Blue Corn Café & Brewery

February 27, 2010

Santa Fe, New Mexico – The old adage “getting there is half the fun” was never more true than about our journey here. Originally we planned to dine in another city in another state. I’ll skip all the details. Suffice it to say that this was a trip I’ll never forget.

Arriving in Santa Fe, we asked one of the people at the airport for recommendations of places to eat. Being in northern New Mexico, I wanted Native American food. Our new-found friend did not know of any places that served Native American fare but suggested a place called Blue Corn Café. It was about half an hour from the airport, so we decided to take his suggestion.

Blue Corn is difficult to find unless you really know the area. We drove past it three times before we finally found it. Actually Blue Corn is inside an indoor, split-level mall. Once you find the mall, follow the signs to the restaurant. I don’t know why but it reminds me of San Francisco.

Inside you’ll notice two separate and distinct sections. We walked into the bar section first. A couple of small tables line the wall. Plenty of stools for those who want to belly up to the bar. Looking around and taking this all in, we thought that it was kind of small for a full-blown restaurant. It was then that we realized that the dining area was next door. So over next door we walked.

We were seated almost right away. Because it sits upstairs, Blue Corn has a nice view of the surrounding area. A corner office view comes to mind. This can be especially romantic during the evening hours.

Billing itself as serving “casual New Mexican and pub fare”, and “award-winning microbrews and margaritas”, Blue Corn Café combines old and new New Mexico. Like the fare, the décor takes themes from rustic old Santa Fe and blends it with modern design. I was starting to feel the vibe of this place.

Their menu leans on New Mexican entries and combos. Featured are burritos, tamales, chiles rellenos, items with green chiles, and of course, blue corn tacos. I had a difficult time choosing what to have. Against my better judgment, I ordered two entrées…and an appetizer.

I’ve been into microbrews lately. One offering on the list, something called Atomic Blond Lager, caught my eye. But I wasn’t feeling up to a lager tonight. Another entry, Atalaya Amber Ale, fit the bill. So I ordered it. It arrived just before the appetizer.

Just a couple of sips and I was glad I chose the amber ale. Not hoppy, not bitter. Possessing a nice, light flavor, it pairs well with just about anything. An especially good thing considering the range of entrées I got. And that includes the appetizer.

Let’s talk about that appetizer: Listed on the menu as simply “Crab Dip”, it made the short list but that isn’t what convinced me to try it. No, what did it was the type of crab. I’ll tell you what type it was in a moment. Meanwhile, you can keep salivating.

Our waiter brought our anxiously awaited starter to our table. On the plate was a generous portion of flour tortilla chips. A ramekin filled with melting, bubbly, nicely browned, shredded cheese, commanded center stage. And blended in the cheese? Get this: blue crab! Did you hear me? Blue crab!

You can guess from the fact the cheese was melting that it was hot. We were eager to dive in but had an agonizing wait while the cheese cooled. Well, it wasn’t really that long but because we were hungry, it sure felt like it. Meanwhile we tasted a few of the chips. Delicious. And for the second time in as many days, they tasted like they were freshly made right there in the restaurant. However, dipping those chips into the crab dip took it up to ‘notches unknown to man’. The dip was cheesy (duh) and gooey, with a slight kick. I couldn’t tell what kind of cheeses they used but my guess is that cheddar and/or some kind of Jack was involved. You could see the bits of crab in there, albeit the taste of the crab was subdued. Many times there’d be more than one hand in the ramekin trying to get at the dip. Wow! What a dish! Blue Corn’s got a winner with this one. It was hard trying to pace ourselves and not fill up before the main courses came.

Not too long after the first course arrived, the entrées showed up. I tried to maximize my dining experience by choosing two different dinners. I knew I wouldn’t be able to finish it all (actually I could have but we had a long trip back to the hotel), but I also knew we could take the rest back with us.  

What did I choose to represent my trip to a Santa Fe, New Mexico restaurant? What else but a green chile cheese burger. Blue Corn says it is the #1 burger in New Mexico. They make theirs with a hand-formed Angus beef patty. It is covered with chopped, roasted green chile. Cheddar cheese completes the burger. It comes with choice of fries, mashed potatoes, calabasitas, or jicama-lime slaw. I chose the slaw. Condiments on the plate include a lettuce leaf, red onion, slices of tomato, and a pickle spear.

I started with the slaw. It was hanging out in a container off to the side of the plate. My palate has not tasted jicama enough to differentiate it in a meal so I cannot comment on that part. The slaw itself, though, was crunchy, and not too heavy on the dressing. Put some up points in the plus column there. What did stand out was the lime. Though it got second billing in the menu, this was no doubt lime’s show. Think of it as a dance troupe where you can instantly tell which person is the lead dancer but they don’t hog the spotlight. Nice blend of flavors and refreshing on top of that.

Ever since last year I’ve been wanting to try a green chile cheese burger. Now one was sitting here on a plate in front of me. Eagerly biting into it, I was met by its beefy flavor. It took a while before the taste of the chile kicked in in an understated way. I was expecting a bolder taste from the chile but it was still very good. Everything was copasetic…until I ruined it by putting ketchup and mustard on it. The burger was a little on the dry side so I thought adding a bit of the k & m might soften it up some. It did soften it up, but in the process it completely changed the taste. I only put a little k & m on it. Apparently that was more than enough. Lesson learned: when it’s good enough, don’t mess with it.  Fortunately I had eaten half of the burger before I messed it up.

Second entrée: Having discovered Native American cuisine last year, I just had to try their fry bread taco. It’s real Native American fry bread with toppings you’d find in a regular taco, plus pinto beans. Chile tops it off. What kind of chile did I get? All together now, “Christmas style.” You can add meat for $2.00 more. I decided enough meat was already on my burger so I went meatless on this go-round. The fry bread on this dish was thicker than what you’ll find in the roadside stands that sell fry bread. I’m guessing this is so it’ll stand up to the filling without falling apart.

In my mind, I’m still thinking “taco”. Because the taste of the combination wasn’t quite what I was expecting, it got my attention. Pinto beans reigned supreme in this dish. Close behind was the fry bread. Next came the tastes of the lettuce and cheese. It also comes with tomato and guacamole. I’m not a fan of guac so that went across the table to my wife. As I said, the beans were in control here. That, combined with the fry bread is how I will remember the fry bread taco. And a delicious memory it is! I only ate about 1/3 of it. The rest was boxed up and taken back to the hotel. (On a side note, on the plane ride back home, the stewardess, er, flight attendant commented that whatever was in the container must be good if I was bringing it all the way back to California. I told her it was. She then caught me off guard by asking if she could have it. I told her she could…if she got me a round trip ticket back to Santa Fe.)

There are so many different things to try here. You could go from burgers, to Native American to New Mexican, to Mexican, all here in the same place. And be sure to try one of their own microbrews. Or a margarita. I’m considering a special trip back to Santa Fe for two reasons; one of which is to eat here again.

Blue Corn Café & Brewery – 5 forks. Very highly recommended. After the meal, make sure you take a stroll around old Santa Fe.