Late Winter 2016 - Food as Art

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SANTA FE ®· ALBUQUERQUE · TAOS The Story

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Local Food, Season

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Food as Art ISSUE 42 · LATE WINTER · FEBRUARY / MARCH 2016

Season

DINE LIKE A LOCAL NEW MEXICO RESTAURANT WEEK

New Mexico Restaurant Week (NMRW) returns February 21 through March 13 with nearly sixty local restaurants in Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and Taos offering special menus and deals. This will be the seventh year NMRW has promoted restaurants and their offerings with prix fixe menus. Michele Ostrove and Lucien Bonnafoux started NMRW in 2010 to create a new culinary event in New Mexico that would boost business and showcase the region's remarkable dining to a wide audience. It is a perfect opportunity for locals and out-of-town visitors to experience our cuisine and the people behind it.

Restaurants become part of a massive media campaign that no single restaurant could afford to initiate alone. NMRW increases restaurants’ revenue during an otherwise slow time of year, and introduces restaurants to new customers who, if favorably impressed, will return again and again.

To take advantage of the NMRW deals, diners simply visit the website and peruse participating restaurants' fixed-price menus, which range from just twenty-five dollars for two people to twenty, thirty, or forty dollars per person. There are restaurants for every budget and taste; in fact, some diners go out every night during NMRW. No tickets are required; however, reservations are highly recommended as restaurants fill up quickly.

Complementing the prix fixe lunches and dinners are culinary classes taught by local chefs and mixologists at their locations. They give diners a personal, interactive experience within New Mexico’s authentic and diverse culinary scene. The events have grown in scope and popularity each year and range from "The ABCs of Sake" to "How to Make Your Own Mozzarella and Ricotta Cheese."

In the future, Ostrove hopes to expand NMRW statewide and to find new ways to showcase New Mexico's unique cuisine and culture. www.nmrestaurantweek.com Jambo's grilled jerk organic chicken (top), TerraCotta's mezze plate (middle), and L'Olivier's chocolate souffle (bottom). Note: these are regular menu items and not necessarily on the NMRW prix fixe menus.

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it’s closer than you think..

Local ingredients, served locally. We seek out the freshest, seasonal organic produce, meats and fish.

Then we serve it up with flair and attentive service right in your neighborhood. Join locals supporting locals. Deliciously.

OLD TOWN ALBUQUERQUE 505.766.5100 www.seasonsabq.com

HISTORIC NOB HILL 505.254.ZINC(9462) www.zincabq.com

ALBUQUERQUE HEIGHTS 505.294.WINE(9463) www.savoyabq.com

Amyo Farms in Bosque Farms and Albuquerque, NM. 2

edible Santa Fe | LATE WINTER 2016

ALBUQUERQUE, SANTA FE 505.850.2459 www.tasteabq.com

. .truly local.

FEBRUARY / MARCH 2016 DEPARTMENTS 4

GRIST FOR THE MILL

By Willy Carleton, Sarah Wentzel-Fisher, and Nancy Zastudil

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CONTRIBUTORS

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FRONT OF THE HOUSE Oil and Vin by Juliana Bilowich

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BACK OF THE HOUSE Right in the Moment by Kristie Wang

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TOOLS OF THE TRADE Array by Stephanie Cameron

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BEHIND THE BOTTLE To the Festivals with Purpose by Cameron Weber

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FERMENTI'S PARADOX Cellar Dwellers by Bill Dewan

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LOCAL HEROES edible Santa Fe Announces Our 2016 Local Heroes and Interview with Michelle Franklin

O N T H E C OV E R 39 AT THE CHEF'S TABLE Chef as Artist curated by Stephanie Cameron

68 EAT LOCAL GUIDE

edible

MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

SANTA FE ®· ALBUQUERQUE · TAOS The STory

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LocaL food, SeaSon

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SeaSon

72 LAST BITE Bang Bite Negroni by Enrique Guerrero

FEATURES 48 ONE SMART COOKIE

By Laura Bulkin

52 GOLDEN MOMENTS

By Erin Elder

56 DISCOVERING THERAPY

By Julia Mandeville

60 DRIVEN

Food as Art ISSUE 42 · LATE WINTER · FEBRUARY / MARCH 2016

Red-Seeded Citron Melon.

Learn more about this unusual fruit at ediblesantafe.com/recipes Photo by Stephanie Cameron.

By Claude Smith

64 USE YOUR ILLUSION

By Nancy Zastudil

THE THIRD PLATE QUESTION An Interview with the Greenes by Marjory Sweet

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COOKING FRESH New Mexican Soul Food by Jeanette Hart-Mann and Sarah Wentzel-Fisher

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grist for the mill Trying a new food dish with an enticing yet unidentifiable flavor or encountering an intriguing contemporary artwork for the first time can inspire a transformative experience. Both scenarios beg a simple, powerful question: What is this? Searching for a secret ingredient or the root of an emotion can give new depth to your world.

We live in tumultuous economic and climatic times, which demand inspiration, collaboration, and engagement. Art and food present effective tool kits for navigating extreme and unpredictable circumstances; both bring people together, stir curiosity, and can incite positive change. The practical side of food can impact the creative side of art and, reciprocally, art can provide new ways of interacting with and reflecting on food and culture.

In the last year, since edible first focused an issue on art and food in New Mexico, the conversation between these two worlds has deepened and expanded, compelling us to devote a second issue to their intersections. How does art make us better farmers and better eaters? How is eating and producing food an artistic act?

We brought together artists who work locally to answer these questions. Whether it’s Taos artist-architect J. Matthew Thomas researching our communal needs for food and shelter, or Santa Fe artist-in-residence Miriam Simun pushing the boundaries of food production, or chefs engaged in creative practice outside their kitchens, these stories are meant to inspire. We also take a close look at some of the regional/ seasonal foods from the farm of artist Jeanette Hart-Mann and the practices of Alexis Elton to better understand the artistic processes of farming, harvesting, and sharing.

We know that food is more than sustenance, and the artists featured in this issue show us that art is more than what it represents. We hope in reading these stories you’ll consider ways that your food inspires creativity, and ways that art feeds you and your community, fueling you to ask, “What is this?”

PUBLISHERS Bite Size Media, LLC Stephanie and Walt Cameron

EDITORS Willy Carleton, Sarah Wentzel-Fisher, and Nancy Zastudil

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Jodi L. Vevoda

COPY EDITOR Margaret Marti

DESIGN AND LAYOUT Stephanie Cameron

PHOTOGRAPHY Juliana Bilowich, Stephanie Cameron, Matthew Chase-Daniel, Victor Gibbs, Jeanette Hart-Mann

WEB AND SOCIAL MEDIA EDITORS Stephanie Cameron, Sarah Wentzel-Fisher

VIDEO PRODUCER Walt Cameron

ADVERTISING Walt Cameron, Gina Riccobono, Jodi L. Vevoda, and Cyndi Wood

CONTACT US: 3301-R Coors Boulevard NW #152 Albuquerque, NM 87120 info@ediblesantafe.com www.ediblesantafe.com Phone/Fax: 505-212-0791

SUBSCRIBE ∙ BUY AN AD ∙ LETTERS

Willy Carleton, Sarah Wentzel-Fisher, and Nancy Zastudil, Editors PS. This marks the third anniversary of collaboration between edible and Women & Creativity (www.womenandcreativity.org), bringing our readers multisensory experiences where food and art converge on and around the table. Join us at the table March 29 for A Feast for the Senses: A Pop-Up Dinner, as we procure, prepare, salivate, savor, and take you on an exploration of all the senses. We also invite you on March 19 to Art & Stroll: A Pop-Up Brunch Celebrating Creativity & Cuisine. This feast for the senses begins with an art-dance-writing infused walk along South Valley acequias with Michelle Otero and other local artists, and ends with brunch at Valle Encantado farm prepared by chef Marie Yniguez. Place settings and artwork are available for purchase prior to the event at www.ediblepopup.com.

Stephanie and Walt Cameron, Publishers 4

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2015

505-212-0791 WWW.EDIBLESANTAFE.COM We welcome your letters. Write to us at the address above, or email us at INFO@EDIBLESANTAFE.COM Bite Size Media, LLC publishes edible Santa Fe six times a year.

We distribute throughout Central and Northern New Mexico and nationally by subscription. Subscriptions are $32 annually.

Printed at American Web Denver, Colorado No part of this publication may be used without the written permission of the publisher. © 2016 All rights reserved.

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Killer “old school” and gourmet hot dogs paired with homestyle soups like your grandma made. Enjoy food from cultures around the world!

Proudly serving handcrafted beverages from certified fair-trade and organic beans, perfectly paired with local pastries.

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Our Albuquerque distillers create authentic craft spirits using locally sourced ingredients.

WWW.EDIBLESANTAFE.COM 5 3600 Cutler Ave NE, Albuquerque . GreenJeansFarmery.com

contributors JULIANA BILOWICH Juliana Bilowich loves to eat food from everywhere, or better yet, to be everywhere eating food. She is currently finishing a degree in international relations to complement her teaching certification. An avid gardener and writer, Bilowich loves a good story and a good laugh.

LAURA BULKIN Laura Bulkin writes and performs music in Northern New Mexico. She is a regular contributor to the Taos News, and has recently completed her first novel.

WILLY CARLETON Willy Carleton lives in Albuquerque and is an avid vegetable grower, forager, and editor of edible Santa Fe. He is writing a dissertation on the agricultural history of twentieth-century New Mexico in the history department at UNM. BILL DEWAN Bill Dewan is a longtime beer lover and former resident of Albuquerque. He currently resides in Orange County, California.

ERIN ELDER Erin Elder is an independent curator of contemporary art, guided by interests in land use, experimental collaboration, and non-traditional art forms. She holds degrees from Prescott College and California College of the Arts. Erin recently launched Gibbous, a consulting service for committed artists. www.erinelder.com JEANETTE HART-MANN Jeanette Hart-Mann is a farmer, artist, and teacher. She is co-founder and collective cohort of SeedBroadcast and Field Director of Land Arts of the American West at UNM. She lives and works with her family in Anton Chico at Fodder Project Collaborative Research Farm.

JULIA MANDEVILLE Julia Mandeville is an arts writer, consultant, and chief programs officer of Harwood Art Center– Escuela del Sol Montessori. Her work is rooted in cultivating and curating artistic, exhibition, and professional development opportunities in New Mexico, as well as in coordinating platforms that enable artists of all ages to connect with and enrich their communities.

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CLAUDE SMITH Claude Smith is an Albuquerque-based arts administrator, curator, and writer. He is the education and exhibitions manager at 516 ARTS where he works directly with artists and other arts professionals to enhance the cultural landscape of Downtown Albuquerque and beyond. He is also a featured contributor to New American Paintings online.

MARJORY SWEET Marjory Sweet is native to coastal Maine and was drawn to the Southwest by its ancient history, desert wilderness, and the opportunity to work outside. She now manages Sterling Gardens, a four seasons farm in Albuquerque's South Valley.

Her winter projects range from heirloom French rabbit meat, to winter greens, to experiments in raw goat’s milk.

KRISTIE WANG Kristie Wang loves food, animals, and growing things. She is a Pushcart Prize–nominated fiction writer, freelance journalist, and a strategic storytelling consultant for nonprofits. Her writing has previously appeared in GQ Magazine, Tales of the Cocktail, The Christian Science Monitor, Virgin. com, Forbes.com, and others.

CAMERON WEBER Cameron Weber is a planner and conservationist in Albuquerque. She will gladly talk native plants with you at Plants of the Southwest or introduce you to landscape restoration at an Albuquerque Wildlife Federation volunteer project. A lover of all things fermentation, she makes wine and encourages wine curiosity.

SARAH WENTZEL-FISHER Sarah Wentzel-Fisher is the editor of edible Santa Fe. She also works for the Rio Grande Farmers Coalition and the Quivira Coalition New Agrarian Program, and wants you (yes, all of you) to consider becoming a farmer. In her free time she visits farms (she highly recommends this activity), experiments in her kitchen, and keeps chickens in her backyard.

NANCY ZASTUDIL Nancy Zastudil is a curator, writer, and administrator dedicated to social progress through philanthropy and entrepreneurship in the arts. She is owner and director of Central Features Contemporary Art, administrative director of the Frederick Hammersley Foundation, and contributor to Arts and Culture Texas.

FEBRUARY 28, 2016 – MARCH 19, 2017

On Museum Hill in Santa Fe www.InternationalFolkArt.org · 505-476-1200 Seated Buddha in Abhaya Mudra. Tibet, c. 1850. Gift of Jacqueline Orsini Dunnington, Museum of International Folk Art (A.2004.25.1). Photography by Kitty Leaken.

front of the house

Oil and Vin

TASTE-TESTING ADVENTURES AT THE ABQ OLIVE OIL COMPANY Story and Photos by Juliana Bilowich

Left to right, clockwise: Shoppers should come ready for a taste-testing adventure; formidable selection at the ABQ Olive Oil Company; co-owner Carol Campbell (second from left) banters with staff members Martina, Tracy, and Kathy.

Each time my Italian brother-in-law returns from his regular visits back home, his suitcases burst with olive oils and pasta sauces meant to tide over his taste buds until the next trip. Can’t authentic international products be found closer to home? Indeed, since 2013, bona fide oils and vinegars from Italy and beyond are available for taste and purchase from the ABQ Olive Oil Company.

Rubbing elbows with Flying Star and Sprouts in Corrales, ABQ Olive Oil Company, a one-room tasting-bar, boasts the best oil and vin from around the world. “People don’t know real olive oil. The first time I tried it, I couldn’t believe the taste,” says co-owner Ralph Campbell. The engineer by day, kitchen-connoisseur by night has dreamt of opening a tasting store since traveling through Middle 8

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America, of all places, where shops like this one have been meeting with success for years. With good reason: quality oils are as healthy as they are tasty.

If you are not yet an extra virgin olive oil snob, maybe you should be. False promises of virginity fool us in grocery stores but clog arteries and taste buds. “If it tastes like nothing, it’s a bad sign,” says Carol Campbell, Ralph’s partner in crime. “Olives don’t taste like nothing, so why would olive oil? They deodorize it to cover up the taste of rancid oil.” Check the crush date, country sourcing, and polyphenol count, all noted proudly by the Albuquerque store.

Prodigies of California-based olive oil distributor Veronica Foods, the Campbells are sticklers for purity. Traditional dark balsamics age

nearly two decades in oak or hickory barrels before instilled with elements of blackberry ginger, for example, or the Valentine’s Day favorites of dark chocolate and espresso. The white vinegars, lighter in both color and consistency, fall at the intersection of sizzle and sweet. To wow unsuspecting dinner guests, one might combine vinegar with water for a non-alcoholic seltzer alternative, or apply as shrimp marinade—“But only if you really know what you are doing,” cautions Ralph proudly.

The Campbells certainly do. The shop’s extra virgin olive oils, lab-tested twice before sold as certifiably untampered, share shelfspace with fused and infused olive oils. Infused oils have been imbued with essence of garlic, chipotle, Tuscan herbs, and countless others; fused oils, on the other hand, retain extra virginity. Paired from the first planting, olives and, say, Tunisian Baklouti peppers are picked and crushed together at the heart- and tongue-warming ratio of fifteen pounds of peppers to every pound of olives.

Together, they create the fused, flavored, still-virgin olive oil that keeps the Campbell’s customers returning for more.

