Moon Santa Fe, Taos & Albuquerque UPDATE

A little slow on this, but the restaurant Rancho de Chimayo had a fire this summer. It’s closed until at least April 2009.

This cafe in Santa Fe (p. 63) is closed.

(Thanks for the tip, Leo!)

This restaurant in White Rock (p. 73) is closed.

This place in Los Alamos (p. 73) is shut.

This has been moving around a lot due to the construction on Railyard Park. Short-term: check the website (www.santafefarmersmarket.com) for locations. Long-term: there will be a permanent year-round market hall in Railyard Park, which will open sometime in late summer/early fall.

Coyote Café (p. 60) is no longer owned by Mark Miller, and has been taken over by the same restaurateur who owns Geronimo. I enjoyed my meal there, but the menu is completely different and the cooking—while ambitious on the surface—is actually pretty standard stuff. It’s certainly the place to schmooze in Santa Fe right now.

Kasasoba (p. 61) is shut. It’s now another high-end Asian place.

Tiny’s (p. 62) is incorrectly placed on the map. It’s actually off the east side of St. Francis Dr., south of Cerrillos—Pen Rd. here is not really a street, but a big parking lot.

Horseman’s Haven (p. 62) has remodeled, and locals say it’s not so good anymore.

Mariscos La Playa (p. 63) no longer has its Cerrillos Road outpost—that’s now a different seafood place, which people also say is good.

Guadalajara Grill (p. 63) is shut.

La Diligencia (p. 63) is now called Jalapeno’s—not quite the same cool ranchero style.

The Churro cart (p. 63) seems to be gone, as is Lucky Barbeque (p. 63).

Dave’s Not Here (p. 63) is shut.

Blue Heron (p. 64) has a new chef, and the food isn’t nearly so Asian. It’s very delicious, though—worth a drive out.

O Eating House (p. 70) is open only for lunch and dinner now—no more doughnuts.

Blue Window Bistro (p. 73) changed hands, but it’s still good. The menu is a bit different now, though—none of the chile relleno crepes.

Budget Host (p. 53) is now a Red Roof Inn.

El Rey Inn (p. 54) is incorrectly placed on the map—it’s actually about midway between Llano St and 2nd St, so closer to the plaza than on the map.

Chapelle Street Casitas (p. 54) has changed its name to Adelante Casitas.

La Tienda and Duran House (p. 54) is now part of the larger Las Palomas property across the street. Physically everything’s the same, but there are reports of service suffering. Unfortunately, I don’t have enough info to judge.

And I didn’t include the Santa Fe Sage Inn (www.santafesageinn.com) in this book, but it has since gotten a complete overhaul and is now excellent value—free wi-fi, pool, big breakfast, really comfortable beds and clean rooms. It’s only a little farther out of the center than Santa Fe Motel & Inn.

I’m hearing terrible reports from La Posada de Santa Fe (p. 56), and it did seem exceptionally scattershot when I visited. At least I’ll have to retract that ‘top pick’ status.

Addison Arts (p. 46) is shut.

Meyer-Munson Gallery (p. 46) is now called Meyer East. Little has changed, though.

Chuck Jones (p. 46) has moved up to Palace Ave, downstairs from Fusion (ex-Swig).

Maya (p. 47) is open only till 6pm, at least this time of year. That 9pm closing must be only for summer high season—sorry about that.

Sybele’s (p. 47) is shut.

Rooney’s (p. 41) changed into LeMoyne’s Landing (reported earlier), but it’s now a French café called Clafoutis, serving breakfast and lunch till 4pm. Tasty and fresh, and good pastries.

Rodeo Nites (p. 41) is shut.

Jean Cocteau cinema (p. 42) is now the Film Museum—more of an organization, and not-very-frequent screenings.

The Awakening Museum (p. 35) is shut.

Sun Mountain Bike Co. (p. 51), now better known as Mellow Velo, has moved to 638 Old Santa Fe Trail—that’s just a couple of blocks south of Paseo de Peralta. It’s also phasing in a new phone number: 505/995-VELO.

More roads have been paved en route to Diablo Canyon (p. 51, driving directions on p. 52), so you have to look out for the dirt road 4.6 miles in—it heads uphill and bears slightly right, while the main paved road turns left. If you miss the turn, you’ll find yourself on a giant subdivision loop, soon heading south and then back east toward the city.

Poeh Museum (p. 70) now has its permanent display open. Its not quite as multimedia-crazy as planned, but it’s a neat series of dioramas, plus room for temporary exhibits. Hey, it’s free.

The convention center in Santa Fe has been torn down, so the tourist info kiosk mentioned in the book (p. 48, 85) is no longer there. You can pick up brochures and maps at the CVB offices in the Santa Fe Arcade on the plaza, 60 E. San Francisco St.

Mary Cabot Wheelwright’s home in Alcalde (p. 84) is unfortunately no longer open–the whole place is up for sale. Too bad, considering all the work that went into the renovation.

Sorry–I listed the wrong phone number for this Espanola restaurant (p. 76)–it should be 505/753-3200.

