New Mexico Restaurants and Lodging Lodging the Madeleine 106
New Mexico Restaurants and Lodging
Lodging
The Madeleine 106 Faithway St., Santa Fe, 888/877-7622, madeleineinn.com, from $120
Hacienda Nicholas 320 E. Marcy St., Santa Fe, 888/284-3170, haciendanicholas.com, from $120
FOOD
Frontier Restaurant 2400 Central Ave. SE, Albuquerque, 505/266-0550, frontierrestaurant.com, huevos rancheros $6
The Shed 133½ E. Palace Ave., Santa Fe, 505/982-9030, sfshed.com, pollo adobo $13.50
Cowgirl BBQ 319 S. Guadalupe St., Santa Fe, 505/982-2565, cowgirlsantafe.com, margarita $7.50
Activities
Soda Dam Hwy. 4, two miles north of Jemez Springs, Santa Fe National Forest, 575/829-3535, fs.fed.us/r3/sfe Taos
The High Road to Taos, which passes through the 14,000-foot Sangre de Cristo Mountains, is lined with art galleries, Native American and Hispanic crafts shops, and centuries-old Spanish-style villages. In Truchas, which has become an artists' enclave in recent years, we meet Alvaro Cardona-Hine and his wife, Barbara McCauley, owners of the Cardona-Hine Gallery. They show us their work and tell us about their lives (he's from Costa Rica, and she's from Connecticut; they met at a poetry workshop in Los Angeles). After poking around the gallery for an hour, we notice dark storm clouds forming on the horizon and bid our newly made friends a quick farewell. I grab a gallery catalog on the way out, as Dustin really likes Alvaro's colorful, nature-inspired paintings. A first-anniversary gift, perhaps?
When we get to Taos, we wander around admiring the coffeehouses, jewelry shops, and bungalows with signs offering Reiki and massage. I'm already smitten with the quirky little ski town, and then I see the Adobe & Pines Inn, which pushes me over the edge: The 1830s former hacienda is truly gorgeous, with cayenne-red walls, carved wooden doors, wood-beamed ceilings, and rawhide chairs in the rooms. The three-acre property also has a stream and a lawn filled with wildflowers; Dustin promptly jumps in a hammock for a nap under a towering pine tree.
New Mexican food is heavenly, but also heavy, so I welcome the lighter options at Apple Tree. [At press time, the restaurant was up for sale and had a limited menu and hours.] We could spend all night in the candle-lit courtyard, but the clouds we spotted earlier are starting to rumble. The drive back to the inn is hair-raising, with rain pelting the car and lightning bolts flashing across the sky. The power is out at the hotel, so we use the light from my cell phone to find our room. Huddled under the covers, we fall asleep to the crackling of our fireplace.
Lodging
Adobe & Pines Inn 4107 Rd. 68, Taos, 800/723-8267, adobepines.com, from $98 per night (two-night minimum stay)
Food
Apple Tree 123 Bent St., Taos, 575/758-1900, appletreerestaurant.com
Shopping
Native American jewelry vendors Santa Fe Plaza, in front of Palace of the Governors, Santa Fe
Santa Fe Boot Co. 60 E. San Francisco St., Santa Fe, 505/989-1168, santafebootco.com
Cardona-Hine Gallery 82 Rte. 75, Truchas, 866/692-5070, cardonahinegallery.com
Day 3 I've already snacked on several chocolate and raspberry croissants before breakfast, so I'm glad Tina, the innkeeper's terrier, is there to help when my omelet and sausages arrive. The dog has a huge stomach—apparently owing to her deep love of sausages— and she stands on her hind legs until I feed her.
After Tina finishes off my breakfast, we're off to see Taos Pueblo, one of the longest- continuously-inhabited communities in the U.S. The most prominent structures in the adobe village, believed to have been built sometime between 1000 and 1450, are two giant mud-brick complexes that look like toy blocks stacked on top of one another. Only about 50 Pueblo Indians still live in the ancient apartment buildings and the single-story homes around them—the rest of the tribe live in modern homes in an adjacent community. During our tour of the village, the guide explains how the buildings are maintained: They're layered year after year with straw and mud, and some of the walls are now up to two feet thick. To retain the authenticity of the village, the tribe doesn't permit running water or electricity in the homes.
Lodging
Plaza Hotel 230 Plaza, Las Vegas, 800/328-1882, plazahotel-nm.com, from $69
Food
Landmark Grill 230 Plaza, Las Vegas, 800/328-1882, plazahotel-nm.com, steak $18
Activities
Taos Pueblo Veterans Hwy., 2.5 miles north of Taos, 575/758-1028, taospueblo.com, $10
Earthship World Headquarters Hwy. 64 W., eight miles west of Rte. 68, 800/841-9249, earthship.com, entrance $5, rooms from $100
Day 4
Las Vegas has a wild history: Founded in 1835, it became one of the most prosperous towns in the Southwest with the arrival of the railroad in 1879. Outlaws like Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp, and Doc Holliday hung out here, as did Teddy Roosevelt, who came to recruit men for his Rough Riders. Much of the architecture from that era remains—a fascinating mix of Victorian, Italianate, and neoclassical mansions and adobe homes. Las Vegas's rowdier days, however, are long gone. In fact, the place is so quiet, it reminds us of a sleepy Midwest town. Then we meet an actual Midwesterner: Char, who runs the Beans & Sweets bakery with her sister. Char looks similar to Dustin's late grandmother (who was also named Char), and she's from Ohio, where Dustin was born. Her eyes light up when Dustin asks if she sells a well-known Ohio treat called buckeyes, peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate. She says she only has them in the winter. "It's too hot now," she laments. "The chocolate just doesn't stick."
If we're going to eat anywhere in town on a Sunday, the locals tell us we should go to the popular Charlie's Bakery & Café. We have been feasting on New Mexican cuisine for days, but I have yet to try a special kind of taco with a shell made of baked cheese or a sopaipilla deep-fried pocket of dough served with honey. This time, when the waitress asks me, "Red or green?" I don't miss a beat. "Christmas!" I say with glee. For a split second, I almost feel like I'm a born-and-bred New Mexican.
Food
Beans & Sweets 1209 National Ave., Las Vegas, 505/425-6699
Charlie's Bakery & Café 715 Douglas Ave., Las Vegas, 505/426-1921, sopaipillas $8
Finding the way If you stick only to the state's major highways, you'll miss northern New Mexico's quirky small towns, roadside food stalls, and evergreen forests. Instead, plan your drive on scenic byways such as the High Road from Santa Fe to Taos. You can look up route descriptions, maps, and trip highlights at newmexico.org. Stretches of these roads are in rural areas, so make sure to fill up the tank before leaving.