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New Mexico ChowRestaurants for the Rest of UsBy Scott SharotReviewed by Dave Shultz
New Mexico Chow includes four-diamond restaurants with international reputations and some places that can't even be called restaurants, "The notion that you have to go to a gorgeous place with starched white tablecloths and a wine list the size of a phone book to have truly great food, is flat out wrong," Sharot says. "Those places exist, of course, and I have my favorites, but that's only part of what good chow is all about." Compiling the guide was hard work, Sharot says, but it was also fun. Since he moved to Albuquerque in 1993, Sharot has bee indulging his life-long fascination with food by searching out what he calls "the real deal" as he explores his adopted state. "New Mexico is a beautiful state and a lot of that beauty finds its way on the table," Sharot says. "Good food is an art and like any art it springs from the heart. Cooking is just another way of telling the world who you are." New Mexico is proud to produce the worlds greatest chile and in fact, one question you hear in just about every restaurant that serves it is "red or green?" Get used to answering that one if you want to eat out here. They both have distinctive flavors that have to be sampled but if you just can't make up your mind, just say "Christmas" and get a little of both. If you're not from the southwest, you might not be familiar with the term "chow." Chow is hard to define but as Sharot says, "Chow is a frame of mind that puts honesty in the kitchen above pretension and style for style's sake. You might have a hard time defining it precisely, but you'll know it when you taste it." Most of the state is covered and since I've been eating New Mexico food since the 70's I can verify Scott's findings. Each restaurant is defined by location, web site if they have one, type of cuisine, hours of operation, price range, payment type accepted, and whether or not they accept reservations. This is followed by a very informative description of the food and ambiance. Finally, he finishes up with optional information like bar service, clientele, dress code, handicap accessible, smoking, parking, and other special considerations. If you ever have the chance to visit us out here in New Mexico, bring along a copy of New Mexico Chow and join the locals who already know the best places to eat and where to find the best chile in the world. We're glad Scott is sharing our secrets. We think everyone should have the "red or green" dilemma at least once in their lives. New Mexico Chow Published by The Intrepid Traveler PS, don't tell everyone
but if you go to the website listed above, you can get a special offer on
the book for only $9 plus shipping with extra copies at only $7 each.
I don't know how long this offer will last but it's great deal if you want
to give some as gifts. |
TM
One
thing there's no shortage of is restaurant guides. Unfortunately, most
of them only cover the type of place where you want to take a first date to
make a good impression. So what about the thousands of other places
where you might just want to get the best chile cheeseburger in the world or
the best barbeque beef ever eaten off a paper plate? Well, thankfully,
those of us who live in New Mexico and those who want to visit now have the
definitive guide to eateries that covers the full spectrum. Scott
Sharot did the ground work for us and published a great guide to the best
food in The Land of Enchantment.