Santa Fe

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  Let me just start off by saying that most of the previous reviews should be discounted. Seriously? These people don't know good food. One of them thinks Texas Roadhouse is a good restaurant... Just saying.
  
  Now, on to the review. I have been to this restaurant several times now. I live in Indianapolis but the girlfriend is from Scottsburg so we are down quite often to visit with her family. The first time we went there I was a little apprehensive. Authentic Mexican food in a one-horse town where 99.5% of people probably hate Mexicans? Doubtful, right? Wrong. I was raised in a town where Hispanics, and Mexicans make up a large portion of population. As such I was raised eating some pretty good, authentic, Mexican food. So, I can be pretty snobby about my Mexican food (That's right, I am judging you every time you go to Taco Bell/ Taco Time/Jack in the Box). However, this armed me with the knowledge that Santa Fe is pumping out some pretty good product in their quaint, family owned, location. Also, the menu is small with a good amount of choices and nothing overwhelming. Sometimes Mexican restaurants have menus that are 10 pages long, which can be frustrating.
  
  The first time I ordered a combination dinner with some chicken enchiladas, a tomale, and a chile rellano and a Modelo Especial. The salsa that comes out first is simple, fresh, and tasty and the beer prices are almost laughable they are so low. The food is simple, delicious, if not plebeian, and wonderful. The mole sauce on the enchiladas was AWESOME. Warm, sweet, smokey with a touch of tang. This was a different mole than I was used to and suspect it is probably inspired by the family's specific region of origin. The tamale was your normal offering done well, but not spectacular. The ultimate prize was the chile rellano. Wow, this is one of my favorite Mexican dishes and I look forward to trying them out at every Mexican restaurant that I go to. And, I can say with utmost certainty,  that this was the best one I have ever had. It was perfectly fried and filled with the warm, spicy, cheese that is typical to these types of chile rellanos. Its batter was perfect and the accompanying tomato sauce is one of the most delicious, and simple, Mexican sauces I have had. One can not understate the beauty in a simple sauce. This chile differed than most I have had in that it was made from a yellow banana pepper. Either way, the meal (and the rice, too!) were simple and wonderful.
  
  The next time I came I ordered the same thing, with the same results. This time the chile was the more traditional poblano pepper, and it was just as delicious. The fact that they make little changes to their dishes only makes me want to come back even more. Either way, make it a point to stop in when you're in the area, you will not regret your decision!

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  Posted on 08.08.12 Mark M.

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  I was Santa Fe's biggest fan before their move to the strip mall.  I loved the chicken nachos...They were my favorite.  The quality of their food has decreased since moving to the strip mall and it is still not as good as it was since they've moved back to their old location.  I was hoping that the old building would bring back the old chicken nachos, but that was not the case the last time I was in there.  So, if you are craving Mexican...you can risk the chicken nachos (they are hit and miss) or travel elsewhere...

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  Posted on 07.01.10 Cara T.

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  Although I eat at Santa Fe quite often...I think the food is just okay. Most people like Santa fe because there isn't any other mexican choice in town, not because the food is great.
  
  My biggest complaint is that my total is NEVER the same and don't dare order take out...for some reason the price is nearly double!!!

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  Posted on 07.01.10 Amy K.

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  The cuisine here was almost totally new to me. I've had Mexican food prepared in the style of many regions of Mexico. I lived in New Mexico for ten years, eating all over the state, including Santa Fe. I've eaten Tex-Mex from many places. This food had the names from those cuisines, but was largely very different.
  
  The chips were simple yellow corn tortilla chips. The salsa was a light, cilantro-heavy, chile-light tomato-based salsa. The queso was moderately-spicy asadero and/or jack cheese sauce.
  
  Every tamale I've ever had contained pork or was vegetarian. The tamales here have ground beef in them. The masa was good, and the overall tamale was ok, but the beef was surprising. The tamales were not spicy at all. They were rectangular, roughly 1"x1"x4". The sauce they were smothered in was more surprising than the beef. It was like a mole, but with barely any chile or cocoa, and a very large amount of cinnamon.
  
  The burrito and relleno combo was interesting. The burrito was exactly what I expected: a flour tortilla full of ground beef. The relleno was also what I expected: a green chile, filled with cheese, battered and fried, but he chile was totally bland though, instead of mild-spicy. The Spanish rice on the side was good. The shock of this plate was sauce that smothered the relleno and burrito. I hoped for a NM-style chile sauce or even enchilada sauce. They were actually smothered with a sweet marinara.
  
  The dessert menu listed sopaipilla, but they had it smothered with whipped cream and honey. I ordered one without the topping, hoping for something like I've had in NM. What actually came back was a thin, crispy, flaky, fried cookie with cinnamon and sugar on it.
  
  Overall, the dinner was fine, with some good spots, but it was more like "inspired by Mexican cuisine" instead of "Mexican."

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  Posted on 01.11.10 Jarrod L.

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