Here, Bartlett tips us off to his favorite restaurants, cocktails, and hiking trails in the Santa Fe area.
There’s an amazing upscale Mexican restaurant called Sazón, and the chef is originally from Mexico City. It’s a great vibe inside. There’s all different paintings of Frida Kahlo around the walls, and an amazing menu—not vast, but just incredible flavors. He has this one soup that’s a sort of chef’s special, and you don’t even know what it is. They just tell you to order it. If you ever go there, you should just order it. It’s a cream of poblano soup, but it’s one of the most amazing things I’ve ever tasted. It’s really creamy, but it’s not heavy. And you get a little flight of mole. Just an awesome restaurant.
Courtesy of Sazon Santa Fe
Some of the cast went [to the spa] and they had massages and the tubs and stuff. But I went there for dinner, and that was just amazing. It’s gorgeous up there. It feels like you’re sort of in the mountains of Japan. The food is amazing, and there’s an incredible sake menu—sake like I never experienced it.
Courtesy of Izanami / Thomas McConnell
I was really going for the mezcal cocktails because they were incredible. Mezcal is my drink. It’s more kind of casual—great Mexican food, interesting and fresh—but just killer drinks. So I found myself there fairly regularly.
ALEXMAKESMEDIA
Courtesy of Paloma Santa Fe
A great brunch place, which has been around for decades. It’s on the corner in an old adobe building. You often will line up, especially on the weekends, but it feels like it’s been there for a long time. A lot of organic stuff, very fresh, but local stuff and Southwestern sort of Mexican-inspired. Just amazing breakfast and brunch.
It’s quite small, but they just have really cool stuff—generally cool vintage, but also kind of Southwestern vintage. It’s just down the road from Pasqual’s. It’s definitely worth a visit.
They have this drinking chocolate or, as they call them, elixirs. It comes in a small cup and it’s thick and dark chocolate. You can have it completely unsweetened, which is what I like. It’s got chili in it and some spices, and it is heavenly.