Oil tasting can be an adventure, and comes with quirks. “Rub the ramekin gently on your wrist to warm up the oil,” says Carol as she hand-picks my tasting lineup. “Oh no, not lemon, I wouldn’t do that to you.” Ralph’s better half, who runs the now two-store operation, ponders my palette with the attentiveness of a matchmaker: “Here, rosemary.” Tasting sans bread, the oil is sucked up and savored; the aged balsamic, sweetened only by the sugar in the ripened grape, is thrown back like a shot and left to trickle down the tongue. “Customers come in assuring me they don’t like vinegar. We prove them wrong.”

Operating under the motto “Try before you buy,” the entrepreneurial duo insists their products sell themselves. “We don’t push anything,” chuckles Carol as she banters with staff, most of them long-term and included in business decision-making. “We just help people choose.” And choice is certainly the most grueling part of the oil- and vinegar-tasting experience. While the products are reasonably priced, the variety is torturous in this kitchen candy-store. Customers at the ABQ Olive Oil Company’s second location at Paseo and Wyoming may peruse the aisles for well over an hour, wandering between metal fustis, dipping chunks of bread and sometimes cheese into the best oils a tongue can taste, trying to decide. Aspiring chefs and health aficionados alike experience boundless flavors—from the nutty grip of butternut squash seed infused olive oil to the crisp, no-sour bite of Gravenstein apple white balsamic vinegar. Shop owner’s tip: Enjoy the former with green chile fused olive oil, not surprisingly the store’s top seller, for a scandalously good pairing. True to the store’s motto, just try it, and you will buy it.

10700 Corrales Road NW, Albuquerque, 505-899-9293 8001 Wyoming Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, 505-821-1119 www.abqoliveoilco.com

Experience great taste through all five senses.

Built on La Fonda’s original 1920s patio, La Plazuela would be picture perfect even without its storied architecture and majestic skylights. If great taste is our benchmark, service is our hallmark. Treat yourself to a culinary adventure that engages all five senses.

100 E. San Francisco St. • Santa Fe, NM 87501 505-995-2334 • www.lafondasantafe.com/la-plazuela

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back of the house

Right in the Moment

CHEFS WILKS AND COLLEEN MEDLEY ARE EQUAL PARTS CLASSIC AND INNOVATIVE

By Kristie Wang ∙ Photos by Stephanie Cameron

Left: Chefs Wilks and Colleen Medley in their eclectic dining room; right: Chef Wilks puts the finishing touches on steamed Prince Edward Island mussels.

Chefs Wilks and Colleen Medley are the eponymous couple behind a fresh addition to the Taos food scene—the restaurant and wine shop, Medley. With experience living and cooking in New York, Los Angeles, and DC, the chefs offer the best of the many culinary worlds that they’ve inhabited.

Medley offers upscale staples like filet mignon and bay scallops Rockefeller, as well as ever-changing specials that attest to the chefs’ versatility and range of interests. Colleen noted that the duo is inspired by ingredients that “feel fun and tasty, and whatever feels right in the moment.”

While Medley’s menu nods to traditional New Mexican cuisine (such as a shepherd’s pie with green chile and a stuffed acorn squash dish), the chefs intentionally draw from a variety of other influences.

“I’ve been eating New Mexican food my whole life, and I love it,” Wilks said. “But we’re trying to provide a different option. There’s so much good New Mexican food here already!”

“The core menu contains dishes we’ve been doing for years—food we like and that we’ve done successfully,” Wilks added. “Our specials are where the daily creativity comes in.”

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For instance, they recently served a classic Hereford prime rib, while a special bar menu featured smoked lamb belly with a sunny-side-up egg and bearnaise sauce. The dessert menu regularly offers downright

Left: pastry chef Colleen setting up dessert; right: tin roof sundae.

comfort food (e.g., a rich cheesecake brownie with vanilla bean ice cream), as well as more adventurous pairings, such as a frozen raspberry mousse crowned with lavender granita and sesame-almond dacquoise.

Colleen trained as a pastry chef at Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island and helms the dessert menu. Wilks, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in New York, is responsible for “everything else.” The couple works closely together on all aspects of the restaurant, however, and credit their talented team of staff with helping to develop a strong repertoire of changing specials. Their creative process is a mix of brainstorming, spontaneous inspiration, and intentional experimentation.

“Every now and then, lightning will strike,” Wilks explained. “But the strongest plates come together when you can bounce ideas off people. My sous chef, Richard Pyatt, is really good at what he does.

Often, he’ll tweak an idea, or point out something completely new.”

Colleen adds that recently the team has used wine as the initial thread for sparking new dishes. “It’s become our new weekly routine to open some nice wine and sit down with Richard, as well as our two front-of-the-house managers. We’ll just throw out ideas,” Colleen said. “For example, we might find that a particular wine tastes like cherries and decide to pair duck with it. It’s really fun to soundboard off of each other.”

The chefs’ philosophy of “casual fine dining” at Medley means that patrons can equally have a relaxed meal with friends (with perhaps a shepherd’s pie and a beer) or a formal dining experience (with perhaps

filet mignon and a specialty cocktail). “It leaves things open to interpretation,” Colleen said.

“The concept [of casual fine dining] comes through in the food, too,” Wilks added. “We serve large portions at a reasonable price.

I’m not plating with tweezers. I don’t use syringes and tiny squeeze bottles. We could do that, but our approach is looser, more natural.

We drop herbs and let them fall where they may. The dish needs to be beautiful—it needs to look good when it hits the table—but as the sauce comes off the spoon is how it’s going to be on the plate.”

Colleen’s approach to constructing desserts, however, is more meticulous and planned. “Pastry is a whole different animal, because you’re making things ahead of time,” she said. “I think about proportions, squares, neutral space, the symmetry of the dots.”

The chefs have created an inviting atmosphere to share their passion for great food with the community. The open view to the kitchen connects the diners to the team behind the food. The restaurant’s interior, beautifully warm and eclectic, from its retro turquoise chairs to its rustic wood surfaces, beams with personality.

Wilks recalls a food critic who stumbled into the restaurant after getting caught in the rain during a hike. “The person was sopping and didn’t expect us to let them in,” he says. “But we said ‘Yes, of course!’ That’s what we’re shooting for—I don’t want people to feel like they have to dress to the nines to come in, or drop a hundred bucks a head. You can have a few beers and good food, and just hang out and enjoy yourself.”

100 State Highway 150, El Prado, 575-776-8787, medleyinelprado.com WWW.EDIBLESANTAFE.COM

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tools of S the

trade

By Stephanie Cameron

etting the table can be an artistic expression that accentuates culinary delights when entertaining friends and family. If you seek table-setting inspiration, look no farther than Array. This modern day mercantile offers an ever-changing collection of objects to help you define your personal space as well as the space for your guests at your table.

Partners Tom Stark and Larry Redelin, who opened Array two and a half years ago, travel the country for the distinctive items that fill the store and draw in local clientele. Stark manages the day-to-day operations, which for him is an easy leap from his previous experience in specialty products, grocery, and the restaurant industry. Since neither man was ready for retirement, Stark and Redlin wanted to create a business that allowed them to have fun, meet interesting people, travel for the business, and be sustainable. Stark happily reports these all have come together for them in the business. “Shoppers are always mesmerised by the selection, and they embrace the concept that shopping should be an adventuresome and civilized customer experience,� explains Stark. Buying in small batches ensures ever-changing offerings for the locals and allows flexibility to purchase from local artisans whenever possible. Array, as its name suggests, houses an eclectic inventory that defies easy categorization; it offers something for everyone and one never knows what discoveries await.

So whether you are looking for that ideal gift, the perfect centerpiece for your dining room table, or to create an entire experience around your next dinner party, Array is sure to inspire.

Tom Stark at Array.

ARRAY Objects for the Home & Gifting

Spoons

Array 418 Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe, 505-699-2760 www.arrayhome.com

Caravan Dinner Napkins (left) Hand-spun linen dinner napkins in six rich color ways. These easy-care napkins will accentuate any dinner table setting. Set of four $74

Coral & Tusk Dinner Napkins (right)

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Coral & Tusk dinner napkins are first created as pencil drawings, redrawn stitch-by-stitch, machine-embroidered in India, and hand-finished in Brooklyn, New York. Set of four $194

Serving spoons from India, Peru, and other worldwide locales, made from teak and other indigenous woods, bamboo, shell, and horn.

Salad Servers $32 - $85 Small Serving Spoons $5 - $8

Simon Pearce Glassware Overlooking a picturesque covered bridge and perched atop the falls of the Ottauquechee River in Quechee, Vermont, the Simon Pearce workshop occupies a historic colonial-era woolen mill. Simon Pearce and his designers and artisans still practice the same glassblowing principles and techniques as Simon brought with him from Ireland.

These handmade items are aesthetically beautiful and functional. All pieces may be monogrammed at the factory.

Small Carafe $75 Large Carafe $150 Stemware and Glassware

$60 - $70

Entrance of Array.

Johnnny Heads The quirky Johnny Heads and Johnny Head tealight holders make for good dinner conversation. From Mud Statuary in Seattle, each precast concrete piece is carefully formed and offered in several patinas. $30 - $33

Magnifying Glasses

Pean Doublyu Carafe & Glassware From a design studio in Providence, Rhode Island, this “screen” textured, hand-blown glassware is expressive and fun. The artists combine tactile and visual elements that result in organic glassware with a modern vibe and a good hand-feel.

$46 - $135

Array carries more than twenty styles and sizes of magnifiers at any given time. $21 - $74

Smush Bowls Designed by Santa Fe artist Yuki Murata, this nesting set of “Smush” bowls is perfect for morning cereal, ice cream, yogurt, and the like. The artist’s design emerges from her interest in organic forms and appreciation of the natural world.

Small Smush Bowl $28 Medium Smush Bowl $32 Large Smush Bowl $39 WWW.EDIBLESANTAFE.COM

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behind the bottle

To the Festivals with Purpose NOTABLE STRATEGIES FOR WINE FESTIVALS

By Cameron Weber ∙ Photos by Victor Gibbs

Vintners welcome conversations about their products at the Southern New Mexico Wine Festival in Las Cruces, May 2015.

If one form of celebration translates across New Mexico’s many traditions, it is the festival or fiesta.

Gathering us together to mark the passing of time by sharing food, story, drink, and skills, festivals thrive here. Our cultural histories are suspended in the feast days and dances at the Pueblos, in the markets and processions of Northern New Mexico, 14

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and in the craft and crop festivals that became iconic in the last century. While we might not see contemporary equivalents of the historically proportioned 1893 Alfalfa Palace in Roswell, today’s festivals offer impressive displays of local goods.

The wine festival particularly brings the community out to share local flavors.

Taste Some

at a festival near you!

2016 WINE FESTIVALS

Taos Winter Wine Festival – January 27-31 Southern New Mexico Wine Festival (Las Cruces) – May 28-30 Albuquerque Wine Festival – May 28-30 Red River Fine Art & Wine Festival – June 17-20 Santa Fe Wine Festival at Los Golandrinas – July 2-3 Cloudcroft Art & Wine in the Cool Pines - August Harvest Wine Festival (Las Cruces) – September 3-5 New Mexico Wine & Jazz Festival (Albuquerque) – September 3-5 Tularosa Basin Wine and Music Festival (Alamogordo) - September Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta – September 21-25 Wine Festival at Isleta Lakes (Albuquerque) - October Carlsbad Winter Wine Festival – December 2-3

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Southern New Mexico Wine Festival in Las Cruces, May 2015, just one of the state's dozen local wine festivals.

The 2016 schedule of New Mexico wine festivals promises twelve such celebrations spanning the seasons. You can tip a glass in the name of local discovery in the flurries at the Taos Winter Wine Festival in January or the Carlsbad Winter Wine Festival in December, then gain altitude to escape the heat at the Santa Fe Wine Festival at Las Golandrinas in July.

As you explore the terroir of New Mexico at 2016 wine festivals, consider the following strategies to make the most of your experience.

1

Identify your expectations beforehand. For example, are you searching for your next go-to local wine for gift giving?

Maybe you want to find this season’s accessible white wine to start your summer dinners. Turn your festival experience into a treasure hunt, but know the treasure you seek before your start.

2

When you arrive at the festival, make an initial tour before tasting to identify which vendors you definitely want to visit. Make a list or mark these on your festival map.

Consider researching wineries beforehand, and make a list of vendors to visit. With the New Mexico Wine and Grape Growers Association website (nmwine.org), try to predict which winery will have your new favorite wine waiting.

3

Take notes as you go. When you encounter a wine you love, document it with more than one fleeting glass. Use a simple method to keep track. Take a business card from the table and write the wine on the back. Use your phone to take notes or voice memos. Or text yourself a photo of the label and a message. Pick a method to document your reviews and you’ll find it easier to stay focused as you tour.

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4 5

Eat a hearty meal before you start tasting. You want to keep a clear head for as long as possible, so don’t skip this one.

Accept snacks as you go. Drink plenty of water to ensure a good time; take your own water bottle to avoid the need to seek it out.

Arrange for safe and sober transportation at the end of the event. The good times should last all the way home.

Strategize for a more pragmatic approach to wine festivals this year and leave with more than just an empty glass. If you have found wine tasting to be intimidating in the past, the atmosphere of open curiosity and excitement at a festival can help you get more comfortable with wine. Chat with the winemakers, as most are excited to share what they know about wine and may provide you with a vocabulary to articulate your preferences.

At most New Mexico wine festivals, the intersection of wine and the arts is on display with local artists selling their work. Plan to attend the Red River Fine Art & Wine Festival in June and Cloudcroft Art & Wine in the Cool Pines in August to enjoy an emphasis on the arts as you taste. The NMWGA website provides a guide to the upcoming festivals, profiles of wineries, and tasting tips—additional tools to make the 2016 tasting season entirely approachable. Set out to celebrate every season this year with a wine festival! www.nmwine.com

Steep a cup of Yogi tea and you have something more than delicious. Every intriguing blend of herbs and botanicals is on a mission, supporting energy, stamina, clarity, immunity, tranquility, cleansing or unwinding.

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Every cup is a gift to mind, body and spirit.

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WWW.EDIBLESANTAFE.COM

17

fermenti's paradox

Cellar Dwellers

By Bill Dewan

Jeff Erway (left), president of La Cumbre Brewing, and John Ballard (middle), head brewer at Bosque Brewing share tips on cellaring beer. Dewan's home cellaring fridge (right).

Hi. My name is Bill and I like beer. A lot.

In fact, I’m drinking a beer as I type this, so you know I mean business. The nice folks at edible are also aware of this, and they asked me if I wouldn’t mind talking about local beer. Sure thing. However, a disclaimer is in order: I am not a beer expert. I am not even a beer nerd or beer dork. I am a dork who likes drinking beer. However, if seventeen years of consistent feedback are any indication, nobody likes drinking a beer quite like me.

To get the ball rolling, I’ll begin with cellaring.

In recent years, beer aficionados have taken up the practice of cellaring beer for the same reasons winos cellar wine: over time flavors will change, perhaps even becoming more complex. I have recently jumped aboard this 18

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bandwagon. I acquired the small wine cooler pictured here. While not perfect, it helps my beers maintain a constant temperature while avoiding light exposure. Having it out in the open, though, does present constant temptation. Much like Lionel Hutz whispering to a bottle in the old "Simpsons" episode, “What’s that? You want me to drink you? But I’m in the middle of breakfast!” I’m reminded daily of the tasty sours and stouts sitting a few feet from my kitchen table. If I’m going to save them, I better figure out if I’m even doing it right.

To get an expert opinion on cellaring, I recently sat down with La Cumbre Brewing’s president and master brewer Jeff Erway and Bosque Brewing’s head brewer John Bullard.

