Restaurant list (* = our favorites) Look for the [year] for up-to-date reviews. SANTA FE -------- ! $$$ Arroyo Vino. Creative, well-executed cuisine, in a beautiful setting slightly outside of town with an attached wine store. A recent meal included fiddlehead ferns with preserved lemon; tasting of olive and pumpkin seed oils; sous vide lobster with foie gras nage; duck confit larb; rabbit faggotini with wild nettles; New Mexico lamb with kale, chorizo, and romesco. Menu changes constantly. 983-2100. ! $ The Betterday. The spiritual successor to the much-missed Aztec, this coffeehouse in Casa Solana has great coffee, muffins, and burritos. For some reason the wireless sucks. ! $$ Bistro 315. Traditional French with regional ingredients: favorites are the basil-wrapped shrimp with apricots, or the squash blossom beignets. The specials are excellent, and the wine list is one of the best in town, with lots of half bottles for romantic evenings, including white Bourgogne and Pinot Noir. Also a bar with cocktails. We got engaged here. Main dishes $20-$25. 315 Old Santa Fe Trail, one block from Paseo de Peralta. 986-9190. ! $$ La Boca. Our favorite place for tapas: creative Spanish tapas with some Moroccan accents. Cantimpalitos, salmon crudo, grilled artichokes, Moroccan grilled shrimp, very good paella, etc. Excellent desserts as well, and good Spanish and South American wines. End with a glass of Pedro Ximenez. Marcy Street between Lincoln and Washington, very close to the Convention Center. Lunch and dinner. Highly recommended. 982-3433. $ Bumblebee's Baja Grill. Fresh, fast Mexican (as opposed to New Mexican) food. Good tacos, including fish, shrimp, and lamb, and a great roast chicken, which along with tortillas and sauces serves two, for $15. Guadalupe and Jefferson, very close to the Convention Center. Lunch and dinner. 820-2862. $ Burrito Company. Howard Barnum says ÒIf you are in a hurry and want pretty good New Mexican food (burritos and enchiladas) near the plaza, this is a good choice.Ó $ Chicago Dog Express. Great Chicago hot dogs with correct poppy seed buns. Across Paseo de Peralta from Hotel Santa Fe. Lunch only. $$$ La Casa Sena [2023 - I still love the courtyard setting - despite the demise of a famous old tree - but the food here is not great, kind of ordinary Mediterranean. The wine store is very civilized] Beautiful courtyard in a historic building. Excellent wine list, some of which are bottled exclusively for the restaurant. On Palace Ave., one block from the Plaza. 988-9232. $ La Choza [2023 - still our favorite New Mexican.] A boisterous New Mexican place, with all the classics: go for the Chile Rellenos or Carne Adovada with plenty of sopapillas. Get a margarita with a floater of Del Maguey mezcal. At the end of the Railyard, a pleasant walk from downtown along the tracks or the acequia. $ Clafouti's. Excellent French bakery, flakey croissants (instead of the usual American mutation), great pastries, good breakfast, beignets on Saturdays only. Corner of Don Diego and Cordova. $$$ The Compound. Expensive and very good. A sample: fresh pea soup (emerald green, not murky), oysters on the half-shell with satsuma (a bitter Japanese orange), buttermilk pan-roasted chicken with foie gras gravy, scallops with bacon... their seafood is consistently perfect, crisp on the outside and sushi-grade on the inside. Also very nice mixed drinks at the bar, including a Sazerac for New Orleans fans. Excellent wine list. Main dishes $25 and up. Between Canyon Road and the river. Lunch and dinner. 982-4353. $ Counter Culture. Good breakfasts, pastries, salads and sandwiches for lunch, although the hummus is bland and gloppy. Now open for dinners but haven't tried that. Main dishes $5-$8. Baca Street half a block from Cerrillos. $ Cowgirl Hall of Fame. Decent barbeque, good frozen margaritas, and great outdoor seating. Hangout for young locals, very lively patio in the Summer, and a play area in the back for kids. Lunch and dinner. Main dishes $6-$12. ! $$$ Coyote Cafe. A showcase. It's especially fun to sit at the bar and watch them cook. Also excellent specialty cocktails from the chief mixologist: consider the Del Maguey margarita with a floater of artisanal mezcal. Main dishes $25-40. Desserts also excellent. Water Street between Don Gaspar and Galisteo. 