This cafe in Pojoaque (p. 70) is no longer open for breakfast. Hours are:
11:30am-2pm and 5:30-9pm Mon-Fri
11:30am-2pm and 5:30-10pm (maybe later) Sat

This restaurant on Canyon Road in Santa Fe (p. 62) has changed hands–it’s now called the San Miguel Restaurant, and is open only for lunch, 10am-3pm. I don’t know yet if it’s any good, though.

No, this Japanese restaurant in Santa Fe (p. 61) does not open at 5:30 in the morning on the weekends, as you might’ve guessed. Correct hours are:
11:30-2pm and 5:30-9pm Mon-Fri
5:30-9pm Sat and Sun

This Santa Fe restaurant (p. 60) now serves brunch all year-round.

Steepings, the tea place near the plaza in Santa Fe (p. 57), is closed. And it seems like Tribes (also p. 57) is as well, as the phone number has been disconnected. If someone knows different, please email me!

Either hours have changed significantly for this Santa Fe restaurant/bar (p. 41, 61), or I was totally confused when I wrote the book. Er, also, the phone number is for the takeout line–call the resto at 505/982-2565.

Here are the proper hours:
11am-2am Mon-Fri, kitchen closes at midnight
11:30-2am Sat, kitchen closes at midnight
8am-midnight Sun, kitchen closes at 11pm

This Santa Fe gallery on the plaza (p. 46) has effectively shut. The new incarnation is Victoria Price Contemporary Art & Design, at 550 S. Guadalupe St. in the railyard–and, as the name suggests, the emphasis is much more on new work, rather than the rugs and turquoise jewelry.

This Santa Fe gallery (p. 46) has moved from Canyon Road: it’s now at 554 S. Guadalupe St. Its hours have also changed: 10-5 Mon-Thurs and Sat, 10-6 Fri.

This Santa Fe cafe (p. 62) serves dinner as well, Tues-Sat. Prices are very reasonable–nothing’s more than about $15. Good crowd, and a great bargain. Cash only.

This restaurant in Santa Fe (p. 59) is significantly changed (it goes by the name Senor Lucky’s), and I wouldn’t characterize it as family-friendly any longer….especially now that they’ve installed the mechanical bull. (Yikes.)

UPDATE: This place has closed very suddenly, as of 2/15/07. (Thanks for the tip, Woody!)

This Santa Fe restaurant (p. 61) added a very nice bar area–you can order the full menu here, or just have some of the delicious snacks.

This bar in Santa Fe (p. 41) has changed hands, and the new management has lowered the drink prices; happy hour is $4, and the rest of the time cocktails max out at $10, making this place much more accessible. (No reports on whether this has resulted in a lower rate of celebrity sightings.) Currently the place is open Wed-Sun, and the nightly schedule listed in the book is no longer accurate.

This semi-Irish pub in Santa Fe (p. 41) is shut. It has been replaced by LeMoyne’s Landing, a New Orleans resto relocated here after the hurricane, which is so far getting fairly decent reviews.

The restaurant at the Galisteo Inn (p. 64) is open on Tuesdays now as well, and has a direct phone number for reservations: 505/466-8200. The prices have also gone up significantly–$20 is the low end for entrees, and they range up to $38. But there’s a smaller “tapas” menu, which is really just bar food–smaller versions of entrees, some burger-y things, etc., so don’t let the prices deter you from a drive down here in the summertime.

This Santa Fe restaurant (p. 60) no longer has the “No Higher Than Twenty-Six” category on its wine list, and its overall menu looks a fair bit duller than it used to. I haven’t had a chance to eat there again recently, but these two factors knock it out of the “top pick” category, unfortunately.

First, Cookworks (p. 48) is closed, and that is not news at all, since it happened in late 2005. I just haven’t had my eyes open wide enough the past few times I’ve driven through town–sorry.

Prices on the four city-managed museums–Palace of the Governors, Museum of Fine Arts, Folk Art, and Indian Arts & Culture–are all up by $1 (to $8). Which means 4-day passes are now $18. But there’s a new 2-museum pass for $12–for either Palace of the Governors/MFA or Folk/Indian Arts–which is pretty handy. Also, Sundays are free to all New Mexico residents.

More news on the way shortly…

This cafe in Santa Fe (p. 58) has closed at its downtown location, but fortunately has reopened in the Design Center, 418 Cerrillos Rd.

In Madrid, the shop Woofy Bubbles (p. 175) is shut, as is Talking Bridge Gallery (same page), which had the old soda fountain in it.  Chances are, whoever rents that space next will operate the soda fountain as well, so all is not lost.

And I thought Madrid was looking a little tidier than usual…and it turns out it’s been being used as a movie set, for some Disney movie called Wild Hogs.  The fancy new diner turned out to be a movie set–no idea if it will actually turn into a business.

As for Cerrillos, Enchanted on First (p. 175) is closed.  On the up side, the petting zoo seems to have expanded, and Mary’s Bar had three patrons!

…that Rancho Jacona (p. 55), just outside of Santa Fe, has a swimming pool, which the makes the place even more desirable. Not the spot for people looking for a city break, but really a good deal for those who want a little bit of country life not far from all the sights, especially for families.

Grant Corner Inn (p. 56 and p. 58) in Santa Fe is closed.

San Juan Pueblo, north of Santa Fe (p. 70), is now officially known as Ohkay Owingeh, the original Tewa name (”strong village”).