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The Trading Post Cafe in Ranchos de Taos features bar seating around an open kitchen area. (Don Strel/For The Journal)
Eating at the Trading Post Cafe is like eating in an art gallery. When a friend and I visited recently, the restaurant was chock full of handmade quilts of all shapes, colors and designs. Each was for sale with a little card from the artist explaining the work. We even discovered art for sale on display in the restroom.
Taos, like Santa Fe, is an arts town and in addition to food and drink, Trading Post celebrates its role in the community with changing exhibits. That’s another reason a meal here is such a pleasure.
The restaurant occupies a building that once was an actual trading post. It sits along N.M. 68, the road up from Española through Velarde and a steep volcanic canyon along the beautiful Rio Grande. If you haven’t made the trip, or haven’t made it recently, the drive is lovely. The view of the Rio Grande Gorge from the mesa top with Taos Mountain in the background should make the top-10 list of scenic vistas in New Mexico. (Or anywhere!)
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Trading Post Cafe LOCATION: 4179 N.M. 68, Ranchos de Taos, 575-758-5089 HOURS: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays BEER AND WINE |
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The restaurant welcomes travelers and locals with meals served in three dining rooms. The attractive main sala includes bar seating around the open kitchen and a fireplace, and leads to two smaller dining areas each with age-tempered wooden floors and one with its own fireplace. In addition to art, awards – including culinary medals and trophies awarded to owner-chef René Mettler – provide the decorations.
The menu changes for lunch and dinner, although the mainstays remain: a great Caesar salad with the traditional anchovies, rosemary chicken, several kinds of pasta including mushroom ravioli, a classic Bolognese and farfalle primavera or bow-tie noodles with vegetables. The dinner menu also features heartier fare, such as crispy garlic pork chops. Lunch includes an assortment of sandwiches.
My friend and I had decided what we wanted – fettuccine alla carbonara or pasta with bacon in a Parmesan cream sauce, and a bowl of minestrone. Then the waiter told us about the lunch specials. Instead of ordering a bowl of the soup, we opted for a cup. We replaced the carbonara, a Trading Post standard, with one of the day’s specials: fettuccine in a sauce of shrimp and salmon. We added another of the day’s specials, black-shelled mussels.
While we waited, we received some good crusty bread, still warm, to go with the bottle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar on the table. Next came a giant bowl of minestrone – at least two cups. Yes, the waiter explained, this was their “cup” size, enough for four. The soup was light and packed with flavor. Instead of the heavy beef broth I love, this variation featured a chicken-broth base, and added fresh spinach, garbanzos, tomatoes and other vegetables along with pretty bow-tie pasta. It was first rate. ($6)
The mussels, medium size and full of flavor, also deserve a shout-out. Their natural sweetness was complimented by the delightful tomato-based sauce accented with garlic, parsley, white wine and onion. The hearty dish was perfect for a winter day ($16). The mussels arrived fragrant and almost too hot to eat, served up in a metal caldron with handles on both sides. The presentation, complete with man-sized slices of fresh grilled bread that had a nice bit of chew, added to our enjoyment. We also received an empty bucket for the shells.
The pasta special ($14) also was beautiful, but less interesting to eat. The tiny pale pink shrimp, green peas, orange salmon and cream-colored noodles created a visual feast in the big white bowl. It looked sensational, but tasted only average. Larger shrimp and brighter seasonings would have helped. Extra salt improved things, but this dish was still bland.
Dessert anyone? Our waiter recommended the flan, crème brûlée, cheesecake and tiramisu and mentioned the chocolate mousse and Napoleon as popular choices.
The Napoleon was an extravaganza of a dessert, about 6 inches high and as wide as your standard paperback book, more than enough for two. The light puff pastry enclosed layers of chocolate mousse and a butter cream filling, decorated with drizzles of chocolate sauce and piles of whipped cream ($9). I especially liked the chocolate filling; the butter cream was an odd yellow color and bland.
Although it wasn’t as dramatic looking, I enjoyed the tiramisu ($7) more. Beautifully plated with whipped cream, chocolate syrup and a dusting of chocolate powder, the Trading Post’s version has a strong coffee flavor. I enjoyed the traditional lady fingers as its cake base.
We left with happy hearts, contented tummies and to-go boxes. Our lunch for two was about $54 with enough mussels and pasta for a meal the next day. If you’re looking for a less costly meal, Trading Post offers the early dinner Mangia Festa special: soup, salad and your choice among eight entrees for just $12 from 4-6 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
