need (New) Mexican grocery recommendations for Taos, NM

[ToddBradley]

Hi, I'm driving down from Denver to Angel Fire for a family reunion later this month. I volunteered to make Saturday night's dinner for everyone, which is what I normally do. So I'm planning to spend Saturday morning in Taos buying ingredients. I'd like to make something in a general New Mexican / Mexican / Tex Mex style, depending on what ingredients I can find.

Here in Denver, I could just drive to any part of town and find a carniceria and tortilleria and mercado to fill up on groceries. Are there New Mexican / Mexican grocers in Taos as well? What are your recommendations?

Some ideas I had for the menu:
- blue corn stacked chicken enchiladas (I'd rather buy green chile assuming there's a great source in town)
- pork posole or carne adovada
- tamales (pre-prepared, fresh preferably)
- Frito pie for the kids (and kids at heart)
- maybe charro beans
- maybe some kind of nopalitos salad (if you've got a good recipe, I'm all ears)
- guacamole and chips
- Mexican cookies or maybe flan for dessert (pre-prepared)

Suggestions for where I could get some of these things pre-prepared, or the raw ingredients in Taos? Or is there a better place in the vicinity of Angel Fire to shop?

Thanks,
Todd.

[DebitNM]

There is a Smiths [same owner as CityMarket/ King Sooper] Albertson's and WalMart in Taos. They will have the ingredients you need/want. Look for Albuquerque Tortilla Company frozen if you need to supplement or Bueno. There is also Cid's, but be warned - it is $$$$.

There maybe the kind of shops you are talking about, that a local would know about but we have always found what we needed in the chain markets.

Angel Fire won't have much and you will pay dearly.

Hope this helps a bit.

[ToddBradley]

Well, I'm back from the family reunion. I was able to make a pretty decent meal, but grocery shopping in Taos was very different than I expected.

My first stop was the weekly farmers market. I stocked up on fresh veggies for a salad, and picked up some prune pie and cherry pie. Geromino, the guy who made the cherry pie, also makes tortillas, but only flour; I was looking for blue corn. I met the owner of The Love Apple (one of the highest ranked restaurants in town, in case you didn't know) at the market, and talked to her about where to find the things I needed.

I learned that Taos doesn't have a carniceria or a tortilleria or a Mexican grocery store. It seems the town is way more anglo-fied than I expected. Go to Albuquerque or Denver and you'll find these kind of stores all over, but Taos has nothing. The Love Apple owner said they just make their own (and don't sell them to the public).

We also went by Cid's and I got a couple things there, but I was surprised at how little local foodstuffs they have. It's definitely a nice natural food store, comparable to Wild Oats or (in the Denver area) Vitamin Cottage. But almost everything is trucked in from other parts of the country.

So in the end, I went to Albertson's. That's where I ended up getting nearly everything I needed, including New Mexico green chile, blue corn tortillas, chicken, TexMex chili from a can (for the Frito pie), Fritos, cheese, etc.

And now I know a lot more about Taos.