Keeping it all in the family at Valentina’s
Ilove the Solana Center shopping area. Talk about one-stop shopping. You can drop off your laundry, get a reflexology foot massage, a body massage, a haircut, a hairdo, your nails done, shop at La Montañita Co-Op, do some pilates and dance at Santa Fe Thrive, get some sushi or Vietnamese noodles, grab a bouquet of flowers, a quick cup of coffee, and if you’re feeling a little flush, you can pop into the Women’s Health Services clinic. Whew!
So much to offer just west of St. Francis on Alameda, and a place we really dig is Valentina’s, offering real familystyle, no-nonsense Mexican and northern New Mexican dishes.
From the vibrant orange walls and colorful checkered plastic tablecloths to the Frida Kahlo-esque-copies-with-a-twist on the walls (including one particularly fun surrealist stilllife of flowers), one’s disposition is immediately improved.
In a quirky way, it seems we were already familiar with Valentina’s by way of a typo on their menu. The “Baggel Sandwich,” we noticed one morning, is the same offered on the menu of one of our favs, El Comal, way down on 3571 Cerrillos Rd. A coincidence? Nope. As it turns out, both restaurants, and Lucia’s at 2411 Cerrillos, are all owned by the Aboytes family, originally from Querétaro, Mexico. Alberto had worked in El Comal for 20 years (!) before taking over the business in 2013, and opening Valentina’s and Lucia’s (run by brother Pedro and named after the mater familias) soon after.
So, it’s a family affair and no better way to begin our appraisal of Valentina’s (and by extension, in a way, of El Comal) than the aforementioned Baggel Sandwich ($4.75), one egg done to order, cheese and 2 big strips of bacon (or ham, or sausage) toasted in a bagel. Or baggel, if you prefer. Definitely, one of the best breakfast values in Santa Fe, and one I have enjoyed many times.
We popped into Valentina’s for breakfast recently and reflected that it had been too long. Cheery and mutedly sunlit, we ordered up some classic huevos. Our amigo went for the Papas Rancheras ($10), diced potatoes, topped with two eggs, cheese, chile, sour cream, beans and sopaipilla or tortilla.
Our cuate averred them to be “the best Papas Rancheras in Santa Fe since Cafe Dominic closed, and that was a long time ago.” A breakfast good and generous enough to get you to supper.
We were tempted by the Migas ($10.25), but had to have the Huevos Rancheros ($8.95) and were not disappointed. Like the papas plate, all the ingredients were fresh, great diced breakfast potatoes, very northern New Mexico style smothered in cheese and chile. We went “Christmas” again just to compare. The red is dusky with a touch of molé? The green was surprisingly mild this day, but no problem. Absolutely primo and another great value.
Valentina’s has a sizeable menu full of northern New Mexico classics and favorites from Old Mexico, molé, seafood and steak, tortas, menudo and migas. (Going back for the migas soon.)
The front portal and 4-6 p.m. happy hour (all beers $2.50) are inviting, and the Wednesday and Thursday night happy hour features mariachi band Buena Bentura from 6:30-7:30 p.m.. Oh, and gotta love the “bucket specials” with dinner, $12.95 for a sixer of your choice in a bucket of ice.
Classic family style and dining delivered by familia Aboytes. Primo!