Both men offered a few basic tips, including temperature, lighting, and bottle positioning.

First, maintaining temperature is vital to proper aging. “Temperature control is really important,” Bullard offers. “I moved from one house to another and had some beer in a box that ended up in the garage, and there was a bunch of temperature fluctuation.

Some of those beers would have held up great, but they didn’t because of the temperature change.” Erway adds, “Keep the beers at fifty-five degrees. Any colder and they don’t really develop the flavors any further, and any warmer and they start to develop some not-so-great flavors.”

Erway and Bullard also suggest keeping the beer in a dark place and, unlike wine, to avoid storing beer on its side to ensure that the sediment remains at the bottom of the bottle and slows the oxidation process. Both

men also stress that not all beers are suitable for aging. “Stick to the beers that you know are going to age well,” Erway says, “Beers from breweries that have good quality control already, those are the ones that are going to age better.”

Some beers to avoid? Each stressed that India Pale Ales (IPAs) and other hop-heavy beers do not tend to age well, which further dispels the apocryphal narrative that IPAs were invented by an English brewer to survive the passage to India.

have that sharp roast bitterness that will usually round out and mellow, from what we’ve noticed.” Why this mellowing? Erway further explains, “As far as stouts and the non-sour beers—Belgian tripels, barleywine-style beers, doppelbocks—all of those soften in their hop profile. Generally, the malt alcohol complexity will increase.

The oxidative characteristic—as long as the beer is well-brewed—will present less of the wet cardboard oxidative characteristic and many more sherry-like qualities.”

“Do not age hop-forward beer,” warns Erway. “It’s a waste of hops and a waste of your money. They don’t get better.” Bullard agrees, adding, “We want all of our IPAs consumed quickly! I’d prefer under sixty days. The huge hop aromas and flavors that we pack into some of these beers fade really fast, so of course you want to consume those as quick as possible.”

Still, both brewers note that a change in flavor is not necessarily an improvement.

“It depends on what you think improvement is,” says Erway. “If you like the sherry qualities that happen over time, then yes, they improve. I personally like our Malpais Stout with about three or four months on it.

If I had the space, I would literally store the stout for three months before I released it.”

In other words, unless the brewers themselves (e.g., Dogfish Head’s 120 Minute IPA) encourage it, focus on other styles of beer. Try stouts, Belgian dark ales, and sours.

Erway further cautions, “Steer clear of beers with an enormous amount of yeast in the bottle. If it’s coming from a brewery that does nothing to keep yeast out of the bottle, that beer will not get much better because of autolysis, [which is the same] meaty umami soy-like characteristic of soy sauce.”

Also, if your initial cellaring attempts meet with disaster, Bullard encourages you to learn from the experience. “If the beer doesn’t age how you expect it to, don’t get bummed and throw it out. Try to learn from that and understand those off flavors. Take that as an opportunity to expand your palate.”

A final word on cellaring: If you’ve never tried a beer before, drink at least one bottle fresh. Otherwise, how the hell are you going to know how the beer has changed?

With many beers, you might prefer them in their fresher form. As Erway states, “It’s up to you whether you like that or not.

Some people like a little more edginess to it.

Higher alcohol beers almost always soften over time. The alcohol will have less of a heat. But, after having two kids, I stay clear of beers that are much over ten percent. My kids don’t give a damn what I feel like at 6:15 in the morning. They just don’t care.”

So for those beers suitable for aging, what flavor changes might we expect? According to Erway, “It’s different for every individual beer, and it really depends on the quality of the brewer and the type of beer.

For sour beers, for the first few years they gain acidity, and in time certain aspects will soften. Vinegar qualities will generally soften.” In fact, Erway goes on to state his preference for aged sours, noting, “In my experience, the sour beers tend to age the most gracefully. And they can also take a beating sometimes! I have found some very dusty bottles in a certain liquor store just north of Santa Fe that is a goldmine sometimes for finding really old, beaten up beer.

And they can be sublime.”

La Cumbre Brewing 3313 Girard Boulevard NE, Albuquerque 505-872-0225, www.lacumbrebrewing.com

For stouts and other dark ales, expect a softening with the aging process. “With a lot of our darker beers,” says Bullard, “you

Bosque Brewing Company 8900 San Mateo Boulevard NE, Albuquerque 505-433-3889, www.bosquebrewing.com

Nor does my cat. Happy cellaring, folks.

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ANCIENT WAY CAFE & EL MORRO RV PARK AND CABINS 505-783-4612, elmorrorv@gmail.com www.elmorro-nm.com Visit our Website for Monthly Dinner Menu Creative Casual Cuisine. Hike El Morro National Monument, Local Art at the Old School Gallery.

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local heroes

edible Santa Fe Announces Our 2016 Local Heroes We recognize this group of amazing individuals and organizations for their work to create healthy, sustainable food systems in New Mexico. We determine these awards through reader nominations and a reader poll. The local food movement is a grassroots effort that often involves late nights, backbreaking work, dirty fingernails, and being a generally good sport. In an effort to showcase these individuals, organizations, and businesses for their work to build a stronger local economy and a robust local food system, each issue this year will spotlight several of the winners with interviews about the work they do.

Here, our readers share words on why these individuals and businesses should be nominated.

BEST BEVERAGE ARTISAN, ALCOHOLIC Santa Fe Spirits

BEST BEVERAGE ARTISAN, NON-ALCOHOLIC Ohori’s Coffee Roasters

“We've gone to Ohori's since it was started as a quality fresh-roasted coffee place and have always appreciated their dark roasts. Ohori's is local, lively, and well worth a visit.” www.ohoriscoffee.com

BEST CAFE ALBUQUERQUE The Grove Cafe & Market

Jason and Lauren Greene, The Grove Cafe & Market

“Santa Fe Spirits has the distinct aromas and flavors of the region. They use unique flavors of spirits that put New Mexico on the craft distillers map.” www.santafespirits.com 20

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“The food is great quality and healthy. It is genuine deliciousness that is cared for and cooked properly.

Everything exceeds your expectations. Organic, local, sustainably oriented, this place is amazing! I wish this piece of food heaven could be found everywhere!” www.thegrovecafemarket.com

BEST CAFE SANTA FE RASA Juice Bar

BEST CHEF ALBUQUERQUE Jonathan Perno

Andrea Abedi, Wendy Borger, and Pamela Sweeney RASA Juice Bar

“There is none better. So much that is complex, always from scratch, with great talent for blending flavors and originality in taste and texture. One doesn't miss the sugar, dairy, and gluten. They work magic here with ingredients and everything tastes better than any other version…ever.

Truly. Their desserts are to die for. Their meals are scrumptious, the best in town. Beverages, smoothies, juices… divine. I really don't want to eat anywhere else.” www.spandaramayoga.com

BEST FOOD ARTISAN Old Windmill Dairy

Michael and Ed Lobough Old Windmill Dairy

“Old Windmill Dairy’s artisan cheeses are something completely different from machine made. And Ed and Michael have been a big part in growing the local food community and economy in the state.” www.theoldwindmilldairy.com

“Jonathan Perno exemplifies field-to-fork cuisine. He works tirelessly to promote organic, sustainable food.” www.lospoblanos.com

BEST CHEF SANTA FE Matt Yohalem

“Chef Matt has devoted the last twenty years to sourcing as many local ingredients as he can as well as teaching at the Santa Fe School of Cooking, making donations to numerous charities and organizations. He is very involved within the community and Il Piatto has become the local favorite of many.” www.ilpiattosantafe.com WWW.EDIBLESANTAFE.COM

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BEST FARM Red Tractor Farm

BEST FOOD ORGANIZATION Santa Fe Farmers Market Institute

Dory Wegrzyn, Nerissa Muus, and Casey Holland Red Tractor Farm, photo by Adam Rubenstien

“Red Tractor Farm is a woman-owned and -operated, small-scale sustainable farm in the South Valley of Albuquerque that does a wonderful job involving and educating the community through their CSA, outreach events, farmers market, workshare program, and student internship program. Not only that, but they are friendly and welcoming to boot!” www.redtractorfarm.net

BEST FOOD TRUCK Street Food Institute

Santa Fe Farmers Market Institute Crew

“SFFMI helps preserve small farms in our community.

The work they do strengthens Northern New Mexico’s agriculture and culture alike.” www.farmersmarketinstitute.org

BEST FOOD WRITER Cheryl Alters Jamison

Chef David Sellers (top left) with past SFI students Carrie Avritt, Vernon Pajarito, and Alfredo Trujillo.

“Empowering young people to succeed as culinary entrepreneurs creating a new wave in healthy, delicious food truck culture. Northern New Mexico's Street Food Institute is the epitome of a community organization.” www.streetfoodinstitute.org 22

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“Cheryl is an inspiration and truly supports the local food movement. She is the voice for New Mexico’s culinary culture.” www.excitedaboutfood.com

BEST PUB Fire & Hops

CASSIE’S FITNESS BOUTIQUE

WHERE FITNESS & FASHION MEET! FOR WOMEN & MEN 505 Cerrillos Rd. @ LUNA Courtyard Downtown Santa Fe • 505-983-0647 Free Parking at Cerrillos & Manhattan streets

www.cassiesfitnessboutique.com

“Charming, delicious gastropub in Santa Fe. This place has all the ingredients of the hippest, hoppiest gastropubs in New York City: a small, intimate, low-lit setting; a diverse and exciting beer, cider, and wine list; and, of course, delicious food.” www.fireandhopsgastropub.com

䐀攀氀椀挀椀漀甀猀 愀渀搀 昀爀攀猀栀 匀漀甀琀栀 䤀渀搀椀愀渀 挀甀椀猀椀渀攀⸀ 㔀㔀㄀ 圀 䌀漀爀搀漀瘀愀 刀搀Ⰰ 匀愀渀琀愀 䘀攀 㔀 㔀ⴀ㤀㌀ ⴀ㔀㔀㈀㄀ 簀 瀀愀瀀攀爀ⴀ搀漀猀愀⸀挀漀洀

BEST GROCERY RETAILER Kaune’s Neighborhood Market “Cheryl has been a pillar in the Santa Fe grocery scene for many years. She has elevated Kaune's to a comfortable and upscale boutique market that offers the basics as well as new and unusual food products for foodies and non-foodies alike…and has a great wine department.

She's a conscientious employer and buys from local farm sources, as well. She's an all-around great contributor to the local, edible food scene who deserves to be recognized for her efforts.” www.kaunes.com

E S T.

20 0

4

ORDER ONLINE www.jerkybyart.com 1717 San Pedro Drive NE, Albuquerque • 2235A Bosque Farms Blvd, Bosque Farms 1520 Deborah Road, Suite J, Rio Rancho WWW.EDIBLESANTAFE.COM

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Kaune's Neighborhood Market

BEST RESTAURANT SANTA FE Radish & Rye

BEST RESTAURANT ALBUQUERQUE Vinaigrette

Camille Bremer and Dru Rubrish Radish & Rye

“Radish & Rye works with over thirty local vendors from New Mexico. It takes an enormous amount of effort to coordinate so many different sources to create a cohesive menu. This kind of mission needs to be celebrated to honor R&R's commitment to the local community.” www.radishandrye.com

MIXOLOGIST 2016 Quinn Stephenson Stephenson's figaro cocktail with fig-infused bourbon and balsamic reduction

Erin Wade Vinaigrette in Albuquerque

“Erin Wade’s vision is sustainable, just like the produce she harvests everyday from Nambé. Three-quarters of Vinaigrette’s ingredients in peak season are from that single location, demonstrating her prowess as a farmer, not just as a restaurateur.” www.vinaigretteonline.com

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“Stephenson commands knowledge of spirits and flavor pairings. His ‘reverence for the ingredients’ inspires him to thoughtfully create signature cocktails that encourage locals to open their minds to something beyond the quintessential New Mexican tequila margarita.”

BEST SPECIALTY RETAILER The Cheesemonger

Jonn Gutierrez The Cheesemonger

“John Gutierrez passionately supports artisan dairies around the US, as well as local dairies and food producers in New Mexico, and showcases their products in the store.” www.cheesemongersofsantafe.com

OLLA AWARD Michelle Franklin, La Montañita Cooperative Distribution Center Read the interview with our Olla Award winner on the next page.

Visit www.ediblesantafe.com/localheroes for stories on our past winners.

WINTER MENU FEATURE: At Vernon’s Speakeasy in Los Ranchos, awardwinning Executive Chef Richard Pfaff has described his approach as a “commitment to local food.” We pride ourselves on a menu that is both seasonal and local -- whenever possible. The Coffee-Braised Beef Short Ribs are made from New-Mexican short ribs, Villa Myriam coffee, micro-greens grown down the street from the restaurant, and mushrooms from Edgewood.

Make your reservations at yougottapassword.com or at 505.341.0831. And wait for the word.

fa c e b o o k . co m / t h e h i d d e n s t e a k h o u s e

local heroes

Michelle Franklin OLLA AWARD

The Olla Award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions in the realm of good food work in Northern New Mexico, and who are creating a more robust local food system.

Michelle Franklin manages the La Montañita Cooperative Distribution Center (LMCDC), which serves as market and distribution for hundreds of local farmers and food artisans. Additionally, LMCDC provides local and organic food to hundreds of restaurants, grocery retailers, caterers, food businesses, and many others. Through her vision for and work at LMCDC, Franklin, with the support and perseverance of her dedicated staff and cooperators, has done more than anyone to improve local and regional supply chains for New Mexico producers.

Tell us a little about your work.

In my work at La Montañita Co-op over the last thirty years, I have had the opportunity to work closely with many food-related organizations including Farm-to-Table, SweetGrass Producers Coop, Rocky Mountain Farmer's Union, New Mexico Organic Commodity Commission, National Cooperative Grocers Association, Farmer's Market Association, South Valley Economic Development Center, and the Winrock Wallace Center.

What do you love most about local food? Why? Working with local foods offers me a connection to place, my immediate community, and the larger region that I work and play in.

It is a web that includes faces and history, relationships and opportunities to positively impact many lives.

What are a few of your 'bests'?

Photo by Stephanie Cameron

“Michelle Franklin has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to the importance of local, organic foods, to the needs of farmers, and to the communities that surround the farms. She makes sure that farmers can get all of their products to markets throughout New Mexico and assists in educating consumers in home and restaurant kitchens to the importance of buying locally grown organic foods and the importance to the whole community to pay a fair price for foods. She quietly makes a difference all over the state.

She is truly an unsung hero who deserves recognition for all she does to bring great food to homes and businesses across New Mexico.”

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The best part of adulthood is now having an adult son who, evidently, I have raised to appreciate and love local as much as myself.

On his visit this Christmas, he insisted that we have our holiday meal at Los Poblanos and then lots of breakfast burritos from Casa Benevidez making it the best part of the holidays.

What are you passionate about?

Working directly with local producers. It allows me the opportunity to have a direct impact on their success as I facilitate access to a market for their product.

How did you get to where you are now?

In 1970, my sister-in-law’s father, who just retired as a Louisiana agricultural extension agent, showed me how to properly use a hoe as I planted my first garden on the banks of the Mississippi. Later that year I joined my first food co-op. I went on to work in other food co-ops, credit unions, garden co-ops, and eventually at La Montañita, which brought together the values of cooperation and local food.

What would you be doing if you weren’t working at the co-op?

I would still be a "back-to-the-land" hippie.

If you knew you wouldn’t fail, what would you try?

When I retire I would like to master making breads in my woodfired oven and perhaps marketing them. I am open to any help from our local experts out there!

What gets you fired up?

