Santa Fe, New Mexico: arts, opera, galleries, museums and history. It’s a small town capital city high up on a dry plateau surrounded by snow capped peaks. No wonder Georgia O’Keeffe loved it. If a landscape artist isn’t inspired here, then there’s really no hope for the genre. O’Keeffe painted Pedernal Mountain dozens of times, saying that “It’s my private mountain. It belongs to me. God told me if I painted it enough, I could have it.” It’s not her mountain but her ashes were scattered atop so it’s safe to assume that they’ve become very close.

I got close to a Margarita.

Why is it that a drink as simple to make as a Margarita is so often ruined?

Basic Rules:

Never use a Margarita mix. Unless you’re addicted to artificial sweeteners, artificial flavouring agents and preservatives, in which case, there’s no hope for you anyway and you have no business perusing a website called Naked Hungry Traveller. Go directly to Trip Advisor now.

A good tequila helps. The best one available, but it doesn’t have to be sipping tequila. Save that for the snifter.

Freshly squeezed lime juice is absolutely necessary.

Triple Sec is okay but Cointreau is better.

The words ‘Frozen’ and ‘Margarita’ should never appear together in a sentence much less a glass.

Shake and strain. Don’t blend.

Rim the glass with a minimum of salt unless you either want to be a stroke victim or if you drink soy sauce chasers as a matter of course, in which case, your taste buds have died an early death.

Watch the bartender closely, making sure that the limes are FRESHLY squeezed.

Method:

60mls of tequila

30mls of Cointreau

30mls of freshly squeezed lime juice

Shake over new small ice cubes. Strain into a lightly salted lime juice rimmed stemmed glass.

Garnish with leftover lime wedge, the one you used to rim the glass works well.

Accompaniments: Corn chips and spicy tomato salsa. Fresh guacamole is a perfect match.

So simple and yet so often wrecked by amateurs.

I found the perfect Margarita in Santa Fe at the Coyote Café. Though Mark Miller sold it a while ago, the new owners with head chef, Eric di Stefano, are doing a fine job with cutting edge Santa Fe cuisine and a well wrought wine list: Susama Balboa Torrontes 08 from Argentina, a Spanish Juan Gil 06 Monastrel from Jimella, 07 Leutz Riesling from the Rheingau, an amazingly good 06 Pinot Noir Etienne Terlinden from Summerland Winery near Monterey, a Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, NZ, a 05 Rosenblum Syrah from near Lodi, CA, a surprisingly good sparkling wine from south of Albuquerque by Gruet and an Argentinian Late Harvest Malbec that took my breath away accompanied my degustation feast in that order. I think I had a Pepto Bismal chaser when I found my hotel room later the same night. At least I think I did.

Here is a long bar that, if it could speak, would say, ‘Sit here with me for a night or two. Let’s get to know one another.’ Bar Manager, Shaun Adams, mixed me the perfect Margarita here on March 22, 2009. Actually he mixed more than one. It’s a date that will live forever in my memory. I wrote it down in my notebook. Otherwise I don’t believe I could have remembered it.

Perfect Margarita accompanied by perfect landscapes?

As they say in New Mexico, you betcha’.