PrintThe Taos Inn
Photography courtesy Taos Inn
Taos is a perfect place to wander from one pleasure to another with no itinerary whatsoever, which is why it’s so easy to relax here. On a recent spontaneous trip, I spent a day window-shopping along Taos’ main artery, Paseo del Pueblo Norte. The air was clear and pinyon-scented, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains embracing and paint-worthy. In the late afternoon, I had a bracing “Cowboy Buddha” margarita off the margarita menu at the Adobe Bar (where I did not spot Robert Redford, who occasionally drops by). Then I popped in to Taos Inn’s award-winning Doc Martin’s Restaurant for dinner (Wine Spectator has given Doc Martin’s its Best of Award of Excellence 21 years in a row).
The restaurant takes its name from Thomas Paul Martin, Taos’ first town doctor. Not that the party crowd in the Adobe Bar necessarily cared that visiting artists (including Oscar E. Berninghaus and Ernest Blumenschein) once rented from the good doctor here, and that in 1915, six artists met in his wife’s studio (occupied by Berninghaus) to form the Taos Society of Artists. As far as patrons were into their libations, they probably weren’t appreciating the fact that the fountain in the middle of the room was the second town well and that the roof overhead now encloses what was once an open plazuella. I left them to their margaritas and the singer-songwriter entertainment and went to my own entertainment: a nice long dinner.
EnlargeI loved the grilled rattlesnake-rabbit sausage with ancho-dried cherry sauce for a starter, and then, Doc’s Classic Chile Relleno for my main course. One bite of the crispy cheese-stuffed Anaheim green chile, served with salsa fresca, goat cheese cream, and pumpkin seeds, and I understood why it’s the most oft-requested item on the menu. In a state where chiles rule, this one’s a must-eat.
Likewise, the brunch. As tempting as the blue-corn and blueberry hot cakes sounded, in the morning I settled on the signature dish, the “Kit Carson.” Although the famed trapper and military man who ranched in New Mexico in the 1800s may not have tasted anything as interesting as the breakfast dish that bears his name, he probably would have loved it. First, there’s the orangey yam biscuit, a fluffy bed for the two poached eggs, covered by as much red chile sauce as you can handle (I’ll take lots, thank you very much). All that, and a whole bunch of fried taters, too. It was the perfect way to start another Taos day. The biscuit alone was worth the trip.
To find out about staying at The Historic Taos Inn and eating at Doc Martin’s, visit www.taosinn.com.