昀漀爀 爀攀猀攀爀瘀愀琀椀漀渀猀 㔀 㔀ⴀ㤀㠀㐀ⴀ㄀ 㤀㄀ 漀爀 椀氀倀椀愀琀琀漀匀愀渀琀愀䘀攀⸀挀漀洀 㤀㔀 圀攀猀琀 䴀愀爀挀礀 匀琀爀攀攀琀Ⰰ 匀愀渀琀愀 䘀攀

Dancing to blues music connects me to my soul.

Any sage words?

Growing up in New Orleans taught me to appreciate many kinds of foods, good cooking, and that there is a place for everyone in the parade.

叠愀渀欀 夀漀甀 䤀氀 倀椀愀琀琀漀 眀漀甀氀搀 氀椀欀攀 琀漀 攀砀瀀爀攀猀猀 漀甀爀 栀甀洀戀氀攀

最爀愀琀椀琀甀搀攀 昀漀爀 洀愀欀椀渀最 甀猀 愀 䰀漀挀愀氀 䠀攀爀漀 眀椀渀渀攀爀⸀

䰀漀挀愀氀 䠀攀爀漀 䄀眀愀爀搀㨀 䈀攀猀琀 䌀栀攀昀Ⰰ 匀愀渀琀愀 䘀攀

W IN E BI S T R O

Great Wine & Comforting Food Lunch & Dinner Monday–Saturday Sunday Supper 304 Johnson St, Santa Fe 505-989-1166 • terracottawinebistro.com

US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack (above). Franklin gives a tour in the CDC warehouse to producers and the US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack (below). Photos courtesy of La Montañita Co-op.

WWW.EDIBLESANTAFE.COM

27

the third plate question

An Interview with the Greenes AT THE GROVE CAFE & MARKET

By Marjory Sweet • Photos by Stephanie Cameron

Left: Jason and Lauren Greene. Right: Jason's third plate; charred Brussel sprouts with basil pesto, preserved lemon, Benton's bacon, rye crumble, and farm egg.

Even on the first visit, lunch at The Grove Cafe & Market feels familiar: poached eggs, chopped salad, turkey sandwiches, salted chocolate chip cookies. Simple food expertly prepared drives Lauren and Jason Greene’s restaurant ethos. “It’s about getting the best ingredients” Jason says. Order a BLT in August at The Grove and you will be presented with the sandwich you know, but elevated: Brandywine tomatoes picked that morning four miles from the restaurant, North Valley greens, bacon from legendary craft smokehouses, local bread, and homemade spreads.

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Jason’s cooking reveals his North Carolina roots. You might find a homemade relish plate on the specials board, benne seeds garnishing soup, or a wedge of golden cornbread and Benton’s ham served alongside bowls of heirloom beans. His Southern sensibility is fundamental to the way he prepares and thinks about food: “Southern technique means using all the ingredients that grow in one place,” he says, “and cooking them in a homestyle way.” The best food is resourceful and regional. Lucky for Albuquerque—and its local farmers and consumers—the Greenes chose Albuquerque as their place.

What do you see as the role of the chef in the farm-to-table movement?

JASON: We’ve always talked about education. That is a big factor. A chef who chooses to use local food has to accept the fact that the chef has to drive the food. Say, a farmer has delicata sqaush and you want to stuff them, and you get the squash in and it’s not the size you expected. You have to be more creative. If you don’t think outside the box, you can’t really grasp the concept of using local food.

Meaning, you start with the ingredients as opposed to a menu.

JASON: Exactly. That’s the big thing. I look forward to hearing from farmers about what they have available week to week. It’s fun and now it’s a regular thing.

LAUREN: And it’s a responsibility. It brings Jason so much joy, but it is harder in many ways. You get tomatoes in and they’re not what you were thinking they were going to be and then whatever was in your head changes. You have to be dedicated to it.

JASON: If you’re in the culinary profession, you are here because you just want to cook and be creative. To work directly with food and make people happy.

What do you see as the role of the farmer?

What should be asked of the farmer?

JASON: The farmer needs to be professional. The growers we work with take it seriously. They need to be creative too—not growing the same squash, the same tomatoes. They have to think: what else can I grow that’s different?

What do you see as the role of the consumer in farm-to-table dining?

LAUREN: Try new things. That’s what we want from them. We train our staff to give our customers the facts on local produce and any unusual vegetables, and we encourage people to try them.

JASON: Over ten years, it’s gotten so much easier.

LAUREN: And now, we feel the freedom to be creative. It’s exciting.

JASON:…And our food has always been simple. We cook the food we want to eat and chefs want to eat and farmers want to eat. It’s food that is everyday, approachable stuff. As long as we serve that kind of food every time—like the best BLT with the best ingredients—then the customer isn’t intimidated, they just think, “That’s really good,” and then, “Wow, where did they get those tomatoes? What kind of bacon is that?”

Which is where the educational component enters in and really works.

LAUREN: Good food should cost more.

High-quality food is more expensive. It’s a customer’s responsibility to understand that.

We can do our part by making it delicious and educating them and taking care of their experience, but then it’s their responsibility to understand why that meal costs what it does.

It’s always a challenge in food to find a balance between accommodating and challenging people. At The Grove, you achieve that balance through serving excellent, simple dishes.

JASON: We want our restaurant to be timeless. Stick to the basics. What’s better than a great tomato salad? Great salt, great olive oil, the best tomatoes. Is there anything better? I cooked fine dining ten years ago and I thought that’s what I wanted to do. And then I realized you can work at that level, but make the food casual and approachable and more people are going to get it.

LAUREN: It’s more community oriented that way, too.

How has your relationship to working with local food evolved over the past ten years? Have there been pivotal moments in your experience with local food?

LAUREN: I went to the farmers market a few years ago and I knew so many farmers.

And I noticed all of this food that we had on our menu. It was so rad to realize that I knew these people because they supply our restaurant with food. I knew them, they knew me.

Through food.

JASON: You feel like these farmers are part of the family. After ten years, a lot of people come through, and then there are the ones who stick with you. That’s why Lauren and I are here everyday and that’s why we have been successful.

LAUREN: A handful of people, you can tell, are on their farms everyday. They sow the seeds, harvest the food, inspect it before delivery. You can tell the difference. Same with restaurants.

What would you like to see grown locally that you currently do not have access to?

JASON: Grains, if they could grow here.

Beans that could grow here. Pork. In another life, I would buy a property and raise pigs.

Just two hundred pigs, raised right, sold just

to the people I want them to go to. I would love to see someone do that.

One example of a truly local food culture is Southern cuisine. Being from the South, Jason, does that tradition influence you?

JASON: I always think of my cooking as Southern style. California products, Southern technique. That’s how I like to cook.

What does Southern technique mean?

JASON: Southern technique means using local dairy, corn, tomatoes—using all the things that grow in one area and cooking them in a homestyle way.

What is missing in our local food community? What could improve it?

LAUREN: My interest is keeping the consumer educated. I want to communicate to people that this farm and this farmer brought you this food.

JASON: And do they care? I wish there was some kind of formal, government-regulated system that acknowledges restaurants who actually buy and serve local. Like a sticker that rates your commitment to local food. Hopefully over time people will understand that we buy almost everything local. It’s a process.

LAUREN: But we also don’t want to plaster it everywhere. We want people to taste the difference.

A balance between active education and letting the products speak for themselves.

That is always a question for growers at market, too. What would your “Third Plate” look like?

JASON: It would go back to my Southern roots—a vegetable plate. Really good vegetables: shaved, roasted, pickled. Really good beans, crowder peas, and really good cornbread. Vegetables cooked right, in all different forms. It’s like wine—terroir. If you eat a plate of amazing local vegetables, you get a taste of your community.

600 Central Avenue SE, Albuquerque 505-248-9800, www.thegrovecafemarket.com

WWW.EDIBLESANTAFE.COM

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cooking fresh

New Mexican Soul Food A COLLABORATION Photos by Jeanette Hart-Mann ∙ Recipes by Sarah Wentzel-Fisher

In 2010, Jeanette Hart-Mann and her family generously hosted me for three months as a WWOOFer (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) on their farm in Anton Chico. When I arrived at the farm, Jenn and I learned we shared some strong common interests, specifically in art and food production. I am forever grateful to Jenn, her family, the ever-

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entertaining farm animals, and those precious seeds for teaching me the practical magic of farming and demonstrating what an art-filled life looks like. What follows is a selection of Jenn’s images which inspired recipes made from some very special regional and seasonal ingredients.

–Nancy Zastudil

These recipes draw on classic New Mexican ingredients to form a simple, but delicious, vegetarian soul food meal guaranteed to satisfy the coldest winter craving.

LOCAL HERO: Best Restaurant Santa Fe We are so happy to be a part of the community!

BLUE CORN BREAD This cornbread is a variation on the recipe from America’s Test Kitchen. We made it more New Mexican using blue corn and green chile, and richer by including feta.

1 1/3 cups blue cornmeal 1 cup all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1 1/4 teaspoons salt 2 1/4 cups fresh or frozen sweet corn kernels 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces 1 cup buttermilk 2 large eggs plus 1 large yolk 1/2 chopped, roasted green chile 1/2 cup feta Preheat oven to 400°F. Whisk cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl. Process corn kernels in a blender until very smooth, about 2 minutes. Transfer corn puree to medium saucepan (you should have about 1 1/2 cups).

Cook puree over medium heat, stirring constantly, until very thick and reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Add 5 tablespoons butter and whisk until melted and incorporated. Add buttermilk and whisk until incorporated. Add eggs and yolk and whisk until incorporated. In a large mixing bowl, using a rubber spatula to fold ingredients together, combine corn mixture, cornmeal mixture, feta, and green chile. Melt remaining butter in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Scrape batter into skillet and spread into even layer. Bake until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes.

SANTA FE

ALBUQUERQUE

321 W. San Francisco 3403 Central NE 10701 Corrales Rd. NW 11225 Montgomery NE 266-7855 899-7500 271-0882 986-8700

Left: Santo Domingo Blue (Zea mays): This regional blue corn makes a nice atole, a warm porridge-style drink made from finely ground cornmeal, that is wonderful during cold winter months in New Mexico. sinc e 1992

Edible Mag - 3.625” x 4.75”

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GREEN GRAVY 4 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons flour 6 large chard leaves, roughly chopped

㘀㌀ 倀愀猀攀漀 搀攀 倀攀爀愀氀琀愀Ⰰ 匀愀渀琀愀 䘀攀

匀琀愀礀 眀椀琀栀 甀猀 搀甀爀椀渀最 刀攀猀琀愀甀爀愀渀琀 圀攀攀欀 ⴀ 䘀攀戀爀甀愀爀礀 ㈀㄀ⴀ ㈀㠀

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 1 cup vegetable stock or water 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/2 teaspoon pepper Salt to taste In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt butter until liquid, then whisk in flour. Add chard and toss lightly to coat leaves. Add vinegar and toss again. Remove from heat and cover to allow chard to steam. Set the skillet aside to finish the gravy. The butter and flour stuck to the bottom will help the gravy thicken. In a small sauce pan over medium heat, combine stock and cream and heat until just hot. Using a blender, puree the chard until incredibly smooth and about 1/3 of the liquid. Over medium high heat, return the chard mixture to the same skillet. Slowly whisk in the remaining liquid and allow to cook until thickened to a good gravy consistency.

MASHED LIMA BEANS

䄀 戀漀甀琀椀焀甀攀 䈀☀䈀 眀椀琀栀 猀琀礀氀椀猀栀 愀挀挀漀洀洀漀搀愀琀椀漀渀猀 愀渀搀 瀀攀爀猀漀渀愀氀椀稀攀搀 猀攀爀瘀椀挀攀 樀甀猀琀 琀栀爀攀攀 戀氀漀挀欀猀 昀爀漀洀 琀栀攀 瀀氀愀稀愀⸀ 刀䔀匀䔀刀嘀䔀 伀一䰀䤀一䔀 伀刀 䌀䄀䰀䰀

椀渀渀漀渀琀栀攀瀀愀猀攀漀⸀挀漀洀

㠀㔀㔀 㤀㠀㐀ⴀ㠀㈀

6 cups water 2 16-ounce packages frozen baby lima beans 2 garlic cloves 1 large fresh rosemary sprig 1 teaspoon salt 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature 1/2 cup heavy cream, warmed 1/2 cup lima bean water 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice Salt and pepper to taste Instructions on page 35.

Left top: Swiss Chard (Beta vulgaris): This green can be grown in all four seasons, producing seed in the summer and greens all year long. Non-native to New Mexico, it is nonetheless prolific with tender yet hardy greens even in the region’s intense growing conditions.

Left bottom: Hopi Red Lima (Phaseolus lunatus): This regional variety, called pala hatiko, can be used both fresh and dried. It makes a great seasonal dried winter soup bean.

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In a large saucepan over medium high heat, combine water, salt, lima beans, garlic, and rosemary sprig. Bring to a boil and cook about 20 minutes, or until beans are soft. Drain, reserving cooking liquid, and discard rosemary sprig. In a food processor, or using an immersion blender, add butter and puree until smooth. Add cream and water a little at a time until desired consistency. Fold in lemon juice and season to taste.

JOHN RIVERA SEDLAR’S

MODERN SOUTHWEST CUISINE

SPICY ROASTED SWEET WINTER SQUASH One 3-pound sweet winter squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch dice 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon molasses 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander 1 teaspoon red chile Salt to taste Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, toss the squash with the olive oil, molasses, cumin, coriander, and red chile. Season to taste. Spread the squash on a baking sheet in a single layer and roast in the oven for about 40 minutes, until tender and lightly browned, tossing once halfway through.

228 EAST PALACE AVE | SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO 87501 RESERVATIONS (505) 982-0883 LUNCH SUNDAY-FRIDAY 11:30-2:30PM DINNER SUNDAY-THURSDAY 5:30-9:00PM | SATURDAY 5:30-10:00PM

GROWN IN ITALY TO

CHARD CHIPS 10 Swiss chard leaves 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 clove garlic, grated 1/8 teaspoon red chile powder Remove chard stems and cut leaves into 2-inch pieces. In a large bowl, toss leaves with all other ingredients. Place leaves in one layer on a plate. Microwave on high for 1 – 3 minutes, checking every 30 seconds until crispy, but not burned. Alternately, bake at 275ºF for 20 minutes or until just crunchy, turning once.

FLAVOR NEW MEXICO

Top left: Calavaza, Cushaw type (Cucurbita argyrosperma): An open-pollinated cross between Mesilla and Velarde Calavaza from New Mexico, this regional variety can be used in mid-to-late winter and spring, if stored well.

BRE Z Z A TIRRENA

Bottom left: Mulato Chile (Capsicum annuum): Open-pollinated and extremely prolific with a superb roasted dark chocolate flavor, this chile makes the best ever red chile sauce.

1 0 0 % I TA L I A N E X T R A VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

B REZ Z ATIRRENA.CO M

Edible Quarter Page 1.indd 1

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1/7/16 10:30 AM

New Mexican Soul Food, plated by Sarah Wentzel-Fisher. Photo by Stephanie Cameron.

PLATING On a warmed plate, drizzle chard gravy. Place a large wedge of cornbread at the center of the plate. Top with mashed lima beans, then winter squash. Finish with more gravy and chard chips.

Pair with an Abiquiu White from Black Mesa Winery or a semi-dry New Mexico cider like the Ligeramente Dulce from Santa Sidra.

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Enjoy Waterwise Dining in the City Different

A FRIENDLY REMINDER...

Eating establishments in Santa Fe are required to display water conservation signage and serve water to customers only upon request.

