The motto of Café Pasqual’s is ‘Panza llena, Corazon content!’ which means full stomach, happy heart. Over the past 3 days Café Pasqual’s did both for us; filled our stomachs (several times) and gave us warm and very happy hearts. Located just a couple of blocks away from the main plaza of stunning Santa Fe, the oldest capital city in the US and a magnet for artists and art lovers, it and all of the surrounding buildings are made from a modern version of the traditional adobe houses made with sun dried bricks of earth and water. At 8 am the sky was a perfectly crisp blue, and slowly but surely everything started waking up. The artists were setting up their turquoise jewlery in the plaza, and the tourists were already out and ready with their cameras, many of them lined up in front of Café Pasqual’s.
Café Pasqual is named after the folk saint of Mexican and New Mexican kitchens and cooks, San Pasqual. His image hangs in the kitchens of many homes and restaurants in particular around New Mexico. Born on May 24, 1540, San Pasqual was a Franciscan Friar assigned to kitchen duties. The story goes that he created incredible meals with simple foods he found in the kitchen. His fellow Friars would see him meditating and praying while he was cooking and believed he was being helps by angels. Then date of his passing, May 17th, is celebrated around the world as the Feast of San Pasqual.
San Pasqual restaurant keeps this spirit of taking simple foods and turning them into incredible meals. Inside the dinning room is a celebration covered in hand painted Mexican tiles and murals by renowned Mexican painter Leovigildo Martinez. The food matches the atmosphere. It is colourful, flavourful and exciting with a New Mexican feel. Unfortunately we weren’t able to sit in the dinning room once during our trip due to the popularity of the restaurant, but we had their famous breakfast burritos twice during our stay which we took with us and ate in the plaza. We also had dinner twice (take out as well), which had specialty dishes like home made tamales with red chilli chicken, incredible mole enchiladas with cilantro rice, jicama salad and corn torte (hmmm my mouth is watering as I type this).
And then there was the hot chocolate. Mentioned simply as Mexican Hot Chocolate, it was delicious and was the perfect start to our chilly but sunny Santa Fe mornings. Rich chocolate, cinnamon and a touch of chilli, all very subtle and beautifully blended. Because we got it “to go”, it came in a large paper cup with a plastic lid (usually this is a no-no) but I drank the whole thing and craved more. It was so easy to drink, such a beautiful way to start a day.
Verdict: A true party in your mouth, New Mexican style. Café Pasqual’s, 121 Don Gaspar, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