983-1615. $ Coyote Cantina. This is the Coyote Cafe's lower-cost sister restaurant on the roof. Great view and sunsets, good margaritas and tacos. Main dishes $10-$15. Water Street between Galisteo and Don Gaspar. $ Downtown Subscription. A coffeehouse in a lovely walking neighborhood, at the corner of Acequia Madre and Garcia St. (one block from Canyon Road). Good espresso, premade sandwiches. Also next to Garcia Street Books. $$ El Farol. The home of the ÒEl Farol problemÓ of game theory, near the Santa Fe Institute's first location at the convent. Great atmosphere, with both locals and tourists, and good tapas. Rated one of the 50 best Spanish restaurants in the country. Also a great bar with live music on many nights. Canyon Road. 983-9912. $$$ Geronimo. Great combination of Southwest and Asian flavors. Wines are marked up quite a bit, and are mostly Californian, but the food is excellent. Main dishes $25-$35. Canyon Road with valet parking (!). 982-1500. $$ Harry's Road House. Great Sunday brunch (oddly, only until 1 p.m.): pecan waffles, fruit pancakes, scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, homemade pastries and rolls, etc. Good dinner with some excellent barbeque, and a lovely back patio. Old Las Vegas Highway. 989-4629. $$ Horno [2023] great mostly-small plates, Asian and Italian influences. One of our favorites for an informal night out. Favorites include chicken wings with Thai crab caramel, tuna tartare with risotto cake, miso roasted vegetables, beet salad, and the Smackdown green chile burger. On Marcy Street. $ Horseman's Haven. Hottest chile in town, fantastic breakfast burrito. On Cerrillos South of Airport/Rodeo, on the left next to a Texaco. 471-5420. $ Il Vicino. Good wood oven pizzas and their own beer. Cheap and fun. Pizzas $8-$10; our favorites are the Bianca and the Rustica. San Francisco St. near Guadalupe. They don't deliver, but a good place for takeout. 986-8700. $ India Palace. Good Indian food, with the rather annoying and highly interventionist practice of placing the food directly on your plate, and pouring your beer, unless you fend off the waiter. But it tastes good. Main dishes $8-$12. Don Gaspar and Water. ! $ Jambo. Afro-Caribbean food from chef Ahmed Obo, who hails from the island of Lamu. Wonderful curry peanut soup, tilapia, shrimp with piri-piri, lamb sandwich, pomegranate phyllo, fresh coconut, Scotch Bonnet sauce, and Red Stripe. Also great for lunch or takeout. 473-1269. $$ Jinja. Asian food, noodles and curries. Cooking not great, but fun pseudo-Pacific decor, with silly tiki cocktails. In De Vargas mall. $$ Paloma [2023] A Mexican (not New Mexican) place with good ceviche, sopecitos, tuna tostaditos, fish tacos, and Oaxacan negronis. A very nice patio in back in the Summer. Guadalupe Street. $$ Pasqual's. Wonderful atmosphere, with interiors painted by a local artist. Mexican and South American dishes. Try the Plato Supremo with mole and camarones borrachos (shrimp marinated in tequila), the Thai shrimp, Napo's pupusa, or the Niman Ranch filet. Also great desserts (caneles!) and you can buy their cookbook. Eclectic wine list. Reservations are very helpful and there's often a wait, but ask for the community table where you can hobnob with fellow diners. Main dishes $15-$25. Don Gaspar and Water. Lunch, dinner, weekend brunch. 983-9340. $ Plaza Cafe. A nice hangout for locals and families, right on the Plaza. New Mexican plus gyros. $ Sage Bakehouse. Good coffee, bread, sandwiches, cookies, muffins, and croissants. Their blueberry muffins are excellent (and come in two sizes) and many local restaurants use their bread. They are one of two bakeries in town that bake correctly, making small, flaky croissants with lots of butter. Still learning how to make espresso. Across Cerrillos from Hotel Santa Fe. $$ Santacafe. [2023 - this place is better now, with a new chef and more creative cooking than before.] Nouveau Southwest with Asian accents. Good specialties such as red chile shrimp tempura. Lovely outdoor patio for summer, and a stylish bar. Washington Avenue two blocks from the Plaza, very close to the Convention Center. Lunch and dinner. 