Save Water Santa Fe

Every drop counts. An 8-ounce glass of unconsumed water is discarded and requires about 16 ounces of additional water to clean the glass.

Saving Water is Always in Season City of Santa Fe Water Conservation Office www.savewatersantafe.com • 505.955.4225

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edible Santa Fe | LATE WINTER 2016

at the chef's table

Chef as Artist

Curated by Stephanie Cameron

As an artist myself, I am always examining how my creative practice plays a role in all facets of my life— whether as a graphic artist, photographer, cook, painter, marketer, or mother. Creativity always enhances what we touch. This thought process and a discussion I had with Cristian Pontiggia late last year inspired these interviews of chefs as artists. I searched for chefs who have a creative practice outside their kitchens and made some lovely discoveries—some were artists first and others chefs, but they all found inspiration from the plate and the canvas. In the following pages of this issue, painters, sculptors, photographers, and chefs tell us about their journey of discovery. Enjoy!

Asparagus Season in Alba, photograph by Matt Yohalem.

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KAI HARPER

Executive Chef / Co-owner, Sugar Nymphs Bistro Were you a chef or an artist first?

I have made art since I was old enough to hold a crayon. I always wanted to attend art school. I went to Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. I really only started working with food to pay for my education.

Tell us a little about your story in relation to food and art.

I see a lot of similarities in preparing food and making art. Probably the most obvious one to me is putting a dish together; it parallels mixing paint. You take a bit of cadmium yellow and mix it with some magenta and you have orange. You put chipotle and ancho chiles in a pot with nuts, tortillas, tomatoes, onions, cinnamon, and chocolate, and you have the beginnings of mole. The same is true of setting up a plate. You put the starch down first, lay the protein on top and then possibly some veggies and a sauce. With a composition you work with a background and a foreground. In the background may be buildings and in the foreground trees. Buildings (starch), trees (protein).

Top left: The Fool and the Flying Ship on the way to Enlighten - mint, figurative painting.

Top right: Red Dog, figurative painting.

Bottom left: Michigan, figurative painting.

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What inspires your creative practice?

Honestly, often there is no inspiration for subject matter but I know I have to continue painting. The process is the practice to me. If I don’t paint nearly every day I have to go back several steps and find myself again. Making art can be magical, just like creating a wonderful sauce; at other times it is just like making salad day in and day out. In my experience if you continue to make the salad over and over, something occurs to you to try a new ingredient, a different kind of dressing, or a different kind of plate to serve it on. So in a sense the salad is the inspiration and you have to stick with it long enough to be able to see its potential.

Zuni Stew

䄀氀氀 漀猀攀 椀渀最猀 昀漀爀 琀栀攀 䬀椀琀挀栀攀渀渀 吀栀攀 䌀栀漀椀挀攀 漀昀 琀栀攀 圀漀爀氀搀ᤠ猀 䈀攀猀琀 䌀栀攀昀猀⸀

匀琀愀甀戀 倀攀爀昀攀挀琀 倀愀渀Ⰰ 匀愀瘀攀 㐀㔀─ 漀û 䴀匀刀倀 ␀㄀㜀㤀⸀㤀㤀 刀椀挀栀 挀漀氀漀爀猀 愀渀搀 搀攀猀椀最渀猀 洀愀欀攀 匀琀愀甀戀 攀渀愀洀攀氀攀搀 挀愀猀琀 椀爀漀渀 瀀攀爀昀攀挀琀 昀漀爀 漀瘀攀渀ⴀ琀漀ⴀ琀愀戀氀攀 搀椀渀椀渀最⸀ 䴀愀搀攀 椀渀 䘀爀愀渀挀攀⸀ 䨀漀椀渀 漀甀爀 氀漀礀愀氀琀礀 瀀爀漀最爀愀洀 愀渀搀 猀愀瘀攀 洀漀爀攀℀ Zuni stew created by Kai Harper.

䐀攀嘀愀爀最愀猀 䌀攀渀琀攀爀Ⰰ 匀愀渀琀愀 䘀攀 㔀 㔀ⴀ㤀㠀㠀ⴀ㌀㌀㤀㐀 氀愀猀挀漀猀愀猀挀漀漀欀椀渀最 ⸀挀漀洀 泰

泰

Where can people see or experience your art?

At present my work can be seen at Sugar Nymphs Bistro. I do show locally in group shows from time to time in Taos and Peñasco, and I am working on a solo show that is going to Dayton, Ohio, this spring.

15046 NM Highway 75, Peñasco, 575-587-0311 www.sugarnymphs.com, www.kaiharperart.com

ER

TY G YM

Does your work as a chef inform your other creative endeavors?

Being a chef requires that I manage people, money, ingredients, and deal with customers. Painting is a very private thing, I actually have to do quite the opposite. I go in my studio, close the door, and pick up a paint brush. The preparation leading up to painting has similarities, there are specific preparations, connections that have to be made if you want to show your work (marketing) and ordering art supplies, but then it is just you and the canvas. There are no prep cooks, dishwashers, or waiters to work with you.

LIB

What role does food play in your creative practice?

Food to me is like art supplies. With my paints, the bigger the palette the more possibilities. However, this is not always necessarily so. One year in art school we had to paint with blue and brown for a whole semester. I learned a lot about those two colors and what I could do with them. I know that I can’t allow an ingredient to become humdrum. I have to continually find a way to see it in a new light just as I use paint, line, or shadow.

www.libertygym.com no initiation fees | new members receive free personal training orientation 505.884.8012 | 2401 Jefferson NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110

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CRISTIAN PONTIGGIA Executive Chef, Osteria D’Assisi

Were you a chef or an artist first?

My parents wanted me to go to art school but I chose culinary school, so a chef. I love my job so much and I love art, but for me art is a hobby, something to release stress.

Tell us a little about your story in relation to food and art.

I think food is the the highest form of art. Because you create it one time and it's gone. Food is not just colorful and visual, it also involves smell and taste, it is the most complete form of art.

What do you create as an artist?

I do abstract paintings on wood. I also have been influenced by southwestern art and have been painting cow skulls.

What inspires your creative practice?

More than anything, the land and terrain around me. I think New Mexico is one of the most beautiful places on earth. And the love of my wife.

What role does food play in your creative practice?

A big one, because I am eating or talking about food most of the time.

Top left: Untitled, venison skull with feather, beads, and paint.

Top right: Untitled, acrylic on plywood using forks as brushes.

Bottom left: Untitled, acrylic on plywood with quail pins.

58 S Federal, Santa Fe, 505-986-5858 www.osteriadassisi.com 42

edible Santa Fe | LATE WINTER 2016

Does your work as a chef inform your other creative endeavors?

It's possible to find inspiration in everything, the people that surround us, the environment, but the secret ingredient is heart. When you do a job you like, it is easy.

Where can people see or experience your art?

Lost Cowboy Tattoos & Gallery has some of my skulls. Guido Baldini is the owner and a good friend. Or on my Facebook page.

In the Studio

Celebrating!

50

years of providing the ultimate Santa Fe dining experience...

LUNCH • DINNER • BAR

Reservations: 505.982.4353 653 Canyon Road compoundrestaurant.com photo: Kitty Leaken

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In the studio with Cristian Pontiggia.

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Untitled, mixed media skull with acrylic and feathers.

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RODNEY ESTRADA

Sous Chef, Hotel Santa Fe Hacienda and Spa Were you a chef or an artist first?

It’s neither first nor last but a little bit of both. When I was young, I enjoyed playing sports. It takes a lot of skill, determination, and drive to become a great athlete. By no means was I a good athlete back then, but I embodied the concept and sensitivities that go along with being an athlete. It’s these sensitivities that gave rise to my creative endeavors.

For an athlete it may be how well you position your feet in order to throw a perfect spiral, for a chef it might be how much salt you put in a pan, and for an artist it could be as simple as how much water on a brush. It’s these sensitivities that helped me integrate all things in my life that have come my way.

Tell us a little about your story in relation to food and art.

I have the sensibility to more or less embody my professional endeavors—to incorporate ingredients, ambiance, cuisine, status, taste, and presentation—in a holistic way.

What do you create as an artist?

I create many things, mostly abstract sculpture. I enjoy painting or working with metal. I have worked with several different mediums that include plaster, fiberglass, wood, clay, and I also create food.

What inspires your creative practice?

Living inspires my creative practices. I am a live wire and enjoy living in the moment. Life registers with me; it’s very exciting. I am embodied, and this has given me a great sense of passion for my career and my love for the arts.

Above left: Bird, driftwood, cast resin, acrylic.

Above right: Good and Evil, fiberglass, driftwood, acrylic.

Below left: Kachina, cast-iron, metal, foam, acrylic.

Pork Belly

Braised pork belly created by Rodney Estrada.

Does your work as a chef inform your creative practice?

Being a chef feeds my creativity. The variations of theme, presentation, texture, and taste are all part of my creative exploration.

Working with these individual parts culminates in the best possible whole expression. This is what every great chef or artist strives for.

What role does food play in your creative practices?

Well, food is the vehicle at my creative core. It’s exciting and brings great pleasure to showcase my work in the kitchen. Recently, I had the chance to work with a chef friend of mine from Oregon, Jack Strong.

I recalled this beautiful story he told me about a dish he made for an event. The dish was comprised of wild caught salmon from a local fisherman, wild mushrooms harvested by local elders, and baby greens picked by kids from the elementary school. Great stories like this one connect us to food, to place, and finally to the plate!

Where can people see or experience your art?

People can come visit me at Hotel Santa Fe Hacienda and Spa and indulge on some of our amazing menu items. We also put on a great artist dinner once a month that usually features a local Santa Fe artist. People can also visit me at my Second Street studio in Santa Fe. 1501 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe, 505-955-7805 www.hotelsantafe.com

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MATT YOHALEM Executive Chef / Owner, il Piatto

Were you a chef or an artist first?

I was an artist first. You have to be. It takes years of training, perfection of the craft, leadership, and business to be a chef. As an artist at a young age, I created food, but that hardly made me a chef. Later I created photography for myself and others.

Today I still create food, but largely I’m the leader of a team of craftspeople trained by me.

Tell us a little about your story in relation to food and art.

Food and photography always remained separate for me until social media. Although I photographed food prior, it was not in a career-oriented manner. Now I photograph for myself, but also for the restaurant and its many visual outlets.

What do you create as an artist?

As a photographer, I create visual expressions of mood, travel landscapes, food, and moments in time.

What inspires your creative practice?

I wish I knew. When I travel with my camera, spontaneity guides me more than photo ops. When I cook, certainly ingredients guide me, but so does the weather, the people, the colors, and my personal culinary desires. Eating is certainly one of my favorite pastimes and one I’ve devoted a lifetime to exploring.

Ravioli

匀甀猀愀渀ᤠ猀 䘀椀渀攀 圀椀渀攀 愀渀搀 匀瀀椀爀椀琀猀 伀渀攀 漀昀 琀栀攀 氀愀爀最攀猀琀 猀攀氀攀挀琀椀漀渀猀 漀昀 眀椀渀攀Ⰰ 挀爀愀昀琀 戀攀攀爀Ⰰ 愀渀搀 猀瀀椀爀椀琀猀 椀渀 琀漀眀渀℀

圀攀 搀攀氀椀瘀攀爀 䔀砀琀爀攀洀攀氀礀 欀渀漀眀氀攀搀最愀戀氀攀 猀琀愀û ㄀ 㔀 匀⸀ 匀琀⸀ 䘀爀愀渀挀椀猀Ⰰ 匀甀椀琀攀 ㄀ ㄀ 簀 㔀 㔀ⴀ㤀㠀㐀ⴀ㄀㔀㠀㈀ 䴀漀渀搀愀礀ꀀⴀꀀ匀愀琀甀爀搀愀礀 ㄀ 愀洀 ⴀ 㠀瀀洀 Squid ink ravioli created by Matt Yohalem.

What role does food play in your creative practice?

Food and life are one and the same for me. I inherently look for food when I travel or when I’m home. Life is one long meal with many courses and much discourse and anticipation between them.

FREE spicEs MeNtioN thiS ad & Get a Free 2 Fl. oz jar oF bleNd with PurchaSe. Valid only at: Santa FE SaVory SpicE. not Valid with any othEr oFFErS. not Valid For onlinE purchaSES. limit onE coupon pEr pErSon. ExpirES: SEpt. 30, 2016.

Does your work as a chef inform your other creative endeavors?

As a chef, I am continually researching. It takes me throughout the region, the country, and the world. It also brings me to cookbooks, magazines, blogs, and stories about food. As I see the world around me I am continuously inspired to “capture” moments in time. Interestingly, I rarely photograph what I eat. It takes away from the experience.

Where can people see or experience your art?

In the restaurant, in my home office, on a variety of personal and professional media outlets, our websites, and in edible—the most recent ads featured my photographs.

95 W Marcy, Santa Fe, 505-984-1091 www.ilpiattosantafe.com Top left: Matt Yohalem creating art in the kitchen, photo

by Rick Scibelli. Middle left: Pilar Sopyn in The Old Santa Fe Farmers Market, photograph. Bottom left: Boys on the Chao Phraya River, Thailand, photograph.

225 Galisteo Street . Santa Fe, NM 87501

(505) 819-5659 . santafe@savoryspiceshop.com Mon-Fri: 10am-6pm, Sat: 10am-5pm, Sun: 11am-4pm

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One Smart Cookie

J. MATTHEW THOMAS’ RECIPE FOR FOOD, ART, AND COMMUNITY

By Laura Bulkin

Top left, clockwise: J. Matthew Thomas at the CERN Hackathon working on a Teams project, Rethinking the Rapid Production of Emergency Housing, October 2015. Photo credit: ThePort / LightMyPhoto. Matt's Bakery Chocolate Chip Quinoa Qookies, Photo courtesy of Matt's Bakery, LLC. J. Matthew Thomas, SG078 (Study in Geometry #78), reclaimed paper and paint, 12x12 inches, 2015. (Private Collection) Photo courtesy of the artist. The History of Food and Shelter Timeline, view entire timeline at www.foodandshelterlab.org. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Taos artist and architect J. Matthew Thomas lives as any Renaissance man might: surrounded by various tools, modes, and expressions of creativity. His artfully designed hundred-year-old adobe house—which he gutted and completely remodeled—is strewn with architectural blueprints, paintings-in-progress, notes, books, music,

Copper pot still at Algodones Distillery edible Santa Fe | LATE WINTER 2016 48

bakeware, and gardening gear. Having started out studying architecture at Kansas State University, ultimately obtaining a graduate degree in architecture and urban planning from Columbia University, Thomas (still in his thirties) has already mastered more arts and sciences than most people attempt in a lifetime.

the grove

cafe market

catering

In 2015 alone, he curated five Taos evenings of Pecha Kucha, a popular presentation format wherein selected participants present twenty images, each for twenty seconds, about their creative ideas and projects; produced The Paseo, a spectacular festival of “unhangable art” and performance that filled Taos’s entire downtown; and, the morning after The Paseo folded its tents, jetted off to THE Port at Cern in Geneva, where he brought his architectural expertise into service as part of a hackathon team for the rapid production of emergency housing.

Thomas is the founder of the interdisciplinary design and research firm Studio Taos, and associate director of the ToolBox, Taos’s premiere makerspace. Thomas is also a prolific and passionate artist. His paintings, stunning geometrical studies that incorporate a variety of reclaimed materials, are currently on exhibit at David Anthony Fine Arts in Taos, and, later this spring, he will have an exhibition of new works at Central Features Contemporary Art in Albuquerque. He also owns Matt’s Bakery where he creates and distributes Quinoa Qookies, a line of artisanal, glutenfree baked goods.

