Food, crowd, view make for good hangout
Up a few steps and the next rooftop over from the fancier Coyote Cafe, the Coyote Cafe Cantina is a bar with food, a popular outdoor spot run by the Coyote Cafe. Friends and I came for dinner with a view here twice recently. We joined a mixed crowd, about half locals, youngsters and graying hipsters.
The Cantina is a good, casual spot for a meal. The background music spans genres, loud enough to keep things moving. The restaurant can be noisy when thing get hopping, but that’s part of the fun. The tantalizing aromas from the kitchen add to the openair ambience. The cantina serves creative cocktails, too. You’ll see interesting-looking concoctions in martini and margarita glasses with colors and garnishes a long way from the traditional.
We sampled two appetizers, two entrées and two desserts. My favorite dish? The Cantina’s shrimp tempura ($13.50). Even if you’re trying to avoid fried food, this creation is worth the splurge. The shrimp are big, fresh and coated in a light batter that provides a delicious contrasting crunch.
Each of the five shrimp arrives on a skewer, the end covered with a green onion sleeve, the long, hollow part that catches the sun and that usually ends up in the compost. The golden brown shrimp sits in its own tall shot glass of sauce, like a seafood king on a throne. I loved the spicy horseradish but the other sauce, a pineapple sweet and sour, was good, too. This dish gets a gold star for looks, taste and originality. And it’s fun to eat.
I also liked the chicken skewers ($10.75). The largerthan-bite-size pieces of grilled chicken white meat were juicy, and the addition of onion and red pepper squares to the mix added flavor and color. But the wonderful peanut sauce that came with this appetizer kicked it up from good to exceptional. That creamy, spicy sauce is spectacular. It would make a napkin taste good. The second sauce, which my friend liked, was a dark, sweet soy that reminded me of molasses.
The Cantina specializes in tacos, with seven kinds available. We sampled two, and the beef filet ($15.95) was my favorite. The meat’s natural flavor was enhanced by the pepper and garlic marinade, and it was cooked with caramelized onions for a bit of sweetness.
The four tacos arrived in soft fresh corn tortillas, finished with a bit of cheese and served with slaw, green rice and fresh avocado. Yum. You can get tacos for less, but you’d be hard pressed to find another spot with tacos this good and a sunset view.
We also shared the Navajo taco ($13.95), a variation that combines elements of Santa Fe’s stuffed sopaipilla with the traditional Navajo taco. (Fry bread and sopaipillas are cousins, both tasty ways to cook bread quickly.) The saucer-sized base of fry bread disappeared beneath a load of toppings: roasted chicken, guacamole, black beans, lettuce, cheese, pulled pork, ground buffalo meat, chile and onions. The fry bread didn’t stay crispy because of the weight it bore.
If you don’t want tacos, the menu includes a burger, enchiladas, meatloaf, a few sandwiches and a couple of salads. Prices top out at $15.95, considerably less than the “real” Coyote, but you don’t get a tablecloth or cloth napkins. Dishes like the Coyote Cafe’s Creamy Cognac Lobster Bisque or Surf and Tartare aren’t on the menu.
Also, unlike the Coyote Cafe, the Cantina doesn’t take reservations. If you can’t get a table, you can wait, or try another night.
Of the two desserts ($8 each) we sampled, I like the coconut cake best. The serving, a small square moist with coconut and bit of pineapple, was finished with a light, gently sweetened frosting. The cake came with luscious fresh mango sorbet, the perfect accompaniment to offset the sweet coconut, and dots of mango puree for a bit more interest.
My friend really loved the Rice Pudding Napoleon, a stack of crisp pastry squares with sweet rice pudding in between. It was beautiful, and he wolfed it down. I thought it was rather bland; he called it “comfort food.”
On both visits, the service here was first rate, friendly, informed and efficient. For example, after the hostess seated us at a table near the center of the room, the waitress came with menus. When she sat them down, she noticed that our table wobbled. She said something like “Oops, that won’t do,” and came back with a wedge to stabilize it before we had a chance to ask. Classy!
Coyote Cantina will be open as long as the weather permits customers to eat outdoors, which management hopes will mean at least until the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta ends in mid-October.