Japanese Kitchen Teppan • Sushi • Omakase
Experience the Splendor & Excitement of Japan 6511 & 6521 America’s Parkway • Albuquerque Sushi Bar: 505-872-1166 • Steakhouse: 505-884-8937 www.japanesekitchen.com
Boat A Special
Omakase
The best way to enjoy Japanese food!
This is an authentic, Japanese way of serving a set course meal. Our Sushi Bar offers Omakase all year around – changed seasonally. Omakase is $60 pp and you must reserve your spot ahead of time.
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Simplicity is the new luxury.
Get a 10% mail-in rebate*
The Bosch kitchen. Perfektion in every detail. Pure, simple, truly flush design. This is the new Bosch kitchen. Unrivaled European design, offering both substance and style. With every detail thoughtfully considered to make it the kitchen designed around your life. Including for a limited time, the cost. boschappliances.com © 2016 BSH Home Appliances. * Via a Bosch VISA® prepaid card. Cards are issued by Citibank, N.A. pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and managed by Citi Prepaid Services. Cards will not have cash access and can be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted. Not eligible at the following locations nationwide: Lowe’s, Sears or Best Buy. Not eligible at Pacific Kitchen and Home locations outside of California and Hawaii. #16-BOS-0582 1/16
inside: A Haverland Carter affiliated community
Kitty Leaken
! w o n t Ac ited Lim ents m t r a p a eft! l Life Plan communities offer an active, independent lifestyle with the peace of mind of long-term care protection. Enjoy living in the private residence with the services and amentities you desire plus a plan for long-term care, if needed. There is no better option than The Neighborhood.
Reservations are now being accepted – for details, please call Ashley Trujillo
NeighborhoodRioRancho.com
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the Homestead issue Kitty Leaken
(505) 994-2296
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Buzz
by Kelly Koepke 10 Just like the bees of spring, we’re buzzin’ all around town for the latest news.
The Art Buzz
by Kelly Koepke 12 And here’s what’s popping up at our favorite galleries!
On San Juan Pueblo
LIFESTYLE FULL OF LIFE!
by Gail Snyder 16 Steve LaRance, Marian Denipah and their children are acclaimed artists who have traveled the world representing their art and their culture. What grounds them and means the most to them though is their ancestral land on the San Juan Pueblo.
Hispano Homesteaders of Las Golondrinas by Lynn Cline
20 One of the nation’s finest living historical museums is right here in New Mexico at El Rancho de Las Golondrinas. On our visit, we find “a bridge that links the past with the present,” and a group of dedicated volunteers who bring the Spanish Colonial experience to life.
The Urban Homesteaders of Nob Hill by Emily Ruch 25
The new generation of homesteaders are not all in remote rural areas. Some are right in our own neighborhood living a life of self-sufficiency and independence. Our writer asks, “Can this agrarian mentality change the world, one homestead at a time?”
PROUD SPONSOR OF
Kasey’s Steakhouse
by Ashley M. Biggers 30 A fun-loving young couple has dropped anchor on the very edge of Nob Hill and is definitely making waves on the food scene!
Galisteo Bistro
by James Selby 34 “Original owners Marge and Robert Chickering are back from a hiatus of travel and serious contemplation in New Orleans”....and the Galisteo Bistro has never looked better!
Live at the Lensic
by Craig Smith 36 We celebrate the Lensic’s 15th anniversary and reflect on the crucial role it plays in the life of our community.
Find Your Latitude!
by Gordon Bunker 38 Santa Fe sits at 35° North latitude—a great new name for a great new coffee shop. Stop in and see what all the locals are raving about.
Home Brew
by Melyssa Holik 40 In the pioneer spirit of this issue, our beer columnist meets up with the home brew crowd––an obsessive, slightly crazy and definitely geeky group. We love ’em.
Still Hungry?
by Jain Lemos 44 Local Flavor takes a nostalgic look back on the Albuquerque restaurants we were covering 20 years ago. And no surprise, each one is now a local legend—and still going strong!
ON OUR COVER:
Steve LaRance & Marian Denipah
Albuquerque’s Only Life Plan Community A Haverland Carter Affiliated Community
Wellness is a choice. There are several dimensions of wellness and staying fit is one of them. Our community has two swimming pools and fitness centers. Work with our fitness trainer to develop your own personal exercise program. A commitment to wellness is one of the ways we differ from other communities.
(505) 293-4001 www.LaVidaLlena.com A Taste of Life in New Mexico
APRIL 2016
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A P R I L 2016 PUBLISHERS Patty & Peter Karlovitz
EDITOR Patty Karlovitz After driving to ABQ in a sand ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER storm and plowing through a Michelle Moreland tumbleweed the size of a Jeep, I needed a beer at Bosque ART DIRECTOR Brewing Company. Ask for Tim. Jasmine Quinsier -Allison
WEB EDITOR Melyssa Holik
COPY EDITOR Mia Rose Poris
PREPRESS Scott Edwards Kate Collins, board member, is joined by students of Santa Fe High School Culinary Academy as they prepare and serve desserts at ArtSMART’s recent fundraiser dinner.
AD DESIGN Alex Hanna
Bravo, Meow Wolf! Here I am for my third time in it’s first week exploring the many portals and layers of this masterpiece transporting experience. Run, don’t walk, to check it out! This is the kind of stuff that makes me so inspired to live in Santa Fe.
ADVERTI S I NG
Lianne Aponte: 629.6544 lianne@localflavormagazine.com Kate Collins: 470.6012 kate@localflavormagazine.com Allison Muss: 954.292.6553 allison@localflavormagazine.com
COVER PHOTO Kitty Leaken
WRITERS
What an amazing experience with the LaRance Denipah family at Oke Owingeh Pueblo for this issue. Steve found some time for writer Gail Snyder just before leaving with his son Nakotah for Tokyo, where daughter Sonwai is performing with Cirque du Soleil (and who may perform for Ambassador Caroline Kennedy at the Japanese embassy). Wow! I’m lucky to know these hard working, talented, beautiful people.
Ashley Biggers Gordon Bunker Lynn Cline Melyssa Holik Jain Lemos Emily Ruch James Selby Craig Smith Gail Snyder
PHOTOGRAPHERS Stephen Lang Kitty Leaken Liz Lopez Gabriella Marks
Having moved from Santa Fe after 20+ years there, I moved to the tiny, quirky village of Madrid in 2002. I write a radio show called Stories To Whistle To for the new Madrid radio station KMRD, 96.9 fm, streaming at www.kmrd.fm/listen.
223 North Guadalupe #442 Santa Fe, NM 87501 Tel: 505.988.7560 | www.localflavormagazine.com Subscriptions $30 per year. Mail check to above address.
© Edible Adventure Co.‘96. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used without the permission of Edible Adventure Co. Local Flavor accepts advertisements from advertisers believed to be reputable, but can’t guarantee it. All editorial information is gathered from sources understood to be reliable, but printed without responsibility for erroneous, incorrect, or omitted information.
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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.
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Serving lunch, early dinner, take outs & catering DeVargas Center, N. Guadalupe & Paseo de Peralta 505-920-8491 • caferoha.com
Daniel Quat Photography
Martin Herrara, LMT, NASM Certified 505-231-578 SantaFeMassage.org • SantaFeTrainer.org Mention this ad for $10 off your massage
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The Patio Garduño’s at Old Town
The Patio is Now Open Albuquerque’s Best Patio Atmosphere Happy Hour | Margaritas | Brunch
Located in Hotel Albuquerque
HotelAbq.com/Gardunos 505-222-8766 Visit our Winrock & Cottonwood locations
ALBUQUERQUE
Melyssa Holik
Kudos to Albuquerque’s Bosque Brewing Co. for taking the top award for the second year at the National IPA Challenge for its Scale Tipper India Pale Ale. Bosque beat out 128 other brewers for the first repeat championship. Raise a glass! The first rule of 505 Food Fights? Talk about 505 Food Fights! Local chefs battle it out in a kitchen competition to help support New Mexico charities. Every | Bosque Brewing Co. 21 days, two local chefs face off in an underground, after-hours, tournament-style competition. The chefs go headto-head in a 60-minute live competition, taking a mystery basket of ingredients to create two dishes. Three local judges make the cuts. This season’s first round begins April 7 at Pueblo Harvest Café between Tony Saccoccia of High Noon Saloon and Nathan Mayes of Santa Fe’s The Betterday. Round two is April 28 at Zacateca’s and pits Gilbert Aragon of Hotel Albuquerque against Vernon Pajarito of My Sweet Basil food truck. Check 505foodfight.com for tickets, details and all the brackets. Speaking of food trucks, mark your calendars for April 9, the Second Annual Great New Mexico Food Truck Festival outside at the Anderson-Abruzzo International Balloon Museum. It’s a day for more than 20 food trucks, 50 local and national microbrews, and you! Try a variety of savory and sweet dishes, ranging from fall-off-the-bone BBQ to Southwestern cuisine, gourmet hot dogs to modern Mediterranean, and everything in between. Last year’s inaugural event was HUGE, meaning get your tickets now at foodtruckfestivalsofamerica.com. The event benefits Roadrunner Foodbank, so bring nonperishable food items. Remember the Jackalope building in Bernalillo? Bosque Brewing Co. has announced it will move into the building, as will a restaurant to be named later. The local craft brewery needs the cavernous spacious site for its growing production, where it will begin canning its beer and, of course, open a taproom. Watch for more, and a fall opening. We may even see a Jackalope returning, too, according to news reports. New Mexico Fashion Week returns to the Albuquerque Convention Center April 13-17. Runway shows, fashion expos, guest speakers and more are scheduled. The event’s mission is to promote, distribute information, provide assistance, cultivate job skills and help create employment opportunities for New Mexicans. More at newmexicofashionweek.com. Startup local importer of Tajik arts and crafts HoonArts will be one of the exhibitors this year. HoonArts serves as a bridge between Tajikistan and other Silk Road countries of Central Asia, and the US, bringing unique, high-quality handmade products from Tajikistan and other Central Asian Silk Road countries to the US market for the first time, using Fair Trade principles. Visit them at hoonarts.com. Longtime Northern Italian favorite Torino’s @ Home is in new hands. Daniel and Jenna John have purchased the Journal Center restaurant from founders Daniela and Maxime Bouneou. The Bouneous, meanwhile,
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The Adobe Theater will present American playwright Horton Foote’s play Dividing The Estate, April 29-May 22. Dividing the Estate received the 2008 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New OffBroadway Play, and the 2008 Obie Award for Playwriting. Set in 1980s Texas, the play follows the fate and fortune of the “land rich and cash poor” Gordon family. The elderly matriarch of the family, Stella, is stubbornly intent on keeping the estate intact while she lives, but her children Mary Jo, Lewis and Lucille are all strapped for cash and want to split things up immediately. Old wounds and resentments, always close to the surface, erupt anew as the Gordon siblings argue, accuse, wheedle and blame each other, their mother and the economy for their own shortcomings and failures. Details, cast and tickets at adobetheater.org. Several local favorites perform in April, thanks to the Outpost. Rahim Alhaj performs with Amjad Ali Khan & Sons April 8 at Albuquerque Academy Simms Auditorium. Iraqi oud virtuoso and composer, Alhaj joins Indian sarod maestros, Amjad Ali Khan and his sons, Amaan Ali Kahn and Ayaan Ali Kahn, in a concert following the recent release of their CD, Infinite Hope, a follow up to their Grammynominated release, Ancient Sounds. Then on April 14, Albuquerque vocalist Patti Littlefield and multi-woodwind maestro Arlen Asher share an evening of their unique musical narrative. From the seasoned and familiar to the new and original, each song connects by the intimate, yet common thread of the search for love, this time at the Outpost. Tickets for each at outpostspace.org or 505.268.0044.
| Rahim Alhaj
The New Mexico Philharmonic and the New Mexico Ballet Company pair up for Alice in Wonderland, April 9. Newly appointed artistic director, Natalie Harris, has created an extraordinary ballet telling of the classic Alice in Wonderland in a fully staged production mixing contemporary and classical elements. It’s sure to be a thrilling night of fantastical music and dance performed to the music of Prokofiev,
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Smetana and Glazunov, conducted by David Felberg. Tickets for this show at Popejoy Hall at unmtickets.com or 505.925.5858. The de Profundis spring concert, Songs Of The Elements, features diverse selections celebrating the four primal elements of earth, air, water and fire. Genres range from folksongs, including settings from Russia, New Zealand, Israel and the UK, to sacred works from both Eastern and Western Christendom. Composers represented include Whitacre, Schubert, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Musorgsky. While the program is mostly a cappella, the group will be joined on several selections by de Profundis long-time pianist and collaborator, Amy Woolley. Performances on April 9 and 10, with the Sunday concert preceded by a silent auction of fine art, collectibles, certificates for dining, massage and more. Details and tickets at depro.org. Chatter Sunday’s April 24 concert, Cantigas d’Amigo: A Spanish and Celtic Tapestry of Song, will transport the listener from the Spanish mountains to green rolling Irish hills and cliffs by blue seas, to Scottish moors. Singer Drea Pressley’s ancestors came to New Mexico from Galicia and Cantabria (Spain) in the 17th and 18th centuries. There’s a Celtic connection in Galicia as well because of the Celts who fled to northern Spain in the 4th– 7th centuries, evading the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain. She’ll sing, play the hurdy gurdy and harp, with Sharon Berman on recorder and accordion, Richard Savino on baroque guitar and vihuela, Catherine Harlow (cello and viola da gamba) and Polly Tapia Ferber, ethnic percussion. Details and tickets at chatterabq.org.