Thomas is currently focused on developing the Food and Shelter Lab, an extension of a study he began in 2011 that looked at two primary human needs. “We need a roof over our heads, we need food—how did these aspects become so separate from each other?” he asked. “I started researching it historically: When was the first temple built, when did we first cultivate grains? How have these things evolved together in different places around the world?”

He posed these questions to his students during a two-year sojourn in Lebanon, teaching architecture and urban planning at the American University in Beirut. While Thomas’s extensive travels have ranged from China to Peru and points between, the Beirut stay had a special meaning for him because of his own Lebanese ancestry. Thomas explained that although the region is known to have a lot of strife, food can bring people together. In Beirut, he said, “Everyone has tabouli and hummus and pita bread and kibbeh nayyeh, the same foods I grew up with in a Lebanese family in Missouri. So I asked my students, how can food become an instigator for community?” He led a design studio called Market Housing with the premise that students would focus on food as the main driver of developing cities, rather than real estate, landprice values, and similar mechanisms.

He also set up a community partnership with one of the only organic farmers in the Middle East, and challenged his students to explore the provenance of their food. “I had the students take a traditional food and trace the origins of each ingredient. They were astounded to see how many ingredients were imported from outside the country,” he explains. “We looked at the foodprint, the amount of energy it takes to bring a tomato halfway around the world. As urban planners, how can we address this? How much space does a tomato need? How can we design a wall or porch or roof to facilitate growth?”

Bring The Grove to your next social or corporate gathering. Options range from classic antipasto platters and custom hors d’ oeuvres to fresh salads, boxed lunches, house english muffins and our signature sweets by the dozen.

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600 Central Avenue SE, just west of I-25 in Albuquerque 505.248.9800

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The PASEO 2015, Taos, New Mexico, Vanessa Ramos-Velasquez and Derek Holzer, A•LIVE Audiovisual Performance, live videomicrograhpy and sound art wherein visual and aural elements share DNA. Photo credit: Sam Lambie for The PASEO 2015.

Thomas’s own mode of eating has undergone a seismic change in the past decade. After suffering years of debilitating stomach inflammation, exhaustion, and mood swings, a blood test returned positive for celiac disease.

The transition to gluten-free diet required him to do some work. “I was afraid of food. I rarely went out to eat. And I really missed cookies. I looked all over and couldn’t find really good baked goods, so I started making and baking for myself. This is how my head works—I wanted cookies I could eat, and I wanted to know more about how food works in our community, so I thought I’d start a business to just dive in and find out.”

He credits Terrie Badhand and Pati Martinson, co-directors of the Taos County Economic Development Corp, for helping bring Matt’s Bakery into reality. “Our TCEDC kitchen is a business incubator. I couldn’t have done it without them,” says Thomas. “I started in their kitchens, took their classes, did a demo, and we had an article in the paper before we were even in business. The product has sold itself.”

Quinoa Qookies are sold in groceries and cafés all over New Mexico, in Chocolate Chip, Sunrise Lemon, and Cinnamon Raisin varieties.

Thomas created the Lavender Lemon Qookie exclusively for Los Poblanos Inn in Albuquerque, using lavender from the inn’s garden.

Thomas met now-husband Richard Spera at a party the week he arrived in Taos; they have been partners in crime ever since. Guests at 50

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Spera’s Casa Gallina Inn, down the road from the couple’s home, get to sample the Qookies fresh from the oven.

“The secret’s in a little bit of sea salt sprinkled on top,” Thomas confided. “I just took the cookies I loved and found a way to make them with a gluten-free flour blend and quinoa. The recipes were developed by trial and error, a lot of ‘Here, try this.’”

He speaks lovingly of the agricultural and culinary community in Taos. “This is such a foodie community. We grow our own food, we go to farmers market. When you work with food in a small town you gain such wonderful relationships. I know the restaurant owners and the growers, who’s got great strawberries, who’s making amazing cheese. There’s a consciousness and tradition. It’s all here—people who understand the land and know how to make food.”

And as for the common thread that runs through his many modes of creative expression, Thomas says, “The Food and Shelter Lab, the projects and events, the paintings, the baking—it all comes about as a way of exploring. I just like making things. And I’m obsessed with pattern. When you see a tray full of cookies, there’s definitely a pattern. Every cookie has to be made the same and there’s a recipe. In my artwork, it’s still pattern, but I’m trying to deliberately disorder it. It’s all a balance between chaos and order, underlying pattern and rawness.”

For more of Thomas’s adventures, visit him at www.studiotaos.com.

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Golden Moments A VISIT WITH ARTIST ALEXIS ELTON

By Erin Elder

Three Sisters Dinner, 2014. Artists, neighbors, and growers gather at the table for a performative installation and an exchange with native and local food cultivated by Jubilee Farm in Northern New Mexico, bringing community, the ritual of eating, sculpture, performance, and big ideas to the table. Photo courtesy of the artist.

On a cold and sunny November Sunday, I take one of my favorite drives from Santa Fe to Chimayó. I pass the hilltop shrines that feel like divine antennae, the ancient santuario with its sacred dirt, the orchards and fields, the trading post that sells the best red chile powder in New Mexico. Although this is my third visit with Alexis Elton, I get turned around looking for the old plaza and the decommissioned post office where she has her art studio. I finally intuit my way there and park in the frozen mud. I am still awed how this plaza—one of the first in what is now New Mexico—feels more like an overgrown wildlife preserve than a civic center.

For six years, artist Elton has farmed this area with Brett Ellison.

They specialize in root crops and have helped to bring back the native Hubbard squash. This season they managed ten acres and have developed an intimacy with both the land and their community.

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Through tall skinny doors, I enter a large room with a blue ceiling and a wood floor patched with tin cans. The heat is blasting, Elton is beaming—her energy effervescent. The room holds bundles of pulled weeds tied discretely with surveying cord, cubes of pressed and dried roots, and many piles of garlic. As I run my fingers through root balls of a plant I do not know she says, “When you farm, you begin to see the endless material, the scale of mass. You see the product and the life force. I wanted to document these cycles, and so I had to bring them into my studio.”

We remove our jackets to perch on stools. Elton reveals layered clothing that incorporates polka dots and gold thread between her hefty boots and a wool hat. She pours lemon water from a Thermos into two small cups. Her fingers are wide and strong and they strike me as gorgeous tools. They work, they make. These are useful hands.

Raised on the Waldorf philosophy and 4H, Elton didn’t think of her rural life in the Hudson River Valley as particularly agricultural. With a fine art degree in sculpture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, she had grown to see the world as creative material. Farming only happened after moving to New Mexico to learn adobe building and after working as a preparator at SITE Santa Fe, where she met Ellison who was farming with two brothers in Las Trampas. As an artist, she began to see that she was “living the work—it was a creative ritual.”

“It was in that first year when I had my aha momement, or what I call The Golden Moment,’” she says. The farm—then called Gemini Farm—had produced hay for their own livestock, a process that took several years, and now it was time to bale. Four mules pulled a cart and baler across a golden field of grain. “I was struck by the importance of that moment. The mules were baling the hay that would feed them all winter. I saw it as a closed loop of production and consumption. It was hard, loud work. It involved land, machine, human, animal, time: all the elements. I thought it was beautiful and I wanted to insert some kind of intention and lightness into it.” This eureka moment led to an art performance during which Elton wore a golden suit, a platinum wig, and red lipstick, while doing the difficult work of baling hay. “It was hilarious to everyone watching, but for me it was about consciousness. This has been pivotal to my work as an artist.”

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With a knife that looks like it has a story of its own, Elton cuts two gold turnips into slender slices. “When does it become art?”

I ask as I reach hungrily for a snack. The turnip is delicious and I gobble it too quickly. Answering my own question, I become aware that this woman in front of me has planted, tended, harvested, and now presented me with this incredible treat. She notices my delight in eating, holds those hands up to conceal a giggle, her eyes smiling behind bold glasses.

“Like everything else, it’s how you show up. I show up as an artist,” she explains.

“So you are what makes it art?” I ask.

“It’s the intention that makes this art. Art is about transformation. It’s about making something through intention... Now I see that even as I’m farming, I’m also in the studio. The land is source. The water is source. There is timing and ritual and many unknowns. How to transform a field into food? It takes all of this to make the artwork.”

Elton has cultivated a porousness that welcomes the world into her studio but also allows passage from the studio out into the world. Her artwork spans from dinners to objects, all of which address a specific place and what is produced there. She describes a sculptural piece called When Grace is Nourishment that involved a garland of garlic, a photo of where the garlic was grown, and a stack of baled hay from which emanated the sounds of clinking mule harnesses and of people harvesting garlic. Still other artworks take the form of seed- or food-sharing events; once she worked with people to dig holes as a form of community building.

“Is feeding people sort of like having an audience?” I ask.

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Top left, clockwise: Alexis Elton, Garlic Harvest, 2015 performance. Alexis Elton, Dirt Drawing, 2014. Alexis Elton’s site specific performance Golden Moment, 2012. Photos courtesy of the artist. Alexis Elton in her studio preparing food to be served for Three Sisters Dinner, 2014.

“People complete the piece!” she exclaims excitedly. “The culmination of all this work is a moment, an experience, the taste of food. You can’t have a dinner party without guests!”

But Chimayó is not an easy place for outsiders. It is a tiny town of primarily generations-old families; it is steeped in tradition and some of the highest rates of heroin-related death in the country. “When I came here, I wondered how I could relate,” she ponders. “How could I honor the local traditions while integrating myself as an outsider? I knew we had to work with the older generation. We had to share and teach and feed people. We had to honor them in the best way that made sense for this place.”

We talk about how far she and Ellison have come in the last few years.

They continued running Gemini Farm after the brothers took the mules to Washington. This year they renamed the farm Jubilee and, with a growing fleet of solar-powered equipment, have found their way into the heart of the community. Elton tells me that Ellison was even elected mayordomo for the Ortega ditch, one of the village’s main acequias.

Our time is short. Now that the last of the garlic has been planted 54

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and winter is settling in, Elton can finally take a break. She heads home to New York for the holidays, planning to surprise her family. I can’t help but think of her trip as something coming full circle. As the season ends, another cycle is complete. I point out that going home might be some kind of golden moment.

“Maybe I’ll wear the platinum wig!” she exclaims.

“Then they’re sure to be surprised!” I shout.

Laughter comes so easily to Elton.

As I open the tall, antique doors, she squeezes me, stuffing into my arms a bottle of apple wine and two Hubbard squash. I make my way back over the landscape and think about Elton, for whom art is a way to cultivate meaning; who frames her own life as intentional, as ritualistic, as part of a cycle of creation and consumption. Just as the mules harvested their own food in that golden moment, art fuels Elton. It feeds the boundless energy that her work requires.

More of Elton’s work can be seen at www.alexiselton.com.

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Discovering Therapy AN ART EXPERIMENT IN DOWNTOWN ALBUQUERQUE

By Julia Mandeville

Left: Julia Mandeville and Max Baptiste at Creative Sessions event at Therapy. Right: Crowd at Therapy.

The people who choose Albuquerque as home are often deeply drawn to its magic, vitality, beauty, and potential. Yet venture outside of the state and, more often than not, the first question we receive is tinged with disbelief and slight disdain: But why would you want to live there?

Max Baptiste and a team of fourteen collaborators work to illuminate the answer. “I think Albuquerque has something that the world is looking for,” says Baptiste, who is intent on championing the creative assets and remedying the perceived ills of New Mexico’s largest city. This is not a typical treatment.

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Through two lease holdings and myriad partnerships, Baptiste is building a constellation of projects including Therapy, which will be housed at the corner of Second Street and Gold Avenue (previously the home of ArtBar). He explains the concept is rooted in a desire to explore, a sense of opportunity, and a willingness to fail. He speaks fluidly, seemingly without breathing. He is ambitious, excited, undaunted. “I’m kind of the black sheep, always. It makes me learn, try things, fail at things. I love failure, and I love being uncomfortable.”

Accordingly, Baptiste’s vision is clear, impassioned, and, fundamentally, no bullshit. He knows exactly what he wants to do to help our complicated burg flourish. “It all started with my feeling about

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This feast for the senses begins with an art-dance-writing infused walk along South Valley acequias and ends with brunch at Valle Encantado Farm, prepared by chef Marie Yniguez. Art & Stroll begins with a walking/writing experience, facilitated by writer Michelle Otero and artist Chrissie Orr and will be interlaced with choreographed dance by Maple Street Dance Space and original artwork by Noel Chilton.

Custom place settings are created by potters H.P. Bloomer, Jennifer DePaolo, and Teresa Larrabee.

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by Farm & Table's executive chef Carrie Eagle and pastry chef Tracy Johnson, with paired wines selected by curator Amy Haas. We will explore incorporating mindfulness and gratitude in everyday tasks such as eating, drinking, walking, and engaging with others.

Food is inherently sensory. It engages our senses every step of the way—we procure, prepare, salivate, and savor. But more importantly, food is social. It connects us to the people who provide for us, for whom we cook, and who eat with us at the same table. Join us at the table as we take you on an exploration of all the senses during this pop-up dinner served up by chef Carrie Eagle. Partners include SCA Contempory Art, Farm & Table, Sol Harvest Farm, and more.

Saturday, March 19 | 10am Valle Encantado Farm | $40

Saturday, March 26 | 1pm Farm & Table | $45

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Top: Installation view of an exhibition of artworks created during ABQ Balloon Blast. On view during the Nob Hill Shop and Stroll, 2015.

Left: Albuquerque/Jemez Pueblo artist Jaque Fragua with his section of the ABQ Balloon Blast wall, which he will turn into a unique artwork. Right: Participants of all ages create artworks during ABQ Balloon Blast by throwing paint filled balloons at a constructed wall.

Photos courtesy of Max Baptiste and Minh Quan.

how amazing the community of artists we have in Albuquerque is… and my intentions are based on bringing and exposing [their talents] to the rest of the world.”

The Therapy team treats the entire endeavor like one sweeping experiment in art, performance, food, beverage, product development, audience and market cultivation, web-based engagement, and community building. Baptiste wants to foster a particular type of environment in which everybody feels like they belong. In his estimation, culinary arts are a critical part of the equation. Therapy will serve as a laboratory for chefs and mixologists to investigate new ideas alongside their visual and performing creative counterparts. Slated to open to the public in February 2016, and designed to be responsive and resilient, the initial goal is modest and prudent: Make it work for ninety days. In fact, by the time this story goes to print, the whole model may have changed.

Baptiste intends first to open an art gallery. Yet he hopes that the notion of artist will encompass the broadest possible range of talent and will be stretched by the exploratory nature of the space. “To me, 58

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everyone’s an artist, because art—like everything else—is a process.

If you paint in a studio or cook in a kitchen all day long, sometimes you get into a standardized way of doing something. But if you have a new environment to do it in, sometimes your creativity changes, and you find new options.”

Therapy’s artists will, however, share certain traits. Original and precise in their work, they’re leaders in their fields—whether street art or craft brewing or food truck. They want to engage their local community while cultivating a global patronage. They are eager to evolve, ready for a larger market, and interested in having support to get there. “Support comes in so many different ways,” says Baptiste, “so how do we begin to allow artists to only focus on making art? That’s what record labels do [for musicians] and publishers do [for writers].

But I don’t want to do it in such a traditional format, as vulturistic…

I want it to be more of a partnership with artists.”