984-1788. $ Saveur. Lunch only, with a very nice buffet and gourmet sandwiches. Run by Dee of local Dee's fame. Great salad bar, sandwiches, and desserts. Corner of Sandoval and Galisteo. $ The Shed. A downtown favorite, often with a long wait. Howard says Òred chile blue corn enchiladas here are a quintessential New Mexico culinary experience. Not for the faint of tongue. Casual.Ó Palace Ave., one block from the Plaza. $$ Teahouse. Some nice sandwiches and salads, and an astonishing range of teas from all over the world. Nice outdoor area. Lunch only, service can be slow. Canyon Road, at the corner with Palace Ave. across from El Farol. $ Tia Sophia's. Howard's favorite New Mexican restaurant in Santa Fe, with hot green chile, and a favorite with the locals. Breakfast and lunch. San Francisco Street, near Collected Works Bookstore. ! $ The Tune-up. Breakfast and lunch, weekend brunch, good New Mexican and Cuban food, with some nice El Salvadoran dishes as well, and now with beer and wine. Rosemary's favorite green chile stew. Hickox Street (where Dave's Not Here used to be). 983-7060. $ Upper Crust. [2023 - still excellent. Stop ordering pizzas from apps - they deliver!] Good local pizza, including Greek (with feta) and green chile. Nice whole-wheat crusts. Old Santa Fe Trail, 982-0000. $ Vinaigrette. [2023 - still excellent.] Good, creative salads for lunch, ranging from $8-$16, and some sandwiches too. A couple of nice wines by the glass, and good desserts, such as peach-strawberry shortcake with basil whipped cream. Also a pleasant patio in back. Enter from Cerrillos Rd. behind La Unica. Parking can be difficult at lunchtime. 820-9205. PARIS ----- Please note - I hang out in the 5th Arrondissement a lot when I visit ENS, so my knowledge is somewhat limited to that neighborhood. l'Amuse Bouche. In the 14th, just off Avenue du Maine at 186 rue du Ch‰teau. Very friendly hole-in-the-wall with excellent, creative food. I had a fantastic dish of escargot and mushrooms, with a bottle of Savigny-les-Beaune '99 Nuits-St. George. Closed Sunday and Monday. 01 43 35 31 61. l'Atelier du Joel Robuchon. 45, rue de Babylone, just off rue du Bac near the top end of St. Germain. There is no handle on the door; you have to wait until they open it. Reservations are only taken for the uncivilized hour of 6:30, although we got our revenge by staying until 10:30 --- otherwise you simply wait in line. Many small dishes, most of which are 16-25 Euro --- such as St. Pierre piment doux et chorizo, supreme de pigeon au chou et foie gras, papillote de langoustine croustillant au basilic, ravioli de Langoustine truffe (I ordered another one of these for dessert). The tasting menu was worth 97 Euros and was worth every centime, along with excellent wines by the glass recommended by the waiter. 01 40 62 73 79 (but I recommend stopping by in person). l'Avant Gout. Just off Place d'Italie, 37 rue Bobillot. Marvellous house cocktail with Chartreuse and champagne, creative food, and friendly service. Closed Sunday and Monday. 01 45 81 14 06. Baobar [2023] Affordable and fun place in the Marais that makes Taiwanese bao from scratch. Mango kim chee, pork belly, fried chicken, etc. 42 Rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie. Brasserie Balzar. One of the grand old brasseries, on rue des Ecoles in the 5th. Read the piece about this place by Adam Gopnik in Paris to the Moon; it was recently taken over by Group Flo, but I still had a great time there with roast chicken and a good bottle of Bordeaux. Le Cafe de la Nouvelle Mairie. [2023] My cantine when I visit ENS. A perfect place for lunch: friendly (but busy) staff who tolerate my French. Some recent dishes: razor clams, smoked mackerel, excellent sausage. A very good range of wines by the glass. Lately there have been a lot of Emily in Paris fans taking pictures, but this hasn't posed too much of a problem. Casa di Peppe [2023] hand-tossed pizzas with a renowned pizzaiolo. The pizza was great; the wines by the glass less so. Corner of Saint Jacques and Guy-Lussac. Chez Anne: great hand-pulled noodles in spicy broth. Presumably a pun on Xi'an. 36 Rue Mouffetard. Dans Les Landes: laid-back basque tapas, including calamari served in a wooden shoe, which our daughter very much enjoyed. 