Brewing In Northern New Mexico -- Blue Corn Cafe
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Bryan L. Bennett

Lara and I spent a recent Sunday afternoon watching the new Star Wars (still
a fun flick after all these years.) We then went across the street to The
Blue Corn Cafe & Brewery for lunch.

The establishment is divided into two areas, the main restaurant and
the bar. We asked to be seated in the bar area which was large, open and
airy. There was plenty of seating at booths, tables, the bar and several
tall tables with comfortable, high-backed chairs. A few TVs hung from the
ceiling, their volume turned low enough that we had no problem talking but
could listen in on the sports in we chose to. The bar itself was a large
U-shaped job with plenty of seating. Altogether it made for a very comfortable
atmosphere for enjoying a brew or two with friends and grabbing a bit of lunch.

The menu resembled that at the Blue Corn Cafe on the plaza with a few
additional offerings more suited to a pub. I chose the Fish & Chips and was
well rewarded. The fillets were tasty with a wonderful, crunchy batter. The
fries were also batter-dipped, served crisp and hot - just the way I like
'em. Lara stuck with a more traditional (for Northern New Mexico) combination
plate that was everything she expected from The Blue Corn.

As for the beers, all-in-all we were quite happy. I had a pint each of the
Brown Ale and the Porter. Both were nicely done, the Brown being almost too
drinkable - it only lasted a few minutes. I also had a taster of the Pale
Ale that seemed almost too bitter, which surprised me. This could have been
because it was the first beer I sampled and I still had a lot of popcorn
salt on my tongue.  They also had Wheat and Blonde ales on tap, but I did
not taste either of them. Lara tried a pint of their root beer and enjoyed it.

Our only complaint about the place was the service. Our waitress was slow and
ignorant of the menu but a manager assured us that we were unlucky enough
to get the worst server in the house and that she was on her way out. The
other servers we observed seemed prompt and efficient.

I think that Santa Fe has hit it lucky with yet another quality
brewpub/restaurant, one that I know I'll go back to frequently.