FOOD

So You’re Looking For a Breakfast Burrito [Vol. 3]

Red Enchilada and Plaza Café Southside

BY ALEX DE VORE alex@sfreporter.com

If you’ve been following along of late, you’ll know I’ve been on a mission to eat every breakfast burrito in town, but what to do when you’ve got a lunch date with local artist, co-founder of the Alas de Agua Art Collective and pillar of the community Israel Francisco Haros Lopez?

Red Enchilada Restaurant

131 Osage Ave., (505) 820-6552; Breakfast and Lunch Wednesday-Monday You message and ask if he’s down with Red Enchilada Restaurant and, if you’re lucky, he is. And so he was. And so we went.

Of course, regular readers will no doubt be aware that my love of the Midtown New Mexican/Central American eatery is long-running and well-documented, but recently learning that the folks behind Red Enchilada are family to the champions at Café Castro only solidified two things I already knew to be true: The place is fantastic and community connections are cool. But I digress to say that, despite having eaten at Red Enchilada roughly 400,000 times, I’d never tried the breakfast burrito ($7.25) until my sojourn with Haros Lopez.

For starters, the red chile at Red Enchilada is always a flavorful affair despite being less viscous than at other local spots. As I’ve said before, there’s something special about a thick and almost granular red, but, in Red Enchilada’s slightly more liquid form, it works. This is 100% about its flavor, and though we’re talking all the earthy goodness I want when it comes to a good red, the slight citrus bite in the aftertaste is something truly special. As for the green chile, well, it’s always a flavor experience, too. At this particular restaurant, expect more of a chopped experience than a saucy one, but as its textures mingle with melty cheese and bright red, something wonderful happens—particularly if you stuff some into the included sopaipilla for your own stuffed sopa.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—Red Enchilada has the best sopaipillas in town; they’re massive and taste fresh, whereas other restaurants I won’t name seem to make a big batch before they open and then stick them under a heat lamp. As an added little tip that’ll work with just about any menu option at Red Enchilada, might I add ordering a side of fries and dumping some all over the plate? Not only will they absorb any errant chile you might otherwise miss, the crispy texture and salty, fatty flavors add another layer to what’s already one of the more flavorful menus in Santa Fe. This works particularly well alongside the breakfast burrito where the egg-to-potato ratio is as generous as it gets. In fact, if I even had a criticism it would be that this breakfast burrito felt a little light in the potato department—a rarity in a town full of hotspots that, as we’ve discussed before, stick about a whole potato in a

No, seriously—order fries at Red Enchilada and dump them all over the plate. Everybody loves a place that serves hash browns with breakfast burritos like Plaza Café Southside.

tortilla and, if you’re lucky, add half a scrambled egg. In other words? Red Enchilada should be in your regular rotation if you’re a breakfast burrito fan, and the same goes for lovers of pupusas, huevos rancheros, enchiladas and on and on and on.

Plaza Café Southside

3466 Zafarano Drive, (505) 557-6435; Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Every Day Later that same week, I caught back up with podcast host Brian Brett because I’d won a pristine VHS copy of Dances with Wolves while appearing on his Artist With Brian podcast, then left it behind like a jamoke. Together we hit up the Plaza Café Southside for yet another smothered Christmas delight.

I’m not great about hitting the Southside of town for food, which sucks, because there’s a ton to love. Having been seduced by the Plaza Café Southside, though, I might have to change that up forever. I’m a longtime fan of the original location on the Plaza (my aunt Stephanie worked there 20 years ago), but the independent spinoff spot has a different menu and one of the better breakfast burritos I’ve had in Santa Fe ($13.25). It might have been—and hear me now, all restaurants with burritos—the side of hash browns, but the chile on this particular burrito did something I’ve not often experienced: it mingled perfectly. See, I’m the kind of diner who generally starts a Christmas dish with one chile, eating it fully before moving onto the next. I’m sure plenty of others do it differently, but I like to experience each flavor on its own.

