Restaurant Guide

2017-2018

Tough Job

Pinch us. Can this really be a vocation? Eating out, meeting chefs, spending hours thinking about where food came from and what it smelled like and how looked, then writing about how our spirits and our mouths felt when we tasted it. It's a tough job. But the writers, editors and artists were glad to do it for you.

CONTENTS

CONTRIBUTORS

AARON CANTÚ – Aaron still regrets that he didn't take his dog Indy to Loyal Hound. Indy made do with office trash can leftovers.

MARY FRANCIS CHEESMAN – Mary Francis worked hard to thoroughly research these bottles of wine, but she really can't wait until SFR asks her to find the best local martini.

ALEX DE VORE – Alex never ever thought he'd eat at The Compound or Izanami, but Alex was wrong.

JULIE ANN GRIMM – When Julie Ann says the sliders at Iconik are like a lamb version of White Castle, she means that in a good way.

MATT GRUBS – Matt lives in mortal fear of describing the taste of saffron.

CHARLOTTE JUSINSKI – Charlotte put on makeup for the first time in two years for her fancy dinner at Arroyo Vino.

ELI SERATT – Eli got paid to eat tacos for a week, so it's safe to say she's living her best life.

Top 10 Restaurants

Readers of the weekly print edition of the Santa Fe Reporter tell us time and again how much they look forward to food coverage; internet statistics show restaurant reviews, openings and closings reports, recipes and food trend features are some of our most-visited online content at SFReporter.com.

So our team understands the paramount nature of the annual Restaurant Guide, the culmination of 12 months of culinary calendar.

And at the top of the heap, the summit of the mountain, the penthouse apartment in our dining skyscraper, is the establishment we've named Restaurant of the Year. Diners who live here and visit have already voted with their exuberant presence and their word-of-mouth recommendation of State Capital Kitchen.

They are not alone at the top, however. The following pages showcase 10 other restaurants that soar to heights, even if they're all located in Santa Fe's low-lying architecture.

25 Faves

The best part about favorites is that there can be so many. Our list of 25 hits the high points of dining in the City Different. Check off every restaurant, and you'll have seen life in each corner of the city and sampled a fine cross-section of all the styles of cuisine.