The Shed has been a Santa Fe institution for 54 years, beloved by locals and tourists alike. It is located just a bit off the Plaza, behind Susan's Christmas Shop. The restaurant is housed in old adobe structure. Watch your head as you enter the building (anyone over 5'5" is a candidate for bump on the noggin). You'll find you have stepped inside an homage to New Mexico where time can seem to stand still. The walls are adorned with colorful paintings that depict the pastoral life of old New Mexico and help to nourish your soul as you nourish your body.
The food is consistently good and the chile has just the right combination of smoke and heat. The chiles are grown on the family farm and the family obviously pays attention to its crop from start to finish. If you wish you can even take home some of the sauce or order it from the restaurant's website.
If you like salsa and guacamole, you should definitely sample The Shed's versions. Both are rich and flavorful; they usually disappear from our table in a twinkling. Another starter that shouldn't be missed is the Shed chowder, made with roast chicken, green chile, corn, carrots and topped with blue corn tortilla strips.
The enchilada and taco plate consists of one rolled, blue corn enchilada filled with cheddar cheese and onions, covered with red chile; the soft blue corn taco is filled with cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and chicken or ground beef. You can ask for salsa, or red or green chili to cover your second taco. Pinto beans and posole are included as well. For reasons that are lost in history, The Shed serves all meals with heated French bread. This is so much a part of the tradition of the restaurant that no meal is considered complete with it.
The Shed continues to earn its enduring reputation for good New Mexican food prepared from fresh and local ingredients. Personally, I don't think a visit to Santa Fe is fully satisfying unless it includes at least one visit to The Shed.