Feeling sporty, however, I mixed and matched bites using the hash browns as a conveyance and dropping in the included lettuce and tomato. Someplace between the ample egg-to-potato ratio and the crispiness of the potatoes and lettuce—plus the flavorful explosion of the diced tomatoes—something glorious happened. It honestly seems like I might have found a new favorite in the search for burrito supremacy, and for an extra $2, I could have added Impossible sausage (Plaza Café Southside was an early adopter to plant-based meat). Next time, perhaps. Because I will be back.

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HOOP DANCING

Santa Fe Plaza 100 Old Santa Fe Trail Traditional Indigenous hoop dancing from the Lightning Boy Foundation. There are only so many more outdoor dancing days left in the season, too, so maybe now’s the time you get down? 3:30-5 pm, free (please tip)

EVENTS

DAVE'S JAZZ BISTRO

Santa Fe School of Cooking 125 N Guadalupe St. (505) 983-4511 Eddie Daniels’ Jazz Quarter plays along with an accompanying three-course meal. Jazz and huge meals? There’s a joke there, but God help us, we’re not going to be the ones to find it. 6:30-9:30 pm, $250

DRIVE-THRU FLU SHOT CLINIC

Christus St. Vincent 455 St. Michael's Drive (505) 820-5202 Yep, you can protect yourself from the flu, too. Did you know General George “I’m Not Hamilton, But I Met Him” Washington inoculated the entire Continental Army from smallpox? Back then you had to cut open you skin and insert the bacteria itself. Anyways, getting a flu shot keeps hospital beds open so we don’t have to go through last winter again, and we really can’t go through last winter again. 9 am-2 pm, free

GALISTEO BASIN PRESERVE POKER RIDE AND RUN

Galisteo Basin Preserve Morning Star Ridge, Galisteo (505) 365-2835 Hikers, bikers and runners draw cards at five stations along the Galisteo Basin Preserve trail network to see who can put together the best poker hands. Grand prizes and raffle prizes will be awarded to various winners who are also somehow the bike riding and running type of people. 9 am-1 pm, $15-$40

SANTA FE ARTISTS MARKET

The West Casitas 1612 Alcaldesa St. (505) 310-8766 Abundant pottery selections, various jewelry choices, paintings in booth after booth, plus photographs, sculptures and more. North of the water tower, this is one of the easier ways to support our locals artists and we once had a real amazing scone at this thing. 8 am-2 pm, free

SANTA FE FARMERS MARKET

Farmers Market Pavilion 1607 Paseo de Peralta (505) 983-7726 Oh, what’s that? Dreaming of some autumnal recipes but dreading the grocery store trip for whatever reason? Time to doll yourself up and get yourself some squash from the farmers directly. It feels good. 7 am-1 pm, free

WINGS FOR HOPE TOY RUN

Fraternal Order of Eagles 833 Early St. (505) 983-7171 A fundraising bike ride, plus music, food and all good vibes. Registration opens at 10:30am, Gypsy Grove plays at 4 pm, you get the smug feeling that comes from knowing you’re healthier than everyone else. Are you happy now, Beckie?! Noon, free

FILM

2021 SANTA FE INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL

All around town bit.ly/3DudOd7 (505) 596-0350 Do you want to impress your friends by seeing the latest (insert big blockbuster here) for the third time, or do you want to tell them you saw cool indie movies before the rest of the world even had the chance? You know what to do here. (See Movies, page 30) All day, $15-$325

MUSIC

AROUND THE WORLD IN 30 INSTRUMENTS

Santa Fe Public Library Southside 6599 Jaguar Drive (505) 955-2820 Enjoy an outdoor concert featuring music from—you guessed it—around the world. 1-3 pm, free

GOLDENOAK

Second Street Brewery (Rufina Taproom) 2920 Rufina St. (505) 954-1068 Indie-folk and soul from Maine. 8:30 pm, free

