Boxcar Cantina in Greenwich

Written by Fran Sikorski
Thursday, 16 July 2009 09:53

Here is an all-around family dining pleasure: authentic New Mexican food provided by Boxcar Cantina. Now in its 15th year, it is owned by Nancy Allen Roper of New Canaan.

As a new member of the non-profit Green Restaurant Association (GRA), she and her staff are making a special effort to conserve natural resources, recycle, and source locally raised food.

“These are the old-fashioned principles that simply make sense; being environmentally conscious not only saves natural resources, it can save time and money too,” said the personable owner during a recent interview.

Ms. Roper grew up in Albuquerque, N.M., and features authentic Northern New Mexican cuisine that draws on Native American, Spanish and Anglo-European traditions. The lunch and dinner menus feature dishes that are characteristic of New Mexico — red and green salsas, carne adovada, burritos, chicken tinga, and tacos — that are made with ingredients grown in Connecticut. Combined with the extensive menu are the Cantina’s famous margaritas, two in particular that are both light and fruity, blood orange and mango. I tried them both, and the bartender has my vote for “best margaritas.”

We visited Boxcar Cantina on a Saturday evening and sat in the glassed-in (and quieter) bar, sharing a guacamole appetizer with housemade nachos with our drinks while observing the efficient staff catering to a full dining room. General manager Adriana Ibanez was making sure all was well.

We shared delicately prepared cod cakes, my favorite, made with fresh herbs, Dijon mustard, lemon zest and housemade tartar sauce, and mini burritos; an organic chicken tinga; Niman Ranch pork; and Stuart Farm ground beef in Boxcar tortillas with jack cheddar served with Spanish brown rice, pinto beans and pico de gallo with a choice of New Mexican mild red or hot green chile. Both dishes won nods of approval from us.

Also suggested are the Indian posole soup, a rich organic chicken and vegetable soup made with blue and white posole (corn) topped with sliced avocado and shredded jack cheddar cheese with Boxcar tortillas; Southwest organic chopped salad with hearts of romaine, composed with jack cheddar, avocado, scallions, plum tomatoes, black and pinto beans, Niman Ranch bacon with balsamic dressing; in addition to quesadillas, enchiladas, and burritos.

Cowboy specialties are traditional Santa Fe-style jack cheddar enchiladas; Buffalo and Boxcar burgers topped with jack cheddar, hot New Mexican chiles, served in a Boxcar tortilla with hand-cut fries.

Appetizers at Boxcar Cantina are from $8 to $10; salads, $8 to $13; soups, $4 to $10; entrées, $8 to $18; desserts, $3 to $8.

Housemade desserts are a traditional Mexican flan; Mexican chocolate brownie with Tahitian vanilla ice cream and chocolate truffle; and Sopaipilla Sundae, a puffy bread pillow, with a scoop of ice cream topped with whipped cream and chocolate truffle sauce.

You also see Nancy Roper with some of her food specialties at the Westport Farmer’s Market every Thursday from 10 to 2.

Boxcar Cantina

44 Old Field Point Road
Greenwich, 203-661-4774

Serving lunch 11:30 to 3, Monday to Friday; dinner 5:30 to 9:30, Monday to Thursday, 5:30 to 10:30, Friday and Saturday; 4:30 to 9, Sunday.

Reservations accepted; major credit cards; child-friendly; handicap accessible; full bar; wine by the glass, $8 to $10, by the bottle, $28 to $36; authentic Northern New Mexican cuisine; take-out; casual dress; private functions; parking adjacent to Cantina.

Editor’s Note: Restaurant features are not intended as formal reviews, but are offered to give our readers a sense of what’s available at area establishments.

Side dishes

Chef/restaurateur Pedro Garzon, former executive chef for the Barcelona Restaurant Group, is the owner of the new Manolo Restaurant in Westport in a space formerly occupied by Zest at 8 Church Lane across from the YMCA. Featured are traditional Spanish, French and Italian cuisines offered in full and tapas portions. For information, 203-227-0703 or cafemanolo.com