More than one reader has told us in recent weeks how they’re always looking for a good Santa Fe Happy Hour (is that something we should capitalize?), and we’ve heard you loud and clear: You’re cheap. Jay-kay, but we’ve heard from a lot of other people who believe Happy Hours are a scam. We’re kind of like, “Whatever, dude, a buck off is a buck off,” but we’ve definitely heard that it’s a good idea to pay right away, drink to drink, so your server won’t be like, “Sure, you ordered that drink at 3:57 pm, but you’re paying at 4:01 pm, and so that’ll be $4 instead of $3.” Anyway, if you so badly need to save that buck, maybe you’ve got bigger problems, but either way, we’ve done some research into local Happy Hours and have thrown some together below from various areas of town. Keep in mind, please, that this is a totally non-exhaustive list, it’s just some places we wouldn’t mind having afternoon nachos and a beer or whatever. And also, if you’re a rapper, think about using the words “various areas” in your next sick track. These are not presented in any order, just be cool. (And yes, we are gonna go ahead and capitalize “Happy Hour.”)
Cowgirl (319 S Guadalupe St., (505) 982-2565)
You’ll find three whole Happy Hours at Cowgirl from 3-6 pm, Monday-Friday. During this magical window, you’ll get discounts on all drafts, house margaritas, well drinks, some wines and seasonal specials. They’re also cutting prices on chips and guac, chips and pico, buffalo chicken strips, nachos and more.
Hidden Mountain Brewery (4056 Cerrillos Road, (505) 438-1800)
We’ve always been pretty partial to the beers from Hidden Mountain (née Blue Corn Brewery) head brewer Paul Mallory, and we’re glad to know that, like the good ol’ C-Girl, Hidden Mountain serves up Happy Hour specials from 3-6 pm, Monday-Friday. On that menu, you’ll get things like calamari and nachos and even mac ‘n’ cheese balls (yes!), plus beer, wine and margarita specials.
The Ranch House (2547 Camino Entrada, (505) 780-5273)
If you head even farther south from Hidden Mountain, you’ll find The Ranch House, that singular BBQ joint from chef Josh Baum, about which we’ve heard such superlatives as, “Oh, I mean, c’mon, it’s so good!” The Ranch House does Happy Hour every dang day according to its website, and specials include $6 food items and $5 house wines, plus a buck off draft beers and dine-in-only food specials.
Dinner For Two (106 N Guadalupe St., (505) 820-2075)
We think the new pink neon sign hanging over the newly-renovated patio zone looks soooooo cool, and the daily Happy Hour specials from 4-6 pm don’t hurt one bit. You’ll find three menus at $7, $8 and $9, respectively, and on those menus you’ll find drink items, dishes like pulled pork tacos and French onion soup, plus a carrot cake that we’ve heard is bonkers. They have DJs sometimes, too!
Santa Fe Bar & Grill (187 Paseo de Peralta, (505) 982-3033)
Head to the DeVargas Center for Happy Hour from 4-6 pm on weekdays for $1 off apps and pints and house wines and margs. A mole Manhattan? Yup!
Boxcar (530 S Guadalupe St., (505) 988-7222)
Not only will you find a way better food menu than at most bars, plus live music sometimes, but Boxcar does Happy Hour from 4-5 pm on weekdays with food and drink specials. You’ll have to visit to find out what those are, but what the hell else were you doing anyway?!
The Dragon Room @Pink Adobe (406 Old Santa Fe Trail, (505) 983-7712)
It’s one of those historical bars in an ancient adobe building, and you’ll get your money’s worth daily from 4-7 pm with a Happy Hour menu including specials on snacks and drinks—we’re talking 15% off all bar food items!
Rio Chama Steakhouse (414 Old Santa Fe Trail, (505) 955-0765)
If you were already right there at the Pink Adobe, you can pretty much leap into Rio Chama in a single bound for the 3-5 pm weekday Happy Hour action. It’s a pretty big one, too, with items like taquitos and beef tenderloin tips, plus wines, beers and margs and such.
And that’s where we’re cutting it off because we feel like it’s a good start. Do you have a favorite Happy Hour, dear readers? Let us know in the emailz.
You knew it was coming to this all along, right?
Also
-New Mexico coffee brand Caveman Coffee has new fall roasts available on its website! And that’s in addition to all the other good stuff they have, too. In a world where coffee roasters from the state in which you live slap so hard, how could one possibly defend doing it any other way?
