 Santa Fe Bite
As soon as my feet hit the ground in Santa Fe, I essentially turned into a Pac-Man intent on gobbling up as much New Mexican food as possible, with a special emphasis on green chile cheeseburgers. As they say in the Fe, "Once you go green, you don't even know what green don't mean." Well, fortunately only the old-timers say that anymore, because it's just confusing. Anyway, Santa Fe Bite is the current incarnation of a beloved old joint called Bobcat Bite, whose green chile burger remains top-of-mind to a lot of Fe-gots. What, isn't that what they call people in Santa Fe? Well, excuuüüuse me. 🤷
It seems like this place draws a bit of an older crowd, with a mix of well-heeled locals and out-of-towners—it reminded me of Santa Barbara in that respect, where you'll find some great food in places that aren't real flashy, but have a clear sense of good taste. And anyway, I always feel right at home in a roomful of older folks, because I was born cranky and my hair went white in third grade. I sat at the counter and ordered me a burger.
The menu is chock full of your typical diner sandwiches, salads, chops, and burgers—I went with the bacon green chile cheeseburger, medium rare, with house chips and a Santa Fe Pale Ale. Easily the best burger, and best meal, I had while in Santa Fe, and I had a lot of burgers and a lot of meals. I'm still torn on whether the bacon was necessary; it certainly didn't detract, but the simple and pure combination of rare beef, green chile, and cheese might be preferable. Damn refreshing beer, too. A little under $30 all told, which ain't cheap, but as they say in the Fe, "You too cheap for the Fe, you ain't fit to sleep in the Fe." Man, they sure say a lot of things in the Fe!
Review by Wimpempy Tarlisle, March 2017 |