LEAF N VIBE: PARTY LIKE IT'S 1929

Leaf & Hive Brew Lab 1208 Mercantile Road, Ste. A (505) 699-3055 Performers include Truewill, Neuromancer+Blissfool, Spinb0t, Luca LoFi, Eros Silent Disco and more, plus dancers. Before you ask, yes—those are all words/ names of things. 8 pm, free

ROBOT SOMBRERO VOL. 3

Que Sabe 1911 St. Michael’s Drive (505) 982-9243 Hip-hop night featuring Legun, Stoned Age, ANTRO and DJ Demonic. 21+ event! 10 pm, $25

THEATER

26 MILES

Teatro Paraguas 3205 Calle Marie (505) 424-1601 Mother-daughter melodrama on the road. Well, on the stage, but it’s the road version of the stage. 7:30 pm, $15-$25

LUNGS

The Actors Lab 1213 Parkway Drive B (505) 395-6576 Take a deep breath for local theater. Fill your lungs. Feel your feelings. Feel them! 7:30 pm, $25-$90

SUN/17

ART OPENINGS

SANTA FE STUDIO TOUR

Santa Fe santafestudiotour.com Day two of the Studio Tour, and there are still more than enough studios to check out and and in which you might still get a little dazzled. All day, free

BOOKS/LECTURES

FREETHINKERS FORUM: END OF LIFE OPTIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Online meetup.com/freethinkersforum State Representative Debbie Armstrong, chair of the House Health and Human Services Committee, and Barak Wolff, from End of Life Options for New Mexico, present end-of-life options and opportunities. 8:30-10 am, free

SECULAR ALLIANCE: UPDATES ON THE PROPOSED PNM/AVANGRID MERGER

Online meetup.com/freethinkersforum PRC Commissioner Joe Maestas updates on the proposed merger. Noon-1:30 pm, free

DANCE

HOOP DANCING

Santa Fe Plaza 100 Old Santa Fe Trail Traditional Native hoop dancing. 3:30-5 pm, free (but tip them)

EVENTS

CARE PACKAGE DISTRIBUTION AND LITTER PICK-UP

NM Workforce Connections 301 W. DeVargas St. A care package distribution of essential necessities to those in need, and a little work in helping keep our community clean. 11 am, free

POP-UP PLAYGROUND

Railyard Park 740 Cerrillos Road (505) 316-3596 Free community celebrations of hands-on play. Kids can come and build their own playground out of recycled materials in a safe, outdoor setting. Call it pretend engineer time for the kids and grown-ups alike. And help the kids, but don’t do it for them or anything. 11 am-3 pm, free

YOGA IN THE PARK

Bicentennial Park 1121 Alto St. Yeah, we probably do need to stretch a little more. This all-levels vinyasa flow class can get you started, since we can wager a guess you’ve got back pain. Although, that might just be us. 10 am, $10

FAMILY FORUM WITH SFPS DISTRICT 5

Monica Lucero Park 2366 Avenida de las Companas Join Sascha Guinn Anderson of the Santa Fe Public Schools Board of Education, District 5, to talk more about how families and schools can work together to better our community. 2 pm-4 pm, $10

FILM

2021 SANTA FE INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL

All around town (505) 596-0350 What’s that? Sorry, we couldn’t hear you over my ScorceseGodard-Weber-MicheauxKurosawa marathon that we’re playing as we prepare ourselves for the film festival. (See Movies, page 30) All day, $15-$325

MUSIC

BILL HEARNE

La Fiesta Lounge 100 E San Francisco St. (505) 982-5511 Music via one of the most well known local artists. Folksy sounds with a folksy mood in the downtown autumn air. (See SFR Picks, page 18) 7:30 pm, free

DOVER QUARTET

St. Francis Auditorium at NM Museum of Art 107 W Palace Ave. Dover Quartet is joined by pianist Anne-Marie McDermott. The program includes works of William Grant Still and Mendelssohn, as well as the world premiere of Chris Rogerson’s Dream Sequence. 3 pm, free