119 bis rue Monge. La Ferrandaise: I was guided to these bistronomers by my hotel receptionist and had a delicious, hearty lamb. [2023 - they recently reopened after a fire.] 8 rue de Vaugirard. Les Fetes Galantes [2023 update: Bibi is still there and I feel very sentimental about this place, but several dishes we liked in the past aren't on the menu any more] In the 5th, just below the Pantheon at 17 rue de l'Ecole Polytechnique (where the university used to be), a tiny place with 8 or so tables. Bibi, the Egyptian chef, cooks French food with some lovely touches. On one wall is a set of brassieres from happy customers, and pictures and business cards on the other. 01 43 26 10 40. Flocon [2023] You wouldn't expect this level of bistronomy on the touristic Rue Mouffetard. But this was a lovely, deeply creative place with a minimalist interior. Seasonal and vegetable-forward. I sat at the bar and communed with the kitchen. Beets and mackerel to start, then a coarse farro with squash and basil, then a beautiful grape vacherin. Natural wines by the glass. 75 Rue Mouffetard. Georges. Ride the habitrail-like escalator to the top of the Pompidou and enjoy the wonderful view in sculptural pods. Expensive, a bit snooty, good food, but the best thing is the desserts; the pastry chef is very well-known, and the raspberry macaron is to die for. Lavinia, 3-5 boulevard de la Madeleine. A 3-story wine store, where you can have any bottle you desire with your lunch, at store prices. We had a lovely Pommard with our sardines after gazing at the four-figure bottles of '85 Petrus in the cellar. 01 42 97 20 27. Ma Salle a Manger [2023 update - they no longer have the Basque wine Iruleguy that I enjoyed before.] We wanted to sit an enjoy a glass of wine on the Ile St. Louis; they encouraged us to do so, so we stayed for dinner. The high point was a foie gras appetizer with vanilla and apple --- fantastic. Friendly service (tolerating my execrable French) and good wines. Place Dauphine, 01 43 29 52 34. Moulin a Vent [2023] Possibly the best classic bistro food I've ever had. Perfect pleurotes (oyster mushrooms), delicate sweetbreads perfectly cooked, plums in Armagnac, and a little Chartreuse VEP to end. Reservations a must. 20 rue des FossŽs Saint-Bernard. Narro [2023] Great bistronomy, Japanese chef. I started with mackerel; my companions had scallops with yuzu; I then had a chausson of butternut squash. 72 Rue du Cardinal Lemoine, behind the Pantheon and a short walk from ENS. Otto [2023] Like Flocon, I was surprised to find this place on Mouffetard. Creative small plates, at a bar facing the kitchen. Grilled cuttlefish, smoked fennel, and a short but good list of cocktails. Very nice energy. 5 Rue Mouffetard, just above Place de la Contrescarpe. Le Petit Prince de Paris. 12 rue de Lanneau. We ended up here late one night after Les Fetes Galantes was closed; they serve at least to 12 and often later. Food not fantastic, but good, and a very cozy atmosphere. 01 43 54 77 26. Le Petite Pointoise [2023 update - still fantastic and friendly, with a "tatin" of artichokes and a beautiful duck parmentier with foie gras on top, a good Negroni to start, and great wines.] Excellent meal with black ham cut from the bone, millefeuille of goat cheese and beet root, pork cheeks in a wonderful sauce, scallops provencal, and fois gras with figs. Good wine, and very friendly to bad French speakers. 9 rue de Pontoise, 01 43 29 25 20. La Truffiere. Near Contrescarpe. Creative, expensive food - I recall a dessert with strawberry and pureed red peppers - and a fantastic cheese cart. Worth a splurge, especially if the Physics department will take you there :-)