great takes on family travel in the U.S.

This local’s perspective was written by Betty Osborne. Betty spends half the year living in Santa Fe and has done this for the last 10 years. She was a devoted vacationer there even before that. In my opinion, there is no better expert on the restaurants and culture of Santa Fe. Read below for her expert guide on one of our country’s oldest and most beautiful cities.

1. Give five adjectives that you would use to describe the “feel” of Santa Fe and its residents?

Diverse, Eccentric, Different, Historical, Beautiful

2. What is your favorite neighborhood/area in Santa Fe?

The central Plaza (and I include up Canyon Road in a sweeping sense) is a great mix of old and new and in spite of a growing generic feel to the shopping, still retains a specific character. There are so many surrounding scenic spots that it is hard to target any one, but they are mostly at a driving distance. Because so much is “behind adobe walls” neighborhoods here are hard to “see.”

3. Which cuisine do you think Santa Fe does best? What is the runner-up?(feel free to share your favorite restaurants)

Northern New Mexican cuisine is very fine here from the freshest at La Casa Sena, Café San Estevan, Mucho Gusto & Santa Fe Grill to the more predictable at La Choza, and Maria’s. Then there are the multicultural, French, Fusion, Mixed Southwest, American restaurants– with Geronimo, The Compound, Santacafé, Ristra, and the O’Keeffe Café-at the top end and Celebrations, Tulips, Café Paris and Agua Santa- in the middle. For Italian fare, go to Il Piatto, Il Vicino and Osteria. Try Harry’s Roadhouse and Bob Cat Bite for the low end. All mentioned have superb freshness as part of their offering. There is a broad offering of many kinds of food at varying price levels. Santa Fe is justly proud of it’s breadth of restaurants, especially for a town of it’s size.

4.What is your favorite type of evening entertainment in Santa Fe?

Hands down, Eating Out is best. The nightlife is fairly limited, though a few bars are open after 10:00pm. It is really not a “late night” town. Certainly, in the summer, the music is splendid. The Opera runs mid-July to three quarters into August and there is nothing more glorious than sitting in this partially outdoor theater, looking through to the mountains. A Chamber Music festival runs simultaneously and music of excellent high quality (big name performers love to come) can be found day and night.

I must mention here the sheer number of Fiestas/Festivals in Santa Fe. Though they are primarily daytime, they often have night functions. There is the famous Indian Market (which has been around for decades), Spanish Market, Folk Art market, Wine & Chile Festival, Jazz Festival, the Lavender Festival and even the very old and more local “Fiesta” in September- where Old Man Zozobra is symbolically burned away, as one lets go of all the bad feelings of the year. It is combined with a historical pageant too.

5. List the best family friendly activity?

Well, I will be honest here—while there are many fun things for kids to do in Santa Fe (and even a BOOK about them! Santa Fe with Kids From A to Z) I feel it is more a city for adults. Having said that, if I had to pick one spot for families, it would be Museum Hill where there is a fantastic Folk Art Museum with a kids area, an Indian Museum with a kids area, and the tiny Spanish Colonial Arts Museum with a tiny kids area. There is a ‘magic labyrinth’ in the middle and a very good restaurant for when you are exhausted from touring. There is enough space for small children to run around too!

6. What spot would you send a couple, looking for a romantic weekend?

If expense were no object, either the Inn of the Anasazi or the Inn of the Five Graces are very fine. There a many excellent B&Bs too. I am partial to the old St. Francis Hotel, but only certain rooms. La Posada keeps having management problems and La Fonda, while the oldest and most charming, is loud. Start with breakfast at Pasquals, then wander up Canyon Road and look at the art galleries. Santacafé is good for a long lunch with good wine and visit Ten Thousand Waves for a dual massage and a dip in their private hot baths. For dinner, Geronimo would be my choice of a top table in the evening. A more casual evening would find you at El Farol where they often have live music-but it is not so intimate. This is not a cheap day!

7. Describe the perfect day…one that captures what your area/city is all about? In three sentences or less.

A beautiful, perfect cerulean blue Santa Fe sky, three fine meals at excellent restaurants, a walk through galleries and museums, a short hike to a hill-just high enough to see the magnificent Northern New Mexican mountains, and if the weather permits- sitting outside somewhere with a glass of wine or a margarita or two. There is a sense of timelessness in Santa Fe that seems to slow you down and make you take time to savor small things.

8. Tell us about a place that you love to go (that might not be in any guidebook)

There is something heart-stopping about the overlook at White Rock in Bandelier National Monument that puts you in your place in the world. Take a picnic as there are many tables. But, just driving around Santa Fe’s tiny old neighborhoods with their eccentric folk art, native plants and charming adobe wall is sight-seeing enough for me.

9. What question did we not ask that we should have (and answer it, of course!)?

Somehow there was not a place to mention the splendid Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and it’s two properties at Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch. This museum has brought the quality and level of seriousness in art and public offerings up a big notch in the last ten years. It should be on anyone’s list of things to see in Santa Fe. For a little town this is a very culturally interesting place.

Want to share, brag or tell all about your town? If so, send an email or comment and you can be our next local expert!Thanks to Puroticorico for the nice Santa Fe picture.