Congratulations to Jody Naranjo (Santa Clara Pueblo) and Glendora Fragua (Jemez Pueblo) for winning Best of Show at last month’s Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market. The Heard Fair is a world-acclaimed cultural event that draws nearly 15,000 visitors and more than 600 of the nation’s most prominent and successful American Indian artists who work in both traditional and cutting-edge art forms each year, as well as developing artists. Santa Fe’s Institute of American Indian Art alumni collected 29 awards in total. Jody and Glendora also received the prize for Best of Class: Pottery. On her own, Jody received the Guild 60th Anniversary Theme Award: Contemporary Pottery, plus three other awards. Nice work! La Fonda on the Plaza has re-opened its La Fiesta Lounge after a physical and menu makeover. “La Fiesta is friendly, flavorful and inviting, and as such epitomizes the unique brand of hospitality that Santa Fe and La Fonda are famous for,” says hotel chairman Jennifer Kimball. Locals and visitors alike will find a sophisticated and welcoming spot for tempting creations from La Fonda’s mixologists and Chef Lane Warner around the horseshoe bar. There are new signature cocktails, and new food options range from a flight of salsas and chips to deconstructed nachos to heartier fare (think La Fonda’s iconic green chile cheeseburger) to crispy dessert churros with Mexican chocolate dipping sauce. There’s a new coffee bar and dedicated barista, too. Stop in soon!
Some Taberna news: Chef James Campbell Caruso is back in the kitchen, and will be launching his new menu in the upcoming weeks. Look Cast your votes for Sunset Magazine’s out for special Best of the West Travel Awards. events that will Santa Fe’s food scene is well feature wine, represented so far as a finalist in the sherry, beer and Best Food Town in the West category, ports paired competing with Portland, Ore., with Taberna’s Walla Walla, Wash., and St. Helena, delicious tapas. CA. We’re also in the finals of the The patio opens Best Shopping Destination/Street/ in May with Center. Other finalists are Santa Fe local bands and Spirits in the Best Microbrewery flamenco nights. or Distillery and Ten Thousand | James Campbell Caruso The restaurant Waves for Best Girlfriends’ Getaway/ is also launching Destination Spa. Winners will be announced a new premier Flight Club for wine enthusiasts, in the fall, and featured in the September issue. with several wine samplers from around the Now this is an election worth voting in! world. Members will receive discounts and premier seating at special events. The first 200 And more kudos to members to sign up are free! Sign us up! Santa Fe Spirits: their expansion Santa Fe Master Gardener Association has is underway, and two free classes of interest to casual and more their Colkegan serious gardeners in April. April 9 is pruning was named and fertilizing roses. This hands-on demo and Double Gold by lecture allows you to practice your pruning skills TheFiftyBest.com in Santa Fe’s historic rose garden. Bring bypass in the American pruner, lopper and gloves. On April 16, learn Single Malts all about basic composting: how to start a new division. And, compost pile and maintain it as it develops, as never one’s to rest well as the basics of worm composting. Go to on their laurels, sfmga.org. the distillery’s new Batch 6 is even Verde Food Company’s second location on better, they say, Marcy Street is open, and has added breakfast and is available and lunch to its grab-and-go menu. Pick up a in their tasting healthy breakfast or lunch of chia-seed pudding, rooms and at retail overnight oats with roasted apples, fresh spring locations around | Santa Fe Spirits rolls with spinach peanut sauce, and a kale town. Check tortilla wrap with coconut hummus. Why? santafespirits.com for details on the tasting rooms, retailers and more news.
SANTA FE
Gabriella Marks
b y K E L LY K O E P K E
April 2 is the Grand Slam Poetry Slam Championship, an evening of slam poetry with 10 of the top performance poets in Albuquerque competing for a spot on the 2016 ABQ Poetry Slam Team, which will represent the Duke City at the National Poetry Slam in August. ABQ Slam Teams have placed in the top five at two of the last three National Poetry Slams. ABQSlams has presented poetry slams in Albuquerque since 1995, showcasing some of the best performance poets in the Southwest, and winning the National Poetry Slam in 2005. Tickets at outpostspace.org or by calling 505.268.0044.
Courtesy of the Outpost
buzz the
are already planning their next venture, a pizzeria called Eclectic that they hope to open later this year. The Johns are keeping all the same favorites, and plan on adding their own seasonal specialties, combining locally sourced ingredients, home-made pasta and great wine. Visit torinosfoods.com and welcome aboard!
The School for Advanced Research continues its 2016 SAR Speaker Series: Forging | Verde New Landscapes in Cultural Stewardship and Repatriation. This year marks 26 years since the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) was enacted, opening the doors to discussion about cultural materials that extend beyond the law. From international controversies to the ways in which cultural institutions can engage with source communities, this series of discussions explores how NAGPRA has impacted collectors, cultural institutions and Indigenous communities. Discussions are free and open to the public. April 7 is Consumption and the Market: The Paris Auctions, with moderator Bruce Bernstein, and speakers Richard Begay, Jim Enote, Anthony Moquino, and Leigh Kuwanwisiwma. Visit speakerseries.sarweb.org for more dates/topics. April 15, Performance Santa Fe presents an evening of scintillating guitar by Ana Vidovi. Vidović began playing at age 5, and since then has released 6 CDs, won numerous competitions, earned a degree at Peabody Conservatory and
more. Gramophone magazine has remarked on her “extraordinary dexterity,” and The New York Times has called her “thrilling.” Vidović is presented in conjunction with the New Mexico Museum of Art’s exhibition, Medieval to Metal: The Art & Evolution of the Guitar (on display through May 1), and will perform at the museum’s resident venue, the St. Francis Auditorium. You’re sure to enjoy this intimate evening of astonishing virtuosity and heartfelt beauty. Tickets at PerformanceSantaFe.org or TicketsSantaFe.org.
Become an Opera Storyteller with The Santa Fe Opera! Children entering grades 3 through 8 will write and perform their own opera in June, but registration is open now (hurry, because this will definitely fill up). Kids compose music, write lyrics, design costumes and scenery, create lighting effects and finally, perform their creation. Sibling discounts are available, and lunch is available for an additional charge. Parents, call 505.946.2417 to get your little virtuosos registered. April 8, CreativeMornings tackles risk as artist Rose B. Simpson explores the global theme of “risk” at the latest installment of the morning gettogether. Enjoy networking with other creative professionals before the talk, along with coffee and pastries, courtesy of Iconik Coffee Roasters. CreativeMornings brings together the creative communities in Santa Fe and Albuquerque for a monthly free breakfast lecture series. Details at creativemornings.com.
| Ana Vidovi
On the auspicious occasion of the 200th anniversary of the Santuario de Chimayo, the Spanish Colonial Arts Society is sponsoring tours of Chimayo (including transportation and lunch), and lectures at the Museum of Spanish Colonial Art on Museum Hill about the history of both the Santuario and the village, and other Northern New Mexico churches, in April, May and June. Visit spanishcolonial.org/ events for all the details and to sign up. Tour guides include historians, photographers and artists like Don Usner, Charlie Carrillo and Felipe Mirabal, Helen Lucero, William Wroth and David Setford. The Museum also has an exhibition about how the Spanish Colonial Arts Society helped to save this important cultural and spiritual center, while also exploring the continuing artistic traditions of Chimayo.
Gaelen Casey
Gabriella Marks
Customer demand says owner Kelly Egolf. “I was surprised by how many requests we got for quick, nutritious food to go with our juice. There aren’t many options unless you want drivethrough fast food or are willing to brave a crowded grocery store parking lot,” she explains. By opening near the Plaza, Verde hopes to offer a truly healthy alternative for busy locals and tourists alike. Visit verdefoodcompany. com for hours at both locations.
Sign up now for a fine-art portrait of your good dog to benefit the Española Valley Humane Society. This fundraiser takes place on April 30 at Bad Dog Design, courtesy of Jane Bernard Photography. Make a donation of $100 and receive a mini portrait session for your pooch(es) with photographer Jane Bernard as well as an 8x10 print (a $195 value). Every nickel of your tax-deductible donation goes to the shelter. Additional prints and photographic products will also be offered at discounted prices on the day of the event. But there are limited slots, so go to janebernard.brownbookit.com/schedules/EVHS. Questions? Email j@janebernard.com or call 505.983.8399.
TAOS A big thumbs up to Taos business owner Karl Halbert of Private Label Select, Ltd., named New Mexico Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Association. He’ll now compete against business owners from all 50 states, Washington, DC, and beyond for National Small Business Person of the Year. Private Label Select manufactures USDA certified organic lip balms and other cosmetics, and salves and aromatherapy products. Halpert leads a team of 60 exceptional employees who ship quality organic products from Taos throughout the world. The annual Taos Shortz film festival features quality juried short films from around the globe, bringing world-class cinema to Taos and keep the cinematic arts thriving in this eclectic community. This year’s festival runs April 7-10 and provides filmmakers from 33 countries with a venue to showcase their 150-plus works, participate in workshops, panels and network with fellow filmmakers, media companies, producers and distributors. The festival pass includes priority seating, admission to all events, discounts on food and drinks, and all around VIP treatment. Visit taosshortz.com/2016.
| Rose B. Simpson
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Sumner & Dene Downtown is honored to present the interior and landscape paintings of Michael Norviel plus the contemporary enamels by David Snow. Norviel’s new work will include his trademark “tabletop” paintings, plus brilliant New Mexico landscapes. In contrast, David Snow’s work is earthen colors of powdered glass fused in a kiln onto copper plates. Meet the artists April 1 during First Friday’s Arts Crawl event. Matrix Fine Art in Nob Hill presents Japanese Masters in Printmaking – Ando Shinji and Takahiko Hayashi, new work by both artists. Ando Shinji concentrates on color etchings that feature images in nature, including flowers, plants, fruits and insects, each presented with great sensitivity of line and color. Takahiko Hayashi diligently works to create masterfully bold abstractions, often with vibrant color. Details at matrixfineart.com, including an April 1 reception with the artists.
ALBUQUERQUE
SANTA FE
Page Coleman Gallery presents Andrew Fearnside and Gail Gering, two contemporary artists in a two-person exhibition April 9 through June 18. A meet-the-artists reception is April 8. Andrew Fearnside’s The Desert interprets the desert, creating abstracted landscapes utilizing many layers of textured surfaces and color, referencing the mysteries and intrigue of this ancient garden of subtlety, majesty and vast energy. Gail Gering will exhibit her etched metal pieces that employ personal photos, design and text, in a show called The Fires And The Floods. She creates surfaces that are rich and complex using different types of metal patinas. These new works look at climate change, one of the most controversial and politically contentious issues of our time. More at pagecoleman. com.
