Sol y Nieve

We finally began to build our long desired screened-in gazebo on the riverbank. We started this project on Wednesday, planning completion on Saturday. Everything was going smoothly and as scheduled. We called ahead to reserve an orbital floor sander for early Friday morning, planning on finishing laying the deck boards and getting the sanding done all in one day.
Being the early bird in our family, my wife set an alarm for 5:30AM, hopped out of bed and gently whispered to ask me if I wouldn’t mind letting the goats out in a bit, as it was still dark and too early to release the beasts safely. I mumbled a grudging “yes” and squeezed in another hour of sleep. When I climbed the ladder down to the living room I was surprised to find her sitting by a roaring fire ablaze in our woodstove. I asked “Why are you still here?” to which she replied, “Look outside.” Holy moly, it was snowing! Real snow! Fat sticking flakes in a dark intimidating sky.

Yikes, what’s happening here!? It's almost May and I’m sunburned from yesterday's framework! Realizing it was time for plan B, we called to cancel the rental and decided to go out to eat instead, maybe even catch a movie. We've been wanting to try breakfast at the Artesian Restaurant at Ojo Caliente hot springs. After a quick check online to make sure it was open, we hopped in the car and off we went. We were so entranced with all of the new snow on the Sangre de Cristos that we missed the turn onto Highway 285 by several miles. Oops! We decided to keep going into Espanola to try breakfast, instead, at La Fonda Del Sol at the Delta Inn. This is a fairly new restaurant boasting a no borders approach to Mexican cuisine. We parked in the large, dirt lot and could have used an old school map to find the entrance.

Once inside, we found warm, Spanish colonial decor with a soft Saltillo floor and lots of rich, brown wood accents on the walls and above. Tall ceilings and two huge indoor trees make this a special place to dine. There’s a small table piled with fun tchotchkes from Mexico that are also for sale. Our server, Karina, ended up being the sister of Juan, who owns the place and opened only three years ago. Juan boasts being the bringer of quesabirrias to the area, a very unique and delicious dish consisting of a corn tortilla soaked in red chile sauce overnight, then filled with broth cooked beef birria, and grilled to a soft, but crispy perfection. We ordered two of these to start and were not disappointed.  They were served with a small cup of consome, aka broth, and two medium spiced, creamy salsas.  The habanero green was the most complimentary to this build of beefy cheesy perfection.

Intrigued by the Chiles en Nogada and with Karina’s urging, we went out on a limb and ordered that as well. Now, these were a surprise. I still don’t know if I loved it, or if I will never order it again, unless maybe it’s Christmas, and I happen to find myself here on December 25. It was a chile relleno, one of my favorite foods on the planet, but was almost unrecognizable as one. The menu calls it a Pre Hispanic recipe. It’s a large, perfectly tender but al dente Poblano chile stuffed with ground beef slow cooked in apples and smothered in a pecan cream cheese sauce and topped with pomegranate seeds and fresh parsley. It was served with nicely seasoned perfectly tender Spanish rice, a small Mexican style green salad and corn tortillas. I was trepidatious as I took my first bite. My taste buds were overwhelmed by the tart popping pomegranate kernels, smoothly accompanied by the savory cream sauce. The apple soaked beef and the slightly spicy chile were a strange combination at first, but once my brain caught up to my mouth, we made peace with this odd combo and ended up liking it quite a bit!

Upon Karina’s suggestion, we also ordered two gorditas of her choosing and a tripe taco, street style. The gorditas come with your choice (in this case, Karina’s choice) of flour, yellow corn or blue corn. The blue corn gordita was stuffed with rajas con queso, an ample serving of green chile strips and a bland, white cheese, which could have been elevated with an over-easy egg on it, and maybe a side of crispy bacon.  The flour gordita was filled with asada de rancho, a grilled beef steak in a mild red sauce. Yummy! The street taco with tripitas (deep fried intestine) and onions and cilantro was simple but amazing. It had a fried calamari taste and feel. Crunchy, a little slimy, but flavorful. 

This was some good, authentic fare from the middle of Mexico, mainly influenced by the cuisines of Jalisco and Zacatecas. We loved the quesabirrias so much that we ordered two more and slammed them right down. As you can imagine, we left quite full and for just under $68 with tax and a generous tip.

The Delta is a 10 suite inn that also caters to special events. The grounds are well maintained, the rooms are very large and the buildings are beautiful. Other than the dining room that we ate in, there are two more, much larger dining rooms and a lovely outdoor courtyard available for private bookings. La Fonda de Sol caters these as well as off location events. 

After our self guided tour, by the time we made our way back to the car, the sun was shining, and the sky was blue.  I guess we no longer had an excuse for taking the day off, but decided to do so anyway. We did go home, but, instead of finishing the deck, we simply sat by it and watched the swollen river flow smoothly by. I highly recommend taking the next snow and hot sun day off. It still counts as a snow day!