5 Best Restaurants in Day Trips from Santa Fe, New Mexico

Sure, it looks like a dusty old cowboy bar and it is set right in the heart of a village that's appeared in several Western movies, but the extensive menu of creative breakfast plates, sandwiches, and grills reveals a locavore-minded approach to food that you might not expect from the setting. You might start the day with the Saloon Scramble, a hefty plate of feathery eggs served with green onions, venison-blueberry sausage, and jalapeño hot sauce; or later in the day, consider the thinly roasted lamb with vegetables, Manchego cheese, and a refreshing yogurt sauce atop naan flatbread.

Reasonably priced, cheerfully decorated, and offering some of the tastiest food in the Rio Chama Valley, this adobe café-bakery run by the former tour manager of the nearby Georgia O'Keeffe Home & Studio. The eclectic made-from-scratch cooking here runs the gamut from New Mexican (green chile cheeseburgers, roasted and stuffed poblanos) to international (red lentil dal, roasted-turkey crepes with cheddar and cranberry sauce). There's a nice selection of wines, mostly from Spain and Italy, and you'll always find a variety of tantalizing house-made desserts.

Seasoned hippies, youthful hipsters, and everyone in between congregate at Java Junction for lattes, chai, sandwiches, breakfast burritos, bagels, pastries, and other treats. You can also pick up a number of house-made gourmet goods, from hot sauces to jalapeño-raspberry preserves. Upstairs there's a pleasantly decorated suite available for overnight stays.

In a century-old adobe hacienda tucked into the mountains, with whitewashed walls, hand-stripped vigas, and cozy dining rooms, the Rancho de Chimayó is still owned and operated by the family that first occupied the house. Consistently good, reasonably priced New Mexican fare is served (the carne adovada with posole is especially good), and it's hard to deny the enchanting ambience of the place. There's a fireplace in winter and, in summer, a terraced patio shaded by catalpa trees. Breakfast is served on weekends. The owners also run a charming four-bedroom B&B, Hacienda de Chimayó, across the road.

This simple, cheerful spot in the center of town serves mostly authentic New Mexico fare along with a few Mediterranean-inspired dishes. You might start your day off with a stick-to-your-ribs breakfast of chile-smothered huevos rancheros, while enchiladas, burritos, and other local favorites are good bets for lunch or an early dinner (the restaurant closes at 6 pm).