Santa Fe

Frito pie popularized by Bourdain

Best tacos: "Order the red/green chile, giant blue corn enchiladas, the chile relleno, or the sopapillas (Spanish fried dough) for the quintessential experience."

The original burrito, get there early to avoid lines...

Green chile hamburger was the 2017 winner

Museum recommended by Bex! "Colorful, chaotic, collections and I wish I had visited sooner, to be honest."

Classic and local, specific order: - flash fried avocado - mussels - enchiladas - hatch burger

Chef Ahmed Obo combines the Swahili, Indian, Arabic, and European culinary influences of Kenya’s Lamu Island, where he was raised, to provide a unique taste of East African fare. At Jambo Cafe, opened in 2009, check out the coconut pili pili shrimp, which features wild shrimp over spicy coconut tomato stew and basmati rice, alongside fan favorites like grilled jerk chicken and vegetarian dishes.

Both a local bar grub staple and a biker outpost, the Mineshaft Tavern and Cantina gives visitors a taste of the Wild West, with wood-paneled walls and live music. Menu highlights include the mad chile burger, which consists of your choice of meat — including New Mexico-raised Wagyu beef — topped with both fried and chopped hatch chiles, aged cheddar, and chipotle dijonnaise.

"Chef Paulraj Karuppasamy uses local ingredients as the base for his innovative South Indian cuisine. The dosas are large but light, and the specialties, like the green chile cheese dosa and the artisanal paletas in rotating Indian-inspired flavors, weave local food traditions into traditional favorites. Vegetarian dishes anchor the menu, which draws regular crowds. The wait is worth it."

"Maria’s has been a Santa Fe institution since 1950. The restaurant has changed hands among multiple families and friends over the years, but they have all maintained the humble, home-cooked New Mexican classics. If you’re looking for red or green chile, be sure to ask which one is spicier that day to suit your taste. Maria’s is perhaps most famous for its menu of more than 150 margaritas and 170 tequilas, which you should definitely explore too."

ALIEN BURGER

"The signature mole negro is subtle and balanced; the pork belly tacos are divine; and the sweeter-than-normal chiles en nogada, made with a jalapeno balsamic reduction, offer a new take on a classic. It’s cooking like this — which rivals anything you might find on a white tablecloth in Mexico City — that keeps tables at this adobe-walled restaurant in high demand."

"This large, hacienda-style New Mexican restaurant, a maze of adobe-walled rooms and tiled patios, makes for a perfect stop after you’ve checked out the nearby Santuario de Chimayó, or while you’re en route to other attractions along the High Road to Taos. For a taste of local history, try the Chimayó cocktail, an cider-and-tequila creation developed by the founder during the area’s apple boom more than a half century ago. It’s perfectly refreshing alongside a bowl of the heady green chile stew"

"A visit to Palacio Café feels like an extension of chef-owner Damian Muñoz’s own dining room. The breakfast burritos smothered Christmas-style with red and green chile sauces are as soul-satisfying as they are famous. (Breakfast burritos are said to have been invented in Santa Fe.) Though you came for those lauded sauces, no one would blame you if you opted for one of the paninis, like the Cuban Reuben with corned beef, maple-cured ham, pickles, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island dressing."