There is something that tickles me giddy when I pull into a small town that doesn’t have parking meters. It feels like an invitation to visit a while without literally being nickel-and-dined as soon as you step out of your car. It’s a suggestion that you settle in, take a walk, browse some shop windows, eat a cream puff with coffee at 2 pm on a Wednesday. (Who me?! Ok, yes, I actually did that.)
Las Vegas retains an off-the-beaten-path Americana feel of yesteryear, and that is exactly what will catapult it back into one of New Mexico’s favorite tourist destinations, moving forward. Like popular Santa Fe and Taos, the city’s central square, or Plaza, is the meeting point for socializing and community events such as their annual Fiestas featuring carnival rides, food stands, dancing and music over 4th of July weekend. The adobe and wood store fronts reveal a peek into the past and if you squint your eyes, you can imagine yourself standing in the 1800s.
Founded in 1835, the town flourished as a stop along the Santa Fe Trail. In 1880, it became part of the railroad network, and one of the largest cities in the old American West. In years past, it had an opera house, several higher education schools, the state’s mental institution and, until the mid 1900s, was the major center of commerce in our state.
There is much excitement about Las Vegas slowly bringing back its past glory, as demonstrated with all the hubbub around the recent renovation and reopening of the historic Plaza Hotel which sits smack in the middle of town. Thanks to hotelier Alan Affeldt, whom I think should be knighted as “Achitectural History Preservationist of the Great West,” the grandeur of hotels which shaped the settlement of the Southwest are being restored from crumbling black-and-white shadows of their former selves to the technicolor, bustling destinations they were always meant to be.
His first endeavor was La Posada in Winslow, Arizona, originally designed by female architect Mary Coulter for Fred Harvey back in 1930. By the early 1990s, it was almost in ruins and slated for potential demolition. After years of complicated and costly renovations, Affeldt and his wife, Tina, moved into their own apartment there in 1997, and the magical hacienda took her first breaths of life-after-death, and continues to delight guests, today.
The Affeldts’ latest historic hotel acquisition got me driving 60 miles down the highway to see for myself what the heck is happening in Las Vegas! A short jaunt from the Plaza, the Castañeda was built in 1882. Sitting provocatively along the great railroad which transformed the Wild West into a series of quite inhabitable cauldrons of civility and trade, its hey-day splendor is recognizable at once.
Sadly, however, it too had been practically abandoned for a couple of decades, and prior to being purchased by the Affeldts in 2014, it had been denigrated by the nickname “Nasty Casty” due to the dive bar run within a building practically falling down around it.
Now, millions of dollars, a handful of years, and a lot of soul later, the once Fred Harvey-owned sweetheart is a heartfelt tribute to its early incarnation. Each room is uniquely dressed with its own vintage furniture such as four poster beds, hand-crafted dressers, and velvet-upholstered sofas. The bathrooms are spacious with large showers and thoughtful décor. The bay windows look out over the street, and it’s easy to imagine the town as it once was…bursting with people strolling, shopping and dining… a scene guaranteed to return as the other Victoria-era buildings are slowly being discovered, bought, and revamped from boarded-up “has beens” to the belles of the ball. Appropriately, the adjacent Rawlings Building, which once housed the legendary Harvey Girls who worked at these magnificent china-and-white-cloth hotel restaurants along the railroad, is also being restored.
The Affeldts are also skilled at choosing like-minded collaborators... enter acclaimed chef Sean Sinclair who recently relocated to Las Vegas from Santa Fe so that he and teacher-turned-restaurateur wife, Katey, could launch their on-property eatery, Kin.
Kin’s saloon-style bar features an original mural discovered during renovation and has been open since June offering thoughtfully-curated classic and signature cocktails along with casual fare such as tacos, burgers and fat-and-juicy onion rings.
The main attraction - Kin’s dining room - will open to the public as of August, and Chef Sinclair has set the bar high. His training and resume include tenure at impressive restaurants such as Farm & Table in Albuquerque, Sweet Basil in Vail, and Michelin star-awarded Inn at Little Washington outside Washington D.C. Kin offers an experience rather than just a meal, and an ambitious 12-course prix fixe tasting menu ($125) with wine pairings ($40). There is also a five-course option ($65) with wine pairings ($20), and select a-la-carte dishes ($32-42).
The ever-changing menu will reflect seasonal produce and animal products from local farms. Sinclair’s butchery skills are displayed in a sneak peek on his Instagram account @chefseanlvnm, and his passion for supporting local businesses means he’s looking at what’s available in the immediate area rather than trucking in ingredients from high-volume distributors. The kitchen itself is adorned with every bell-and-whistle (have you ever seen a $50,000 oven in real life…? You can at Kin!) and a passionate front-and-back of house team plucked from within and outside of New Mexico.
Sinclair aims to bring big city sensibilities to a space birthed from the glamour of Fred Harvey’s boomtown mystique, and to attract diners from Santa Fe, and far beyond. For those of us who book travel around restaurant reservations (yes, we are a “thing!”) being able to soak up both old and new world extravagance in a one-stop weekend jaunt is a tempting proposition.
There is no doubt that Chef Sean has James Beard and Michelin stars in his eyes… and why the heck not? Some of my most memorable dining experiences have been at independent restaurants off the beaten track, all around the world. The pressure is on for Kin to become the kind of place that people book out in advance. And, assuming it does, we are lucky to have it just down the road from us in Santa Fe. Check the restaurant’s website for information and reservations: KINLVNM.com
NM Staycation: Other Fun Things In Las Vegas:
Eat A Cream Puff the Size of Your Head!
Support Local Artists!
Soak in the Hot Springs!
Speaking of hotels...
Until next trip... xo Natalie Bovis, The Liquid Muse