Whee!!! After 30 years, the beloved Morris Miniature Circus returns to the Museum of International Folk Art. Built over the course of 40 years by W.J. “Windy” Morris (1904–1978) of Amarillo, Texas, the Morris Miniature Circus is a 3/8-inch-scale model of a 1920s circus that was acquired by the museum in 1984 and last exhibited in 1986. This amazing exhibit is sure to delight children of all ages, and their adults. The return of the Morris Miniature Circus will be accompanied by a range of activities and public programs. The exhibition opens with a free public reception on April 3, featuring a parade, aerial performances by Wise Fool New Mexico, and hands-on activities for everyone. Visit internationalfolkart.org.
| Fearnside, Organ Mountain Mesa
Sponsors Thornburg Investment Management Garcia Automotive Group United Rentals First National Rio Grande Fidelity Investments Century Bank Poms & Associates
Photo by Blair Clark
Pilot, photographer and poet, Anne Noggle began her groundbreaking career as a photographer late in life, quickly gaining recognition for her witty, honest work. Assumed Identities: Photographs by Anne Noggle opens at the New Mexico Museum of Art on April 2. Drawn from the museum’s extensive holdings of her work, the show traces Noggle from her beginnings in photography in the late 1960s—many photographs taken in and around her home in Albuquerque. Katherine Ware, both the exhibition curator and the museum’s curator of photography notes, “Noggle was important in the development of photography in New Mexico. With more than 100 pieces of her work in the museum’s collection, her contributions as an artist Anne Noggle, It is I, It is He, It is She (Homage to Van have yet to be fully appreciated Deren Coke), 1986, gelatin silver print. Promised gift to or evaluated.” More at the New Mexico Museum of Art from the Anne Noggle nmartmuseum.org. Foundation. © Anne Noggle Foundation.
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Join Us For NDI New Mexico’s Annual Albuquerque Gala
May 21, 2016 at 5:00pm
The Hiland Theater ■ 4800 Central Ave SE Albuquerque, NM Be Entertained - Be Inspired - Make a Difference
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Jack Parsons, known for photographs that made lowriders an art form in his book Low ‘n Slow: Lowriding in New Mexico, has again turned his camera on the car as Americana for an exhibition that reinterprets the iconic Volkswagen for a nostalgic trip to the ’60s. The exhibition opens April 29 at Patina Gallery. “The VW series comes from one of my favorite things: found art,” Parsons says. “My photos are evocative expositions of a classic car’s characteristic details.” The images show VWs Parsons found rusting on the back roads of New Mexico. This new exhibition coincides with a lowrider exhibit opening May 1 at the New Mexico History Museum that includes photos by Parsons. More at patina-gallery.com.
TAOS The work of late Taos artist Bill Gersh (1943-1994) will be showcased during April in the exhibit Bill Gersh: Trailblazer, at Magpie in Taos’ Overland Complex. Gersh, often called an outlaw modernist himself, was fascinated with the cowboy mythology of the Southwest and produced a series of pieces exploring this archetype in a variety of different media. The estate has released a number of pieces from the series and will host a reception on April 2. Gersh played an important role in New Mexico’s art scene for nearly two decades beginning in the late 1970s. His gutsy, raw and often confrontational art spanned a range of media, over 40 pieces of which are part of the Harwood Museum’s permanent collection. More at magpietaos.com.
IMAGINE
Sheila and Ole Peloso Rosemont Realty
April 21, hear a panel discuss After the Inventories: Museums Becoming Stewards. Moderator Tony Chavarria, Curator of Ethnology at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, leads speakers Chip Colwell, Jennifer Kramer, and Joseph Suina through how museums must consider new ways of understanding their collections and their role in interpretation, preservation and general stewardship of cultural heritage. Colwell, curator of anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, joins Kramer, associate professor of anthropology and a curator, Pacific Northwest at the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, and Suina, a Professor Emeritus in the College of Education at the University of New Mexico. Held at the School for Advanced Research, for more on this free, public event, visit speakerseries.sarweb.org.
Reserve your tickets today at: www.ndi-nm.org/galas or 505-340-0208
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A Taste of Life in New Mexico
APRIL 2016
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Chef Jonathan Perno Three-time James Beard Award Semi-Finalist Best Chef - Southwest
WI NE B I S T RO
Welcoming Spring Flowers & Ingredients It’s Time for Rosé Wines! Lunch Mon-Saturday • Dinner Every Eve 304 Johnson St, Santa Fe 505-989-1166 • terracottawinebistro.com
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On San Juan Pueblo story by GAIL SNYDER
photos by KITTY LEAKEN
| Nizhoni Denipah with her daughter ShadĂŠ-Phea Denipah
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I
t’s a rare joy to spend an afternoon with people so at home in their skins, who connect so easily and who, despite being extraordinarily accomplished, are so down-to-earth. As soon as I clear the door, we are laughing. According to Hopi philosophy, says Marian Denipah, “You do your best with what little you have.” For Marian and her husband, Steve LaRance, this refrain runs in their blood. What they have, they gladly share.
“I first saw Steve at a powwow in Ft. Lewis,” Marian says, “but I approached him in Denver, at another powwow—this was a social dance—and I grabbed him! I knew other girls were trying to claim him, Pueblos and Navajo, Sioux girls, too. All along, I wanted to marry a Native guy, and my mom said she respected the Hopi, which is what Steve is, so I thought, ‘Even better!’” They dated for 10 years and then married. Raised on Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, Marian and her brothers and sisters were in and out of the house their grandfather built on his farm. “My grandfather was governor of the Pueblo many times,” she says. “He would take us fishing. My dad and the Navajo side of the family were hunters. When I was young, my mom always had a garden. Because we lived off the land, we all grew up knowing how.” As soon as they were ready to start a family they moved to Flagstaff, close by Hopiland and Steve’s home village of Munquapi. “Our kids all got Hopi names,” Steve says. “They were able to participate in some of the social dances there; they became familiar with the language, the culture, the ceremonies. They especially thought the women’s basket dance was really exciting,” he explains. “I look at Hopi culture as being a little more untouched,” Marian adds admiringly. “And they got to try some of our foods,” Steve continues, “like our piki bread and other bluecorn dishes. Our daughter Nizhoni learned basketweaving from her Hopi grandmother. They know their Hopi cousins and other relatives.” “Because we’re both artists,” Marian says, “working at home, we could be more available to our kids growing up.” Steve continues, “Our studio in Arizona was just 20 steps from the house, so we could watch them jump on the trampoline while we worked.” The family continued | Marian with the last harvest traveling back to New Mexico to visit Tewa relatives and to compete in Indian Market every year. Once Cree, their youngest, graduated from high school four years ago, Marian was ready to leave Flagstaff. “I couldn’t make anything grow there—it’s too cold.” They were deliberating between the Big Island in Hawaii and Tucson, Marian says, “when my mom got wind we were moving. She said, ‘No, no, no, I’ll give you my house and the land—I can’t do this anymore!’” Steve adds, “Marian’s mom was already getting elderly. She hadn’t planted in five years, the house was in disarray—so we moved back.” Marian’s great-grandfather had traded a wagon wheel for this land (“and we still have the paper they signed!”). The old house, built by the Pueblo, had five bedrooms, one for each of the four kids. They fixed it up and cleared the land, scraping off years’ of dung accumulation (“That’s when I decided to do organic farming—we had the sheep manure!” Marian laughs). They also are blessed with not just one but two communal irrigation ditches, provided by the Rio Grande and the Chama rivers. “My brother and sister have six acres behind us,” Marian says. “The Pueblo brings a tractor and only charges $20 to plow your field. It’s mandatory for all males to help clear the debris and maintain the ditches.” One of the first things they planted was blue corn. “My Hopi niece is getting married,” Steve explains. “For the wedding ceremony, my family has to provide blue corn for the groom’s family. It’s | Steve LaRance like a dowry; in exchange, the men from his family weave her outfit.”
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On San Juan Pueblo “We have to keep the corn separate—the regular kind in front,” Marian points out the window, “the blue corn in back, so they won’t breed. We’ve set up two other new fields, and last year, there were tons of grasshoppers. My mom called, crying, because she said all her plants were little sticks. But I set my guinea hens loose out in the fields and they ate them all. I had the best cornfield!” This early in the season, nothing’s been planted yet. “We have to get a burn permit to clear the fields,” Marian says. But the animals are all out there, including lots of chickens, one little red hen, three huge turkeys, a few ducks and the guineas, “little dinosaurs,” Marian laughs. “They’re very loud.” And the sheep and goats. “I’m weaning my herd back, giving my females a break. My one cousin comes to help milk the goats,” She says. “A Navajo cousin sheers the sheep,” Steve adds. Eventually, they plan to have horses and a couple of cows; they planted alfalfa for the horses. Marian’s experimenting with different crops, like kale, tomatoes, beans, “to see how and if they grow.” Next up, she says, is a greenhouse. The farm takes a lot of hard work and commitment. At harvest time, Marian cans pickles and jams, grinds blue corn, and stores what she can in the root cellar built by her great-grandfather. She says their son Cree, 23, who builds fences, preps the land and helps with planting, “is our back.” Additionally, both Marian and Steve are deeply committed to their Pueblo community. “Our son Nakotah, 26, is an award-winning, world-champion hoop dancer. He and I started youth hoop-dancing classes when we moved back here. At the big Phoenix Heard Museum competition that I chaperoned Nakotah to last month, one of our students, Josiah Enriquez, placed third in the teenaged division! By teaching their kids, we’ve gotten to know lots of the Pueblo families. It’s opened doors.” Steve has gone all over the world representing the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) and Native American artists in all kinds of exchanges and exhibitions, including being selected by Santa Fe’s Museum of Indian Arts and Culture to represent Native American jewelers in Turkmenistan. He’s also gone to Australia and a European tour of France, Italy and Switzerland, where he was a guest of the Swiss ambassador. Steve and Marian were selected by IAIA to represent Native artists in China and Japan. Marian, a former runner, works with WINGS, a Native American youth organization encouraging youth to embrace this healthy lifestyle, which, as Marian says, is adapted from their ancestors, who were messengers. And she’s enrolled in a Tewa class. “So much of our culture goes along with the language, our stories and where the words came from.” When do they have time to devote to their art? For Steve, it’s in between travels; after his recent return from the Phoenix competition with Nakotah, he’ll accompany his son again mid-April for a performance in Japan. Marian fits it in, too. “With one art show out of the way, I can start carving waxes while I’m caretaking my sister.” Both use an old technique called the tufa method, which Steve says not a lot of people are familiar with anymore, and they cut their own stones. “We have a drawer full of ribbons and many awards.” Their artwork can be seen in Santa Fe at True West Gallery on Lincoln Avenue and Canyon Road’s Desert Son Gallery. They have galleries in Japan, Germany and Canada; their work is collected by public and private institutions, including City Hall in Phoenix. The Smithsonian exhibits some of Marian’s grandmother’s dolls. Steve’s grandmother, an aficionado of traditional Hopi foods, was a basketmaker, his uncles makers of kachina dolls and ceremonial regalia. Steve and Marian’s kids are all artists, as well. Daughters Shandien, 23, is a dancer with Cirque de Soleil, who also paints and draws, and Nizhoni, 32, is a doctor, who also makes beautiful jewelry. Her daughter, Shadé-Phea, 11, is a hoop dancer. And Cree, also a talented jewelrymaker, who just applied for a Goodman Aspiring Artist fellowship, wrote in his personal statement that he remembers waking up hearing power tools and looking out the window to see his father in a cloud of dust, and his mother dancing around to rock music while painting. His parents, he wrote, were his main mentors. “There’s a rawness about New Mexico,” says Marian. “It’s the wild, wild West. I love being with our animals, and there’s a great solitude in watching the plants grow and working with the Earth.” Steve agrees. “It’s a blessing to see other cultures and customs,” he says. “It’s fun to experience New York, San Francisco, Dallas. But then I look forward to coming home.” Marian adds, “I’m glad my mom offered us her house. It’s all worked out for the best. We’ve come full circle.” To see what Marian and Steve are up to, check out Denipah-LaRance Fine Art on Facebook.