That said, Baptiste found inspiration in Live Nation, which consolidates venue ownership, ticket sales, promotions and distribution under one umbrella. With artist benefit and customer experience as

top priorities, Therapy will present and broadcast events. Imagine a contemporary spin on Bob Ross meeting the supply chains of Louis C.K.’s recent comedy specials. Visual artists will create works on camera and publish limited edition prints that Therapy will sell on-site and online. Performing artists will play to a live audience and web stream their acts to paying viewers around the globe; culinary artists will host cooking shows, do guest stints in the kitchen, and make salable treats.

“I’m looking at it kind of like a pop-up. An ongoing, always changing pop-up,” reflects Baptiste, “but I don’t know if that’s how it’s going to play out. A lot of it is prototyping.” He offers the example of production and distribution of raw juice made from ingredients grown on local farms, a goal for Therapy once the gallery component is stabilized. “If we can have local bars and coffee shops using our juice, we can create a new network of local people working together.”

This commitment to cooperation, democratization, and identity function as essential ingredients in Baptiste’s emerging success stories.

For instance, his project We Are This City, a packed one-night-only exhibition and market with Tractor Brewing during Nob Hill Shop & Stroll this past December, thrummed with a palpable joy. The event featured forty original works by local artists including Cloudface, Joel Davis, Jaque Fragua, Jodie Herrera, Celeste Spoken Garcia, Eric Christo Martinez, Lance Ryan McGoldrick, Reyes Padilla, and David Santiago. In wildly different styles, each artist transformed a panel cut from the ABQ Balloon Blast—a community art making series in which people of all ages threw paint-filled balloons at walls, with Jackson-Pollock-like results.

Foreshadowing Therapy’s promise, Baptiste invited thirty additional artists to create pieces for We Are This City, and more than two hundred people have participated in the project to date. With over one thousand attentive Instagram followers, it only takes about six minutes for his photos and videos to gain hundreds of likes. In other words, he knows how to rock the rapidly changing, evermore demanding digital content game.

Not surprising, given Baptiste’s knack for storytelling, personal depth, and recognition of the silver linings to almost any narrative.

“Over the last two years, as I helped James Black open the screen printing shop 111 Media Collective, Downtown Albuquerque felt horrible to me,” he says. “And at times it still feels really horrible to me. My best friend was murdered on the corner of Fourth and Gold in 2007.” Experiences like this contribute to Baptiste's desire to keep Albuquerque's arts community connected and focused.

Creative expression lives at the center of our humanity and is, seemingly, what allows us to move from subsistence to prosperity—a shift we must enable in New Mexico. Baptiste’s aim, like that of conventional therapy, is to reveal the profound possibilities for personal and community transformation. At Albuquerque’s Therapy, art will serve as the primary catalyst. “Where there’s need,” he says, “I think is where there’s the most opportunity.”

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Driven

THE GENERATIVE NATURE OF FOOD, ART, AND COMMUNITY

By Claude Smith ∙ Photos by Matthew Chase-Daniel

Kim Chee, Mead, and Dandelion Wine from Axle Contemporary's The Fermentation Laboratory, at CCA’s Armory Show, 2014.

“People often think we’re selling burritos in there, so they walk in wanting burritos, and when they see that all we have is art, sometimes that makes them very happy; other times they’ll get angry because they’re really hungry,” says co-director and co-curator of Axle Contemporary, Matthew Chase-Daniel, with a laugh.

Chase-Daniel founded Axle in September 2010 with long-time friend and fellow artist, Jerry Wellman. It began in part with a conversation about an old truck parked along the highway. “I really wanted to buy it,” Chase-Daniel recalled, “but I had no reason to, so there we were throwing around ideas as to why I should or shouldn’t buy the truck. Eventually our conversation just organically became this decision to buy it and turn it into a mobile art gallery.” After going to look at the truck, both decided though it wasn’t quite suited for their needs. Turning to Craigslist, they eventually found a Hostess delivery truck in Colorado Springs that they promptly bought and drove back to Santa Fe where they extended the roof, built out interior walls, and installed track lighting. Axle Contemporary was born.

Employing a radically unconventional gallery model by Santa Fe standards, Axle has quickly gained a reputation as an important venue for supporting experimental projects created by local artists. Recalling

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early exhibitions and installations, Wellman remarked, “We used the inside of the truck to showcase a series of installations that proposed a newer or wider definition of what art could be or do.” Axle has housed everything from conventional art practices—such as painting, drawing, and photography—to more experimental, performance-driven interventions, and food-related participatory exchanges.

Chase-Daniel acknowledges that while Axle has staged a surprising number of food-related projects, it was never an intentional decision on their part to highlight artists explicitly working with food. Wellman notes, “We’ve always been really interested in realizing a bigger sense of community in art, and I think working with food has enabled us to do that.” The inherent social nature of cooking and eating parallels Axle’s role in driving collaborative exchanges in the community.

In 2013, Axle was the recipient of Spread, SITE Santa Fe’s community micro-grant program, which allowed Chase-Daniel and Wellman to present The Royal Bread Show. Beginning as an installation in SITE’s exhibition Feast: Radical Hospitality in Contemporary Art, Chase-Daniel and Wellman honored bread, bakers, ceramic artists, and writers. In conjunction with their installation, they coordinated a tremendous community-wide effort in which some two hundred sixty

artists created porcelain miniatures that were then baked into the bread with the help of several Santa Fe bakeries. Individual breads containing the porcelain charms were then sold at SITE Santa Fe and other galleries, where the proceeds from the sales went to local food organizations that feed the hungry.

More recently, in The Armory Show at the Center for Contemporary Arts, Axle presented The Fermentation Laboratory, a sculptural installation of foods created through the use of traditional fermentation methods. Viewers were treated to a literal laboratory of living food comprised of sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, beet kvass, and rice beer. “It was great, because on one hand, you have what is essentially just food, but at the same time, it was this really beautiful, colorful, formal arrangement that an art critic would totally appreciate,” Wellman recalled enthusiastically.

In a newly formed collaborative partnership with the Santa Fe Art Institute (SFAI), Axle invited a handful of artists participating in SFAI’s artist-in-residence program to submit a proposal specially designed for the mobile gallery space. Albuquerque artist Jami Porter Lara, a former pastry chef turned visual artist, was selected to realize her project, Bake SALiEnt. Porter Lara cites her short stint in the restaurant industry as a kind of catalyst for the project. As a pastry chef, Porter Lara would spend her mornings baking, often finishing her work before the savory chefs arrived to begin their dinner prep. “Being a pastry chef was such a solitary experience, you basically go in when it’s cold and dark and put all your stuff on a rack and then leave,” she said. Realizing that by not being present to see people eating and enjoying her creations, she was missing a fundamental step in the creative process and not getting the crucial feedback on how she might improve her craft. Deciding her ambitions lay elsewhere, she temporarily hung up her apron for the opportunity to go back to school to study art.

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Porter Lara began working with clay after traveling to Mata Ortiz, Mexico, where she received instruction from local potters. Unlike many ceramicists who employ the wheel as a primary mode for quickly and efficiently building tall, cylindrical objects, Porter Lara embraced the ancient Pueblo tradition of hand-building using a repetitive coiling technique. She describes her current artwork as a kind of reverse archaeology in which she digs into the present and future using tools of the past, evident in her black ceramic pieces that appropriate the form of the plastic water bottle. Porter Lara was inspired not only by the techniques associated with ceramics, but also the contemporary social issues that have made the ubiquitous water bottle a contemporary artifact along the US-Mexico border.

Immediately aware of the logistics required to safely exhibit fragile works in the back of a truck that must routinely drive to new locations throughout the day, Porter Lara began to consider the idea of doing a project that was not only designed for Axle’s unique confines, but that would also allow her to explore the intersection of her two passions: art and food.

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“The cool thing about a cookie is that people will do things to get them,” Porter Lara said. “Homemade cookies are kind of rare these days—just like the bake sale.” Bake SALiEnt was a temporary intervention in which Porter Lara wanted to engage the public directly. Using art as currency in order to question value, she propositioned the public to make a drawing in exchange for a cookie. “I wanted to give people an invitation to draw, especially adults. I was really hoping to engage with people who might not draw on a regular basis or who wouldn’t consider it under normal circumstances,” she said. As the participants completed their drawings, Porter Lara hung them up in the back of the truck for others to see, essentially staging an entirely new exhibition featuring the contributions of her collaborators. Participants also got another surprise: Porter Lara had baked a small drawing into each cookie, a token or memento for participants to remind them of their experience.

For Chase-Daniel and Wellman, highlighting food and art as part of Axle Contemporary’s programming is a theme that continues to surface in 2016 as an effective way to engage people creatively. For example, in January, Rita Bard and Kathryn Davis asked Santa Fe artists to bake cakes that were given out in celebration of Art’s Birthday. First proposed in 1963 by French artist Robert Filliou, Art’s Birthday is an annual event recognized worldwide that celebrates the presence of art in everyday life. According to the story, Filliou suggested that “A million years ago, there was no art.

But one day, on January seventeenth to be precise, Art was born,” a declaration that allegedly was commemorated when someone dropped a sponge into a bucket. Bard and Davis’ special one-day offering of free cake was the 1,000,053rd anniversary of art. In May, Wellman will present his project Talk-os, a performance piece in which participants will be tempted with mock tacos as a way of creating conversation around food and economics.

With Axle’s packed programming schedule and desire to create genuinely unique experiences, their services are in high demand.

“It’s really the whole community that makes what we do possible,” says Chase-Daniel. “If it was just us and our art, things would have gotten boring a long time ago.” www.axleart.com Opposite page, top left, clockwise: A group gathers near Axle Contemporary outside the Museum of Fine Arts in Santa Fe to create drawings as part of BAKE SALiEnt. Axle Contemporary’s exterior gallery signage for Jami Porter Lara’s art event BAKE SALiEnt. A man in Santa Fe creates a drawing in exchange for one of Jami Porter Lara’s BAKE SALiEnt cookies.

Example of one of Jami Porter Lara’s BAKE SALiEnt drawings which she baked into a cookie.

A woman inside Axle Contemporary selects her cookie during BAKE SALiEnt in Santa Fe.

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Another example of one of Jami Porter Lara’s BAKE SALiEnt drawings which she baked into a cookie.

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Use Your Illusion ART IN THE AGE OF MANUFACTURED EXPERIENCE

By Nancy Zastudil

GhostFood installation, with actors trained as staff, was part of the 2015 Downtown Block Party in Albuquerque.

Art and food have been intertwined for ages. In classic European painting, artists often created still life compositions of fruits, nuts, grains, wine, and more that not only represented social and economic status, but also served as metaphors for the more impassioned side of life. Similarly, contemporary artists use food to help tell stories about the human experience. Instead of canvas, brushes, and paint, they might organize a meal in the gallery, protect and collect heirloom seeds, or turn suburban front yards into edible gardens.

But what becomes of farm-to-table philosophies if farms no longer exist? Can imitation foods incite change in people accustomed to seemingly endless natural resources?

One artist working in this vein is Miriam Simun. Her project GhostFood is a mobile food truck that explores “eating in a future of biodiversity loss brought on by climate change” by pairing the scents 64

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of disappearing foods with foods made from climate change-resilient ingredients. With a piece of “dining jewelry” called the Direct Olfactory Stimulation Device (DOSD), and the help of trained staff who serve the food-scent pairings and guide the public through a “prenostalgic experience,” people can enjoy the smell of chocolate, for example, while eating a soy-based product with a texture similar to that of chocolate. The result? Manufactured taste illusions—eerily familiar—of naturally grown foods that may not be available in the near future.

“I remember being shocked when I learned that so much of our sense of taste is olfactory. I did the jelly bean test where you hold your nose and suddenly you can’t taste the difference between the flavors, they all just taste like sugar. I always felt my mouth responsible for the joys and perils of flavor. It was as if my body has been playing a trick on me,” says Simun, who was also inspired by insect physiology, such

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Upcoming Special Dinners & Events Please join us for these very special events. Seating and spaces are limited. Please RSVP by emailing reserve@farmandtablenm.com

Chinese New Year Dinner

LANDSCAPE FOR LIFE

February 9 | 6:30pm | $65

Farm & Table 4th Birthday Party Dinner

This nationally recognized program covers the basics needed to plan and design your home garden. Participants who attend all five sessions will receive a certificate and have a chance to win a free rain barrel and other giveaways.

March 8 | 6:30pm | $65

Women, Wine and Wellness: A Mindful Brunch March 26 | 1:00pm | $45

A Feast for the Senses: A Pop-Up Dinner March 29 | 7:00pm | Sanitary Tortilla Factory | $75

8917 4th St NW Gutierrez-Hubbell House 6029 Isleta Blvd. SW (3 miles South of Rio Bravo) Saturdays 9 a.m. – Noon February 13 • March 12 • April 2 April 16 • May 14

For more information and to register, visit www.bernco.gov/openspace or call (505) 314-0398

Bernalillo County We’re more than you think

Albuquerque, NM 87114

505.503.7124 Farmandtablenm.com

Dinner: Wed-Sat open at 5pm Brunch: sat-sun 9am-2pm

as antennae. “I became very interested in this idea around trickery, illusion, and how this relates to simulation, to technology. That’s when the DOSD emerged… I wanted to create sensory experiences that were impossible any other way. And that’s where the idea for extinct scents arose.”

Simun recently presented GhostFood in Albuquerque as part of the 2015 Downtown Block Party, spearheaded by 516 ARTS in partnership with Downtown ABQ MainStreet Initiative and the Outpost Performance Space. Additionally, DOSD was included in Knew Normal, an exhibition at 516 ARTS concurrent with the Block Party and part of the larger collaborative program HABITAT: Exploring Climate Change through the Arts.

To Simun’s delight, local partners rallied around this New Mexico incarnation of GhostFood. The truck came courtesy of the Center of Southwest Culture and the Quetzalcoatl Food Truck. Whole Foods donated the ingredients and Gold Street Caffe donated their kitchen for the food prep. Members of Tricklock Theatre Company and Blackout Theatre trained as GhostFood staff. “It was amazing to see what happens to this somewhat dystopian proposal in such a positive, festive environment,” she says.

Dystopian or not, GhostFood is a total artwork that incorporates scent, food, sculpture, design, drawing, language, costume, performance, and audience. Every last detail is an intentional formal and aesthetic decision, and Block Party attendees took note. For example, Christopher MacQueen, multimedia artist and visual art teacher at VSA North Fourth Art Center, says he initially responded to the overall context and aesthetics: the Downtown Block Party focused on the arts; the food truck wrapped in clean, white, almost ethereal material; the cool, calm, informative nature of the GhostFood staff; and the anticipation of trying something new.

The endangered foods of GhostFood are chocolate, cod, and peanuts, the latter of which MacQueen chose for his “taste experience,” served to him in peanut butter-like form, in a tiny package on a square white tray. Simun chose these very different species from different climates—rain forests, oceans, grasslands—to emphasize that climate change is having a devastating impact on all areas and inhabitants of our planet. As the scent of imitation peanuts from DOSD lingered on MacQueen’s nose for the rest of the evening, he was left to ponder a deceptively simple question: What is taste? And more urgent: What can we do to prevent our food from disappearing?

An opportune time for the Brooklyn-based Simun to create GhostFood came about when Ballroom Marfa and the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation curated a series of programs in New York aiming to incite dialogue around climate change.

“I was interested in bringing this dialogue out of the museum, the gallery, and the university and bringing it into the streets. What better way than a food truck? Miriam Songster, an artist who works with scent often, came on as a collaborator; Gallery Aferro in Newark, New Jersey, came on as a presenting partner; Ballroom Marfa and the Rauschenberg Foundation commissioned the work, and things developed from there.”

