Stacey "Vagabonding Chica" Wittig
By Stacey Wittig / Vagabonding Chica – Travel Writer
Pale pink, lighter than the color of ballet slippers, is not a color that I expect to find in a Mexican restaurant. Yet I am sitting outdoors at a table dressed in pale pink linens. On the garden terrace under the leafy fullness of cottonwoods and elms, which sway to unveil occasional glimpses of blue New Mexican skies, I feel as if I am in a secret garden. Even the wrought-iron furniture is painted palest of pink.
Rancho de Chimayó is as much like a typical Mexican restaurant as pale pink is like the hot pinks, oranges, reds and greens usually associated with South-of-the-Border eateries. You see, Rancho de Chimayó Restaurante, a 40-minute drive from Santa Fe, showcases the traditional cooking of New Mexico rather than Old Mexico. Those traditions started more than 300 years ago when Spanish colonists settled the Rio Grande Valley inhabited by indigenous people who cultivated squash, beans and corn. Native commodities were incorporated into the diet of the new arrivals who brought mutton, goat cheese, chilies and orchard fruits to the New World.
Pale pink tablecloth at Rancho de Chimayó in New Mexico. Photo by Stacey Wittig
Later, the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo claimed the area for the U.S. and North Americans poured in via the Santa Fe Trail, bringing their own tastes and recipes. Today, northern New Mexican cuisine reflects a unique fusion of Native, Hispano and Anglo flavors and textures. The resulting blue corn tortillas, roasted green chilies, red chili adovada, posole, calabacitas (a medley of squash) and pinto or black beans are some of the traditional New Mexican ingredients available on the Rancho de Chimayó menu.
From my third-level terrace on the sloping foothills behind the restaurant, I peruse the menu based on recipes from the Jaramillo family that settled this rancho in the 1700s. Later, in the 1890s, two Jaramillo brothers built the stately adobe where I now escape the high sun during lunchtime. They married sisters and needed two homes for the new families so they put up a similar structure across the street. The sister adobe now houses the Hacienda Rancho de Chimayó, the bed and breakfast where I will spend the night.
“The chicken broth is made fresh every morning,” proclaims Peggy, my cheery server, describing the tortilla soup. Although the restaurant is busy with international and local guests, she takes time to explain traditional cooking methods. “Our red chili is made from the red chili pods hanging from the roof out front.” Spanish colonists, short on tomatoes, used dried chilies for sauces in place of tomatoes typically used in the south. Today long bunches of chilies called ristras hang to dry from the roof soffits at Rancho de Chimayó. I order the tortilla soup and salad with a creamy red chili dressing and sip a very pink prickly pear frozen lemonade.
When Peggy returns, I ask the accomplished waiter, “How long have you been working here?”
“I haven’t been here for forty years,” she replies in reference to Mrs. Florence Jaramillo, who opened the restaurant in 1965. “But I’ve been here 21 years,” Peggy smiles proudly. “I meet people from all over the world and when they come back, they call me by name.” As I taste the delightful combination of avocado, cheeses, tortilla strips and chicken in the rich, perfectly seasoned chicken broth, I understand why foodies and foreign visitors keep coming back for more.
After lunch, I check into the Hacienda. At first glance, the affordable room feels in need of an update, but at second inspection, wide plank authentic knotty pine floors are spanking clean, traditional kiva adobe fireplace is ready for pinon wood and modern bathroom fixtures sparkle. Thick adobe walls built in the 1890s keep the room cool. Judging by the door jambs, the adobe walls are thirty inches thick. An antechamber contains a refrigerator, bath sink and a luggage rack below a long clothes rod. Private shower, bathtub and commode complete room Cuatro.
The Victorian touch is evident with an oval framed portrait of a Gibson Girl, two upholstered wingback chairs and a small antique desk that holds ice bucket, glasses and complimentary apple juice.
I hear the trickle of a fountain and open my screen door to explore the enclosed garden courtyard. Flagstone pathways lead from the six other guestrooms, past colorful geraniums, violets, mint and ivy to a statue of St. Francis at the fountain inviting birds to a watery respite. I take time to enjoy the escape into yesteryear by relaxing at a shady table – with my smartphone off – and imagining the tranquility of turn-of-the-century living. Adelaida Jaramillo; for whom this home was built would probably choose to differ with my opinion of her tranquil life. I excitedly stroll across the country road to return to Rancho de Chimayó for dinner. I pass by the hanging ristras with new understanding. The old Spanish colonial home seems even grander as I return to the romantic outdoor terrace in the evening light. When the server brings me a margarita, I ask, “Do you recommend the carne adovada? I understand that it is the restaurant’s forte.” The waiter suggests the Combinación Picante, which includes a pork tamale and cheese enchilada in addition to the fiery roasted pork, and then leaves giving me time to enjoy the marg and explore the menu. I decide on the combination and order green chile on the tamale and Chimayó red chili on the enchilada. New Mexicans call this “Christmas” style — both red and green chili. The carne adovada, good as promised, is hot enough to keep me coming back for more bites, but not too spicy to cover up the flavor of the slow cooked-pork. After devouring the best flan ever, I wipe the corner of my smile with the pale pink linen napkin, planning my next trip back to this historic hideaway.
— Stacey Wittig is an award-winning travel writer based in Munds Park. “LIKE” her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Wittigwriter
IF YOU GO:
> Rancho de Chimayó Restaurant and Hacienda,
Chimayó, New Mexico