| Nakotah
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A Taste of Life in New Mexico
APRIL 2016
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Hispano Homesteaders of Las Golondrinas stor y by LYNN CLINE
“...think of New Mexico’s golden days, of red chile drying in the sun, of clean-swept yards, outdoor ovens, and adobe houses on the landscape. Remember the green valleys where good things grow. And think too of families sitting happily at the tables—because good food and good friends are natural compadres and because, as the Spanish proverb says, a full stomach makes a happy man.” Fabiola C. Gilbert, Historic Cookery (1931)
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W
elcome to El Rancho de las Golondrinas, where a journey through time takes you back to New Mexico’s Spanish Colonial and Territorial eras, revealing what life was like during the 18th and 19th centuries for Hispano homesteaders. You’ll meet farmers and millers, bakers and blacksmiths, along with spinners, sheep shearers, weavers, carpinteros and candle makers, all happy to demonstrate their work and wares as you stroll past and through historic buildings.
photos courtesy of EL RANCHO DE LAS GOLONDRINAS
Photo: Richard Gonzales
Learn how to string chiles for ristras, craft candles from bees wax, and card, spin and dye wool for weaving. Watch a blacksmith demonstrate the art of making nails, and a miller grind grain. Explore a farm filled with corn, beans and squash—or the “The Three Sisters,” as the Puebloans call them, because they help each other grow. You can also learn to grind corn and how to make tortillas and calabicitas, a dish that would have been on many kitchen tables back in the days. Occupying 200 acres in a fertile farming valley, El Rancho de Las Golondrinas, or “Ranch of the Swallows,” preserves the heritage of Hispano homesteaders as a living historical farm, providing a bridge that links the past with the present. The site itself dates to the early 1700s, when it served as a pajarete, or “resting place,” for weary travelers on El Camino Real, The Royal Road, connecting Mexico to Santa Fe. With its tall grasses and water, this oasis was the final stop before Santa Fe, and a welcome site for all, including New Mexico Governor Juan Bautista de Anza, who camped here with a military expedition of 150 men searching for a route into Mexico in 1778. Today, descendants of the original Spanish settlers still live in the area. Las Golondrinas was a working dairy farm in the early 1970s when Leonora Curtin Paloheimo of Santa Fe and her Finnish husband, Yrjö (George) Alfred Paloheimo, decided to turn the property into a living history museum. “When Ya, as Yrjö was called, came out to Santa Fe and saw Golondrinas, he fell in love with it,” says Daniel Goodman, director of the museum’s education and collections. “He’d grown up on a family farm as well as in a house in Helsinki and another in the countryside. He’d grown up with a strong agrarian sensibility and understanding. When he saw that there were a number of buildings here that were old or falling apart, he asked, “Why aren’t we preserving this culture?” Ya Paloheimo was quite familiar with what was then called the openair museum, a concept that had started in Finland and Sweden in the 19th century. “So he was very sensitive to that cultural landscape, before that phrase was coined,” Daniel says. The concept spread to America, where the first living history museum opened in 1928 at Henry Ford’s Greenfield Village in Michigan. Colonial Williamsburg opened in Virginia in 1934, followed by Mystic Seaport in Connecticut, Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts and Fortress Louisbourg in Canada. Las Golondrinas opened in 1972, but the site had been the property of Leonora Curtin Paloheimo’s family since the early 1930s. Leonora, her mother, Leonora Muse Curtin, and her grandmother, Eva Scott Fényes, were movers and shakers during their time, traveling the world, becoming art patrons and socializing with the artists and writers of their era. When they relocated to Santa Fe from Pasadena, they fell in love with New Mexico’s history, culture and people. The elder Curtin went on to write Healing Herbs of the Upper Rio Grande, a classic book that is still in print today. Armed with a passion, the Paloheimos put their efforts into preserving the culture they had grown to love, restoring historic buildings on the property and building new structures atop old foundations. They also relocated other significant buildings from around the state. Today, the museum includes an 18th-century placita house, defensive tower, schoolhouse, blacksmith and wheelwright shops, mills and a winery and vineyard. A Taste of Life in New Mexico
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Los Golondrinas offers a creative calendar of annual events that enhance your experience of Spanish life in early New Mexico, including a Spring Festival Harvest & Fiber Arts Fair, where costumed villagers shear sheep, bake bread and lead an array of hands-on activities and games, and guests enjoy a fiber-arts marketplace. The Harvest Festival offers a chance to string chile ristras, crush wine grapes, make tortillas and bake fresh bread. In between the two seasonal festivals, the museum hosts the Herb & Lavender Fair in June; the Santa Fe Wine Festival and ¡Viva Mexico! Celebration in July; the Summer Festival & Wild West Adventures in August; and the Santa Fe Renaissance Fair in September. Los Golondrinas and other museums like it offer a unique experience enhanced by interpreters dressed in authentic period clothing, often speaking in their native languages. “With museums, you go to see the real thing. With the living history museum, you go to experience the real thing,” Daniel says. “What you’ll experience at Golondrinas is a period in New Mexico history that doesn’t receive a lot of attention. Our big focus here is New Mexico history, but we’re always looking at it through the lens of the Hispano experience,” he explains. “We’re looking at the experience of the Spanish settler. We’re not focused on the Anglo person who came out here, and we’re not a Native museum. But we do tell those stories, all those intersections of culture. The Spanish experience is very underrepresented in the U.S. Everybody knows about the pilgrims and Plymouth Rock, and maybe they’ve heard of the French-English war, but this is a fascinating piece of colonial history that’s not as well known as it should be.” Ultimately, the goal of Los Golondrinas, along with any other history museum, is to remind us to stay connected to our past, through the voices and visions of its people and their stories, paintings, songs and memories. “From a contemporary perspective, history gives us a better understanding of society,” Daniel says. “Of what it used to be and how it became what it is today. It gives us a better understanding of change over time, and a sense of identity—of who we are and where we came from.”
Douglas Merriam
Hispano Homesteaders of Las Golondrinas
For more information about El Rancho de las Golondrinas, visit golondrinas.org or call 505.471.2261, 334 Los Pinos Road, Santa Fe. 22
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Celebrating 15 Years!
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Four Easy Ways to Celebrate The Lensic’s 15th Anniversary—Call Today! 1. Purchase Tickets The Lensic Presents series has something for everyone— dance, music, theater, comedy, film, live broadcasts, family fun, and more.
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photos by LIZ LOPEZ
Homesteaders of NOB HILL O
nce upon a time, a fellow named Aesop told a story about a city mouse and a country mouse. The city mouse enjoyed all the luxuries of urban living while the country mouse was content to live a humble life filled with simple pleasures. After spending time together in both homes, each mouse learned to appreciate her own home all the more—the city mouse preferred the comfort and convenience of the city, and the country mouse preferred the peace and security of the country. The story has been retold countless times through the centuries, most commonly to emphasize some variation of the moral that the peace of mind associated with a modest (country) lifestyle is better than the ease and extravagance of a (city) life fraught with fear and uncertainty (usually represented by a dog or a cat). The conventional interpretation of this fable is premised on the basic assumption that we can either be city mice or we can be country mice, but we can’t be both. Even the great agrarian philosopher Wendell Berry suggests that we can either live an industrial lifestyle in the city or an agrarian lifestyle in the country and writes at great length about why we should choose the latter. I love Berry, but taken at face value, even I must admit that the moral of his story, though inspirational and compelling is, like Aesop’s fable, a little too either/or, not quite both/and enough to revolutionize (or devolutionize) the industrial lifestyles of most modern city dwellers. If forced to choose, the majority would probably continue being city mice.
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Homesteaders of NOB HILL Urban homesteading, however, offers a dynamic counterpoint to this basic assumption by demonstrating that city life in the 21st century can be essentially agrarian in character, while country life has, in many cases, become increasingly industrialized. I was recently invited to visit the city home of two quiet country mice, Robin and Tom Day. When I arrive, Robin pours me a little glass of golden homemade ginger beer––packed full of good microbes, she explains. Tom slides several old black-and-white photographs of the house (standing alone on a chamisa-and-cactus-speckled plain) across the kitchen table, and they begin telling a story about passion, bliss and geeking out. During the 20-odd years they’ve lived in their Nob Hill-area home, these local urban homesteaders have slowly transformed their backyard into a highly productive piece of land. “The people before us lived here 26 years, and their sense of space was really crowded. There was a lot of stuff that was not indigenous.” says Tom. “So the first thing we did was start removing things and looking for a small garden plot. I figured out the other day, there’s only like three plants on this property that were here when we moved in.” Through this process of subtraction, they gradually transitioned the property away from its old personality, and through an equally thoughtful process of addition, “Giving, trading, bartering—one of the loveliest they gave it a new one. “Over time, we just kept adding,” Robin says, more herbs, fruit trees, garden space.” (and perhaps one of the most important) aspects “adding Today, Tom and Robin grow 14 different kinds of fruit on their property, including goji berries, of urban homesteading is how it provides a currants, three kinds of seedless grapes (their home-dried raisins are totally delish—lucky me, I profound degree of independence, yet remains get a taste!), nectarines, apples, blackberries, golden raspberries, jujubes, hawthorne berries and figs. centered in connection. Not isolation.” “There’s a nectarine we have back there that I have this really cosmic relationship with!” Robin laughs. They also grow a good selection of vegetables and a wide variety of herbs for the tinctures that Robin makes. “All the medicine that we use we grow here, except for a couple of things that you have to go in the mountains to get,” she says. Neither Tom nor Robin, both in their 60s, take any pharmaceuticals—very unusual for people their age. “There’s a lot of tincturing going on here with the different herbs for medicinal reasons and preventative health reasons, too,” says Robin. “Hawthorne berries are very restorative for the heart. It helps with cholesterol, but it’s also very strength-building for the heart. So I tincture the berries, and we take some of that.” They also make all of their personal-hygiene products, like soap, deodorant, tooth powder and bar shampoo, as well as all of their cleaning products and about a third of their food. “Really, we don’t buy anything that’s commercially produced,” Robin says. “Cleaning products are a snap to make, and they work great!” This extreme do-for-yourself mentality is perhaps where we begin to see the dividing line between avid gardeners and bona fide homesteaders. According to Wendell Berry, such a longing for self-sufficiency characterizes the agrarian mind. “If I don’t have to go to the store to eat, if I can be entertained by my garden, if I can be socialized by interacting with my neighbor, or if I can do things more independent of somebody’s marketing scheme,” says Tom (who self-identifies as an agrarian), “then I’ve freed myself from a certain illusion, I think.” The result, he says, is a greater sense of freedom, a greater sense of enjoyment.
| Robin and Tom Day
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As we talk about the many benefits of homestead-style self-sufficiency, Robin darts into the kitchen and returns with a box full of home-canned preserves that she places jar by jar on the table. Apple-pie filling, greentomato salsa, pears, pickled beets, bread-andbutter pickles, tomatoes, pear-ginger chutney, jam. The eclectic assortment of colors and textures and flavors visible through glass jars of various shapes and sizes makes a beautiful statement about how much pleasure and quirky individuality there is to be found in this kind of independence. “It’s so nice,” Robin says, smiling, “because you always have a nice gift when you go over to someone’s house.” Giving, trading, bartering—one of the loveliest (and perhaps one of the most important) aspects of urban homesteading is how it provides a profound degree of independence, yet remains centered in connection. Not isolation. “I’ve traded my soap with one of the farms in the south valley. They love my soap, and I love their blackberries,” says Robin. “It injects heart into things, I think, because when I thaw out some blackberries and put them on my granola, every single time, I appreciate Dora and Lorenzo and their little farm. They’re very dear people, and I know they feel that way when they use the soap. It personalizes and humanizes things in a really lovely way.” A local economy based on personal connections is about as different from an industrial economy as it’s possible to be, and not just in the obvious ways of maintaining a smaller carbon footprint, using more ethical and sustainable production methods, and so forth. “There is more of a self-responsibility,” Robin explains. “If somebody’s buying the tooth powder I make, and they’re brushing their teeth with it, I want to put good energy into that, and I want to make it with good products, good ingredients.” When the people we exchange with are our friends and neighbors, our community, we can’t help caring about how the exchange impacts their well-being. “Really increasing the sense of trust in your community is huge,” she says. Can this agrarian mentality change the world, one urban homestead at a time? “We’re philosophers,” says Robin. “We talk about that a lot, and our feeling is that you cannot legislate change effectively. Change happens person by person by person by person.” Robin isn’t suggesting that inside every city mouse is an unrealized country mouse eagerly awaiting the opportunity to start keeping bees and raising chickens. The Days realize their lifestyle isn’t for everyone. “You don’t have to do all this stuff,” Tom says. “Find something that you really like to do, and do it. If there’s a passion that involves a sense of community, no matter what it is, then it’s gonna have a positive effect.”
