Escondido – Santa Fe, New Mexico

“For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest,
nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.”
~Luke 8:17

“Escondido (which translates from Spanish to “hidden”) sure proves that Bible verse wrong,” I lamented as I cursed Google Maps for having led me to a nondescript residential neighborhood in Santa Fe.  Though not as execrable as the time Google Maps insisted I make a left onto a crude and rocky dry wash when trying to get to Kayenta, Arizona, I nonetheless took Google’s name in vain then followed my instincts.  Fortunately, crossing over Agua Fria onto another neighborhood shed light on my quandrary.   There in front of me was Escondido, the restaurant destination I sought.  I still won’t forgive Google Maps for having led me astray.  Unlike in horseshoes, close doesn’t count.

True to its name, Escondido is well hidden–or at least off the well-beaten and well-eaten path.   What isn’t hidden is the reputation of Chef Fernando Ruiz, a formidable chef with a colorful past and an efulgent future.  His is a story sadly not oft repeated, a tale of determination when recidivism is the path others in his shoes might have taken.  At the formative age of only 13, he became involved in gang activity on the mean streets of Phoenix.  This led to arrests for weapons and drug possession.  Encarcertion was inevitable.  After spending his 20th and 21st birthdays behind bars–including at one of Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio’s infamous tent cities–he earned his GED. Upon release, he pursued a different path, enrolling in culinary school and graduating in 1999.

If you weren’t familiar with the chef’s past as a gang-banger, you might be acquainted with his impressive conquests of Food Network competitions: Guy’s Grocery Games, Chopped, and Beat Bobby Flay.  In the latter, he vanquished haughty glitterati with chiles en nogada, one of his signature dishes.  Chef Ruiz won by acclamation–a unanimous decision.  Perhaps a better portend of things to come, the chef was selected by The James Beard Foundation® as one of TasteTwenty chefs, an annual selection of “ones to watch” in the industry.  Those chefs will be highlighted over the course of the national Taste America series, held across 20 U.S. cities.  Each special event hosted by a TasteTwenty chef in their home city will celebrate the positive impact chefs have in their communities and industry at-large.  For Chef Ruiz, that means hosting a Taste America dinner on Tuesday, November 12, 2024.

Just as cooking changed the trajectory of his life, Chef Ruiz began working with the New Mexico Corrections Department (NMCD) in May, 2024  to introduce a culinary training program at the Penitentiary of New Mexico (PNM). This initiative aims to provide valuable vocational skills and opportunities for inmates to pursue a post-incarceration career in the culinary arts.  Chef Ruiz believes the inmates deserve a second chance just as he had.  During my inaugural visit, I met a former inmate who self-glosses as “Chef Boyardee,” a sobriquet he acquired behind bars.  Chef Boyardee told me his boss has a heart of gold who feeds the homeless.  He shared that Chef Ruiz is a humble man who doesn’t particularly like being lionized for the kindness and respect he gives others.

Chef Boyardee, whose patronymic actually sounds like “Boyardee” saw me taking photographs of the paintings on the wall and regaled me with background information about artist Toby Morfin and his works.  Those works aren’t limited to the fine art on the wall.  He is renowned for artwork on snowboards as well as skateboards.  In 2023, the self-taught artist hosted the 17th annual Dia De Los Muertos Fine Art event.  The event included an exclusive four-course dinner by Chef Ruiz.    Chef (middle) and artist (right) are depicted on one painting.  An even more colorful painting depicts an owl preparing to pounce on unsuspecting prey.

Escondido may have been Santa Fe’s most eagerly anticipated restaurant launch in years.  Such was the reputation Chef Ruiz had established at previous restaurant stints–Rio Chama Prime Steakhouse, Anasazi restaurant, La Boca, Chama Lodge & Cattle Company, among others–though admittedly what cemented his fame was conquering chef Bobby Flay in a head-to-head competition on Flay’s eponymous Food Network show.  Escondido is the first restaurant Chef Ruiz can call his own albeit in partnership with Meow Wolf co-founder Vince Kadlubek.  The latter’s influence is apparent in Escondido’s design.

Escondido’s menu showcases northern Mexican-inspired dishes.  “Inspired” is the operative word here.   Not everything on the menu is exactly “authentic,” but any departures  from authenticity might just prompt the question “why hasn’t anyone thought of doing it this way before.”  One example is the way he prepares bay scallop ceviche with a saffron-lemon marinade.  Bearing in mind that not everything on the menu is prepared exactly the way may have had it before, familiarity is still a hallmark of the menu.  If familiarity is what you crave, you’ll find it in such  items such as al pastor, carne asada and carnitas.  Better still, try something you haven’t before had.  Chef Ruiz plans on changing things up periodically.

