We are honored to receive Edible New Mexico’s Local Hero Award for Best Restaurant, Santa Fe.

An edible Local Hero is an exceptional individual, business, or organization making a positive impact on New Mexico’s food systems. These honorees nurture our communities through food, service, and socially and environmentally sustainable business practices. Please join us in thanking these Local Heroes for being at the forefront of New Mexico’s local food movement.

The fish tacos were absolutely incredible, from the satisfying crunch of the fried fish to the ever-so-slightly bitter tang of the slaw. The spice of the jalapeño was mild, just enough to add bite, and when dipped into the red and green salsas our food runner brought along, an entire world of complementary textures and flavors exploded in unison. I know that sounds flowery, but fish tacos is the sort of dish everyone loves if it’s done right. Chef Nathan Mayes? I salute your fish tacos with ferocity and passion!

Go farm-to-taco. Handmade tortillas are the specialty at Paloma, where chef Nathan Mayes uses heirloom landrace corn from Oaxaca that’s nixtamalized in-house. Start with Baja sea bass ceviche, squash blossom quesadillas, or smoked chicken sopecitos made with dainty blue corn masa cakes and pickled onions. The tacos—like the pork shoulder carnitas sweetened with roasted pineapple or the crispy cauliflower accented with golden raisins and almond salsa—are basically mandatory in order to fully appreciate the texture and flavor of the tortillas. But larger plates, like mole amarillo oyster mushrooms or short rib birria, are worth making room for.

Meet Paloma Bar Manager Andrea Duran!

Andrea got her first bartending job at 18 in Key West, Florida. After watching her mom work in the restaurant industry growing up, she thought it was magical and only seemed fit to follow in those footsteps.

“Fourteen years later, I have won 2 competitions, bartended in every type of bar, run a couple of bar programs, traveling for the sake of cocktail/spirits education, and even dabbled in other fields. I still love what I do and the crazy controlled chaos that is bartending.”

-Andrea Duran

The German term “Gesamtkunstwerk” describes a creative result where different art forms – and, often, portions of the artist’s psyche itself – are combined to create a “total work of art.”

Santa Fe’s best approximation of the edible Gesamtkunstwerk happens five nights a week atop a 24-by-48-inch Boos block in the kitchen at Paloma. In that cramped corner, Paloma’s executive pastry chef Jessica Brewer, 29, is turning out the most inventive, seasonal and addictive desserts in the state.

Seamless collaboration makes Paloma magical.

Marja Martin, who spent twenty years in the catering business, had no intention of owning a brick-and-mortar establishment before she opened Paloma in July 2017 at the corner of Guadalupe and Montezuma in Santa Fe’s Railyard District.

This upscale Mexican restaurant makes its tortillas from local, landrace blue corn that's nixtamalized in house. The result is a complex flavor that elevates Paloma's tacos--topped with carne asada, sea bass, or cauliflower--into some of the best in town...

As far as Nathan Mayes knows, Paloma is the only restaurant in Santa Fe that serves fresh, blue corn tortillas made in-house with heirloom corn grown in New Mexico. He soaks dried corn overnight in calcium hydroxide--"essentially, ground limestone"--before grinding it into masa. Corn is foundational to the menu, says Mayes, chef and partner of Paloma, which opened in 2017 on Guadalupe Street. His cuisine is anchored in traditional Mexican cooking and elevated by fresh, local ingredients and unusual flavor combinations, like cauliflower tacos with golden raisins, Spanish olives, and sweet pepper-almond salsa....

Nathan Mayes grew up splitting time between Austin and Santa Fe, working in several acclaimed restaurants in both cities. After spending time cooking in New York, Mayes returned to Santa Fe in hopes of opening a restaurant. In 2017, he opened Paloma with business partner Marja Martin. Focusing on Mexican-inspired flavors made with local ingredients, Mayes cooks with both tradition and innovation.

Jessica Bransford works at Paloma (401 S Guadalupe St, 467-8624), where she holds the position of executive pastry chef. She's the third generation of female chefs to emerge from her family; her mom and grandma were both executive chefs in the Sacramento area. Her grandma came to Santa Fe in 1989, and her mom followed with Bransford in 2003, taking a position at Harry's Roadhouse. Her young niece is already interested in cooking, and Bransford hopes to mentor the family's fourth generation chef.

"What's the dumbest idea you've ever had?" I ask Chef Nathan Mayes inside Paloma's brightly sunlit galley kitchen. "Installing a gigantic tortilla machine I brought from Mexico in this tiny kitchen," he replies. And the best? "Taking it out," he says with a laugh...

The mourning dove memorialized in Mexican songs like "Cucurrucucú Paloma" and "Paloma Negra" may symbolize wild grief and heartsickness, but there's no depression at the vibrant new Paloma Restaurant...

"What's the dumbest idea you've ever had?" I ask Chef Nathan Mayes inside Paloma's brightly sunlit galley kitchen. "Installing a gigantic tortilla machine I brought from Mexico in this tiny kitchen," he replies. And the best? "Taking it out," he says w…

The southeast corner of Guadalupe and Montezuma has seen its share of restaurants--they seem to come and go every few years. But if the recurring murmurs of "Oh, this is so good" from my dining companion and me on a recent visit is any measure, Paloma should be able to stick around for a long time...

Collecting all those beautiful crafts and fashion can work up an appetite--luckily, new bars and restaurants have you covered. The unfussy Mexican spot Paloma offers bone marrow tacos, grilled whole sea bass and mezcal-based cocktails...

The word is "supergroup." When musicians who are already talented in their own right combine their powers, the result, when it works, is an epic Avengers-like überteam like ABBA or Cream. And when food professionals merge their skills, you get Santa Fe's new date night go-to, birthday party slam-dunk, where should we eat no-brainer restaurant: Paloma...