-We hear the New Mexico State University Southwest Border Food Protection and Emergency Preparedness Center’s New Mexico Food Protection Alliance Conference held its first in-person gathering in two years on Aug. 23, and that the effects of the pandemic are still a major concern. “Working with the Food Safety Modernization Act regulations, the Center provides needed certification programs for our producers to ensure that they meet the regulatory requirements,” says a statement from Tom Dean, Extension Southwest District Director and co-director of the center. “With that, it is important for New Mexico to work with the support of the Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety to provide updated material that makes the educational programs of top quality. I like to eat, as does everyone else, so NMSU is working with our partners across the west to provide quality certification programs that keep producers supplying a safe food supply.” We also like to eat. There’s more here.
-Speaking of post-pandemic food jazz, the Albuquerque Journal had a rather interesting piece last week about whether the restaurant industry has recovered from the pandemic. You probably have thoughts about that query, but you should read the story first.
-All you oenophiles might want to know that Laurent Gruet (the guy who founded the Gruet Winery) has joined forces with Albuquerque’s Vara Winery and Distillery for a new line of sparkling wines. “I believe in producing traditional method wines that are of the quality of Champagne,” Gruet says in a news release. You can probably already find the Silverhead Brut NV and Silverhead Brut Rosado NV out in the wild.
-We hear La Tour Experience (a restaurant at least one SFR staffer LOVES) has started doing larger pastry orders. According to a recent Facebook post, if’n you give ‘em 48 hours notice, they can knock out some pretty great stuff. We’ve had the croissants there, and they are, frankly, bonkers good. Just know this information.
-Heads up that Mexican-inspired restaurant Paloma will no longer be open on Tuesdays for the time being. Staffing ain’t easy, and we applaud Paloma for the wherewithal to make a tough call in order to prevent its workers’ lives from becoming hellish and wack and such.
-A few readers have reached out about where to get the best chile now that it’s chile roastin’ time, and we wanna crowdsource this mother. Tell us, dear readers, where you’ve had the best luck when it comes to buying bulk chile. Who’s your roaster? Where are they? Don’t be stingy, because chile and indeed all food is about sharing. Tell us. Tell us now!
The song we sing to ourselves when we get home with a real good batch of green chile.
More Tidbits
-New York City used to be about tall buildings and people who like to let others know they’re “walking here,” but recent years have found the pastries of the metropolis going more viral than pretty much anything else. Enter the Suprême, a créme-filled and circular cronut-like thingamajig from the Lafayette Grand Café & Bakery in NYC. We’ve seen the photos, and we don’t want to tell stories out of school, but we’re already pretty sure we’d kill to get one. Please ask us to kill to get one. Just kidding.
-If you remember an old product from Anheuser-Busch called Ritas, you may be entitled to financial compensation. Turns out the canned bevvie, which was briefly all the rage around 2012, might have led consumers to believe they were full of actual spirits—y’know, because of the whole “Rita” part. Turns out that wasn’t the deal at all, and they were sued for it and now there’s a decent chance they’re gonna pay big.
-Meanwhile, in only-OK sauce and cookie news, Paul Newman’s daughters are suing the late actor’s namesake foundation over what they claim are “questionable practices,” and for straying from its mission to protect Paul Newman’s legacy. If they think that’s bad, they should hear how we feel about most of the brand’s cookies.
-A Michigan Chipotle restaurant has become the first in the country to unionize. We like how many unions are popping up around the country, and it’s especially heartening given that another Chipotle in Maine, which tried to unionize last June, was shuttered weeks after employees filed for an election. Anyway, in case you’ve forgotten how we feel about Chipotle, click this link to be whisked to a 2019 edition of Le Fork wherein we’re like, “Naw.” And if that’s not enough to give you pause, maybe check out this 2020 piece, which explains how the company was cited for more than 12,000 child labor violations. Lastly, if you’re in Santa Fe reading this, just know you can do better than Chipotle.
A Totally Scientific Breakdown of The Fork’s Correspondence
In the print edition of this week’s SFR, our dorkus malorkus boss visited Opuntia, and while he was pretty OK with it, there’s still room to grow.
Number of Letters Received
23
*Y’all are dying for some chile, huh?
Most Helpful Tip of the Week (a barely edited letter from a reader)
“I think you sound really cool.”
*We ARE cool! Just ask our mom.
Actually Helpful Tip(s)
“If you leave the oven open a smidge after you cook something in winter, assuming you don’t have pets who’d leap into it, you can score a little extra heat. Just letting you know because winter is soon.”
*Wow! It seems so obvious now.
Happiness is a human construct and forever in a state of flux,
The Fork
