On to Santa Fe

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We all enjoyed a little extra sleep this morning, even Tarragon waited until 6:30 to jump on the bed for attention. Snoozed until 7 then got up did some pre-packing and showering. Had breakfast in Mas Tapas y Vino because it was just convenient since we needed to check out by 11.

Breakfast put the restaurant back on track for me. Much better than last night and equally as good as the first night. Jerry had breakfast tacos, scrambled eggs, bacon, Manchego and cheddar cheese on a crips corn tortilla, there were three in all, served with green chili sauce and patatas bravas. I had the New Mexico Breakfast bowl; it was quite large. Patatas Bravas with house made sausage, which was very tasty, Cheddar-Jack Cheese two eggs over easy and green chili sauce. Both were really good and filling. The coffee was really good and we discovered that it is roasted with pinon seeds so it had a very distinct flavor.

After breakfast we finished packing loaded up kitty and were off to Santa Fe. The drive was just a little over an hour and a nice drive as we headed higher up in elevation. Albuquerque was 5,040 feet above sea level and Santa Fe is 6,960 feet above sea level. Before we headed to the hotel to see if we could get an early check in, we dropped some clothes off at a dry cleaner (this is how we don’t end up with 4 big suit cases, half way through a trip we do dry cleaning and laundry). Siri got us lost be we eventually found the place without her assistance. After the drycleaners we stopped at TJ to get our wine-thirty supplies and some champagne for Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

The hotel is right off the historic plaza so it is very easy for us to walk most places in town. We were able to get an early check-in so Tarragon was happy. However, all did not go smoothly. During this trip we went from silver to gold Hilton Honors members, which means we are to get automatic and complimentary room upgrades (if available). I am sure you can see where this is headed. Not only did we not get an upgrade, or an explanation that there were none available, the guy at the front desk, didn’t even tell us anything about the hotel, (i.e., was there a cocktail hour, hours of the restaurant, was the pool open, etc.) We parked our car ($22 dollars a night to park in an uncovered lot that they own.) and took Tarragon and to the room. When we opened the door, I was immediately not pleased. It was dark, in a corner and got next to know natural light. After we got the luggage in, the first thing I do is check to see if there is actually a good wi-fi connection, and of course there was not. Well long story short, three calls later, we got our complimentary upgrade that we should have got up front and a room with a much better wi-fi connection and a view of the pool with a sliding door out to an area Tarragon will get to explore later. If we were not going to be here for 9 nights, I might have let it all go, but 9 nights deserves a better room than we were initially given. It took the manager to figure it out as the 20 something front desk clerks were not capable. End of the day, we got a nice comfortable room to spend the next 9 nights of our vacation.

We set up kitty so he would be comfortable and then headed out for lunch. We were going to have lunch at a place called Tia Sophia’s, unfortunately by the time we got there they had closed until dinner time. This did not deter us, we walked just a few steps to Burro alley and found a really nice cute traditional Mexican restaurant. Since it was now almost three, we didn’t want to eat too much because we are having a nice dinner (all the dinners in Santa Fe are at very good restaurants.)

The food and the service as good. First bit of Spanish we have heard on the trip, or since Lordsburg. We got a side of guacamole to go with the main dish. Jerry had a cheese quesadilla and I had a Sincronizada Pollo. This is pretty much the same as a quesadilla but much easier to eat like a sandwich. They were both very good. I also had a Margarita with lunch, made all the stress of earlier just disappear.

After lunch we ran a few more errands, Tarragon needed cat litter. Now back in the room, Jerry is unpacking and setting up the room while I write this blog. It is of course wine-thirty.

Dinner is at 8, so going to just relax now before it is time to get ready.

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Just back from dinner, the walk was nice through the plaza. We walked by the river (which there is no water in) on the way to the restaurant. It was only about .3 miles and flat, but because of the altitude it actually winded me.

Tonight’s dinner was a Luminaria, which is the restaurant inside the Loretto Inn, which is not an inexpensive place to stay. I only mention that because you would anticipate that a hotel of that caliber would have an outstanding restaurant, sorry to say it is not the case. It started right from the gate, we were sat right by the entrance and there was a constant breeze coming through which of course is going to make your food get cold, but I am jumping ahead.

The menu looked really good with several things to choose from. We started with green chile arancini with an avocado crema. They were tasty, but didn’t come out hot in the first place and because of the breeze were basically cold before we were through. The next course was a salad, Jerry had the house green salad, pretty non-descript and the greens had no flavor. I had a grilled Caesar salad with fried anchovies, it was really very good, sad to say the best thing we ate of the night.

So, the entrées should have been fantastic. Jerry ordered Buffalo Short Ribs with a red chile polenta. I order a coffee rubbed New York Strip with Gruyere gratin root vegetables. The steak had a chocolate-chipotle demi-glace. What should have been a very nice dinner was in fact horrible. Both of our dishes were cold when they arrived at the table. What they tried to push off as a NY strip was not even top round. I ordered medium rare it was well done and tough as leather. I have never in my life seen a NY strip that is thinner than a flank steak. I have no idea if the sauce was even good, because took one bite and just said no. If Jerry’s dish would have been hot it would have been very good. It was so bad we had to ask for the manager, who insisted that my steak was a NY Strip, when there is literally no way on earth it was. The wine was good and that was the only thing we had to pay for. I am not even including pictures because they were so bad (looked nice) that they are just not worthy of my blog.

So, the dish of the day ends up being the New Mexico Breakfast Bowl from breakfast.

Tomorrow is a day in town walking tour. It is supposed to rain and turn to snow by the evening.

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Comments

[Nancy Bates]

Message from old client in Portland
Hi Chris and Jerry, I’m following your Southwest escapades and enjoying it. My question is how do travel with Tarragon? Do you bring a litter box? How does he do on flights and in cars? I have a wonderful cat, Boodles, and would like to travel with him. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Nancy