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On a beautiful fall day, the only thing better than a road trip to see the changing leaves is one that includes great food at the end. The drive from Santa Fe to Taos on the high road through Truchas and Las Trampas, with stops at galleries along the way, works up an appetite. Because it was Sunday, my friends and I found fewer restaurant choices in Taos than usual. But luckily for us, Antonio’s was open. (It was a special occasion in Taos, San Geronimo Day at Taos Pueblo.)
Owned and operated by Antonio and Sarah Matus since 2002, Antonio’s is a steady winner of Best of Taos and People’s Choice awards. Locals flock here. Because the restaurant not only sits just a quick walk from the Plaza but also looks inviting, so do the tourists. The building features a lovely patio festooned with the summer’s final hollyhock blossoms. A fountain gurgles in the background. Several people had recommended Antonio’s to me, and rightly so. In addition to ambience, the food is great. My friends and I tried four main dishes and rated them all delicious.
We started with the ceviche ($9), bits of mahi mahi “cooked” in lime juice, then mixed with pico de gallo and garnished with slices of soft avocado. The menu notes that with chipotle mayo, which we received, and chips, which didn’t arrive, come with the ceviche. Because the entrées that followed were filling and generous, we didn’t miss the chips, except they would have made the ceviche easier to eat. The bits of fish were rather sparse, but the dish as a whole quite enjoyable.
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Antonio’s, A Taste of Mexico LOCATION: 122 Doña Luz, Taos, 575-751-4800 HOURS: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays. Open Sundays for special occasions FULL BAR |
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Mexican cuisine celebrates the sea, and Antonio’s lives up to the tradition. The day’s special, Mexican seafood soup, had mussels, shrimp, clams and other goodies, nicely seasoned and served hot in a light tomato-based broth. The menu offers New Mexican choices as well as classic and nontraditional Mexican food.
The day of our visit, Sarah Matus served as our waitress. (We didn’t know who she was at the time.) At her recommendation, I had the seafood enchiladas ($16). The chef stuffed the two blue corn tortillas with plenty of crab (not the fake kind, either) and topped them with a delectable chipotle cream sauce, king crab and a small lobster tail, both in the shell. Like all our entrées, the enchiladas came with an ample serving of freshly cooked pinto beans and moist, lightly seasoned rice.
Chile Relleno en Nogada ($13), a classic Mexican dish, caught one of my friends’ attention. The version here uses a large roasted poblano chile as the base with a stuffing of ground beef spiked with sweet raisins, onion and spices. The sweet and savory combination arrived partly covered in a creamy pecan sauce and garnished with pomegranate seeds that sparkled like little rubies. Excellent!
My two other friends each tried roasted meat served on banana leaves. I can’t decide which I liked better, the lamb, Barbacoa de Borrego ($16) or the pork, Cochinita Pibil ($15). The tender pork, marinated and cooked with the Mexican spice achiote, grapefruit juice, orange juice and other seasonings, had a lovely sweetness, sort of like a very gentle barbecue. The lamb was heartier and redolent with cumin, garlic and peppers. Either merits a return visit. As with our other choices, serving size was generous but not intimidatingly huge.
Even the coffee was better than average, a piñon chocolate blend that arrived fresh and hot.
