Because it’s Friday, and because I could certainly use a pint or two after a long hard week of work and grad school – I thought I would share some of the pub grub highlights of our trip to Santa Fe.
Though a confessed foodie, I’m certainly no food snob. In fact I’m a firm believer that a watering hole with a decent selection of beers and some unusual menu items is much more fun than a high end restaurant. Whenever we are traveling, Steve and I try to get in a good mix of nice joints, local street food (great while sight-seeing) and we also make sure to spend some time in local bars. You meet the best people in bars, and on many occasions we’ve gotten a great dinner recommendation from our bartender or server.
The first pub we hit up in Santa Fe was the Sleeping Dog Tavern which is just off of the main square. We enjoyed local beers from Marble Brewery and Santa Fe Brewery and were delighted by their eclectic menu. The hands down food highlight of my trip was these Truffled French Fries with Blue Cheese. Oh. My. Goodness.
I think the manager was tickled by the fact I was taking pictures of the food, because he comped us an order of these crazy delicious chicken bites stuffed with peppers and wrapped in bacon. Steve is usually deeply shamed when I take food photos in restaurants, but I think that in many cases it gets us nice perks.
Another pub grub highlight was the 2nd Street Brewery which is outside of the touristy center of downtown, in more of an industrial area. I’m pretty sure that if we lived in Santa Fe, we would spend a lot of time here. Look how relaxed he looks.
I’m looking pretty relaxed too. 2nd Street Brewery is a microbrewery that offers 6-10 varieties at a time, and rotates seasonally. I really enjoyed my Kolsh. I was also delighted by the pub grub menu.
For a late lunch Steve and I split an order of fried calamari as well as the curry special of the day (any bar that has a daily curry special must be doing something right if you ask me). Shrimp in green coconut curry with a side salad and Spanish rice was a really surprising find at such an unassuming dive.
On our way out of town we we sure to visit Harry’s Roadhouse which was featured on an episode of The Food Network’s Dinners Drive-Ins & Dives. I think hosting DDD is my ultimate career goal. Move over Guy Fierri. There’s a new Sherrif in Flavor Town.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Microbreweries are, hands down, my hang outs of choice when traveling. And, yes, I publicly take photos of my food, too. Though I’ve never gotten a freebie out of it! Lucky you.
those fries look positively nom-worthy. Get in my belly!
Oh my goodness… those fries look absolutely amazing.
Waspy,
Those shrimp look TDF. Now I’m craving shrimp & grits.
xoxox