Southwestern food in the Southeast

Earlier this week I went to Hilton Head Island for a conference (yawn) and stayed at the Westin, which had shit food and bad service. But this isn't a bitch-about-the-Westin post, it's a rave on the rockin' good Southwestern food I had a Santa Fe, a happy accidental find.

I ventured out from the hotel on Wednesday night to find sustenance that didn't come in a fucking wrap sandwich, and while driving the 278 to the south end of the island, saw this place that looked busy and interesting. I got a seat at the chef's viewing bar, which was kind of fun.

The menu was a single page (good sign -- they're not trying to do a million and one dishes) and ordered Painted Desert Soup, which was described as a roasted corn soup with ancho chile cream. The description did not do it justice at all. It should have said "This soup will make you roll your eyes in ecstasy."

It came in a large, shallow bowl, and looked like a painting. Half the bowl had this ducky yellow corn soup, the other half had a warm orange soup, and across both was a petroglyph shaped streak of deep, rich auburn colored chipotle sauce, with a few spatters of sour cream scattered around.

The corn soup was sweet and yummy, the ancho cream was spicy and bright, and the chipotle smoky and deep. And when I mixed them a bit, the bowl looked like those spin-art pictures we used to make as kids, but tasted like heaven.

Then I got the popular combination plate, which had a goat-cheese chile relleno, a tamale and a wild-mushroom-and-cheese enchilada.

It came on a large plate divided into three sections by the placement of the three items. In what would have been the white space on the plate were three different sauces -- a chile verde, a smoky, tangy red sauce and a spicy red sauce. The relleno was crusted in corn meal and filled with a slightly sweet and spicy goat cheese. The enchilada was made with a corn crepe instead of a tortilla, and was filled with delicious creamy cheese, and the tamale was really just a sweetened masa roll with real corn inside -- no meat anywhere on the plate.

The only side dish to be seen was a small spoonful of corn-black-bean relish under the three items, and it was perfect. No need for rice and beans at all.

De-fucking-lish.

It's one of the best meals I've had since I've been in this part of the country. I wish there was a Santa Fe here in town, because that's where I'd take guests. Four hours is a little long to drive for dinner, but if I'm ever down in that area again (not far from Savannah), I'll definitely go back.