I have wanted to go to Tin Can Alley. I knew that Santa Fe Brewing was a store anchor but I didn’t know much else. I like the concept of using shipping containers for buildings as they did at Green Jeans Food Hall, in Albuquerque. A friend of mine said check out the Guava Tree in Albuquerque. Ok, there are two Guava Tree locations one at Tin Can Alley the other on Nob Hill. I chose the Tin Can Alley location.
We were interested in getting an arepa, which is a grilled corn meal cake stuffed with vegetables. (in our case). We chose the arepa machilla(11.25) that was stuffed with blackbeans, sweet plantains, roasted mushrooms, onions, red pepper , and a little fresco cheese. If you want a vegan version, just ask to have the cheese held. You can also add the following sides to your arepa like a side salad(2.95), sweet plantains(2.95), side of tostones(2.95), or a side of yuca (2.95). Since plantains are a personal favorite, we also ordered a side of the sweet plantains with a garlic sauce.
I really liked the cool vibe of Tin Can Alley. The food hall was light and airy with plenty of indoor and outdoor seating.
There is an upstairs with lots of tables. Santa Fe Brewing has a seating area and a bar upstairs which I am sure is filled on the weekends.
The star of our show. Just look at that arepa filled with black beans, red pepper, a small dab of cheese along with onions, mushrooms,and sweet plantains. The arepa was crisp and not greasy even though it was grilled. The side sauce of red pepper and tomato added another layer of flavor to the arepa.
We also received a tostone with some garlic sauce. The tostone was perfect. I loved it! It was certainly light and crunchy with a little salt.
You get to see all the black bean goodness of incredible arepa. This baby was really stuffed with vegetables. Wow! I have never had such a large arepa. It was huge and also so very delicious. Our arepa was also gluten-free. If I would have remembered to ask to hold the cheese, our arepa would have been vegan as well. I will remember next time.
Since we are big plantain fans, we also ordered a side basket of sweet plantains(8.95). This was another delicious treat.
These plantains were perfectly cooked and not greasy. We had them for dessert with our incredibly delicious meal.
We went at an off time at 4pm. Since Tin Can Alley is on Alameda, it is an easy off and easy on the I 25 expressway. There was plenty of parking but I’m sure this place is very busy at night and during the weekends.
Guava Tree food takes about 20 minutes so make sure to factor that into your eating equation. You can order ahead via online. You can also order electronically by scanning the menu at your table. Since it was our first time, we just walked up to the counter. Next time we will order online to go.
Guava Tree is located at 6110 Alameda Blvd NE in the Tin Can Alley Food Hall. The Guava Tree’s phone number is 505.317.7247
Guava Tree at Tin Can Alley is open 7 days a week. I think they open at 11 but I would call or order on line to make sure.
The other Guava Tree location is at 118 Richmond Dr. NE in the Nob Hill area. Both Guava Tree locations share the same website.
Santa Fe City Different Foodie 