Tasty Tesuque Trio
One Tiny Town Serves Up a Full Day of Feasting
Salmon served at Encantado Resort's Terra restaurant
The little village of Tesuque (from a Tewa word meaning “narrow place of cottonwood trees”) encompasses a seven-square-mile patch of land just six miles north of Santa Fe, and includes not only the ancient Tesuque Pueblo but also contemporary cuisines as disparate as Italian wood-oven pizzas and French steak tartare. Getting there is a breeze— turn north on Bishop’s Lodge Road from downtown for a 10-minute drive to its central cluster of buildings, and find breakfast, lunch, or dinner to tantalize discerning palates.
Breakfast: Tesuque Village Market
Part bakery, part restaurant, part grocery store and liquor store, Tesuque Village Market’s roadhouse setting, right in the center of town, features a sprawling covered veranda and cozy interior rooms. The grocery area includes a well-stocked pastry case—the voluptuous cinnamon buns, with a terrific raisin-to-dough ratio, are the best in the area.
Plump breakfast burritos are adorned with the sauces prepared by longtime kitchen staff member Consuelo, as are the huevos rancheros topped with bubbling cheese and sided with tender pinto beans. The flecks of roasted chile in the green, and the deep, smoky flavor of the red, alert your palate that you are in norteño country, although a farmers frittata with Gruyère, dill, and asparagus is deftly prepared à la Provence. Lunch and dinner are served too, and after 4 pm the wood-fired pizza oven turns out thin-crusted beauties. 138 Tesuque Village Road, 505-988-8848
Brunch/lunch: Terra at Encantado
Farther on, where the narrow road succumbs to rolling hills, the sleek, modern Encantado resort springs up. Its sunlit Terra restaurant’s appealing room, more Palm Springs than rural New Mexico, surrounds a center display of tiered cakes, tarts, mousses, and puddings included in the prix-fixe menu for the Sunday brunch (11:30 am–2 pm). An “immaculate” Bloody Mary will remind you it’s time to relax in the luxe surroundings.
My Carnegie deli plate appetizer had me reliving Sundays in the Big Apple, with two smoked fishes and salmon gravlax, while tasty steak tartare with a 62-degrees-Celsius poached egg on top took my guest back to luncheon in Paris. We opted to pass over piñon-nut pancakes and Kobe meatloaf with tomato jam, instead ordering perfectly poached eggs with saffron Hollandaise and dry-cured Spanish Lomo ham, and a lean corned-beef hash with a strikingly green salsa verde covering the accompanied eggs, à la Dr. Seuss. Chef Charles Dales’s dinner menu also has palates wagging; he just might be the next best chef of Santa Fe. 198 State Road 592, 505-946-5800
Dinner: El Nido
The building that houses El Nido, just around the corner from Tesuque Village Market, has been a dance hall, a gas station, and even a brothel, so the cordial, friendly atmosphere should come as no surprise. This terrific neighborhood hangout where “everyone knows your name” has been a hit with locals, under the current ownership, for 27 years. Its steaks and other char-grilled meats come in a variety of cuts and sizes, and the chophouse menu also features seafood specialties—including a perfect oysters Rockefeller.
Surf-n-turf fans have a multitude of options: steaks come with shrimp, scallops, or king crab. A gussied up rack of Colorado lamb gets a mint crusting before hitting the grill. If the poblano rellenos stuffed with seafood are on the menu, have them: They’re a tribute to Chef J.D. Damron’s Santa Fe upbringing. The cozy lounge has burgers and the like, and desserts include yummy brulées and a sour-cream key lime pie worth licking the plate. The predominately American wine list is a nice mix of heavy hitters like Silver Oak and affordable popular selections like Sonoma Cutrer. I felt like I had made a new friend. 1591 Bishop’s Lodge Road, 505-988-4340
