DAY 3 - All Day in Santa Fe

In traditional Mama D. fashion the day started with room service. Since I can remember, my Mom’s favorite thing in the world is room service (and extra pillows, but we already had those). After finishing breakfast, mom, Zena, Zuma and I took a nice stroll around Santa Fe. It was in the mid-twenties, but not a cloud in the sky; it was a beautiful brisk day. We strolled the downtown plaza, which at 9am only had a handful of Santa Feans walking about.

The snow-capped Santa Fe mountain range

After an hour or so we took the dogs back to the hotel and started our site seeing and shopping. By the time we got back outside the town was packed. Shops were open, cafes had lines, sidewalks were filled and Starbucks was in full swing; it was like at 10am a bell rung and everyone exploded into Santa Fe.

Santa Fe Plaza before the rush

Santa Fe Plaza at night all lit up.

Mom and I explored a few city landmarks – San Miguel Mission (considered the nation’s oldest church) and Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi. Both were magnificent with loads of history.

San Miguel Mission, considered the nation's oldest church

Inside Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi

After checking off the historic stuff of the list, we grabbed a Starbucks and did some shopping.


We worked up an appetite walking around town and were ready to take on our second BBQ stop in Santa Fe, Josh’s BBQ - www.joshsbbq.com. It’s about 10 minutes outside of town, but it was worth the drive (see THE REVIEW and pics below).

After a brief rest and some football viewing we changed up and got ready for dinner. It seems like every corner of Santa Fe has great restaurant and Amavi - www.amavirestaurant.com – came highly recommended. The executive chef at Santa Cafe (last night's restaurant) started Amavi with his wife. I had an Australian Barramundi fish (part of the sea bass family) with a lobster risotto. I also had a side of house-made linguini with capers and bacon. Delicious all around and a must try when you make it to Santa Fe.

As a whole, Santa Fe was spectacular! I really enjoyed this town even with the brisk weather. As expected, it was very artsy with a heavy Native American influence. There were a ton of stores, but most carried the same Native American pots, vases and jewelery. Even more impressive than the amount of stores, were the amount of amazing restaurants. They sounded and looked great, but time was of the essence so we could only try a couple. I hope to come back for a longer visit soon.

Tomorrow (Sunday, Dec. 28) we are back on the road headed to Oklahoma City. It’s supposed to be an eight hour drive. We’re stopping in Amarillo at the famous Big Texan Steak Ranch.

THE REVIEW - Josh's BBQ, Santa Fe, NM

Our second BBQ restaurant in Santa Fe was Josh’s BBQ – www.joshsbbq.com. It’s about 10 minutes southwest of Santa Fe in a strip mall. It won Santa Fe’s best new restaurant of 2008. You order at the counter, get a number and they bring the food to the table. We knew it was going to be decent when we saw a selection of three different sauces on the table along with a massive role of paper towels.

Outside Josh's BBQ in Santa Fe

Inside Josh's BBQ in Santa Fe

Three-meat platter at Josh's BBQ in Santa Fe. Includes brisket, pulled pork and pork ribs as well as sweet mashed potatoes, crisscut fries and cornbread

Josh's BBQ stuffed spud - baked potato with the works and pulled pork on top

Video of the grub at Josh's BBQ in Santa Fe, NM

Sauce – 3.5 – They had three different house-made sauces: Traditional Mild, Traditional Hot and Seasonal. All three started sweet and finished spicy, the difference came in the level of sweet and spicy. My mom and I preferred the Traditional Mild because it was just right and didn’t over power the food.

Sides – 3.5 – Sides were interesting because two of them were the best part of the meal and the other two were below standard. The mashed sweet potatoes were tremendous!! Sweet with a tad of spice! The beans were delicious as well. I’d go back just for those two sides. On the flipside, the coleslaw left something to be desired and the corn bread was standard.

Slabs – 3.5 – Josh’s pork ribs were tender and meaty like Cowgirls BBQ ribs, but Josh’s had that crispy skin and a slightly pink middle that I like. A half-rack was plenty. Add the sweet potatoes and beans and you got yourself a nice bbq meal.

Steaks – 3.5 – The brisket was moist and flavorful. Eating it plane with no sauce was just fine. It didn’t require a knife to cut it; a simple pull with your fork tore it apart showing its tenderness. I enjoyed it, but I hope we come across better, especially when we get into Texas.

Sandwiches – 3 – The pulled pork was decent. We enjoyed that it was chunky as opposed to stringy. It packed flavor so it was fine on its own, but the tasty sauce improved it slightly. A bite of saucy pulled pork covered in sweet mashed potatoes brought an immediate smile to my face.

Rating System:
1 - Barely edible
2 - Standard
3 - Good
4 - Very good
5 - Outstanding on every level