One of the main reasons we headed back to Santa Fe for another road trip was to dine at Sazon. We had really wanted to have dinner at Sazon during our last stay (Sept 2022), but the Chef, Fernando Olea who hails from CDMX had recently won the James Beard Award for Best Chef Southwest and reservations were impossible to come by. So, instead we ended having a nice meal at Geronimo. This time, I managed to get reservations for an early dinner. The restaurant located in one of those classic Santa Fe Adobes one block from our hotel.
The place was already buzzing when we were seated. The dining area is divided in different rooms, each adorned with colorful artwork.
The service was professional, but warm and not stuffy. There is a tasting menu available during two specific seatings, but we just wanted to try items we saw on the regular menu.
The Missus started with some Champagne, I was looking forward to our upcoming (at that time) trip to Tequila in the upcoming month and had a Tres Generaciones Anejo. We were also provided with a Mole sampler, some of which was too sweet for the Missus, so we were glad to have just gone with ordering off the menu. You'll also soon see why…..
As things started with the Tuetano – Bone Marrow. You know how much I like bone marrow, right?
The salsa rojo on the bone marrow had a nice kick and really blended well with the buttery richness of the marrow. It went so well with the maizey tortillas. This was a nice start.
Next up; the Higado de Ganzo – Foie Gras with a raspberry-coconut sauce on crostini.
The sweetness of the sauces and the resiny flavor of the pine nuts overwhelmed the small slices of foie gras in this dish. It was just a bit too much stuff, which made it a "foie faux" to us.
Next up were these.
The Xochimilco – Huitlacoche, with queso fresco was so delici-yoso.
Oh my, the earthy-mushroomy-sweet huitlacoche paired so well with the slightly milky queso fresco, which added a melty-buttery texture. The corn tortillas added heft and the salsa a bit of heat, with a mild sweetness.
We also enjoyed the Oaxaquenos – Chapulines, which was served over mashed avocado.
Just by themselves, the light and crunchy grasshoppers had a really nice savory-grassy-mild spice that was so nice. Our Server told us that it had been infused with garlic and olive oil and chili de arbol. The corn tortilla was a perfect match as was the avocado.
There was one last dish I really wanted to try; the Cholula, which is the Chef's take on the Chile en Nogada. this was served in a tower format, rather than the usual stuffed chile poblano.
Well, this had a lot going on; the meat here was a combination of ground lamb, pork, and beef; which was seriously overshadowed by a very tasty, not overly sweet and creamy-rich walnut sauce. The balsamic vinegar sauce added another level of sweet-acidity, with a touch of heat from jalapenos. We'd have enjoyed more of the bitter-sweetness provided by the pomegranate seeds. The poblanos added a nice mild green bell pepper flavor to things. That walnut sauce is what made the dish in our opinion.
Overall, this was a memorable meal, the service was excellent, the dishes interesting with such a range of flavors! I'm glad we were able to finally have dinner here!
Sazón
221 Shelby St.
Santa Fe, NM 87501
After dinner, we took a nice stroll. This is the Bell Tower Bar, where we had drinks earlier in the day.
We passed those places we visited on our last trip here.
The Loretto Chapel.
The San Miguel Chapel.
Santa Fe Plaza.
And all the enjoyable public art.
It made for a very relaxing time!
Thanks for stopping by!
Geez who'd have thought we would see prices at 2 bucks per chicken wings all those year ago! The wings were nicely battered, more crunchy than crisp, the texture was not bad at all. There was a sticky glaze, which was more toward the sweet than savory, though you could make out the fish sauce. The wings were on the larger side and was decently cared for with a minimum of bitter black portions around the bones. This was not bad at all and had me wishing I had ordered the salt and pepper version.
I was able to try the rib bone. The meat was on the chewier side but came off the bone nicely and was actually the beefiest cut provided. Because the broth was super hot, the rare steak was over cooked by the time of consumption. The rest of meats were bland and tasteless as well. 
But at least I didn't have to worry about my rare steak being overcooked. Based on my last visit, I decided to time how long it took before I could safely partake of my pho. Cautiously taking sips things timed out at twelve minutes and seventeen seconds. As you can see; the soup was very clear, though it wasn't as sweet-salty this time around. It did have a nice beefy "nose" with hints of star anise. 
Of course we loved the tender, grassy-mild sweetness of the fern shoot.
So, how was this? It was more flaky then what I’d had before, though the texture is on the chewy side. Decent salt and mild sweetness, though it seemed to lack a nice yeasty nose and could have used more butter….at least for me. This was decent in terms of San Diego croissants; though I wish Izola was open for a comparison….maybe I need to head back to 