LOS HURACANES DEL NORTE

Rodeo de Santa Fe 3237 Rodeo Road (505) 471-4300 Norteño music at the rodeo fairgrounds which, in case you somehow didn’t know, is a really big deal band. And the show’s free? Amazing! Fingers crossed for gigantic turkey legs and a big ol’ ear of corn or something. 4 pm, free

THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS

Lensic Performing Arts Center 211 W San Francisco St. (505) 988-1234 Boomers and X'ers, stand up. Led by singer Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scene. It’s sold out, but maybe you can find a ticket or two online? 7:30 pm, $39-$49

FOUR SCHILLINGS SHORT

Teatro Paraguas 3205 Calle Marie (505) 424-1601 Traditional music from the Celtic lands and greater Europe, Asia and the Americas on a fantastic collection of world instruments. Masks and vaxx proof required. 7:30-9:30 pm, $7-$15

THEATER

26 MILES

Teatro Paraguas 3205 Calle Marie (505) 424-1601 Mother-daughter melodrama, like a Diane Keaton film from the ’90s, except you won’t forget about this one within an hour. 2 pm, $15-$25

LUNGS

The Actors Lab 1213 Parkway Drive B (505) 395-6576 A young couple examines their lives. 7:30 pm, $25-$90

MON/18

BOOKS/LECTURES

STEFANI CRABTREE: MIGRATION LECTURE

SITE Santa Fe 1606 Paseo de Peralta (505) 989-1199 In connection with the exhibit New Cartographies of Smell Migration, Stefani Crabtree of the Santa Fe Institute discusses her research on migration, asking how did the people come to spread across this landscape, and what choices did they make as they migrated in unfamiliar territories? 6 pm, $5

DANCE

SANTA FE SWING

Odd Fellows Hall 1125 Cerrillos Road Classic swing dancing. Classes start at 7 pm, open dance at 8 pm. Vaccinated folks only, please. Bring your CDC card as proof on your first visit. 7 pm, $3-$8

MUSIC

DOUG MONTGOMERY

Fenix at Vanessie 427 W Water St. (505) 982-9966 We love ourselves a good evening of Doug Montgomery tickling the ivories. 6:30 pm, free THEATER

PARTED WATERS

Teatro Paraguas 3205 Calle Marie (505) 424-1601 A reading of playwright Robert F. Benjamin's play focuses on three generations of Hispanic men in a family. Their farm near Truchas has been in the family for generations but are facing diverging cultural values and life styles, while hidden revelations of the family's past threaten to further pull them apart. 7:30 pm, $5-$10

TUE/19

ART OPENINGS

STILLNESS AND COLOR

Strata Gallery 418 Cerrillos Road (505) 780-5403 Landscape art is always a bit refreshing for the soul, no? Check out Lin Medlin’s new showcase with subjects inspired from New Mexico, Colorado and all along the Rio Grande. These light-filled landscapes are held by a pervasive stillness. All day, free

BOOKS/LECTURES

JENNIFER STAGER: A FEMINIST HISTORY OF ANCIENT MEDICINE

Pecos Trail Cafe 2239 Old Pecos Trail (505) 982-9444 Stager, a specialist in the art and architecture of the ancient Mediterranean, speaks on her titled work A Feminist History of Ancient Medicine. Masks required for restaurant entry and lecture, dinner starts at 5:30 pm. 7 pm, free (minus the food)

SOIL STORIES

Online bit.ly/3BCOp0s Online conversations about soil health, with agronomist and agroecologist Gabriella Coughlin. 5:30 pm, free

EVENTS

YOGA IN THE PARK

Bicentennial Park 1121 Alto St. More stretching, maybe a little enlightenment sprinkled in for flavor. Noon, $10

FOOD

SANTA FE FARMERS MARKET

Farmers Market Pavilion 1607 Paseo de Peralta (505) 983-7726 Shop like all the good food in the world will vanish tomorrow. But don’t panic—this little market will live another day to be featured on the Travel Channel. 8 am-1 pm, free