The Shed is an institution in Santa Fe.  Its sister restaurant La Choza (opened in 1983) is frequented more by locals whereas The Shed is on the main Square and has been there since 1953.  There are nine rooms within and a patio on the outside.  They are known for their blue corn options and red chile as well as margaritas.  Very popular, they do take reservations for dinner and otherwise be prepared to wait.  The bare wood tables are in rooms filled with paintings, not for sale, and plants. The bar has a large selection of tequila and mescal as well as some wines.  Chips are not included in your meal but can be ordered separately.  If you get to Santa Fe you must eat here, it’s a great starting point for your journey through New Mexican food.

Set-Up

 

Food

We did order some chips and queso, a blend of green chile and house cheeses to start our meal.  The queso was very mild and fairly thick and the chips were a mix of blue and yellow corn.  Nicely crisp with a good thickness there were way more chips than queso.  It was an okay way to start the meal.

 

The Charbroiled steak and enchilada contained a choice of ribeye or NY strip and we both chose ribeye.  It came with a rolled blue corn, cheddar cheese and onion enchilada, smothered in red chile with a side of beans and was garnished with lettuce and tomato.  We both ordered rare but one had all red chile and the other had Christmas – red and green.  The thin steak was kept surprisingly rare which was great but their knives were dull which made it hard to cut.  The enchilada was underneath the meat and salad which made it hard to taste on its own.  What I got of it was good with a lovely soft tortilla good with both sauces.  Neither sauce was overly spicy or hot.  The beans were well cooked and seasoned and it was a huge plate of food filled with good but not great flavors.

 

Garlic toast comes on the side and it was very toasted and forgetable.  In the past it has been a standout part of the meal.