by Lynn Cline on
“GOOD THING WE BROUGHT our appetites,” I tell my husband, Kyle, as we walk into Sirphey at Bandelier, in the former lobby of Bandelier National Monument’s Frijoles Canyon Lodge. But he’s too entranced by the aromas of Indian and Thai curries and grilled burgers to reply.
Although Sirphey makes for a perfect refueling spot before or after a hike, we’ve journeyed to Los Alamos for a winter lunch, lured by the promise of buzzworthy burgers and Indian comfort food. “We’ve become super famous for our burgers,” says owner and chef Prashant Jain of the patties made with Angus beef, local bison, and wild elk. His menu also includes a mix of salads, sandwiches, breakfast fare; plenty of vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options; as well as worldly daily specials such as tandoori chicken and yak osso buco. “My job is to make people happy,” he adds.
Indeed, when my husband’s lunch arrives, he breaks into a wide grin. The Doug, Sirphey’s bestselling burger named for a former Bandelier ranger, stacks cheddar and mozzarella cheese, caramelized onions, bacon, Hatch green chile, and a full-size chile relleno on a buttery brioche bun. A steak knife, its handle standing several inches tall, holds the massive creation all together.
My bowl of kadhi pakora curry is an aromatic combination of yogurt, chickpea flour, turmeric, and spices that hails from Jain’s home in northern India. A chemical engineer, he came to the U.S. in 2005 to pursue a doctorate before landing a fellowship at Los Alamos National Laboratory. In 2016, he opened Sirphey in Los Alamos to offer the international foods he enjoyed while studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “I could walk out my door and find Indian, Asian, and French cuisine,” he says. “When people from all over the world come here and see foods that they grew up with and aren’t easy to find, it gives them a smile.”
In 2018, Jain relocated Sirphey to Bandelier, one of the National Park Service’s oldest sites. Since then, he’s found ways to appeal to both Bandelier visitors and the local community. “We give all of our traveling visitors a chance to try local favorites like green chile cheeseburger, Chimayó red chile stew, frybread, and more,” Jain says. He’s equally happy about Sirphey’s connection with its regulars, growers, farmers’ markets, breweries, and wineries. “Those relationships are a bedrock of the authentic experience we always try to provide,” he says.
As a scientist, Jain was thrilled to discover that Bandelier played a role in the Manhattan Project. The park closed to the public from 1943 to 1946, when a housing shortage required scientists working on the atomic bomb to live in the lodge and in tents on the property. “I love that I can walk the halls of this restaurant where so many I idolized found a moment of joy during the Manhattan Project,” he says.
Jain proudly displays a 1946 photograph of scientists Ernest Lawrence, Enrico Fermi, and I.I. Rabi standing in front of the dining room’s fireplace. “People can recognize that the picture was taken where they are standing,” he says. His interest in Bandelier’s past is matched by the delight he takes in his mission at Sirphey today. “You come here, you have a good hike, and then you get good food that’s healthy.”