Dia de los Muertos 2008

Since our usual Day of the Dead menu is a bit of a hodge podge — one year we had tuna casserole and taco salad! — this year we decided to make something a little more unified. So, though it took a while to prepare, I ended up making some kick-ass chicken enchilladas and beans. OK, I didn’t actually make the beans, but I did make the enchilladas, and they were awesome.

Christine’s been having some problems with spicy foods lately, so I toned down the hot chiles this time, but, even milder than usual, those things were delicious.

Another kind of weird thing happened in the drink department…usually we serve something sweet and yummy for my little sister Brittany, tuna juice or milk for our cats Frida and Lourdes, something non-alcoholic for Christine’s Dad, Buster, and beer for my Grandpa Romero.

So, I’m looking through my fridge for some Mexican beer for Grandpa and there, in the very back of the fridge is a San Miguel that I have no recollection of ever buying, just waiting to be opened. Crazy, huh? I’m sure my brother brought the beer over sometime when he was housesitting or something, but it was odd to find one lone bottle of Mexican beer just when I — not to mention my Grandpa! — wanted it most. Weird…

Per tradition, Christine and I served up one plate of food for our loved one’s to share, set out some pictures and mementos from their lives, poured them their favorite drinks and got down to some serious eating.

Another change this year was that we left our Halloween pumpkins on the table this year too, which, aside from looking pretty damn cool, also made the whole thing much more festive.

And though we bought the ingredients to make Pumpkin Pie ice cream milk shakes for dessert, we were so full by the time we finished eating that we just had a couple slices of that amazing, pink-sugar-coated Pan de Muerto (pictured above) and called it a night.

Feliz Dia de los Muertos everyone…and to our family and feline loved ones who have gone before, hope you liked the grub and see ya next year!

Cafe Pasqual’s & The Shed

While we tried tons of super cool restaurants in Santa Fe, these two were, hands down, our favorites of the bunch. And, trust me, with the caliber of kick-ass food being what it is in Santa Fe, that is really saying something.

Probably best known for their spectacular mole sauce, Cafe Pasqual’s has been one of the premiere destinations for gourmet Old Mexican and New Mexican dishes alike for the past 28 years. And while the prices are a bit higher than some of the other places in town and the lines are known to stretch down Don Gasper Avenue at all hours, once you’ve eaten at Cafe Pasqual’s, it all makes sense.

Ginger and I had an early lunch there one day where I sampled that legendary mole sauce on some of the finest chicken enchiladas I have ever tasted anywhere…including Mexico. The mole was dark as night, awesomely spicy and best of all, not too chocolate-y. I was in heaven…

The next time I went was with Christine for dinner and once again, the food was downright dazzling. I had some of the tastiest skewered filet mignon I’ve ever had and the bright green cilantro rice on the side was crazy good. In fact, we were so impressed with the food that we actually bought the newest of the two Cafe Pasqual Cookbooks they had for sale up front.

I should also note that I learned later from our friends James and Amy that if you ask nicely, the chef will add a fried egg on top of any of the dishes on the menu for the low, low price of $1.00. I don’t know that I necessarily needed the egg, but hey, I’ve done stranger things for a dollar…so, maybe next time!

But while we both loved Cafe Pasqual’s, The Shed is the place we’ll dream about in the years to come…huge thanks to Christine’s co-worker, “Santa Fe Sarah” for recommending it to us, you rock! Located in a cool little hacienda dating to 1692, The Shed has been serving some of the finest, Spanish, Pueblo, and New Mexican food known to man since 1953.

Housed inside the thick adobe walls of the hacienda, the dining area is spread out across a series of small, brightly colored rooms linked by narrow doorways and halls adorned with some of the coolest art in town. The place actually felt more like someone’s house than a restaurant, and with little round fire places up front and an intimate, low-ceilinged feel throughout, you could have sworn you were eating in Yoda’s pad on Degobah. And yes, that is a good thing.

And the food…my God. Amazing! Christine ordered the Chicken Enchilada Verde which is made with traditional New Mexican blue corn tortillas and bathed in a roasted green chile sauce that will leave you begging for more. Literally! I went back two days after she left and ordered the exact same thing…and it was even better the second time.

The other thing we really dug about The Shed was the garlic bread. Instead of chips and salsa — which you can still order separately if you like — every entree is served with this amazing, piping-hot basket of French Garlic Bread. I know it sounds kinda weird, but when you’re sopping up that spicy green chile sauce, that bread is exactly what you wanna have on hand. Whew…awesome!

And for desert, you gotta try the mocha cake. I’m not kidding, I actually woke up a couple of times craving that thing. Probably one of the best coffee-infused, chocolate mouse cakes I’ve ever had. If you like chocolate…you will die!

Anyway, like I said before, there were plenty of killer dining spots in town, but these two…wow…if you ever find yourself in Santa Fe, don’t miss them.