On my first full day in New Mexico I decided to get acclimated to both the geography and the cuisine. I set the onboard GPS of the Camaro to head up the Turquoise Trail, an historic byway that links Albuquerque and Santa Fe. It was a beautiful day and I took in the sights along the 62 mile route. Of particular interest was the old mining town of Madrid. I would have enjoyed a meal at Maggie's Diner, but it was closed.
After strolling around the town square in Sante Fe, the state capitol, I reset my GPS and headed just out of town to The Ranch House, a restaurant featuring Southwestern food. It seemed to look authentic enough as I parked and sashayed into the place. I was greeted by what appeared to be one of the line cooks, dressed in black with his ball cap on backward. He seated me and handed me a menu. So many choices of items I've never had previously! Barbecued brisket quesadilla, rib meat tostados, salmon tacos, and buffalo burgers were just a few items on the menu. It was a difficult decision but I finally chose the smoked chicken enchilada with green chile sauce.
My limited experience with the foods of the southwest was painfully apparent . I seemed to recall that an enchilada was a corn tortilla rolled around a filling of meat, seafood, or vegetables and then covered with some sort of chile pepper sauce. It dates back to the time of the Mayans and is still a popular Mexican street food. But when my meal appeared it covered the entire plate and was flat, more like a tortilla, and immersed in a combination of spicy green chile sauce and refried beans with a small side salad. It was indeed muy grande!
As I downed my last delicious morsel the man in black came by the table to see how I enjoyed my meal. We got into conversation and as it turned out he is a part of the family that owns the restaurant. He then took me behind the scenes and literally gave me a cook's tour of the kitchen, including the custom made smoker that uses Texas brown oak for flavor and the walk-in where the local meat is stored chilled, not frozen.
That was the first highlight of my day. The second was driving to the top of 10,678 ft. Sandia Crest Mountain where the air is definitely rare.
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