Escondido’s menu is segmented into distinct categories: starters, sopa, salads, ceviche + crudo, tacos, mains and postres (desserts).  The biggest difference between lunch and dinner menus is that the dinner menu offers more main courses.  Among those is chile en nogada, the dish which gave the chef a resounding victory over Bobby Flay.  This dish may have had its genesis in the Mexican city of Puebla, but sources tell me Chef Ruiz’s version is the apotheosis, the best it can possibly be.  My inaugural visit was a solo venture at about 2PM.   In addition to savvy recommendations from Chef Boyardee, I was well attended to by Bryan, a “rock solid server” who was recently profiled on Escondido’s Facebook page.

Though my inclination is usually to try something I’ve never previously had (or better still, never heard of)  Esquites (Mexican street corn, lime, Cojita cheese, chipotle mayo, red chile powder) | have become an irresistible favorite.  Esquites is a term for Mexican street corn served off the cob and in a cup, whereas elotes is Mexican street corn served on the cob.    The esquites looked like a bowl of sunshine (albeit with a dusting of snow) and indeed, they had the same effect a ray of sunshine has on a cat perched on a window.  With just the right amount of creaminess from the cotija paired with plenty of personality from the lime aioli and red chile, the esquites were a fabulous melange of ingredients and tastes that go so well together.  I don’t recall ever having had better.

Tacos have become so ubiquitous across the fruited plain that they rival America’s sacrosanct burger as one of the country’s most popular and frequently consumed foods.  Restaurants–irrespective of genre–offer their sometimes not so simple interpretations of the simple taco.  Escondido offers eight different tacos on its menu: al pastor, carne asada, carnitas, barbacoa, chicken, vegetarian, Baja mahi mahi and shrimp.  Four tacos per order are served, each garnished with purple cabbage, red and green housemade salsa, Cojita cheese and avocado mousse.  Thank goodness for an accommodating kitchen staff for having served me one a la carte taco.  At Bryan’s recommendation my one taco was the Baja mahi mahi, his favorite.  The grilled, char-kissed taco was as good as advertised though the one drawback to having only one is that cravings for more are assured.

Santa Fe is increasingly renowned for its outstanding mole.  Mole no longer starts and ends with James Beard award-winning chef Fernando Olea at Sazon.  There are so many restaurants throughout the City Different that Yelp compiled a top ten list of the city’s 10 best mole enchiladas.   Escondido didn’t make the top ten, but that’s probably because it’s such a new listing (circa July, 2024).  In my estimation, Escondido’s chicken mole enchiladas (achiote braised chicken, mole negro, sesame seeds, chipotle crema, cilantro-lime rice, beans) are rivaled only those from Zacatlan.  They’re indeed in rarefied air.   Mole negro–one of the classic Seven Moles of Oaxaca–is a symphony of ingredients (chiles, seeds, nuts, bread, and fruits (fresh and dried) with a stock)  and proportions known only by the kitchen staff.  Some flavor profiles are discernible, but mostly mole is an amalgam of ingredients that work very well together.  Counterbalancing the richness of the mole is a chipotle crema as good as we’ve found anywhere.  Chef Ruiz has certainly mastered the subtleties and nuances that make mole such a complex and delicious dish.  He’s also mastered the art of preparing whole pinto beans, the “other” official New Mexican state vegetable.

Though I usually eschew desserts, Bryan convinced me I had to try the ancho chile pots de crème (vanilla bean, crème Anglaise).  He assured me it’s an especially wonderful dessert on a blustery day (compounded for me because I had just come from the funeral of my mentor and favorite teacher).  Maybe my taste buds have become invulnerable to piquant notes because I could not discern the ancho chile.  Though good, this is a dessert my sweet-toothed bride would enjoy more.

Escondido may not have been easy to find (for Google Maps) the first time, but you can bet I won’t have that problem again.  This is a superb find and welcome addition to Santa Fe’s luminous culinary landscape.

Escondido
1101 Paseo Corazón
Santa Fe, New Mexico
(505) 316-4718
Website | Facebook Page
LATEST VISIT: 17 October 2024
# OF VISITS: 1
RATING: N/R
COST: $$$
BEST BET:  Baja Mahi Mahi Taco, Chicken Mole Enchiladas, Ancho Chile Pots de Crème, Esquites
REVIEW #1426