Wandel door de New Mexico Food Tour - Railyard Arts District

Lauren was fabulous! We had such a great time! We enjoyed all the fun facts of Santa Fe and her knowledge was vast and lastly, the tastings were great! Each place was different and delicious! This was so much fun!

Very small outdoor farmers market with only a sample of produce sellers who certainly must be in the area; over-priced bread items ($4.00 for a simple pastry which we later discovered was the better price comes to $5.75 in other venues there and throughout the city). This is what we call a ‘city-person’ version of a farmer’s market, certainly not a representation of local farmers. The fruit and vegetables we bought were fresh and good but one would expect that from any farmer’s market. Plenty of artsy-fartsy crafts for sale and maybe a bit better priced than the rest of this overpriced city. We bought none of that. The rest of the Railyard experience is pretty sleepy and lacking in interest. You can find history of this area online. Save your money.

My husband and I selected this food tour because we thought it would be a great way to sample good local food and drink, tour the rail yard area and generally learn some Santa Fe history with a local guide. Our guide, Lauren, did not disappoint! She has an impressive culinary background and an obvious love and appreciation for Santa Fe and its people. The tour was interesting and felt personal and special. That was especially true of La Choza, where one of the owners, Sarah, took the time to sit with our group, explain the history of the food we were served, and tell us about the restaurant and her family (her grandparents started La Choza and The Shed). Lauren’s style worked well for us - she is funny and irreverent in the best way, and she was just as interested in learning new things from our restaurant hosts as she was in teaching her tour guests. She also handled an odd situation like a true pro - along with my husband and me, there was a couple in their 80’s and their daughter on this tour. The couple clearly misunderstood the tour, thinking it would last only an hour and they made other plans. Lauren was gracious and apologized (though clearly it was no fault of hers!), and she didn’t skip a beat when the wife changed her mind about having alcohol after the first stop. Other tour guides might have shown irritation or not been accommodating, but Lauren took it all in stride. Overall, a very interesting tour with good food and a fun guide!