Category: Taos County

Closed in 2010Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicanNew MexicoTaos County

The Burrito Wagon – Taos, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:34 AM

Elvis Presley once crooned about “Memories pressed between the pages of my mind–memories sweetened through the ages just like wine.” Sometimes memories take you back to an idyllic time or place when things were simpler and food tasted better. Such is the case with my memories of the Burrito Wagon, a Taos institution I began frequenting shortly after its 1970 launch. No stereotypical “roach coach” to be derided and laughed at was this mobile kitchen serving the finest overstuffed burritos in Northern New Mexico. In my romantic’s mind, my unabashed affection for the Burrito Wagon took me to that idyllic time and place. Alas, the reality was that because the Burrito Wagon is not open on weekends, we hadn’t visited since 1999. A September, 2004 visit saw my idyllic memories shattered and cruel reality set in. The Burrito Wagon just isn’t the same restaurant that warranted delicious dreams. That reality set in when we discovered beans, ground beef and chile ensconced in store bought tortillas similar to the inferior products proffered by real roach coaches. If memory serves me right, The Wagon’s burritos once featured tortillas that tasted as if they were freshly extricated from a hot comal. My recollections…

AmericanClosed in 2010Food Network Eats New MexicoGone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoTaos County

Joseph’s Table – Taos, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:07 AM

When chef and owner Joseph Wrede launched Joseph’s Table several years ago in Ranchos De Taos,dining patrons and pedantic critics alike were ready to beatify him (a culinary Saint Joseph). In 2000, Food & Wine magazine named him one of the top ten chefs in America, extolling his use of locally grown organic produce in “surprising, sensual ways.” The London Times called him “the voice of modern American cuisine.” Even Food Network luminary Bobby Flay came calling during a visit to Taos. On June 28, 2002, Wrede closed his restaurant to contemplate the lucrative lure of a corporate chef position. The Taos culinary world breathed a collective sigh of relief when he launched his new restaurant in December, 2003. Housed in the historic La Fonda Hotel, his new dining room is artistically inspired and bathed in vivid colors on which enormous hand-painted tulips and butterflies crafted by his wife provide a whimsical refrain. Flowing, elegant tapestries reminiscent of a Sultan’s tent titivate the walls. Along the back wall are several semi-private chambers the wait staff refer to as “love shacks.” As artistic as the ambience is, it is the congruence of the chef’s menu items that are the true masterpieces–at…