Learn more about Tom and Robin’s adventures in urban homesteading by subscribing to Robin’s blog, At the Urban Homestead, on dukecityfix.com. Try Robin’s wholesome body care products for yourself by visiting her online shop at etsy.com/shop/RobinsNaturals. Taste Dora and Lorenzo’s amazing blackberries by ordering a food share from Cornelio Candelaria Organics at candelariaorganics.com.
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Wendy McEahern
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A Tierra Concepts’ Creation
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A Taste of Life in New Mexico
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Kasey’s Steakhouse story by ASHLEY M. BIGGERS
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photos by LIZ LOPEZ
G
uy meets girl in Hawaii. Guy and girl move to Alaska. Guy and girl start a restaurant in New Mexico. It may not be a traditional restaurant origin story, but it’s the one that guided Gary Lange and Kaitlin Armstrong-Lange (aka Casey) to open Kasey’s Steakhouse. The couple’s love for local, made-from-scratch food has made the restaurant a fast favorite in Albuquerque’s Nob Hill after only a year in business. As it happens, Kaitlin and Gary grew up in the restaurant biz and had early dreams of being restaurateurs. Gary hails from Michigan where, even as a 15-year-old, he dreamed of becoming a chef on a cruise ship. Kaitlin grew up in Albuquerque and attended Highland High School, dreaming of earning both culinary and business degrees, and opening a restaurant. (This trio of goals only emerged at the urging of her parents, who told her if she wanted to have a restaurant, then she needed to know how to run the business.) She earned her business degree from the University of New Mexico and studied culinary arts at Johnson & Wales in Rhode Island. Fresh out of school, she joined the kitchen on Norwegian Cruise Line in Hawaii, where she met Gary, who was also living his youthful ambitions. Working the cruise-line kitchen was grueling—they’d be in the galley every day for five months straight, then have five weeks off. “I was tired, but I was excited to be cooking and teaching everyone else how to make the food,” Kaitlin says. Between breakfast, lunch and dinner, the kitchen would churn out 10,000 meals a day. As Gary attests, to produce at this level, they quickly learned the skills of organization, time management and delegation. The couple moved to Denali National Park, in Alaska, working in the kitchen at the park and the resort, and fulfilling Gary’s lifelong goals of living in both the 49th and 50th states. He proposed to Kaitlin with Denali behind them. Ever the nomads, the couple spent time in Oklahoma, finally putting down roots when they returned to New Mexico in 2010. Back in Albuquerque, Kaitlin worked in a few kitchens at local restaurants, including Flying Star, and became the kitchen manager at the Sandia Resort and Casino golf course. Even with long days julienning carrots and tasting sauces, the Langes daydreamed about starting a restaurant and planned and taste-tested menus for several different concepts.
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| BARN-BURNER BURGER Fried onion straws, fried jalapeños, ghost-pepper Jack cheese, green chile, and chipotle mayo!
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| COFFEE-RUBBED STEAK SALAD Tender flank steak, grilled romaine, onions, shaved parm, with blueberry vinaigrette.
| Kaitlin Armstrong-Lange and Gary Lange
All this imagining solidified in December 2014 when Gary and Kaitlin combined their combined 30-years of restaurant experience to open Kasey’s Steakhouse on the far southeast edge of Nob Hill. (The name Kasey’s borrows the “k” from Kaitlin and the remainder from Kaitlin’s nickname, Casey.) For Kaitlin, who grew up in the neighborhood, and the duo, who live there today, Nob Hill was a clear choice. The steakhouse-focus filled a niche in the district—as well as an empty building Kaitlin’s father and uncle own. The building’s former identities include phases as a fried-chicken restaurant, a bridge club and an aquarium store. Today, the 96-seat restaurant has a modern ambiance, and the Langes have consciously combined white linen tablecloths with brown-paper table covers. The restaurant is at once refined and laid back. “It has a casual atmosphere. People can wear shorts. We’re kid friendly, and pet friendly—on the patio,” Gary says. The menu reflects the same blend of upscale and down-home. The restaurant serves beef from southern New Mexico, including ranches in Deming and Truth or Consequences, where cattle are grass-fed. Steaks are hand-cut in-house, and diners can choose from four compound butters, including red-chile-lime or blue cheese, to top their ribeyes. Each dish has a unique twist, from the popular coffee-rubbed flank steak, which diners report has the perfect savoy flavor, to the fiery Barn-Burner Burger (with fried jalapeño and onion strips, ghost-pepper Jack cheese, and chipotle mayo, with green-chile-battered onion rings on the side, of course). The duo created the dishes together, drawing flavor influences from their backgrounds and travels. The red-chile, pulled-pork eggrolls epitomize this trend, rolling New Mexican, Mid-Western and Asian influences into one tasty, fried package. Whereas many steakhouses have priced menus at American Express Black Card–levels, Kasey’s dishes remain affordable, with an eight-ounce filet topping the price list at $26. Kasey’s also draws local cheeses from the likes of Tucumcari Cheese Factory and Old Windmill Dairy, pork chops and bacon from Kyzer Farms in Albuquerque, and beans from Michael Thomas Coffee. Kaitlin is even planting a garden out back to grow tomatoes, spinach, A Taste of Life in New Mexico
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Kasey’s
Steakhouse
herbs and other kitchen ingredients. Everything is made in-house— from the blueberry vinaigrette that tops the salads at lunch to the English muffins that are the first layer in the towering Stardust, with mushrooms, filet medallion, a poached egg and Béarnaise. The kitchen staff smokes the bacon, cures the corn beef, and bakes the bread and dessert daily, even churning the ice cream for the apple galette à la mode. (However, it’s the bread pudding with whiskey-caramel sauce that most customers rave about.) “We pride ourselves on what we put into the food,” Gary says. Although Gary says it may sound corny, he adds, “We put a lot of love into it.” When it comes to daily operations, Kaitlin takes the helm in the kitchen. “We have a good team,” says the executive chef. Gary handles duties in the front of house and is going to Central New Mexico Community College—he’ll transfer to UNM in the fall—for computer engineering. The neighborhood has quickly embraced Kasey’s, flocking to the red-roofed eatery for fried chicken and pumpkin waffles for brunch, and sidling up to the bar for basketball games and snacking on madein-house soft pretzels (try them with the beer cheese). The bar serves several New Mexico craft brews and even local wine on tap—yes, you read that right: Following trends in larger cities like New York and San Francisco, the steakhouse has eight wines on tap, including one from St. Clair Winery. Kasey’s has become involved in the community, too—participating in the 2015 Macaroni & Cheese Festival (with a three-cheese macaroni with coffee-rubbed brisket and barbecue bread crumbs) and 2016 New Mexico Restaurant Week. The restaurant has launched menus for several special occasions, as it will do again for Easter and Mother’s Day, when the popular brunch menu will become even more likeable. In the fall, Kaitlin also plans to cook take-out Thanksgiving dinners, as she did in 2015, with everything from smoked turkey to pie. Sound like a lot for a restaurant only in its second year? “This is our life right now,” Kaitlin says. “We enjoy working together. This is our hobby and our business, too.”
Mild to Wild
Celebrating 20 Years of Adventure!
Splash your ad in the May Outdoor issue: Lianne Aponte: 505.629.6544 • lianne@localflavormagazine.com Kate Collins: 505.470.6012 • kate@localflavormagazine.com Allison Muss: 954.292.6553 • allison@localflavormagazine.com
Kasey’s Restaurant is located at 400 Washington St. SE in Albuquerque. 505.241.3801. kaseysabq.com. 32
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Congratulations to the Winners of the 24th Annual
Chocolate Fantasy presented by
“Most Artistic Sculpture” Division Hotels & Casinos Category 1st Place
Alan Sanchez, Charles Guiswite, and Anthony Chavez Isleta Resort & Casino “Star Struck”
2nd Place
Restaurants & Caterers Category 1st Place
Adrienne Toubbeh and Kris Mills Krispy Art “God Particle Party Near-Super Collision on the Way to the Soirée”
2nd Place
Belle Wolters, Meagan Saavedra, and Philippe David Sandia Resort & Casino “Nebula Absolute Magnitude”
Irene Cooper, Xavier McAfee, and Jeff Rubin Savory Fare Café, Bakery and Catering “Across the Universe”
3rd Place
3rd Place
Belle Wolters, Meagan Saavedra, and Philippe David Sandia Resort & Casino “Extra-Ordinary Chondrite”
Donut Elves Rebel Donut “What’s Your Sign?”
