Friday night we stayed at the historic El Rey Inn located at 1862 Cerillos Rd, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505. We stayed in one of their traditional rooms which was decorated in the traditional New Mexican style; the room was comfortable and the inn grounds were quaint and welcoming (despite it being the off season).
For breakfast we went to the Teahouse located at 821 Canyon Rd aka the road labeled as "arts and crafts road".
The space itself is small, around 100 seats. The walls are lined with photographs and art. You are given 2 menus when you sit down: one full of teas of every flavor profile and another full of their delicious food options. Their pastries rotate daily (gluten free and regular scones) as well as rotating quiche.
We began with a pot of ginger tea and a gluten free strawberry scone served with two classic scone condiments: clotted cream and lemon curd. Now, if you've never had clotted cream shame on you because it's the most incredible dairy product in the known universe; it is as if whipped cream and cream cheese had a baby. The clotted cream is thick like cream cheese but sweet and airy like whipped cream and the lemon curd is tart and citrusy.
I wanted something substantial to eat as well so I ordered the Blackstone Eggs Benedict; this was a soft poached egg on englisg muffin halves with crispy bacon, juicy tomato slices and thick, creamy and eggy hollandaise sauce. It was served alongside a salad of mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, and Kalamata olives lightly dressed with vinegarette.
We finished our meal with a pot of Moroccan Mint tea.
Decor: excellent, the seating consists of a mixture of comfortable armchairs, small tables and high top tables.
cleanliness: excellent, the bathroom is clean and well stocked and the tables were turned over quickly.
Food taste: excellent, everything was absolutely amazing.
Food appearance: excellent, food was served in an appealing manner.
Service: good, the waitress was a little less than attentive. After she brought us our bill we waited 10 minutes (while she kept checking on the tables around us) to have her actually take it. Due to the fact we didn't want to spend the entire morning at the Teahouse we went to the front to pay where we were snippily told that we were to wait at our table to pay.
Total: 14/15
After our breakfast we decided to go to the Palace of the Governors and New Mexico History museums because neither of us had ever been. The museum was far more interesting than I would've originally thought having lived in this state for the past 20 years. The museum has a student discount so for an entire day (until 5 PM) was only $10 for the two of us! And we could leave and come back if we wanted to.
We decided to go to Bert's Burger Bowl afterward for lunch located at 235 N Guadalupe St, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501. Bert's was featured on the Food Network show Diner's Drive-ins and Dives. This pace is nothing fancy. No fuss, no frills just honest good burgers and fries.
The space has 6 seats on the inside and 5 tables outside. The menu is very basic: burgers, fries, green chile and cheese.
Decor: poor, there is no decor aside from a display of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives memorabilia. And there is metal patio furniture inside the resturant.
Cleanliness: good, the small dining room was clean.
Food taste: excellent, flame-grilled patties and spicy and fresh roasted green chile.
Food appearance: poor, like I said no fuss or frills. Your food is served to you in a paper bag wrapped in parchment paper regardless of where you're eating.
Service: excellent, friendly staff, and quick service.
Total: 10/15
It was a wonderful weekend with my hubby and the food is always delicious and well-worth the trip (in my humble opinion anyway).
Totally agree about the clotted cream and I haven't had it for twenty years. I need some. Stat.
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