Rancho de Chimayó
For the past 50 years the Rancho de Chimayó has been
delighting its customers with dishes that are locally sourced and inspired.
Owner and manager Florence Jaramillo has garnered a number of prestigious
awards for excellence, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the
National Restaurant Association. Rancho de Chimayó is open for lunch and
dinner, and offers vegetarian options along with a wine list of local
favorites. To start out, try the fried stuff jalapeño peppers, followed perhaps
by the colorful blue corn enchiladas with a prickly pear margarita.
Leona’s Restaurante
de Chimayó
Devout visitors flock to the Holy Shrine of Santuario de
Nuestro Señor de Esquipulas; it’s one of the holiest places in the USA. Next to
the shrine is a huge catalpa tree the trunk of which grows literally through
Leona’s Restaurante. The place may be small, but it makes up for size with its
extraordinarily delicious and refreshing cuisine. Leona’s is particularly known
for its authentic tamales, but there are plenty of other selections too: frito
pies, burritos and other snacks, and deliciously fresh baked goods. Leona’s Restaurante is
perfectly located for refreshing tired visitors to El Santuario, but well
deserves a visit in its own right. It’s open Thursday through Monday, from ten
to five.
El Paragua
To reach El Paragua,
you’ll need to drive about 9 miles toward Espanola, just west from Chimayó. But
the trip is definitely worth it. El Paragua has been serving authentic New
Mexican cuisine since 1966. Given rave reviews in magazines such as Gourmet,
owners Luis and Frances Atnecio have created a leisurely but elegant ambience
that provides the perfect setting for their excellent cuisine. There are lunch
and dinner menus, with vegetarian options on each. Start out your dinner with
carnitas, sirloins cubes with salsa, followed by Camarones Borrachos (“drunk
shrimp”), shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico fried in a beer batter. The dessert
menu is extraordinary: the homemade Mexican flan will top off any meal in excellent
fashion. El Paragua’s dinner menu also features a huge selection of items for
children, so bring the whole family to try their authentic and delicious
cuisine.
This post is a guest contribution from Casa Escondida Bed & Breakfast, an inn in Chimayo, NM.