“Best Tasting Samples” Division
Hotels & Casinos Category
Restaurants & Caterers Category
1st Place
1st Place
Alan Sanchez, Charles Guiswite, and Anthony Chavez Isleta Resort & Casino
Fawn Saicawalo The Saucy Italian Bistro
2nd Place
2nd Place
Belle Wolters, Meagan Saavedra, and Philippe David Sandia Resort & Casino “Extra-Ordinary Chondrite”
David Reed Sponsored by Dave and Buster’s
3rd Place
Heather Guay, Jessica Saienni, Lourdes Ahumada, and Taylor Burns Los Poblanos Inn
Belle Wolters, Meagan Saavedra, and Philippe David Sandia Resort & Casino “Nebula Absolute Magnitude
3rd Place
“Most Artistic and Best Tasting” Combined Division 1st Place
Yvette Ventura and Wilsonya Clay Navajo Technical University “Black Hole of the Universe”
Students and Schools Category 2nd Place Jean Marie Holgate and Delchina Largo Navajo Technical University “Coyote and the Stars”
“Top Boutique”
Dolores Aragón Heavenly Chocolates
“People’s Choice”
Eric and Teresa Moshier Seasons Rotisserie and Grill “Enchanted Cosmos”
3rd Place
Maya Cameron, Robin Dibble, Brooke Hartman, Patrick Mascarenas, Heather Pratt, and Edward Torres CNM – Tasting Pieces “Galactic Bomber”
“Best New Artist”
Heather Guay, Jessica Saienni, Lourdes Ahumada, and Taylor Burns Los Poblanos Inn “Into the Void”
“Best of Show”
Alan Sanchez, Charles Guiswite, and Anthony Chavez Isleta Resort & Casino “Star Struck” ”
Spirited Dining Daily The New Mexico Museum of Natural History Foundation thanks the many sponsors of this event: KPMG LLP; Intel, LithExcel Marketing Services Provider, Wells Fargo, US Bank Thornburg Investment Management, Bank of Albuquerque, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Bank of the West, Tucker and Karen Bayless, General Mills, New Mexico Gas Company, NUSENDA Credit Union, Sandia National Laboratories, Lockheed Martin, Technology Ventures Corporation, Tinnin Enterprises Albuquerque The Magazine, All World Travel, Beauchamp Jewelers, Clear Channel Outdoor, Convention Services of the Southwest, Frank Frost Photography, KOB Eyewitness News 4, Local Flavor, Sandia Resort & Casino, Vara Wines, 770 KKOB News Radio, and 99.5 Magic FM
Now Open for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Patio Opens in April
Watch for the Opening of our Patio this Month
For reservations, please call 505-986-0000 or visit opentable.com
330 East Palace Avenue • laposadadesantafe.com • 505-986-0000
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alisteo BISTRO T
story by JAMES SELBY photos by STEPHEN LANG
here’s a lot to like about the Galisteo Bistro. It shares the charm of storefronts along Galisteo Street between Alameda and Water in downtown Santa Fe. Large, cheery
windows bordered in small lights have classic bistro curb appeal. Opening the door into the high-ceilinged room knocks some scents into you––of freshly baked sourdough bread, heady spices, garlic, herbs, butter and roasts. You’ll be welcomed with a smile and thanked for coming. Every table is a “chef ’s table” with a view of an immaculate, white-tiled open kitchen, partitioned with brass and glass, running the length of the restaurant. With a separate prep kitchen in back, there’s more room for cooking than for eating, which is a very happy thing for those with reservations or the lucky unexpected guest. Most importantly, and emphatically, original owners Marge and Robert Chickering are back from a hiatus of travel and serious contemplation in New Orleans. To spell out the life and diverse vocations of Robert Chickering would leave no space for the Galisteo Bistro. Yet, it’s essential to revealing what transpires in their kitchen. As a fillip, we get a look back to Santa Fe’s artistic scene toward the end of the 20th century. Robert, 68, was born in upstate New York’s Mohawk Valley, south of the Adirondacks, raised in an old mill town populated by European immigrants. “It was an extraordinary place to grow up,” Robert says of Little Falls, where his family ran a restaurant. “Each ethnic group had their own taverns, churches, social clubs and language.” He attended Northwestern University to study music––in particular, the double bass. While still a student, he played with the renown Lyric Opera of Chicago. “At the time,” says Robert, whose six-foot frame retains a musician’s posture, “the Lyric was, essentially, an Italian opera company. Opera singers are gregarious sorts, very theatrical, and express themselves through their culture. I learned basic sauces, the flavor profiles of various regions, passing time in their kitchens with wine, opera stories and great camaraderie. And, it was food,” he emphasizes, “not just dining, for entertainment.” Other positions in symphony orchestras came his way, as well as multiple seasons in the formative years of the Santa Fe Opera. Robert settled here––the first time––taking ownership of Three Cities of Spain, a café in what is now Geronimo. “It was known for its Greenwich Village vibe, with live musical and theater performances,” recalls Robert. “I continued the tradition, adding classical chamber music to the mix and performing myself.” A year later, he accepted a position with the Chicago Symphony. Soon, along with “a desire to live somewhere other than a major city,” Robert had the revelation that he could “walk away contented in my career path.” He returned to Santa Fe (the second time) as proprietor of what was then called, El Gancho Inn, developing it into the El Gancho Tennis Club. “The feature during that period,” says Robert, “was the summer residencies of Maria Benetiz and her world-class flamenco troupe.” In 1980, he left Santa Fe to pursue other business interests, landing in Maine, where he met his wife, Marge. Long-boned, august yet genuine, Marge’s open, appraising expression makes you feel assured. She, too, had a small-town upbringing, and you hear the down-east Mainer accent when she gets going. She and Robert married in 1994 and followed their gumption into several creative endeavors, purchasing a small-town paper in Colorado, and then returning to Maine to run a historic inn on Deer Isle. “I came home one day,” remembers Marge, “and Robert asked, ‘Want to move to New Mexico?’ He’d accepted a position as executive chef in the Taos Ski Valley. I was hired as assistant general manager and helped in the restaurant.” In 2009, the couple moved to Santa Fe (third time for Robert) to open Galisteo Bistro––the first time. Quietly, they went about growing their business the old-fashioned way, by word of mouth (you won’t find their bistro on Facebook) into a top-rated restaurant. Every January, the Chickerings would close the restaurant for two weeks, give their staff a paid vacation, and drive to Louisiana, drawn by the jazz, blues and culinary scenes, the character of New Orleans. In 2014, the Chickerings sold Galisteo Bistro, beginning an odyssey of past and future, traveling to Maine before heading south. “The quest,” explains Robert, “was to establish a bistro, a dive bar in NOLA, featuring the very best in jazz, great tapas. A place to be creative. Try as we might, we couldn’t find a location.” During a visit to Santa Fe in the summer of 2015, serendipity knocked. Galisteo Bistro was back on the market and, like blues artist Lead Belly sings about the boll weevil, the Chickerings were looking for a home. Within a few days––for the second time–– they owned the place. Reading through the menu at Galisteo Bistro is like following a bouncing ball over the lyrics of the pair’s lives. And, sure, while theirs is “food, not entertainment,” as Robert says of his salad days, there’s plenty to beguile a diner. From the page-long “Tapas” section, it’s hard to resist sharing the Heritage Cheese Crock Spread, Robert’s homage to the illustrious Win Schuler restaurant in Marshall, Mich., or the artichoke latke with feta, preserved lemon and red pepper aioli. The oyster shooters come raw in a shot glass, suspended in a spicy, sweet, zesty tomato sauce for bottoms-up eating. Tail-on shrimp are fixed in a medley of ways, including NOLA-style “barbeque,” which has nothing to do with a grill or spicy tomato sauce. These are sautéed in butter and zapped with Creole spices, Worcestershire sauce and lemon. There’s a hard-to-resist white remoulade mayonnaise concoction both tangy and sweet, or gambas al ajillo (garlic sauce), a coconut shrimp with a sweet-pepper jelly and chipotle slaw, and, yes, the classic cocktail sauce of tomato and horseradish. Continued on page 42
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| A Taste of Life in New Mexico
Braised Lamb Shank
Robert and Marge Chickering APRIL 2016
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story by CRAIG SMITH
I
But since April 2001, the facility has been downtown’s lauded arts center, regularly presenting and producing events of local, national and international importance. They run the style and type gamut from orchestral performances and community meetings to lectures, from conference and nonprofit events to special celebrations. But the 821-seat Lensic’s state-of-the-art technical prowess, impressive proscenium stage and welcoming public spaces are just the visible part of a mammoth organizational iceberg devoted to the community. The obvious shining top is supported by an immense understructure of people, planning, outreach and equipment. The result is something much more than its physical plant, dedicated to sustaining its many community partners, as well as itself. In fact, the Lensic’s reach into Santa Fe and environs goes both wide and deep. Among its outreach programs are yearly, for-credit technical theater internships and scholarships. Then there is the PASS program, which brings some 15,000 Santa Fe Public School students to the theater yearly for underwritten, free performances. In addition, the theater offers community sponsorships that help underwrite local nonprofit organizations’ events; provides rent subsidy for every group using the theater by at least 50 percent; and administers the community box office, Tickets Santa Fe, used by virtually every local performing and presenting group. The result is an organization sustained not just by its own efforts, but by the many diverse groups that utilize it. Asked how it feels to be celebrating a 15th anniversary, Nancy Zeckendorf—chairman of the Lensic board of directors and a founding director who started the facility on its journey those many years ago— says, “I would say we’re way beyond the goals we originally set. Bob (Robert Martin, the facility’s former executive and artistic director) has brought in this varied bouquet of programming. I just couldn’t have imagined what a wonderful set of audiences it would grow into being.” As an example, Nancy references a comment by Richard Gaddes, former general director of The Santa Fe Opera. “We were doing an opera event one Christmas, and he looked around said, ‘Who are all these people? I’ve never seen them before.’” That welcoming audience reach is one of the theater’s greatest successes, Nancy says. “There are so many different audiences, and that’s what’s so exciting about the Lensic. I can be there for something and maybe I know two people in the audience; or I can be there for the opera (broadcasts) and know everybody. I couldn’t be happier, I just couldn’t be happier.”
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Photo: Courtesy Palace of the Governors Photo Archives
f a building could show the impact it has on its community, the 200 block of Santa Fe’s West San Francisco Street would be a blaze of glory, thanks to The Lensic Performing Arts Center. Sited at No. 211 since 1930, the Lensic has been a “You need to give people programming they’re local magnet for eight decades— excited about and love—and we’ve done that—so first as a movie house with an attached office block, and then they can be proud and excited about it, and feel as a location for occasional live presentations, as well as cinema. the Lensic is part of their lives.” Nancy Zeckendorf
Photo: © Robert Reck
Photo: © Kate Russell
Live at theLensic
She adds, “I don’t even have to go the Lensic. I can go to Albertsons, and somebody will come up to me and say, ‘Oh, thank you, it’s so wonderful.’ But the thing is, it just has to keep going, and it always takes attention and love and money! People see full houses and the excitement, and they say, ‘Oh, they’re making money,’” Nancy says. “How could they not think so?” In fact, like all nonprofit organizations, the Lensic runs a constant numbers race during which it must balance income, expenses and necessary projects while moving ahead. “It’s a big house,” she notes. “You’ve got to take care of things,” from maintenance and planning for future item replacements or upgrades, to such everyday necessities as light, heat and keeping the lobby carpets clean. The current Lensic budget is $3.4 million per year. Some 53 percent of this comes from earned income such as rentals and ticket sales; 40 percent is donated income from individuals, corporations, foundations and government sources; the remaining 7 percent comes from all other sources. The relationship between the Lensic and its surrounding community is symbiotic: the theater relies on Santa Feans and visitors to attend events, utilize the space, and come on board as volunteers and donors. Neither would easily exist without the other. When it began, the Lensic partnered with eight local founding groups that committed to using the space on a regular basis: Maria Benitez Teatro Flamenco; Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival; Santa Fe Concert Association (now Performance Santa Fe); Santa Fe Desert Chorale; Santa Fe Opera; Santa Fe Pro Musica, Santa Fe Symphony & Chorus; and Santa Fe Stages (now defunct). Those organizations form the core of the theater’s non-proprietary programming. However, the Lensic regularly supplements the work of the founding organizations by programming events through the Lensic Presents series, which brings world-renown opera, theater and dance to our community. Santa Feans have had the privilege of experiencing The Acting Co. in Of Mice and Men; the National Theatre Live series from London; The Metropolitan Opera’s Live in HD series (co-presented with The Santa Fe Opera); the Twyla Tharp dance company; and famed musician and composer Art Garfunkel. The amazing diversity of offerings continues on April 8, when the Congo-born, Belgian-raised Zap Mama brings her unusual meld of Afro-pop, American Soul and European sensibility to the theater, and just a week later, our very own Spanish Colonial Arts Society presents the annual Nuestra Música Festival. As Nancy Zeckendorf puts it, “You need to give people programming they›re excited about and love—and we›ve done that—so they can be proud and excited about it, and feel the Lensic is part of their lives.” For more information on Lensic programming and events, visit lensic.org. The Tickets Santa Fe Box Office line is 505.988.1234.
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35°North
story by GORDON BUNKER photos by GABRIELLA MARKS
! E D U T I T A L R U O Y D N FI B
eignets make people happy. While writing this story, whenever I’d mention them to friends, they smiled. At the outset, I didn’t even know what a beignet was, but with a basket of the puffy little beauties before me at 35° North Coffee in Santa Fe, I had proof. I was smiling, too.
| Henry Goldstein
| On next page: Beignets, dusted with powder sugar, served with mixed berry coulis or chocolate sauce and the Mediterranean Salad with mixed fresh greens tossed with pearled cous cous tabbouleh with fresh mint, tomato, cucumber and blend of Moroccan and Calamata olives. 38
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Before my interview with General Manager Rob Rittmeyer and GM to-be-Elizabeth McLeod (Rob will soon be leaving to coach soccer full-time), I purposely have a light breakfast. Doing a story on a coffee shop with a French thing going on? One that does all its pastries in-house? Instinctively, I know good, rich, comestibles are coming, and I want to be properly prepared. We gather at one of the marble-top bistro tables, where sunlight floods in a south-facing window. I already have a fresh house-blend pourover coffee when the server brings the beignets to the table. I ask Rob what it is I am about to eat, and am hoping for a succinct answer. I don’t want to linger too long before getting into them. He smiles and replies, “The second most universal thing after coffee is fried dough.” Okay Rob, thank you, that’s all I need to know. Now, let’s eat! The beignets are hot and crispy on the outside, drenched in powdered sugar, with tender puff dough on the inside. You have your choice of house-made, mixed-berry coulis or dark-chocolate sauce for dipping. Not being shy, I have both. The coulis is good, but chocolate hound that I am, this is where I go. I dive right in. The combination, with the coffee accompaniment, is pure, decadent yumminess. The French clearly know something about how to live. As I’m happily filling my face, Rob insists, “You can pronounce them ‘bag nets’ and we’ll still make them for you!” He continues, “Gerald Peters,” the owner, “had this vision of Café Du Monde. That’s what struck a chord with him, so, as we were developing the brand, we tried to stay true to that, while being responsive to the current coffee market as well. We tried to make sure there was a New Orleans feel, a French influence.” 35° North has succeeded. Although, as an aside, when I consult with friend Skip who lives just outside New Orleans, he plainly states, “Beignets with café au lait at Café du Monde in the French quarter are the only real authentic beignets.” The gauntlet, it seems, has been thrown; but Skip, I think you need to come visit. We might just change your world view. Indeed, the décor is inviting, comfortable and well thought out.