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Left to right, clockwise: Two women experience GhostFood at the Downtown Block Party in Albuquerque, September 2015. Photo courtesy of 516 ARTS. GhostFood draws a crowd outside 516 ARTS during the Downtown Block Party. Photo courtesy of 516 ARTS. Miriam Simun, Human Cheese, Urban Pasture, Inkjet print on metallic paper, 2011. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Simun’s art practice involves other projects and ideas about food, for example, the production of human cheese (made from breast milk) and recently, during her 2015 Santa Fe Art Institute residency, hunting. “I was SFAI’s inaugural Food Justice resident. Two or three days after arriving, all my initial proposals and ideas kind of flew out the window and I decided I needed to learn to hunt. I’ve always been a meat eater, but was definitely conflicted and probably a bit detached from my own ethical position.”

And so, in addition to the time engrossed in drawing, painting, and working with materials she found in the desert, Simun spent much of her residency hunting, under the watchful eye of a skilled huntermentor. But she was left to her own devices when it came to facing the consequences of what she describes as “the complexities of nourishing oneself with foreign flesh, about the complexities of interspecies re-

lationships and this inescapable human burden, even for the vegetarians among us, of designating who lives and who dies and how.” The complexities and relationships that Simun wrestles with are the very things that can help negotiate the burden of consciousness and decision making that society faces in the twenty-first century and beyond.

While there are certainly environmentally concerned contradictions within GhostFood (a fossil fuel–dependent truck, fetishizing technology, commodification, and the ever-present problem of packaging waste) the project clearly combines the power of art and food to successfully challenge visceral aspects of human nature. Simun and her artworks challenge us to use our illusions to incite more experiments with new and provocative ways to communicate, to ask questions about what we take for granted, and to create public platforms for sharing what we learn.

WWW.EDIBLESANTAFE.COM

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ALBUQUERQUE eat local guide

MIUM PRE

Authentic

LO

Delicious

CA

L LY S O U R

D

EAT LOCAL GUIDE CE

New Mexico has its own unique food traditions —from Hatch to Chimayó—and we’d like to help you find some of the area restaurants and chefs that create the distinctively New Mexico dining experience. Restaurants are chosen for this dining guide because of their emphasis on using local, seasonal ingredients in their menus and their commitment to real food.

Support these restaurants, and support local food communities.

Brew

villa myriam

311 Gold SW, Albuquerque 505-814-1599, www.villamyriam.com Family owned from farm to cup, we are steeped in three generations of coffee excellence.

11225 Montgomery NE, 505-271-0882 3403 Central NE, 505-266-7855 10701 Corrales NW, 505-899-7500 www.ilvicino.com A contemporary Italian Trattoria, offers authentic Italian wood-oven pizza, entrées, salads, sandwiches, baked lasagna and more. Enjoy our own micro-brewed ales and home-brewed root beer.

1403 Girard NE, Albuquerque 505-792-1700, www.piatanzi.com Our fabulous small plate Italian creations are crafted from the finest, freshest ingredients; organic, farm-raised, and locally sourced.

Featuring a beer and wine bar.

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tuesday-saturday 11am-8pm

3216 Silver SE, Albuquerque 505-266-2305, www.ajiacobistro.com Ajiaco’s varied Colombian cuisine is influenced by a diverse flora and fauna found around Colombia.

Cultural traditions of different Colombian ethnic groups play a roll in our choice of ingredients.

5

The

by

colombian bistro

now open

8917 4th NW, Albuquerque 505-503-7124, www.farmandtablenm.com A wonderful dining experience! Enjoy delectable seasonal dishes created from scratch, sourced from local farmers and our beautiful on-site farm.

4803 Rio Grande NW, Albuquerque 505-344-9297, www.lospoblanos.com

1710 Central SW, Albuquerque 5901 Wyoming NE, Albuquerque 505-821-1909, www.5starburgers.com Fresh beef, free of hormones or antibiotics. Best burger in New Mexico says USA TODAY. A wide selection of sandwiches, entrees, salads, a kid’s menu, beer and wine. Happy hour 4 - 6 every day.

4003 Carlisle NE, Albuquerque 505-884-3625, www.nmpiecompany.com

Rooted in organic ingredients from our own farm and the Rio Grande Valley region. Join us at La Merienda, Wed-Sun 6 - 9pm, by reservation only.

Handmade sweet and savory pies with an emphasis on simple, pure flavors, and premium ingredients. Locally roasted coffee and espresso drinks compliment our pies.

10601 Montgomery NE, Albuquerque 505-294-9463, www.savoyabq.com

2031 Mountain NW, Albuquerque 505-766-5100, www.seasonsabq.com

California wine country in the Northeast Heights.

Farm-to-table dining from the area's best farms.

Wine tastings and happy hour.

Oak-fired grill, local ingredients, and the best patio dining Old Town has to offer!

ALBUQUERQUE

600 Central SE, Albuquerque 505-248-9800, www.thegrovecafemarket.com The Grove features a bustling cafĂŠ experience serving breakfast, brunch and lunch. Local, seasonal, organic foods, Intelligentsia coffee and tea, beer, wine and signature sweets.

TRIFECTA COFFEE COMPANY

413 Montano NE, Albuquerque 505-803-7579, www.trifectacoffeecompany.com We roast coffee, and brew it in unique ways utilizing some of the best methods available. All of our baked goods, sweet and savory are made in house.

2933 Monte Vista NE, Albuquerque 505-433-2795, theshopbreakfastandlunch.com Come in for breakfast or lunch, creative American classics with Latin and creole influences, made from local and organic ingredients.

88 Louisiana SE, Albuquerque 505-268-0206, www.talinmarket.com Talin T-Bar Traditional flavors Made quickly and with love Ramen. Friday/Saturday: Dumplings!

Speakeasy 6855 4th NW, Albuquerque 505-341-0831, yougottapassword.com Make your reservations early and wait for the word.

Cloaked behind the guise of a liquor store, the ever so popular "speakeasy" is a place where one can imbibe in their favorite alcoholic beverage while enjoying the posh atmosphere, live entertainment, and elegant food.

1828 Central SW, Albuquerque, 505-842-5507 www.vinaigretteonline.com Our salad-centric philosophy focuses on bold flavor combinations and savory proteins to compliment a huge variety of organic greens.

LOS LUNAS

3423 Central NE, Albuquerque 505-255-8226, www.zacatecastacos.com Zacatecas features recipes handed down from generation to generation with flavors that are true to the history and culture of Mexico.

Zacatecas is a real taqueria.

PLACITAS

3009 Central NE, Albuquerque 505-254-9462, www.zincabq.com

5 Thomas, Los Lunas 505-866-1936, www.greenhousebistro.com

A three level bistro featuring contemporary cuisine with a French flair. Dinner daily, weekend brunch, fabulous cocktails, and tasty bar bites!

Good food always puts you in a good mood!

Fresh, seasonal ingredients provide the basis for a meal that promotes healthy living.

SANTA FE

Creative Casual Cuisine

221 Highway 165, Placitas 505-771-0695, www.bladesbistro.com

622 St. Michaels, Santa Fe 505-438-1163, www.agniayurveda.com

502 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe 505-469-2345, www.bangbitesf.com

Chef and owner Kevin Bladegroen brings together fine and fresh ingredients, artistic vision, and European flair in every dish. Sunday brunch, fabulous cocktails, and an award-winning wine list.

Our mission at Agni Ayurveda is to help you attain exceptional health of mind, body, and spirit through ancient Ayurvedic treatments, cooking classes, and diet and lifestyle consultation.

Fresh. Local. Tasty.

A bunch of food enthusiasts obsessed with serving the very best crafted food we can get and delivering it the way it was meant to be enjoyed.

WWW.EDIBLESANTAFE.COM

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SANTA FE

5 233 Canyon Road, Santa Fe 505-820-7996, www.caffegrecosantafe.com

228 E Palace, Santa Fe 505-982-0883, www.eloisasantafe.com

Caffe Greco is nestled on the first block of historic Canyon Road boasting a beautiful patio, authentic New Mexican cuisine, sandwiches, salads, Lavazza coffee drinks, beer, wine, and catering.

Green Chile Cheeseburger Smackdown Finalist.

John Rivera Sedlar spent many years in Grandma Eloisa's kitchen. She lovingly taught him the origins and secrets of Santa Fe cooking. Inspired by this rich heritage. Chef John offers a unique vision of New Mexico cuisine.

604 N Guadalupe, Santa Fe 505-983-8977, www.5starburgers.com Fresh beef, free of hormones or antibiotics. Best burger in New Mexico says USA TODAY. A wide selection of entrees, sandwiches, salads, a kid’s menu, beer, and wine. Happy hour 4 - 6 every day.

95 W Marcy, Santa Fe 505-984-1091, www.ilpiattosantafe.com

321 W San Francisco, Santa Fe 505-986-8700, www.ilvicino.com

100 E San Francisco, Santa Fe 505-982-5511, www.lafondasantafe.com

A local favorite since 1996, boasting an authentic Italian farmhouse experience, sourcing its ingredients directly from local farms, dairies, and ranches. Extensive wine list.

A contemporary Italian Trattoria, offers authentic Italian wood-oven pizza, entrées, salads, sandwiches, baked lasagna and more. Enjoy our own micro-brewed ales and home-brewed root beer.

Showcasing contemporary interpretations of old favorites with New World influences and classic New Mexican cuisine, accompanied by an awardwinning wine list.

CAFFÉ BAR TRATTORIA

228 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe 505-989-1904, www.mangiamopronto.com

505 Cerrillos and 1098 S St. Francis, Santa Fe 505-982-9692, www.ohoriscoffee.com

Enjoy fresh, authentic, Italian street food; house-made gelato; Lavazza espresso; and wine and beer all day long on our beautiful sidewalk patio.

The original specialty, local micro-roasted coffee source since 1984. Along with our fresh beans, we serve espresso, pour-over, teas, pastries, donuts, burritos, chocolates, and more.

548 Agua Fria Street, Santa Fe 505-930-5325, www.radishandrye.com Farm inspired cuisine: simple yet innovative food and drinks sourced locally whenever possible. We work closely with local farmers and ranchers to build our menu.

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544 Agua Fria Road, Santa Fe 505-820-6440, www.raagacuisine.com Raaga (“sweet melody”) prides itself on offering superior taste and flavor. With each mouthwatering bite, guests can distinguish and savor the finest spices and the freshest herbs.

551 W Cordova, Santa Fe 505-930-5521, www.paper-dosa.com Paper Dosa brings clean, fresh, authentic homestyle south Indian dishes to your table. These bright and exciting flavors will leave you wanting more.

815 Early, Santa Fe 505-989-1288, www.rasajuice.com An organic juice bar and café committed to offering delicious plant-based foods, cold-pressed juices, and innovative cleansing and detox programs.

SANTA FE

20 Buffalo Thunder, Santa Fe 505-819-2056, www.buffalothunderresort.com Red Sage at Buffalo Thunder is perfect for your next romantic night out. Fare rotates seasonally. Enjoy the extensive wine list.

304 Johnson, Santa Fe 505-989-1166, www.terracottawinebistro.com

505 Cerrillos, Santa Fe 505-780-5073, www.talinmarket.com

A smart, casual restaurant located in a charming one-hundred-year-old adobe.

Seasonally changing, globally inspired cuisine and an extensive, value-priced wine list.

Talin T-Bar Traditional flavors Made quickly and with love Ramen. Monday: Dumplings!

TAOS

653 Canyon Road, Santa Fe 505-982-4353, www.compoundrestaurant.com The Compound Restaurant has a heritage rich in history and regional influences. Chef Mark Kiffin continues to preserve a landmark tradition of elegant food and service at his Canyon Road institution.

TAOS

709 Don Cubero Alley, Santa Fe, 505-820-9205 www.vinaigretteonline.com Our salad-centric philosophy focuses on bold flavor combinations and savory proteins to compliment a huge variety of organic greens.

124 F Bent Street, Taos 575-758-0606 THE BEST COFFEE IN TAOS! Fair trade, organic espresso, chai frappes, smoothies, gelato, and pastries. Featuring the only ROCKBAR ever! Come on in and drop a rock in YOUR drink!

5

125 Paseo Del Pueblo Norte, Taos 575-758-1977, www.taosinn.com Serving lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch.

Patio dining, fresh local foods, award-wining wines, and margaritas. Try our signature chile rellenos.

1032 Paseo Del Pueblo Sur, Taos 575-758-8484, www.5starburgers.com

100 State Highway 150, El Prado 575-776-8787, www.medleyinelprado.com

Fresh beef, free of hormones or antibiotics. Best burger in New Mexico says USA TODAY. A wide selection of entrees, sandwiches, salads, a kid’s menu, beer, and wine. Happy hour 4 - 6 every day.

A casual yet refined dining experience featuring world class wines and culinary delights inspired by regional American cuisines with a touch of international flair.

TAOS DINER I & II TAOS, NEW MEXICO

103 E Taos Plaza, Taos 575-758-1994, www.parcht.com

908 Paseo del Pueblo Norte, 575-758-2374 216 B Paseo del Pueblo Sur, 575-751-1989 www.taosdinner.com

103 E Taos Plaza, Taos 575-758-8866, www.thegorgebarandgrill.com

/pärCHt/= the physical condition resulting from the need to drink wine, eat good food, and shop…in Taos.

Home to New Mexican and American homemade, homegrown, and organic breakfast, lunch, and dinners. Gluten-free choices. Beer and wine.

Our menu is straightforward yet eclectic, and chock full of favorites made from scratch using as many fresh and local ingredients as possible.

WWW.EDIBLESANTAFE.COM

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last bite BANG BITE NEGRONI The Negroni is one of the few cocktails with a traceable history back to the early twentieth century. Lucca Picchi, head bartender at Caffe Rivoire in Florence, Italy, explains in his book, Sulle Tracce del Conte: La Vera Storia del Cocktail Negroni, that the drink was created at Bar Casoni in Florence in the 1920s when Count Camillo Negroni ordered an Americano—sweet vermouth, Campari, and club soda—with gin instead of the standard soda.

In recent years, the Negroni has risen in popularity in the mixological community. It has now joined the dry martini and the Manhattan to form the Triple Crown of classic cocktails.

1 1/2 ounces cold gin, preferably a local one 1 1/2 sweet vermouth 1 1/2 ounce Campari 1 orange peel ice cubes for garnish Fill a rocks glass with ice. Add the gin, vermouth, and Campari, and stir well. Garnish with the orange wheel or orange peel and saffron tea ice cubes.

Note: Experiment with different sweet vermouths or try a bittersweet one. I used Algodones Distillery’s Ginebra Southwestern Dry Gin which is distilled with local juniper, piñons, and other local botanicals.

SAFFRON TEA AND ORANGE PEEL ICE CUBES Orange peel Ice tray 4 cups of water 10 strands of saffron 3 tablespoons honey 1 cinammon stick To make the saffron tea bring water, cinnamon, and honey to a boil. Turn heat to low then add the saffron strands, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Uncover, turn up the heat to medium, and cook for 5 more minutes. Strain the tea and discard the threads.

To suspend orange peels in the cubes, work in layers: Fill an ice tray (one that makes large cubes so the ice will last longer) a quarter of the way with cold saffron tea, add peels facing down, and freeze. Add more tea to fill halfway, and freeze. Fill to the top, and freeze again.

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Anybody

who doesn’t think that the best hamburger place in the world is in their hometown is a: a) nincompoop

d) dunderhead

b) numskull

e) fool...

c) schnook

505 CERRILLOS ROAD • 505-469-2345 • BANGBITESF.COM