Truth is, Taos was our back-up for our anniversary get away, but WOW what a back up it turned out to be! Like many of you, we have been anxiously awaiting the chance to travel, to get away, to escape. Staycations can be great, but after a year of COVID restrictions, our travel itch has persistently been growing. Our original plan was Costa Rica--we will get there, some day--but had to switch to something different when Costa Rica got added to the State Department's "Do Not Travel" list. So, we looked at romantic places closer to where we live and I have been dying to return to Taos after a one-day visit six years ago.
If you've never been to Taos, here's the scoop: Taos is a beautiful, centuries-old gem of a town tucked up next to some of the most gorgeous mountains you have ever experienced. Taos Pueblo is even older--a UNESCO World Heritage site, its the longest continuously inhabited community in the U.S. It’s had people living in it for over 800 years! The Taoseño culture is a lively blend of of the Taos Pueblo people, Spanish settlers and later influx of artistic talents. It makes for a lovely, quaint town and some seriously delicious food.
We stayed at the El Monte Segrado, a lovely four-star resort a short walk from the Plaza downtown. This worked to our advantage because the second day of our trip our car broke down and it was in the shop the whole rest of our stay. (In fact, we ended up extending our stay for a night and it still wasn't ready, but that's a story for another time!) We were grateful for being able to walk to anything we needed, and as an added bonus, the El Monte Segrado has a shuttle service: basically a small fleet of sleek SUVs to shuttle guests anywhere within a 2-mile radius of the resort. This even allowed us to get to some trailheads near the resort and do some great hiking.
Central grounds at El Monte Segrado.
El Monte Segrado has artsy Toaseño style in spades on lovely grounds. Although you are essentially in the center of town, you would never know because once you are on property you are surrounded by a lush meadow, copses of trees and lofty mountain views. You feel right out in nature. The rooms are very spacious with deluxe bathrooms. Ours had a river stone walk in shower and a looong deep soaking tub with shutters opening into the bedroom so you can gaze out the deck or watch TV while you luxuriate in the tub if you so choose. Each room also has a cozy balcony with a scenic view. Ours looked out on a meadow and woods. We enjoyed several meals al fresco on the balcony, enjoying some of the locally crafted sodas from ZIA brewery--caramelized piñon cola anyone? We also enjoyed the gas fire pit on the grounds which they light around 8 pm most evenings when the weather is fair. We made our own brand of gourmet s'mores--of course it started raining during our attempt! But we pressed on! And the results were delicious: Trader Joe's Danish Almond Cookies (in place of graham crackers), fluffy marshmallows, fresh cherries purchased from a road-side stand, and dark chocolate--Mmmmm.....
Dinner al fresco on our balcony at El Monte Segrado, Zia piñon cola.
Speaking of food--and anyone who knows me even a little, knows I can talk about food for DAYZ-- here's a list of some of the lovely places we had the privilege of eating in Taos. And there were so many places we didn't get to this trip! We'll have to return again and add to this list.
Gutiz- an excellent brunch place. It's a fusion of Taoseño and French bistro. Most of the seating is al fresco, the food was fresh, perfectly seasoned and so French but so truly New Mexican- the béarnaise sauce was infused with local yellow chili pepper.
Michael's Kitchen- this is a classic, been-there-forever, greasy-spoon diner popular with locals and tourists alike. We waited in a line out the door to be seated. After eating there I understand why. Portions are exceedingly generous (pancakes and cinnamon rolls bigger than your face!) and delicious. We enjoyed the blue corn and piñon pancakes and the fresh sopapillas.
Date night at Lambert's.
Lamb lollipops at Lamberts.
Lambert's- this is a great place for a cozy romantic dinner. And, it's locally-sourced fine dining for a fairly reasonable price. We had excellent service here and enjoyed our meal immensely. Highlight was the deconstructed "elote"(Mexican street corn) and the steak tartare.
Chokola- fabulous chocolate store and organic, small batch, bean-to-bar manufacturer. Besides their own award-winning bars, they also curate an excellent selection of chocolates form around the world. We enjoyed the Pump Street dark chocolate rye bread bar. They also make a mean “snow ball”-- a scoop of house-made vanilla ice cream (the "snow ball") plopped into an oversized mug of their delicious dark sipping chocolate. Yeah, we stopped here more than once on this trip...
You can tell by my eyes how excited I am to be surrounded by so much gourmet chocolate...
We also enjoyed their mousse bar and house-made chocolate bonbons...the passion fruit was our favorite!
Christmas style enchiladas with fried egg.
Jalapeños- this is an excellent place to get your Mexican fix. We enjoyed the daily special: surf & turf street tacos and the Christmas-style enchiladas with an egg on top. Fresh, flavorful and delicious.
Surf and turf fajita-style street tacos at Jalapeño's.
The Burger Stand at Taos Ale House- we are not drinkers, so I can't speak to its selection of house-made brews, but I can speak to the burgers and the fries. Hello gourmet burgers and fries! Haha.... ha. Anyway, these are the real thing: thick, juicy, perfectly cooked, smothered in a tasty house made sauce on a toasty bun. The fry selection is varied and unique--listen to these choices: duck fat orange zest and parsley, Nacho ( smothered in queso, green Chile), parmesan truffle, red Chile tajin, and--last but not least--sweet potato served with a marshmallow cream sauce. I mean, come on!!!
Cid's Food Market- locally owned grocery store that feels like a small Whole Foods but stocked with the local fare such as artisan breads from the local bakeries, Zia craft sodas, etc.
We also enjoyed the Farm House Cafe just down the road in El Prado on a half day trip with the kids and can also recommend!!! Beautiful out door atmosphere and locally sourced farm-grown food with a mission!
Places To Try Next Time:
Manzanita Market. Fresh from the farm finds, creamery, healthy food.
Have you been to Taos? What were your faves? Comment below!
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