The colors, materials and finishes, the upscale architectural details, make it a treat to be here. A large community table with a top of recycled white oak occupies one of the two adjacent spaces the shop calls home. A map of the world covers nearly an entire wall in this room and captures both my attention and imagination. The deep red horizontal line crossing it indicates latitude 35° north. Crossing the United States, this line runs right through Santa Fe, and to the east, streaks over the broad expanse of the Atlantic Ocean before it clips the northernmost tip of Morocco. And around it goes from there, crossing Asia. Looking at this line gives me pause. It represents an abstraction, a device, yet studying it causes me to think about what unites us, what divides us. Historically, as today, trade certainly unites us. “Coffee is a universal,” says Rob. “It’s the second most highly traded commodity in the world after oil. It ties cultures together on all continents.” 35° North not only serves coffee, but roasts their own beans. “We have a top-of-the-line coffee broker,” says Rob, “who is very particular about what he’ll send us. It’s always current crop and it’s always peak season. We’ve set the bar high, as far as what we’re willing to bring in to roast.” A gleaming red and chrome Diedrich Roaster sits in the corner of the kitchen. While this state-of-the-art machine has to a great degree mechanized roasting, Rob feels that there’s plenty of room for an artistic touch. “There’s a lot of nuance to how you brew the coffee, especially with the pour-overs. You have to get the grind just right…and you watch some of our baristas at the grinding machine, I think there’s absolutely an art to that.” Rob describes the process from grind to cup in great detail. It’s as though I am listening to a sommelier describe the decanting of a fine wine. The cup of coffee I have before me is delicious. Aromatic, full-bodied and balanced. The house blend, by the way, is 50 percent Sumatran, 25 percent Costa Rican and 25 percent Columbian. Elizabeth, who has been managing restaurants with Santa Fe Dining for 10 years, is coming up to speed on coffee and is listening attentively. Rob’s enthusiasm is infectious and his knowledge encyclopedic. Elizabeth adds, “So far, it’s been a crash course from Rob!” A few days later, my sweetheart Karen and I stop in for lunch. I already know what I’m having. I’d asked Elizabeth and Rob if there was anything | Chef Suzanne Orrell from 35°’s lunch menu I must have. Oh yes, that would be the croque monsieur. Describing it, Elizabeth’s expression lights up. “Ham and butter,” she says, laughing, “and cheese. It’s everything bad for you all in one sandwich!” Rob interjects, “It’s good for your soul, it’s good for your soul. It’s ham and Gruyére with a little béchamel. It’s our most popular lunch item.” Despite how wonderful it sounds, it might be a little over the top, so I decide to ease into it with a half-sandwich and a mixed greens salad with citrus vinaigrette. My sandwich arrives, served on its own little cutting board, exuding pure richness. I smile. Karen, meanwhile, eyes it longingly. Inside brioche bread, lightly grilled for just the right | Marvin Ramirez crunch, the Gruyére oozes out around the edges. It’s more of a knife-and-fork affair than a pick-it-up sandwich, but to say it is good would be a gross understatement. The cheese has a little astringent bite to it, the ham is smoky…if you are not salivating yet, check that you have a pulse… the béchamel lends a hint of nutmeg. It is delish, but at the same time, it’s not an overwhelming fat bomb. It is just right. The salad provides a nice contrast for the palate, fresh and earthy. The vinaigrette has a clearing and complex citrus zing. The croque monsieur disappears all too quickly. Next time, I’m ordering the whole sandwich. Karen is very happy with the corn-and-shrimp chowder. Ditto for the order of beignets she just has to have for dessert. “Two sticky thumbs up!” she says while licking the powdered sugar off them. So, okay, we’ve established where I gravitate with dietary choices. But it’s important to note, 35° North offers creative breakfast and lunch—not to mention coffee—menus with many leaner items, including bistro boxes to grab and go, and a host of vegetarian options. 35° North Coffee is located at 60 E. San Francisco St. in Santa Fe. 505.983.6138. 35northcoffee.com. A Taste of Life in New Mexico
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T
HomeBrew
o most of us, brewing beer is something like witchcraft. You put barley, water, hops and yeast into a container, and a few weeks later, you’ve somehow conjured a potion that not only tastes fantastic, but has the ability to bring people together in joyful celebration. But it’s not magic. It’s something anyone can do, if they are intrepid enough to try.
WHY TACKLE IT? It does take time, commitment, patience, creativity, a methodical and meticulous temperament, and—most importantly—a willingness to experiment. Brewing is not difficult, but it is technical and complex. It requires a certain level of precision and involves many different variables, so I won’t attempt to detail the process here. Instead, I hope to provide resources and encouragement for anyone who is curious about making the leap into home brewing. The idea of making your own alcohol may evoke images of backwoods stills and moonshineswilling hillbillies, but in reality, home brewing appeals to people from many different backgrounds for many different reasons. Some relish the ability to preserve local ingredients and put an abundant harvest to good use. Santa Fe Brewing Company Barrel Artist Leif Rotsaert discloses, “I will go out to nature to harvest, climb trees, dig around in bushes, as well as grow my own herbs and flowers. It is the perfect hobby for the farmer/hunter-gatherer in all of us.” For others, it’s about creativity, personalization and independence. As Jami Nordby, owner of Santa Fe Homebrew Supply explains, “It has the appeal of science, sometimes the necessity of engineering, and always the freedom of art and cuisine. I can tailor the product to my own taste or make something no one has ever tried before. I just had a customer tell me he made a mango red-chili cider that was fantastic.” He continues, “I think many people are intrigued by the novelty of making their own beer, and many are surprised by early success. After that, they can brew whatever type of beer they can dream of, both flavor-wise and strength-wise.” Members of the Sangre de Cristo Craft Brewers club agree, saying, “Home brewing allows for lots of creativity. Once you get the basics figured out, you can pretty much brew with any kind of ingredient you can imagine. It also allows you to take your favorite style of beer and tweak in ways that make it your own, and if all goes well, it becomes even better.”
AM I GEEKY ENOUGH? Many home brewers have scientific or engineering backgrounds, and enjoy the union of chemistry and artistry. Jens Deichmann, owner of Victor’s Home Brew speculates on the appeal, saying, “They get to work with their hands, cobble together often ingenious pieces of equipment, learn the basics of chemistry and biology, or apply their advanced degrees and experience to the enjoyable task of making an ever better product.” It’s definitely a hobby people like to “geek out” on. As Kevin Fleming, from The Dukes of Ale home-brewing club, says, “Home brewing is kind of Zen. I can’t explain it, but is very soothing to make a beer, cider or mead.” He continues, “Some brewers, like me, love the engineering, science and processes involved in making beer. I love the processes, controlling those processes, fermentation science and recipe formulation.” For nearly everyone, there’s a social component to it as well, both during the brewing process and afterward. For a lot of home brewers, brewing is a fun way to spend time with friends. They enjoy what Leif Rotsaert calls the “spirit of adventurous brewing and camaraderie.” And afterward, you get to share the fruits of your labors with friends and family. Or, you can share it with professional brewers, club members and more experienced home brewers to get feedback and improve your process. Brewing is not without its challenges though, especially for beginners. Brewing good beer takes practice, money for ingredients and materials, and time spent perfecting your recipes. Not to mention, a lot of time spent cleaning and sanitizing your equipment. As the Sangre de Cristo Craft Brewers say, “Cleanliness is paramount.” There’s a danger of exploding fermentations, which can be messy. Attention to the technical details like temperature, water quality and sanitation is critical. A change of only a few degrees during fermentation can make all the difference, while impurities in the water can create odd flavor; and unwanted microorganisms like lactobacillus, wild yeast or acetobacter can ruin your beer by turning it into vinegar! It’s important to be careful, fastidious, precise. 40
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stor y by MELYSSA HOLIK
WHO ELSE IS CRAZY ENOUGH TO DO THIS? Well, for those willing to take on the challenges, the rewards are many. You’ll be welcomed into a wonderful and supportive community where cooperation and collaboration are key. Like most things beerrelated, the home-brewing crowd is a quirky, laid-back bunch who are passionate and discerning but approachable. You’ll find your fellow home brewers friendly and helpful, and constructive with their criticism. Even more exciting is the fact that many hobbyists work closely with the commercial industry and many even go on to become professional brewers. Jason Kirkman of Bathtub Row in Los Alamos, Todd Yocham and Trent Edwards from Duel Brewing, Alexander Pertusini from the newly opened Chili Line Brewing all got their starts in home brewing. Sangre de Cristo Craft Brewers members explain the relationship: “Home brewing is intrinsically tied to the professional brewing business. Home brewers are also some of the best customers, as they tend to know and appreciate more about craft beer than the average American adjunct lager drinker. Home brewing helps develop palates and helps people appreciate craft beer. Brewing your own helps you appreciate craft beer and the intricacies of the brewing process.” Commercial breweries value the informed consumers as well as the experimental nature of home brewing that supports craft-beer culture. They embrace home brewers as an important source of new ideas. Leif Rotsaert says, “Santa Fe Brewing Company has always had a strong connection with home brewing as an avenue to recipe development. Our most awardwinning beers have been created 2-6 gallons at a time.” He adds, “Thanks to home brewing, the consumer these days is more educated and willing to try some of our more adventurous offerings. Almost all successful commercial brewers have a strong background in home brewing and recipe development.”
OKAY, WHERE DO I START? So, you’re ready to join the wild and wacky world of home brewing. Where do you begin? We asked local home brewers for their recommendations on getting started, and here’s what they had to say:
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“My advice for the novice home brewer is to ask for help and go to your local home-brew shop. It is possible to go to most brewers and brew pubs and befriend a brewer. I’ve had people call the brewery in the middle of a mash-in and ask for help. Brewers are by nature a very nerdy group. Also, don’t buy expensive ingredients or equipment. Start small; start cheap. Food-grade plastic buckets are a good way to start. Heck, if you don’t mind brewing half gallons at a time, I’ve seen people brew beer in their coffee machine. Keep it simple and have a good time.” –Leif Rotsaert, barrel artist, Santa Fe Brewing Company “Take a class at a local home brew shop (there are several in town); read about brewing or winemaking; ask a friend who is brewing; join a club such as Dukes of Ale or New Mexico Vine and Wine Society; buy some starter equipment; and dive in!”–Jens Deichmann, owner, Victor’s Home Brew “Join our [Sangre de Cristo Home Brewers] Yahoo list (groups.yahoo. com/sdccb) and start attending meetings. There is no cost to do so. We do have annual dues, but these are only if you can afford to pay, and it is a suggested donation of $10 to $20. If you can’t pay, we won’t ask you to. There are a lot of home brewers who are more than willing to help beginners out, and you can connect with them at our meetings. It’s a great way to improve your brewing, as the group has lots of experienced brewers and can easily pick out flaws and can suggest what can be done to fix these faults in the future. We are fortunate to have some of the best brewers in the state in our club.” –Sangre de Cristo Craft Brewers “A little online research can yield a lot of results, but the best way is to stop by your local home-brew supply store and ask some questions. You can start playing with one-gallon batches for as little as $40, or go for a standard five-gallon kit for around $150. That’ll make two cases of home-crafted brew, and it’s easy to make beer as good as you can find on store shelves. The main thing to keep in mind is enjoyment of the process. Mistakes do happen during the brew day, but most of the time, you still end up with a drinkable beer.” –Jami Nordby, Santa Fe Homebrew Supply “Of course, I think the best way is to join a homebrew club and glean information from other seasoned brewers, and not have to make the same stumbles they did while learning. And it’s legal in New Mexico to share beer at a meeting for ‘tasting and evaluation.’ The samples are small, but you can try a plethora of beers that may or may not be good (you can sometimes learn more from an ‘off beer’ than a perfect one).” –Kevin Fleming, The Dukes of Ale
THE BOTTOM LINE If you’re interested in home brewing, you’ll find no shortage of advice, resources and encouragement. The most important thing is to fearlessly jump in, get started and have some fun. And, of course, to proudly share those finished brews as often as you can!
