The New York Yankee sage, Yogi Berra (once HG’s neighbor in Montclair, NJ.), observed about a restaurant: “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.” That’s the way HG felt about Santa Fe’s Jambo Cafe, located in a Cerillos Road strip mall. A small place, there was often considerable wait to taste the creative and unusual Caribbean/African cuisine. Well, HG was near there today and had a lust for vibrant coconut-peanut-chicken stew. HG discovered that Jambo has tripled in size. Same bright and colorful decor. Same smiling, warm and efficient service. The food? Better than ever. HG’s huge bowl of the aforementioned stew was brilliantly robust with many complex layers of hot, sweet and savory flavors. (If not hot enough for daring tastes, there’s a bottle of crushed Jamaican Scotch Bonnet peppers on each table. Let the unwary beware. Asked for a mini taste of the goat stew (yes, goat, and please don’t knock it until you try it) and the dish evoked Paris bistros and Rastafarian gourmet cooking. Don’t just concentrate on New Mexican green chile extravaganzas when you are in Santa Fe. Take a detour to Jambo.
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