Forks in the Road: A Tasty Trek through New Mexico’s Culinary History

If asked to name the smell they most closely associate with New Mexico, most New Mexicans would probably say “roasting green chile in late
summer.” The smokey char and vegetal notes fill the air for weeks. Then, just as chile-roasting season ends, piñon smoke begins to waft from fireplaces around the state.

Such evocative scents are part of Forks in the Road: A Diner’s Guide to New Mexico, a newly opened immersive exhibition at the New Mexico History Museum. It’s the first segment of a three-year project about New Mexico’s culinary heritage.

Guest curator Johnny Vee (aka John Vollersten) and a group of local food writers worked with historic restaurants throughout the state to gather stories of famous food families, beloved recipes, and memorable moments that residents and visitors have experienced in these eateries.

“The foods we love—that we dine on, talk about, write about and read about—play a major role in our happiness and sense of place in society,” Vollersten writes in his curator’s statement. “A curiosity about the origins of our local gastronomy encourages us to travel around the state to source the juiciest green chile cheeseburger, the plumpest chile relleno and the puffiest sopaipilla.”

Forks in the Road stirs memories and stimulates tastebuds while educating visitors about the histories of the featured restaurants and how they reflect the unique landscapes, traditions and identities of particular communities, says Catherine Trujillo, deputy director of the New Mexico History Museum. “We tell the stories of the families and individuals who built and sustained these restaurants, highlighting their resilience, passion and contributions to the state’s economy.”

Forks in the Road is on view in Room 15 of the Palace of the Governors, one of the newly renovated spaces in Santa Fe’s (and the nation’s) oldest public building. Restaurants are presented on a large state map that people press to hear recorded stories that diners called in to the museum.

“We received dozens of calls. One was from a woman whose memory was of her 10th birthday, when her mother took her to La Placita Dining
Rooms in Albuquerque,” Trujillo says. “She’d never been to a restaurant before, and it was so memorable that it became a family tradition. Whenever any of her siblings turned 10, they went to the same restaurant.”

La Placita, which opened in 1931 and closed in 2020, is one of many legendary restaurants that will live on through this exhibition. And at least one restaurant is notable for being brought back to life. Fred Harvey opened the Hotel Castañeda in Las Vegas, New Mexico, in 1898 as a luxury hotel and restaurant for train travelers. It closed in 1948.

“Following decades of decay and disrepair, the hotel was bought and painstakingly restored by preservationists Allan Affeldt and his wife,
artist Tina Mion,” food writer Lynn Cline writes in the exhibition notes. “Re-opened in 2019, the hotel is once again a vibrant gathering place
where travelers and locals dine on food and experience America’s great railroad era.”

Other famous spots include Tia Sophia’s in Santa Fe, established in 1975; Hi-D-Ho Drive In, in Alamogordo (1970); The Owl Bar and Café in San Antonio (1945); and La Posta de Mesilla (1939).

“What began as one room with dirt floors and four tables now boasts 13 dining rooms, a cozy bar with more than 100 tequilas, an aviary where guests are welcomed by chatty parrots and cockatoo, and New Mexico’s only piranha fish tank,” Vee says of La Posta. “Though the menu is listed as Mexican, La Posta’s cuisine is pure New Mexican, featuring local ingredients including Hatch chile, pecans from nearby fields and honey from down the road.”

Visitors to Forks in the Road are transported by smell, taste, sight, touch and sound, including music. A replica vintage jukebox plays food-inspired music whose playlist  spans many eras and genres. An interactive dining nook is perfect for selfies.

“I’m delighted to join the museum as a guest curator after working in New Mexico as a chef, teacher and food writer for 30 years,” Vollersten says. “I promise that museum visitors will be deliciously educated and entertained by Forks in the Road.”

The museum’s three-year food heritage project is being supported by private gifts via the Museum of New Mexico Foundation. A total of $150,000 is needed for exhibition development, installation and related programming. Gifts for the project will be matched dollar-for-dollar by a generous bequest to the museum from the late Charles and Mara Robinson.

This article and images are from the Museum of New Mexico Foundation’s Member News Magazine.