Cowgirl BBQ and Steakhouse

According to Anne Hillerman’s book, this diverse city has 375 restaurants of choice.  With much to choose from we settled for the Cowgirl Hall of Fame BBQ as our first culinary adventure.  What a pleasant surprise!  After taking the first bite, we could see why it was mentioned.  Furthermore, there was no doubt why the Cowgirl was chosen by Rachael Ray for her “40 Dollars a Day” T. V. special.  The prices were more than appropriate for the quality of the food.

The Cowgirl has been mentioned in the Wall Street Journal for their “best Nachos” and mentioned in the Cowboys and Indians Magazine for being “One of the Best BBQ joints in the West”.  However, the reviews omitted the best entrée the chuck wagon chili, otherwise known as chili con carne.

Much to our surprise the chili meat was made with flavorful chunks instead of the familiar ground beef.  If you are tempted to try it, don’t forget to take along a tissue or two, for the chili spices were deliciously poignant.  Not hot to the point of burning the mouth, but much more like a warming sensation getting your corpuscles flowing. 

Along with the chili they served side dishes of sour cream, tomatillos salsa and green chili.  Adding a scoop of each made for the perfect combination.  I must admit, though, the salty peppery tomatillos salsa was my favorite. 

The only thing missing would have been a thirst quencher of either light beer with a slice of lime or one of their famous frozen margarita.  We opted for beer, which seemed to blend with the husky flavors.

Santa Fe is a city that emphasized its history and the Cowgirl Hall of Fame BBQ is no exception.  The Cowgirl’s online advertisement seemed to capitalize on this.  “The legend…many years ago, when the cattle roamed free and Cowpokes and Cowgirls rode the range, a sassy young Cowgirl figured out that she could have as much fun smoking meats and baking fine confections as she could busting broncos and rounding up outlaws.  So she pulled into the fine bustling city of Santa Fe and noticed that nobody in town was making barbecue the way she learned out on the range.  She built herself a Texas-style barbecue pit and soon enough the sweet and pungent scent of mesquite smoke was wafting down Guadalupe Street and within no time at all folks from far and near were lining up for heaping portions of tender mesquite-smoked brisket, ribs and chicken.  Never one to sit on her laurels, our intrepid Cowgirl figured out all those folks chowing down on her now-famous BBQ need something to wash it all down.  Remembering a long-forgotten recipe from the fabled beaches of Mexico, she began making the now-legendary frozen margarita and the rest, as we say, is history.  Before you could say “Tequila!” the musicians were out playing on the Cowgirl patio and the party was in full swing.”  There were no musicians to be heard while we dined, but I found it entertaining to watch the locals sashaying around in their colorful, southwestern style outfits and cowboy boots.  It was easy to see why the locals have year after year voted the Cowgirl the “Best of Santa Fe Awards” as reported in the Santa Fe Reporter’s poll.

There seems to be something for everyone as reported in the New York Times, Travel Guide, Frommer’s Review.  “This raucous bar/restaurant serves decent food in a festive atmosphere.  The main room/bar is a hip hangout spot and a good place to eat as well.  The back room is quieter, with wood floors and tables and plenty of cowgirl memorabilia.”  According to the review the menu varies, offering dishes like gumbo or crawfish étoufée, along with blue-plate specials like the Tuesday night chili rellenos.  Plan to bring the kids too, for they have a kid's corral that has horseshoes, a rocking horse, a horse-shaped rubber tire swing, hay bales, and a beanbag toss.  Even the strings of white lights on the patio created a festive holiday ambiance adding to our special memories of this beautiful city.