Frog Hollow Follies: Lunch on the Plaza or, The Big Ditch

Today, we had lunch at the Plaza, Santa Fe’s center of tourism and shopping……...or maybe that’s saying the same thing twice. Any way, I wanted to eat at the Plaza Cafe, a landmark on the square for more than 100 years. Here’s that story:

The Plaza Cafe, Santa Fe’s oldest restaurant, has been serving highly acclaimed, authentic traditional dishes since 1905. In 1947, Dan Razatos, a Greek immigrant with an American dream, took over the Plaza Cafe and his family has been feeding Santa Fe ever since. Dan married a local girl named Beneranda and together they ran the Plaza and raised six children. As their children grew they all worked at the Plaza and helped to create what the restaurant is today.

The Razatos family kept the traditional cooking methods and flavor combinations of New Mexico and added some recipes from Greece, all the while keeping with the classic American diner experience. This is why you’ll find everything from blue corn green chile carne asada enchiladas with a warm pillowy sopapilla to chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and gyro with a Greek salad on the side.

Located on the historic Santa Fe Plaza you won’t find a better view or atmosphere while you enjoy an authentic New Mexican experience. A favorite among locals and movie stars alike, everyone finds what they are looking for at the Plaza.

I had the Frito Pie, an exotic Spanish dish, and Kate had Carne Asada Tacos with avocado. Both dishes were very good, and the Cafe was packed. The meal cost us just under $30, which is more than Burger King, but less than the 40 Euro lunches we have had all over Europe, so I can’t complain about that.

After lunch, we did some walking and shopping around the Plaza, enjoying the crowds and the peddlers. The walls of the Governor’s Palace are lined with ethnic folk displaying their trade goods, silver and turquoise jewelry and a few leather goods, and the shops are lined with folks dressed as Santa Fites (I just made that term up, and I like it). Here in Santa Fe, you have a confluence of arty crowd, the hippy folk, the mid-western and eastern tourists who think they have to dress "Western", and just a touch of the biker look. It's a powerful mixture and makes for grand people watching. The women are the most often noticeable, but some of the men warrant a second glance. Among the women, there are young women who are either prostitutes or want to be taken for hookers, and the older women who appear to be former hookers. Short shorts with cowboy boots are a popular meme, as is a lavish display of tattoos, and in one shop, we saw a 20-something woman wearing an extremely short skirt and an open-backed blouse with cowboy boots. It was interesting, for sure. The grizzled prospector look is big among older men…..come to think of it, maybe they really are grizzled prospectors. I saw one 20ish man who boasted heavy tats on both legs and arms, along with facial piercings and a nose ring……..He is not going to get into anyone’s executive training program, that’s for sure.

Street Art

Entrance to inner courtyard off the Plaza

After a couple of hours, we'd had enough for one day, so navigated our way back to our little condo. Have I mentioned that in Santa Fe, handicapped plates let you park where ever you want to, on the street or in one of the several city garages, without paying? It's true. But then, on the other hand, if you want your grocery purchases in a sack, that costs you 10 cents per. Santa Fe is both trendy and environmentally friendly. You have to pay for your grocery sack, but you can take your dog about anywhere if it's on a leash.

On Monday, we revisited Otra Vez, a very small, rather plain timeshare resort that is just off of the plaza. We've been interested in owning some time there since we spent a week there about six months ago. The place is facing the same problems that many timeshare resorts are facing: an ageing owner base that just wants OUT. Because of that, slots there are available rather inexpensively. Even though there are few things we need less than we need more timeshare, we made an offer to the lady that runs the place. She had to check with her boss, because it was a really low offer. We're waiting to hear from her, but I expect we'll be able to work out a deal.

On Tuesday, we left Santa Fe and drove north about 70 miles to Taos, the place that folks too unstable, too dirty or just too damned weird for Santa Fe go. It's a very small, very old town. Driving there is rather like driving in a European village: narrow streets, difficult turns and impossible parking. We stayed there Tuesday and Wednesday nights, and today, Thursday, started our return to Kentucky by driving north into Colorado. We saw some beautiful country, vast open vistas closed off by gigantic mountain ranges.

Crossing into Colorado, we stopped at San Luis, the oldest continuously occupied town in Colorado. I think its major claim to fame is that it is the site of Irrigation Ditch #1. No kidding! There's a plaque and everything. Look at this: Ditch.

Most towns put the population on the city limits marker.

Further on, we came to Fort Garland, the town and the historic site. For the fort, see this. We had a tour guided by a sincere and not too well informed young man who enjoyed being a re-enactor, dressed in a passable imitation of an 1888 common soldier. Regrettably, we didn't get a picture of him. Here are some of the pictures we did make in and around the civil war era military installation: