New Mexico takes justifiable pride in its cuisine, which, like its culture at large, exhibits Spanish, Native American and Hispanic influences. But don’t confuse it with Mexican food, because it’s distinctly different. The indigenous ingredients at its core are corn, beans and squash — commonly known as the “three sisters” — but red and green chiles, pine nuts and blue corn are also central to its identity. Besides two establishments serving Southwestern fare, my traveling companion and I sought out an international option, including a Japanese izakaya at a hot-springs resort a short drive from the newly recommended Bishop’s Lodge, Auberge Resorts Collection. For our full list of Santa Fe restaurant recommendations, visit our Santa Fe destination page and scroll down.

Izanami

Ten Thousand Waves, a Japanese-inspired hot-springs resort (onsen), has been serving Santa Fe since 1981. In addition to a range of hot tubs and body treatments, which I highly recommend experiencing, it offers lodging and an izakaya-style restaurant. The menu has an impressive list of more than 50 sakes — a master sake sommelier is part of the culinary team — but when making recommendations, our server leaned more on the menu descriptions than personal knowledge. Though Santa Fe is landlocked, the restaurant touts that it flies in fresh fish daily from Japan; unfortunately, nothing about my nigiri was particularly memorable. The karaage dish was sizable, but the batter was chalky and tasteless, and the apple kimchi salad inexplicably lacked kimchi flavor. If you’re already at Ten Thousand Waves and feeling peckish, Izanami is a perfectly acceptable option. But the restaurant doesn’t warrant a trip on its own.

» Go for: the hot tubs and body treatments.