Walk Into Whimsy at Cafe Pascual's
When you walk into Cafe Pascual’s restaurant you know you have entered a special place. First of all, those tiles! Like a Mexican kitchen from the past , those old colorfully painted tiles go half way up walls of the restaurant. There they are met with more color from the whimsical paintings of Santa Fe residents of the past and their equally colorful lives. You will also see ristras, long strings of dried red chilis, hanging about. They hang together with papel picado strung in banners. These are the colorful tissue papers with cut-outs of intricate designs. All that plus the painted green chairs next to potted red geraniums. You know you have come to a special place.
The Food is "Divino"
I haven’t forgotten the real reason we had come to Cafe Pascual’s …the food! I was there that Saturday afternoon with my friend Debra. She has always been a generous friend and I wanted to invite her to a special meal. Here you will be treated with meals that span Mexican, New Mexican, and global cuisine. All done with that Cafe Pascual’s signature. They go an extra step with all their dishes. There is usually a twist of something added to make the dish even more appealing.
That afternoon I had the chicken sandwich. Sounding pretty ordinary? It was anything but! I had never had a chicken sandwich on cornbread. Nor had I ever thought of making one for myself. So I was not only curious but hungry to try Cafe Pascual’s version. It came with melted manchego cheese, carmalized onions and jalapenos, all on toasted cornbread.
Debra had Two Rolled Mole Enchiladas. Did she like it, I asked her. “Divino” was the answer.
Don't Forget Dessert!
Divine also can be used to describe the date shake we had for dessert one summer evening when Michael and I had dinner at Pascual’s. And took some leisurely time to walk around by the river which is not far from the restaurant. We were walking off the richness of a date shake we had ordered for dessert. So goo! It was a cut above and as good as any we had in Palm Springs. It actually inspired me to make some date shakes at home. Find the recipe I posted on site here: https://roadtosuchness.com/dateshake/
It must have shown in our faces how much we were enjoying it. The couple next to us asked about it and ordered one for themselves.
Don’t be discouraged by the long lines out front of Cafe Pascual’s. (Just shows you how popular it is.) You can stand in place and watch life in Santa Fe go by in four directions. Or you can do as we did. They put my name on a list and we were free to go shopping. But not too far as when they called we had to scurry back quickly. for our reserved seats.
There is always a mix of out of town guests and locals as Cafe Pascual’s is well loved by Santa Feans. If you are visiting alone it’s a good place to come as there is a communal table in the middle of the long dining area. It always seems to have good energy there. The restaurant is open fora breakfast, lunch and dinner. Do make reservations if you plan on having dinner.
