And More Taos

So last time, I had us just arriving in Taos. We had checked into our charming hotel, The El Pueblo Lodge, and were considering what to do about dinner. We brought out the iPhones and searched “restaurants near me.” The first contender, and one just across the street from the hotel, was “the Burger Stand at The Taos Ale House.”(1)

This looked appealing (who isn’t in the mood for a good burger after a long drive?) and it got really good reviews. So, we figured we’d just walk across the street. We put our shoes back on, and got some coats, and off we went.

We knew we were in trouble the minute we got to the door. There was loud, pounding music coming from inside. We entered cautiously. Inside, there was a large room and a bar. Tables were here and there. The music was blasting. The crowd was very young--I think 30 was about tops.

About the photos: First, here’s a shot of one of the buildings at the El Pueblo Lodge. I like the upward sweep of the structure. Next, here’s one of the murals on the wall outside a room at the hotel. Nice place to have a rest and a meal. And, finally, here’s Martha. She’s not in Taos here. This is actually a shop in Taylor, Texas. But I like the picture...so. (Dig the mirror behind her!)

We approached the bar. A very friendly and personable bartender greeted us cheerfully and gave us menus. He explained that we should pick a table and come order our food when we were ready. I could tell he was reading us. He knew we would look at the menus to be polite, and then sneak back out again. It wasn’t our kind of place. And he was sympathetic to that. He’d seen it before. Senior Citizens would wander in from the hotel across the street, realize that they’d made a mistake (an innocent mistake but a mistake), and gracefully go someplace else.

We didn’t disappoint him. We did read the menus. Looked like good food actually. Then, we silently left the menus on the bar countertop, and vanished as mysteriously as we’d come.

We realized later that the problem was that we hadn’t paid enough attention to the the Burger Stand’s web page. First, it seems like there are, or were, two Burger Stands, one in Santa Fe and the other in Taos. It was the one in Santa Fe that looked like a really cool spot with a place for folks our age.

Second, I’m not sure that the Burger Stand in Santa Fe is still the same restaurant, or under the same ownership, as the one in Taos. When I checked again just now, the old website notes that the restaurant is now closed. Also, I saw on Reddit a note from someone saying the Taos version of the restaurant would be re-opening under new management and with a new name in the near future. I hope it all works out for them.

Anyway, we left and wondered what to do next. I suppose the obvious thing would have been to go back to the hotel, pick up the car, and head into the village center. But, we wanted a walk, and we were curious, so we thought we’d just stroll in the direction of downtown and see what we found.

I was worried about that. I was concerned about my altitude sickness and our various mobility problems. But, we did surprisingly well, and walked quite a ways. It took us a while to find someplace to eat. We passed several restaurants, but they were either closed or looked, well, just too fancy.

Finally, we ended up way down the way at The Gorge Bar and Grill, which we’d eaten at the last time we’d visited, and which is actually a very pleasant place with excellent food and beer.(2) Give it a try if you’re in the area.

Oh, the name? The Gorge? Has to do with a local geologic feature. The Rio Grande Gorge. And there’s also the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. I have been to the Gorge Bridge. I won’t talk about it this time. Maybe later. Much later. But, for the nonce, let’s just say that for a chap with just the teeniest, tiniest, itsy-bitsy touch of acrophobia, it wasn’t my favorite geological feature. As in, I was lucky to get away from there with unspoiled pantaloons. But, as I say, more on that later. Much later.

Anyway, we had a nice dinner, took a look around the general area, and then headed up to the hotel. There, I built a little blaze in the fireplace, and we settled in for a cozy evening.

To my amazement, I didn’t even muck up the fire. And smoke *didn’t* pour into the room.

Will wonders never cease?

More to come.

*

Special note: I’ve been continuing to research the Burger Stand. Apparently, it has reopened as the Jackalope Norteño Pub under the direction of chef Ky Quintanilla.(3) I know nothing about it, but what I’ve seen so far has been promising. Give it a try if you’re in the area, and let me know what you think.

cheers

~mjt

Footnotes:

1. The restaurant’s site *was* here: burgerstandnm.com.

2. The Gorge Bar and Grill has its website here: https://thegorgebarandgrill.com/

3. For Ky Quintanilla and his new venture, see: Olivia Lewis, “Mythical animal; epic burgers,” Taos News, (accessed December 19, 2025), https://www.taosnews.com/news/business/mythical-animal-epic-burgers/article_e74c828c-c778-5340-b508-629b3cbe1c97.html

~~~

Copyright©2026 Michael Jay Tucker

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~mjt

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