poppy covers at Boxcar (they have a stellar menu and great drinks).
Sunday September 1 is a little more subdued with shows at various hotels like La Fonda on the Plaza and the Mine Shaft Tavern in Madrid—but that just means killer bites at La Plazuela, The Hollar or the Mine Shaft Tavern, where you'd already be because that's where the music is going down. Y'heard?
And this only scratches the surface. Either way, it's a lot of free and/or cheap music and, if you clicked that link to Santa Fe Music Week up above, the chance to get drinks discounts. Score!
Hey, out-of-town readers, look how weird Zozobra is!
Also
-In Good Samaritan news, El Parasol (a mainstay in SFR's Best of Santa Fe poll that also has a damn fine carne adovada burrito) recently donated $20,000 to the Food Depot. "We are honored to provide this support for the worthy cause of helping those in need, especially children," owner Ralph Atencio said in a press release. Sounds like it's time for us as Santa Feans to patronize El Parasol so much more than we already do, which is, frankly, a lot.
-Didja hear Sazón is reopening early next month? Well, it is. Why'd it close, you ask? Well, there was a fire some months back that damaged the downtown restaurant's offices and wine cellar. According to this article, owners lost something like 1,000 wine bottles. There was reportedly no damage to the dining room.
-We also hear that Eldorado's Arable restaurant will find its way to Guy Fieri's television program Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives, a show that unfortunately features Fieri, a man who says everything in the exact same cadence. Like, congrats to Arable, it's great, and we totally had a brunch event there recently, but next time you see anything with Fieri, notice how he talks. It's maddening. And normally, we wouldn't care, but he does that whole oversized button-up shirt with flames thing, and that's just wack.
-In case we hadn't been clear about the situation with Opuntia, the coffee shop that can and does is still open, only it's in what the owners call a "residency," rather than a pop-up. In other words, Opuntia is making itself quite at home in the outdoor area of the El Rey Court on Cerrillos Road with tents and plants and, we hear, one young barista who challenges customers to Scrabble—and buys a drink for whomsoever defeats him. He apparently hasn't had to buy a drink for anyone yet. It'll be a permanent move to the Railyard in November for Opuntia, but for now, it's pretty fun in tent form.
-When we first heard about locally born app Fetch, we were kinda like "Yo, how lazy does one have to be to not pick up food for themselves?" But now that we've seen the kinds of deals and things they cook up, it seems like it could be worth it from time to time. But we wanted to ask y'all readers (aka, our best buds) if you've used it and how you liked it and if we should just pull the trigger on that coupon for $10 off Thai food?
¡Taco Talk!
Remember last week when we said "Hey. Who likes tacos?" We do, and we're glad to say some folks have spoken. SO—if you're looking for tacos, here are some of our readers' favorites:
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"The other obvious duh is Taco Fundación. Gourmet street style tacos made with fresh local ingredients, inexpensive for what you are getting, and all are very good+ (I've tried most of them and the ones I haven't, my wife has surrendered a bite or two). Many of their tacos are exceptional and the barbacoa taco and the lamb taco are transcendental."
-Ian C.
For those who don't know, Taco Fundación is owned by the same guy behind Shake Foundation. Ian also says he's down with Burrito Spot's tacos because they remind him of his Southern California homeland. And before you rag on him for that, The Fork is also from Southern California, which means we'll fight to the death while skateboarding about it.
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So my favorite tacos were Bonsai Asian Tacos and they got third place in BOSF….BUT it appears they have closed! Why is no one saying anything? They haven't been open for over a month! Why?
-Jayne W.
Gasp, we don't know! We made some calls, but don't have more info yet. Anyone know anything? We'll update if/when we find out more, but yeah—that place rules. Several readers are concerned—someone help!
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THE best taco in Santa Fe is the brisket taco at The Pantry. To die for.
-Nana
We asked some carnivore buds if that's for real, and it turns out that it's amazing. You've all been warned.
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On the taco front, I highly recommend the chicken tacos at Rio Chama. You can get 2 or 4 and they come with salsa and guacamole!
-Fran W.
Word. We could probably slay like, 12 or 14. Or more.
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Thanks for the suggestions, y'all. We're on the Bonsai Asian Tacos case, and we'll accept any/all taco recommendations from here to eternity.
More Tidbits
–USA Today, the paper for people who hate reading, is plumbing the depths of ridiculousness with a new story asking whether millennials are killing the beer, American cheese and canned tuna industries. Look, it's not that complicated—it's a generation raised to believe that college loans would mean good jobs (because boomers told them so), and when this didn't happen, those same boomers started describing them as lazy. So while the generation is pretty poor, they're also wisely saying "No thanks," to wack-ass cheapo shits like canned tuna and American cheese. The beer thing is anyone's guess, but we're sick of "Have Milennials Killed BLANK" articles, and advise anyone to drink the nicer beer, order the cup of coffee and/or eat the effing avocado toast.
-The Fork has been known to go to TOWN on a banana shake after a rough day (or week or hour or, like, whenever we effing feel like it), so this piece from popsugar.com about how to freeze bananas for better shake results really speaks to us. Do any of you all make shakes?
-If you're a social media buff, you may have seen the hashtag #BoycottOliveGarden going around. Word, word, but have you asked why? Apparently no one has. Rumors floated that the home of endless breadsticks was donating to the Trump campaign, but according to eater.com, this is false. Word again. As for The Fork, we're just gonna stick to this AMAZING script for an Olive Garden commercial written by a bot … enjoy.
-We LOATHE when people refer to food as "eats," but since there is no God, Alton Brown's Good Eats, a program that pretty much made everyone think to themselves, "Fuck it, I can totally poach an egg," is coming back to the Food Network. People we know are pumped, and we're just glad that other Brown show, Cutthroat Kitchen, is still off the air. We don't like when Alton Brown acts mean.
-You ever ordered anything from Blue Apron or Red Napkin or Green Füd Bawks, Mauve Diner Cube or Cerulean Corrugated Citchen? If so, can you name which of those we made up? Either way, it turns out that such subscription food services have had more of an impact on the culture of dining than we ever knew (or cared about) before now. "The allure of easily escaping mundane meal repertoires has contributed to massive success of meal delivery services. But as popularity grows, questions inevitably rise alongside it: Where does the food we receive come from? Who's making these meals? And perhaps most importantly: Are the ingredients healthy and sustainably sourced?" asks a new piece from mic.com's Jeremy Glass (a superhero secret identity name if we've ever heard one). Anyway, it's an interesting read and one you might want to undertake, especially if food comes to your home in pre-packaged form.
-Lastly in food news from around the food-o-sphere (read, not specifically local), KFC is totally not about to be outdone by Burger King—which means vegan chicken nugs. It's in an Atlanta-only test phase for now, but they could roll out nationally soon. In the interim, we just wanna let any vegans or vegetarians know that we've heard disturbing reports about how BK's Impossible Whopper is grilled on the same grills as meat, so you may want to be careful there if you think you're going to ingest meat. Happy Vegetarian-ing!
Finally
In the print edition of SFR, newly-minted lobster skeptic Zibby Wilder visits Santa Fe’s newest eatery Sasella, but comes away more confused than happy.
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A Totally Scientific Breakdown of The Fork’s Correspondence
Number of Letters Received
41
*Tacos, tacos everywhere.
Most Helpful Tip of the Week (not edited for content)
“I’ve eaten a lot of tacos, and I can’t help you.”
*Thanks for taking the time?
Actually Helpful Tip
“You should try eating at restaurants when you can.”
*Good idea!
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Vegan Nugs,
The Fork
