Food Tour New Mexico gives the opportunity to explore the world of New Mexican cuisine in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
The company offers the New Mexican Flavors Tour, which centers on Albuquerque’s Old Town area, and tours in Santa Fe, including Wine and Dine Lunch Tour of Santa Fe’s Historic District, New Mexican Inspired Lunch & Margarita Tour Of The Santa Fe Plaza, and Savor Santa Fe Wine Pairing Dinner Tour. The tours cost $79, plus tax, per person.
“It’s a great experience; it’s a fun, different, unique, romantic, date-type thing, but it’s also a great way to reconnect with friends and family,” said Nick Peña, owner of Food Tour New Mexico. “We do a lot of business-corporate; that’s probably a third of our business lately. It’s so different compared to, like, what everybody else does.”
The New Mexican Flavors Tour in Albuquerque is offered at noon and 4 p.m. every day but Sunday. The tour begins at Garduño’s inside Hotel Albuquerque. Guests receive a cup of traditional posole with a side of red chile, onion, cilantro and lime, paired with a mini-cucumber margarita. They also get a lesson on the history of posole as well as how traditional Native flavors and Spanish influence embody New Mexican food.
The next stop is Seasons, where tourgoers will receive a green chile cheeseburger slider and waffle fries paired with choice of Gruet sparkling rosé or a local craft beer. The tour then heads to High Noon Restaurant & Saloon. There, guests can enjoy a small order of red chile beef bites made with slow-roasted beef tenderloin tossed in a red chile butter sauce, as well as receive a chicken taquito with housemade salsa and guacamole. Tour guides will give a history of High Noon being a saloon and a brothel and its appearance on the TV show “The Dead Files,” which investigates haunted locations. There also is a tea tasting at Old Barrel Tea Co. and a stop at Church Street Cafe.
Guides also take the tour around Old Town and discuss the history of the area.
“We’ll talk about the history of Albuquerque and sort of why it was established, why it came to be the city that it is today,” Peña said. “We’ll talk about San Felipe de Neri church and a lot of stuff in between relative to what our people want to know about. I like to envision our guides as personal concierges. I guess you could say we really tailor information to our guests. … A lot of times it’s food-based, but sometimes it’s as simple as, ‘Where’s a nice place to go for a hike?’ or ‘Where should we stop at while we’re in?’ ”
It is Food Tour New Mexico’s ninth year in Santa Fe, where three tours are offered. There are two lunch tours: the New Mexican Inspired Lunch & Margarita Tour Of The Santa Fe Plaza, which is more casual and New Mexican-themed, and the Savor Santa Fe Wine Pairing Dinner Tour, which is less casual and more eclectic.
