After our meal at Doc Martin's we took a typical after dinner stroll. Downtown Taos was indeed quite charming.
While most of the shops were already closed, the relaxed, tranquil vibe gave us time to appreciate the town. We loved the public art.
And as the sun headed down, the adobe buildings just came alive. It was indeed the "golden hour"!
With nary a person in sight, it was a wonderful stroll.
We slept well, woke early, and headed off to the do some hiking. I gave the Missus a couple of choices and She picked the Devasidero Peak loop trail. It was a quick 5 minute drive to the trailhead. The trail started off a bit steep, but the views were lovely on this morning in early May.
And while we didn't run into any other folks on the trail, there were indications of folks who had come before us.
And the signage on the trail was pretty good.
The Missus is all business when hiking; She wants to get it done ASAP.
I on the other hand, like to enjoy the views and on this hike, the little splashes of color provided by the wild flowers.
We enjoyed the hike and finished in a shade over two hours.
We headed back to the hotel, parked, and decided to grab an early lunch. We had walked past a little sandwich/juice bar/health food shop the previous evening called Manzanita Market and decided to pop in.
It was a cute little shop with a hipster-hippy-ish vibe. The staff was very friendly.
We placed our order and the Missus had a seat, while I took a look at some of the local items available for sale.
I loved the name of this hot sauce brand, Taos Hum.
In case you hadn't heard of the Taos Hum, it's a low frequency humming/buzzing noise that certain residents of Taos have heard since the 1990's. There have been studies into the hum over the years, but it still remains a mystery, and has been reported in other places around the world. And this Taos Hum Hot Sauce would remain a mystery to me as well as I ended up not getting a bottle. I can and may order it online; or perhaps wait until we next visit Taos.
The Missus had ordered the Mediterranean Vegan, which came from Sage Bakehouse (Santa Fe) Sourdough.
The sourdough was quite good. This was bit on the blander side in terms of flavor in spite of the pickled onions and lime-garlic spread. The textures were very nice; the creamy tahini, crisp veggies and bread. The greens had a pleasant bitterness to them as well. So very healthy!
I got the Naples which also came on that good sourdough bread.
This was a pressed sandwich and was served hot. The bread was a nice crisp-crunchy and I loved the milky-gooey carneros cheese and the nicely spiced-salty sopressata. The mildly assertive feta-garlic sauce and the surprisingly good tomato jam really made this sandwich a winner!
Such a nice place for a light lunch!
Manzanita Market
103 N Plaza
Taos, NM 87571
In retrospect, we should have spent at least another day in Taos, but we'd try to make the best of our last evening!
The yeasty, standard Amoroso roll stood up well. The meat was decently shaved, fairly tender, moist, and beefy, the mushrooms earthy, and the white American cheese added a complimentary, not overwhelming milky gooeyness to the sandwich.
I didn't care for the fries which quickly got limp and were over salted. 
Well, this is about the same as Phuong Nga. The bread is very crusty which I like, though a bit more chewy than I prefer. These days, many banh mi shops don't even include cucumber in their sandwiches; but it's present here. The jalapeno was pretty mellow on this sandwich. Of course, one of my pet peeves; the cilantro was mostly stems….I already floss daily; I don't need to have my sandwich doing it as well. The proteins are sliced on the thicker side and there are less pickled veggies than before. What I really liked about this sandwich was the amount of pate. Upon biting, the pate basically oozed out…a funky, earthy, creamy, savory "puss" of the most delicious sort.
It did seem like my sandwich was sticking "its tongue out at me"……perhaps mocking me? To use a single word to describe this would be "light". From the slightly crusty, yeasty-airy bolillo to the filling. Other than a good amount of heat from the jalapenos this was quite light. In my mind, it could have used a bit more salt (when was the last time I wrote that?), tomatoes, and onions. Still, it was a decent breakfast and the price was right.
This came on a by-the-book, yeasty telera roll. The chorizo was nice and smoky, with a hint of spice. The jamon was a rather thin slice and was made irrelevant by the chorizo. The gooey cheese was the glue (no pun intended) that added a slight milky flavor to things. There was a bit of jalapeno for some zip, but I could have used more beans on this. I think I'll have the papas con chorizo version of this next time.
Big Jim's Roast Beef & Subs opened as a Food Truck/pop-up about March 2021 and has steadily built a following of its New England Style slow roasted style Top Round sandwiches, ultimately opening this storefront in September. They still Pop-Up at the Wednesday Ocean Beach Farmers Market and the Thursday Oceanside Sunset Market.
A simple menu. When you order, toppings are described and you can decline or ask for an ingredient 'on the side'.
Junior Beef Sandwich ($9). This sandwich is very large; the in house roasted top round, sliced thin and served medium rare, the beef chilled. This has wonderful flavor and texture. It is served on a butter grilled burger bun with a horseradish mayonnaise and American cheese. We asked for the BBQ sauce on the side. 
French Dip ($16). Apologies for the photo. The aroma of the roasted beef was amazing. Again, thin sliced beef, cooked more medium, served warmed with Provolone cheese. Great sandwich, easily shared.
The Italian bread roll, sesame-seeded, was fresh, flavorful and sourced locally from a bakery in Little Italy. The jus had bits of meat in it and was not salty. Quite perfect. 
The BBQ Sauce had a nice 'tang' and the grilled onions were sweet. Each was added as a condiment at the end bites of the sandwiches. 
Seating out front.
It turns out that this establishment is a recipe testing, preparation and catering kitchen to the family of New Zealand inspired restaurants in San Diego: Bareback Grill, Queenstown Public House, Dunedin North Park, Raglan Public House and Queenstown Bistro…none of which Kirk or I have visited (yet)
Walk in and there's the menu on the wall in front of you. Turn to the left, meet Mack, order, pay and find a seat. 
I noticed this "Mackstar" beverage ($2) described on the wall and decided to try it-an excellent blend of English Black tea and fresh (sweetened) lemonade. The liquids are different densities so when delivered to the table, we were able to try the excellent black tea separately from the lemonade; each is good on its own and when stirred, the combination is very nice-could still taste the tea.
The "Soup and Sammie" ($13) was my choice. Tomato basil soup with pine nuts and herbs, topped with sour cream-thick with chunks of tomato,so fresh, delightful. The bowl is low and deceptive. There is plenty. 
Two types of cheese on toasted sourdough with mayonnaise, avocado, lettuce and tomato. Excellent.
The Cobb Chop salad ($12.50) was really good; fresh (flavorful; I've been buying some bitter lettuces lately) Romaine topped with warm grilled herby chicken breast, chopped bacon, avocado, tomato, hard boiled egg and Blue cheese chunks.
The salad was served with fresh made Caesar dressing (delightful, non-burning garlic) or we could have tried the Pepper Ranch (next time). 