FOOD

Puerto Peñasco

In Sonora, Mexico, Puerto Peñasco is a seaside town on the Gulf of California—and in Santa Fe, it’s the anchor restaurant to a busy strip mall on Airport Road. In both places, you can expect to find an abundance of seafood, and at this Southside standby, large Spanish-speaking families (kids, cousins, great-uncles) sit at long tables or comfy, well-worn booths. The enormous menu includes fish, shrimp and steak plates, enchiladas, tacos, fajitas, kids’ plates and some real showstoppers: market price lobster drenched in butter and garlic; piña carnaval (half a grilled pineapple stuffed with shrimp and octopus); various whole fish and surf and turf combinations.

Puerto Peñasco serves beer, wine and agave wine margaritas but no liquor, and a michelada with Bohemia ($5.75), liberally spiced with a chile-salt rim and Clamato, was roughly the size of my noggin.

Tortilla chips, a chunky red salsa and a smooth palegreen avocado dip come gratis to every table. A small coctel de camarón ($9.95) contained so many pink, well-cooked shrimps that I lost count, distracted by the spicy-salty cocktail sauce—though I longed for more diced avocado. Like my butter-splattered red snapper tacos de pescado ($11.25), most plates come with a mountain of rice scattered with corn kernels and a heap of French fries alongside a lettuce-tomato garnish. Airport Road may give off the opposite of a coastal breeze, and the fish is undeniably fresher in Mexico. But the kind service, huge portions and welcoming prices at Puerto Peñasco make you feel at home in Santa Fe. (Molly Boyle)

4681 Airport Road, (505) 438-6622 Lunch and dinner daily

Paper Dosa

Five years ago, Paper Dosa Chef Paulraj Karuppasamy and his wife and business partner Nellie Tischler opened the doors of their South Indian cuisine restaurant, having first tested locals’ appetites with a year of pop-up events. Those appetites have yet to wane; expect a busy restaurant and a possible wait when you go, especially for as long as limited capacity rules endure. Don’t let that stop you, though: Paper Dosa’s staff is both friendly and efficient, and they will have you seated and happy in no time.

In winter, Karuppasamy’s curries will fortify and warm every cold spot in your body and soul. A particular favorite, the Prawn Moilee—flash-fried shrimp in a savory yellow coconut curry ($18-$20)—is garlicky, gingery and very filling. Best to plan on taking some home and splurge on appetizers. Favorites include the Bhel Puri ($9), a mystifying, tongue-tantalizing mélange of puffed rice, blended with mango, onion, cilantro and tomato tossed in tamarind and mint chutney. Paper Dosa riffs on its salad ($12) depending on available fresh ingredients, but some variation of artisanal greens and watermelon radishes always pops up, a fresh and delicious palette cleanser.

But whatever you order, start working your way through the dosas ($4.50-$15). These thin South Indian crepes come with generous portions of sambar and coconut and tomato chutneys, redolent with spices, cheeses, meats and vegetables.

It’s easy to get stuck on personal favorites on this part of the menu (hello, paneer and peas), but the variation of spices, ingredients and innovation (hello, green chile cheese) shouldn’t be missed. And now you know why it’s always crowded at Paper Dosa. (Julia Goldberg)

551 W Cordova Road, (505) 930-5521 Dinner Tuesday-Sunday paper-dosa.com

JOY GODFREY JOY GODFREY

Market Steer Steakhouse

If you’ve already finished your dinner at Market Steer Steakhouse in the Hotel St. Francis, you might not be surprised if you get a look at chef Kathleen Crook’s tattoos. After all, by the time you’ve consumed a Crook-cooked 100% USDA Prime steak, you’ve already tasted the pride she takes in her work. But she also wears it on her sleeve: three animals that represent the cuts for pork, poultry and beef.

That’s the careful ethos Crook, who comes from a long line of farmers and ranchers in Artesia, brings to the menu at Market Steer, the decadent restaurant she opened in 2018 with partner and general manager Kristina Goode. The dinner menu is heavy on high-end appetizers with a slightly South-by-Southwestern twist, like mussels steamed with Shiner Bock and green chile ($18). Entreés include five cuts of steak, rounded out by options like crab, lobster, duck, chicken, a smoky bouillabaisse and one vegetarian entreé; the ample side dishes are ordered family-style. Sundays through Thursdays, a more affordable prix fixe menu ($55 per person) offers a few other choices. A knife-and-fork Caesar salad with a head of baby romaine, sharp white anchovies and bitter shaved Parmesan led off one recent meal. A flawlessly crusted flat-iron steak followed, topped by a melting pool of blue cheese butter. By the time the chilled Nutella pot de crème arrived, I could barely roll out the door. And yet I was still fantasizing about what over-the-top item to try next time. Raclette potatoes? Lobster mac? When you can afford it, Market Steer keeps you coming back. (MB)

210 Don Gaspar Ave., (505) 992-6354 Dinner Tuesday-Sunday marketsteersteakhouse.com

These restaurants also appear in SFR’s recent 2019/20 Restaurant Guide