Harry's Roadhouse: why it's our default dinner.

When we get into town and we're hungry and tired and don't want to make a decision, we go to Harry's Roadhouse. It's on Old Las Vegas Hwy, less than a minute from Casa de Ice and a quick drive from Casa de Camino. It's a beloved local — the kind of place where the staff recognize regulars and the rotating menu means there's something new most visits.

American comfort with a Southwest tilt. The menu is eclectic on purpose — enchiladas next to pizzas next to a special — and they manage to be genuinely good at all of it. It is the rare "something for everyone" restaurant that doesn't actually water any of it down.

Two specific moves: request the back patio when you book or check in (it's the better room — quieter, more atmospheric, with the actual roadhouse vibe), and save room for the pie. The lemon meringue and the coconut cream are the ones we always come back to. Get one to share or, honestly, get two.

Harry's is also our group-arrival default. Twelve people just landed, the rental is loaded with snacks but nobody actually wants to cook, and the answer is always "we'll meet you at Harry's in 30." It works for the kids, it works for the grandparents, it works for the friends who came in on the late flight from somewhere cold.

If we had to lose one Santa Fe restaurant tomorrow, Harry's would be the hardest one to give up. Sazon is the special occasion. The Shed is the tradition. Harry's is the one we'd actually miss the most on an ordinary Tuesday.