About Santa Fe

Our cafe is located across the street from the Hampton Inn. Look for "The Lofts" sign, or, just look for a wall of yellow Penske trucks. We're behind that wall!

'Tucked away in a small, run-down strip mall -- partially shielded from view of the main street by Ryder Truck Rental and sandwiched between a vacant space and a shop with its windows mostly pasted over that purports to "Buy Gold" -- is Chris' Café.

I bet I've driven by Chris' 100 times or more while traveling along Cerrillos, seeing the sign but never thinking I should stop in, until I noted the reviews on TripAdvisor. Curious, I stopped in for lunch to see what the fuss was about.

And it made me a little upset at myself for not being more adventurous with regard to Chris' in the past based upon the location and strip mall exterior. Because inside, there's some darn good food.

The other reviews do a good job of describing the interior of Chris', though I can add that on the back wall hangs a quite positive review of Chris' by Anne Hillerman of the Albuquerque Journal, written about a year ago. A good start for lunch before I even sat down.

I was fortunate enough to be directed to the table in the back corner, where I could observe things easily. I also lucked out as the waitress at work this day was clearly the cheerful woman described in the other reviews -- and she is even more charming and delightful than described.

An order of green chile chicken enchiladas with an over-easy egg on top later, I can certainly throw in with the reviewers providing positive ratings. The green chile sauce was made by someone who obviously knows what they are doing, and the flavors and ranging textures of the chicken, cheese and blue corn tortillas melded together with authentic, down-home taste and mouth feel. The posole was very flavorful (mine doesn't come out like that...). I feel like Chris' might want to experiment a bit with the bland-ish beans, though on second thought, the toned-down beans certainly let the delicious enchiladas rule the dish.'