of the day is breakfast. And Santa Fe took good care of us come breakfast time. But before you can eat your eggs and drink your coffee, you need a shower. Especially if you’re a traveling, rambling, gambling, getting a little gamey country rock band. So a note on the King’s Rest: Bring your own towel. I had to dry myself off with a manila envelope sized, threadbare rag they called a bath towel. The AC was banging and vibrating, the TV had to be smacked to get the picture to come in clear, and the window shades made no pretense of being able to block out even the faintest ray of light. Somehow, I did get a pretty good night’s sleep though.
Okay, so back downtown we go, for a Sunday morning brunch at Pasqual’s. This award winning café had their credentials posted in the window by the door, along with their menu, which had our mouths watering before we even set foot in the place. Let’s get the bad news out of the way right now. There’s a wait for a table. But it’s not even that bad, because it’s a beautiful New Mexico morning, about 11:30 AM, and it’s not too hot, and it’s the touristy, gift shop section of town. Paul L did his part to bolster the economy with an injection of his massive cash wad, while we waited inside and outside the simple but charming corner location. When we finally got seated, we were treated to the attention of a friendly, helpful, and capable staff who gave us the details and the specials, got our coffee, tea, and water going, and took our orders pronto. They were always nearby if we needed refills, extra salsa, or a cappucino (served a little late to Rob with effusive apologies).Rob was the most adventurous, ordering the Smoked Trout Hash. A potato pancake cooked with smoked trout, chiles, and onions, topped with two poached eggs, some more bite sized pieces of trout, and a mild tomatillo salsa. The trout was delicate, slightly sweet and lightly smoked. Delicious. The potato pancake underneath was warm and slightly crispy on the outside, and tender on the inside; big enough to cover the bottom of the plate. Great!
Shawn and I had the Durango omelet. Perfect little pieces of carmelized ham, sauteed mushrooms, scallions, sour cream AND guacamole, folded into our three eggs, cooked just right, accompanied by tempting red potato home fries, browned to perfection. You get your choice of saucy topping, red or green, spicy or mild. For some unknown reason, we all opted for the tomatillo salsa. We were all happy. Paul L’s cheese omelet was fine, and improved by the application of said salsa.The coffee was real, the feeling was good, the food was outstanding, and afterwards we walked the merchant strewn streets and paths of Old Santa Fe feeling pretty satisfied.