El Parasol: hands-down the best tacos in Santa Fe.

El Parasol is hands down the best tacos in Santa Fe — possibly anywhere we've eaten — and we don't say that casually. There are multiple locations around town including one on Cerrillos Road, and the system is the same at all of them: you order at a window, you get tacos in foil, you eat them somewhere else.

The chicken tacos are the headline. Shredded chicken, a small soft tortilla, the kind of restraint that's hard to find. The shredded beef is the other order. Skip the temptation to over-customize — these are tacos that are perfect at the default specification, and the salsa on the side does the rest of the work. Be warned: the salsa packs serious heat. The first dip will tell you whether you're a one-dip person or a take-it-easy person on this trip.

What makes El Parasol practically excellent is exactly what makes it look unimpressive from the road. It is primarily a pickup spot, with limited seating at some locations. There is no dining room to speak of. There is no ambiance. There is nothing that signals 'destination food' — and that's the whole point. The money goes into the meat and the masa, not into a room you're going to spend twenty minutes in.

Where you actually eat is the whole game. Our three preferred move-the-tacos-elsewhere spots: El Rey Court's courtyard near the Cerrillos location (a beautifully restored old motor lodge with a public courtyard you can sit in even if you're not staying there), the Aspen Vista picnic site up Hyde Park Road on the way to the ski mountain (mountain views, a real picnic table, the kind of lunch you'll remember), and back at the house on the patio. Pick one based on the kind of day you're having.

The Aspen Vista move is the one to plan for. Pick up tacos at the Cerrillos location on the way out of town, drive up Hyde Park Road past Ten Thousand Waves toward the ski basin, and stop at the picnic site to eat at altitude looking down at the city. In the fall, the aspens turning gold make this one of the better meals you'll have on the trip — and it costs almost nothing.

Practical notes. The Cerrillos location is the easiest to find and has the most parking. Lines move fast. You'll want a few extra napkins. The same family runs El Paragua in Española if you want a sit-down version of the same lineage on a north-of-town day.

Try the chicken tacos. Try the shredded beef. Be ready for the salsa. Eat them somewhere with a view. That's the entire program.