Road Trip - Dinner at Doc Martin's (Taos)

After visiting El Santuario de Chimayo we headed onward to Taos. I had made reservations for two nights at the Historic Taos Inn, which is located right in the center of this charming town of 6,500.

We had arrived a bit early and our room wasn't ready yet. But we were instructed to park in the rear parking lot and take a walk around. 

It was May and things weren't too busy in town. We were immediately charmed by the quaint, artsy-funky-outdoorsy friendliness of the town.

The air was crisp and clean, the sky so bright. Charming adobe structures lined the streets.

No wonder folks like Georgia O'Keefe, DH Lawrence, and Kit Carson were drawn here.

We were only spending two nights in Taos and the Missus wanted to go hiking during our one full day, so we weren't able to visit places I had on my "list" like the Taos Pueblo.

 We were sent a text when our room was ready; which was in one of the buildings in back of the Inn, it was comfortable and quieter than the rooms up front.

We had reservations for the restaurant in the Taos Inn; Doc Martin's. The Taos Inn was originally the home and businesses of Thomas "Doc" Martin and his namesake restaurant is where the his offices were located. Upon Doc Martin's death, his widow turned the building into a hotel.

We were given the choice of a table in the dining room or one on the back patio area.

It was such a lovely day that we decided dining al fresco would be nice.

   The Missus really enjoyed the Gruet Brut and also the Gruet Chardonnay with dinner. Gruet is a winery based in New Mexico. We'd end up getting a bottle for the Missus from one of the shops in Taos the next day.

As to what we ordered; well, we wanted to try New Mexican Chile sauces again; so we went with the Pork Tamale Plate "Christmas style" ($24), that is with both green and red sauce. And I noticed "El Pastor" (Al Pastor) tacos ($20) as a special, which our Server also recommended. 

This time around, the Tamale was much better than what we'd had at the Shed, good moist hints of hominy, though the pork was on the dry side and kind of bland. The red and green chile was much better as well.

The green chile had an acidic-pungent heat, not very strong. The red chile was smoky and had more heft and richness to it. The sofrito rice was bland and very mushy and the beans were on the harder side of the scale with regards to texture, also a bit on the blander side as well.

The "El" Pastor Tacos looked pretty good.

    The pork was nicely charred. In terms of flavor; it had some sweetness and a bit of spice.....the nice crispy bits were pretty good. The tortillas were almost crisp and brittle without much flavor. The sofrito rice and beans I covered above.

This was an okay meal, much better than what we'd had earlier in Santa Fe. Service was wonderful and the Missus enjoyed the local wine.

Doc Martin's
125 Paseo Del Pueblo Norte
Taos, NM 87571

After dinner, we decided to take another walk around Taos. We really loved the vibe of this town.

Comments

[Dereck]

That looks much better, but you still aren't there with the green chili. It should be slightly acidic, quite to very spicy, and have lots of umami depth.

[kat]

looked like a lovely place!

[Peter]

Really prefer Mex restaurants that make their tortillas fresh. Like the Taco Stand, Cuatro Milpas, etc. etc. Soooo much better than store bought.

[Kirk]

Yeah, need to find a good version to try next time we're in the area Dereck!

Taos is wonderful Kat!

Though I've had some not so good fresh made tortillas, I basically agree Peter.