A Sure Thing at The Shed – Santa Fe, New Mexico

The cast of Rent once dreamed about opening up a restaurant in Santa Fe on a cold, sad night when Christmas bells were ringing…somewhere else, not here. If their dreams ever came true, the restaurant they would have opened would be The Shed, with its walls painted in bright shades of desert-meets-bohoemian and simple tabletops and plates that boast of an honest living.

If you liked the musical Rent, you’ll fit right in at The Shed…if you ever get in. We went on a Monday night and the place was already packed. I think I saw one empty table: ours. I had the Chicken Enchilada Verde, a pull of white chicken hastily wrapped in a to-die-for blue corn tortilla with a lunchlady’s ladle of green chile and a fistful of cheese. The chicken had no seasoning, but it was juicy all the way through, and when everything just gets thrown together and doused in chile, it’s good to have something a little blander as an offset. The plate may look like a hot mess, but I promise it’s possibly the only hot mess you’ll never regret. I do have one regret – I didn’t get red chile, and The Shed supposedly serves the best red chile ever. It must be phenomenal if the green chile is any indication.

As a girl who can’t stand her food touching, my love at first bite of this hot-mess plates that comprise the cuisine of New Mexico should be pretty telling. And I am telling you that had I known about The Shed before this, I would have sold my guitar, got a car, sang a heart-wrenching version of “Goodbye Love” and left New York for Santa Fe years ago.