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n addition to talking with local brewers at breweries, the following publications, websites and resources can be valuable to a beginner home brewer:
Supplies Santa Fe Homebrew Supply 6820 Cerrillos Road, Suite 4 Santa Fe 505.473.2268 santafehomebrew.com or nmbrew.com Santa Fe Homebrew Supply opened in 2007. They carry equipment and ingredients for crafting great beer and wine, everything from basic stock pots and carboys (large glass bottles) to yeast, hops and malt. They also have starter cheese-making kits and ingredients, and food-grade additives and sanitizers. A Taste of Life in New Mexico
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Brew
Victor’s Home Brew 2436 San Mateo Pl NE Albuquerque 505.883.0000 victorshomebrew.com/ Victor’s has been in Albuquerque for 42 years. They sell home-brewing and wine-making supplies and equipment, and some supplies for cheesemaking, mead and soda pop. They also offer monthly free classes in wine making, brewing and occasional classes in making mead or kombucha.
Clubs Sangre de Cristo Craft Brewers The club has grown from mainly a sampling club, to one that hosts a national annual competition (The Santa Fe Open Brewing Competition), and is active in beer education and community outreach. They currently meet three days a month, two of those for a style class where they discuss and sample all the beers in the 2015 BJCP Style Guidelines. santafeopen.org. Dukes of Ale The Dukes of Ale is the oldest homebrew club in the state, and has been continually active since its creation in 1989. They host two home-brewing competitions per year; Enchanted Brewing Challenge and New Mexico’s biggest, the ProAm. dukesofale.com.
Books The Complete Joy of Homebrewing by Charlie Papazian How to Brew by John Palmer is available online for free at howtobrew.com
Websites and Events American Homebrewers Association, homebrewersassociation.org. It also has a monthly magazine called Zymurgy that is worth it alone for the yearly membership fee. National Homebrew Day and Learn to Homebrew Day. homebrewersassociation.org. homebrewersassociation.org homebrewtalk.com or brewingnetwork.com Central New Mexico Community College now offers a Brewing & Beverage Management program. cnm.edu. Santa Fe Brewing Company previously held “Small Batch Saturdays” which are on hold during the construction of their new facilities. However, they remain committed to supporting home brewing in New Mexico and still offer tours and advice to interested parties.
GalisteoBISTRO Continued from page 34
You’ll need to remain strong to get past the tapas page, because of intriguing options like lamb shanks, slow-braised in maple barbeque sauce or pan-roasted chicken breast braciole stuffed with caponata. The Creole Jambalaya with shrimp and Louisiana-sourced crawfish and andouille sausage pairs pretty naturally with the Abita beers from the same locale. “Sparkling wine, like a Prosecco,” says Robert, “is great with Creole, Cajun cuisine.” There’s both sausage and vegetarian versions of Sicilian smacafam, which translates to “beat the hunger,” a hearty dish with mushrooms, marinara and herbs, spooned over oven-roasted polenta. Six variations on a theme are proffered with local, juicy hanger steak: simply seared, or dressed with Peruvian green-chile sauce, traditional scampi––a version rubbed with espresso and herbs, an Argentine chimichurri (can you say Malbec?), and a blue cheese with shallots. The wine list, chosen from among well-regarded producers in any given region, mirrors the breadth of the menu. When was the last time you paired your smacafam with a Teroldego from Trentino, Italy (an indigenous grape that makes a rich, soft red wine), or a Slovakian Riesling by the glass to wash down crispy eggplant with Spanish tomato jam? “I love the idea that one may be drinking the product of someone no longer with us, walking the vineyard, thinking about the grapes, yet touching lives in unknown ways,” Robert says. One winemaker that’s still very much with us, walking his vineyards, is Richard Longoria of Santa Barbara County, where he’s made small-batch artisanal wines since 1982. Richard and Robert met at a tasting last year and immediately connected on several levels. “Authenticity and philosophy,” explains Robert, “in presenting the alternative in an age of instant gratification, takes a great deal of optimism, as does planting asparagus, fruit trees, a vineyard, or to cook with roux and old-world techniques. Longoria hasn’t compromised.” Jazz and blues made for further simpatico. Robert lists Longoria’s “Lovely Rita” Pinot Noir, for the Beatles song, and a red blend with bass notes of Cabernet Franc, aptly named Cuvée Blues. Richard chooses artists to do labels honoring different musicians. One of the first things you’ll see entering Galisteo Bistro is a poster-size label of Charley Parker. The bond will be given expression on Sunday, April, 17, when Richard is in Santa Fe to host a five-course wine dinner at the restaurant, themed “Old World Informs New California,” a reference to Longoria being featured in a new book by Jon Bonné entitled The New California Wine: A Guide to the Producers and Wines Behind a Revolution in Taste. As a coda to any meal at the Bistro, let it be known, Marge Chickering is among the best pastry chefs. Country rearing informs her perfect pie crusts, cakes and ice creams, like Marge’s Maine Farm Fresh Apple and New Orleans Pecan pies, or Pear and Amaretto Cream Tart. Her selections appear in repertory because many regulars have particular favorites, but, mercifully, Decadence, the flourless bittersweet chocolate-almond-crusted cake, and The Mud Puddle, a recipe coaxed from a lady down the road in Maine (a semisweet chocolate confection layered with coffee ice cream, chocolate crumbs and mocha mousse), are always available and ridiculously addictive. There is serious work happening at Galisteo Bistro in the care and details of preparation, sourcing, selections, old-fashioned hard work and imagination that don’t require tweezers, foams or spherification kits. “We’re chroniclers of ethnic recipes,” says Robert. “For us, the idea of New Orleans is much better than the reality. Our creative heart is still there, but it’s deeply fulfilling to be back together again with the Santa Fe clientele.” Galisteo Bistro is located at 227 Galisteo Street in Santa Fe. 505.982.3700. galisteobistro.com.
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May 19–22
B t f a r C
s r e n n i D r e e
Local Flavor has lined up some of Santa Fe’s most creative chefs for a night of dinner and draft — culinary creations like you’ve never dreamed of! Andiamo! • Terra at Four Seasons Joseph’s of Santa Fe • L’Olivier Inn of the Anasazi • Blue Corn Café Loyal Hound Pub • Palace Restaurant & Saloon Red Sage at Buffalo Thunder
Visit outsidesantafe.com for info on all the great culinary events at Bike & Brew.
A Taste of Life in New Mexico
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StillHungry?S
till hungry? Yes, indeed! Twenty years old, and here we are, still story by JAIN LEMOS savoring the flavor of Northern New Mexico. After all these years, Local Flavor’s readers, writers, featured chefs, artists and locals of all trades still enjoy the flavors of Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Taos and beyond. In honor of the celebration of our 20th Anniversary, we’re featuring three of our favorite Albuquerque restaurants, all which were a part of our very first issue…and beyond! Each restaurant is a local classic in its own right, and we are honored to feature a few signature recipes in the April issue. We hope you enjoy these dishes as much as we do—after all, one’s never too old, never too young, to enjoy the flavors of our Northern New Mexico treasures. Here’s to many more!
Seasons Rotisserie & Grill
On the north side of Old Town Plaza, Seasons Rotisserie & Grill has enjoyed steady popularity since opening in 1996. Started by the venerable Roessler family, this locally-owned-and-operated restaurant has a gracious main dining room famed for its power lunch crowd and a spacious rooftop patio that has always been the place to see and be seen. Working in the open-exhibition kitchen, Executive Chef Myles Lucero has been expanding and modernizing the restaurant’s menu for nearly 10 years. While previous chefs have stayed true to the restaurant’s centerpiece theme of wood-burning grill and rotisserie-style main courses—roasted prime rib, grilled center-cut beef sirloin and oak-fired jumbo sea scallops—today Lucero brings a more progressive spin to his selections, adding healthier options. What really makes this place special are the people who work here. Managing partner, Keith Roessler, notes, “We still have several opening team employees from 1995, including chef couple Maria and Chon Murillo that run our lunch program and our creative (and demanding) florist by day and seasoned server at night Fabian Rodriguez to name just a few.”
Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Breast from Executive Chef Myles Lucero
1 Tablespoon olive oil 4 bone-in skin-on chicken breasts Salt and pepper ½ pound butter, softened 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1 cup bread crumbs Wafer crackers Splash of white wine 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 garlic clove, minced Fresh herbs, chopped (any combination of rosemary, thyme, parsley, sage) Splash of chicken stock Preheat the oven to 400°. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Season each breast with salt and pepper on both sides. Sear the breasts in the skillet on both sides until nicely browned and then transfer pan to the oven for an additional 15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165° degrees. Mix the butter, cheese and bread crumbs together until incorporated. Split into 4 portions, then press each into a thin wafer. Top each breast with a wafer and roast for another five minutes. Transfer breasts to a warm platter to rest and make a pan sauce out of the skillet drippings. Deglaze with white wine, scraping up all the browned bits. Add mustard, minced garlic and chopped herbs and chicken stock to smooth. Spoon over chicken breasts and serve with | Ads and story from November 1996 your favorite chilled Pinot Gris.
Seasons Rotisserie & Grill is located at 2031 Mountain Road NW in Albuquerque. 505.766.5100. seasonsabq.com. 44
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O’Niell’s O’Niell’s was trending before Celtic became chic. When it opened in 1994, the pub was located a little west of where it sits now on Route 66. After enjoying significant growth, O’Niell’s moved down the road to a much larger facility, where patrons bring their dogs and appetites. Indeed, success is the Irish public house’s best recipe as it boasts two locations, one in Nob Hill and the second in the Heights. O’Niell’s menu mixes old and new with a special flare, including options for veggie lovers and fitness freaks. All the Celtic favorites can be found—Guinness bangers and mash, shepherd’s pie and wild Alaskan fish and chips—to satisfy any Irish cravings. But the restaurant’s also known for its modern versions of pub staples served to accommodate every palate, such as sirloin and blue cheese salad or the fashionable seasoned Portobello mushroom burger. Executive Chef Doug Toney has been at O’Niell’s for 18 years, working through the years to modernize the kitchen’s offerings for new patrons, while staying true to their Irish roots for loyal customers. All desserts and soups are made in-house and at least a third of the menu is vegetarian. “The clientele near the college location is certainly more health-conscious,” Chef Doug adds. Founder Rob O’Niell wanted to bring good food and honest drink to Duke City. He’s accomplished that and more, including snagging a Best Dining Patio in Town rating from locals in the effort.
Irish Boxty (Potato Pancakes) from Executive Chef Doug Toney
½ cup flour 1 pound shredded, frozen hash browns 1 egg 1-1/2 cups precooked mashed potatoes Handful scallions, cut on bias Handful chopped, fresh parsley 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon granulated garlic Olive oil
Mix all ingredients together well in a bowl to form a batter. Add more flour if needed. Heat a large nonstick frying pan or griddle over medium to medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add a light coating of olive oil. Drop a large spoonful of the batter into the pan and smash it down to about 1/8 inch thick. Let it brown on both sides, about 3 minutes each. Serve hot with your favorite protein and a glass of Guinness.
O’Niell’s Pub has locations at 4310 Central Avenue SE and 3301 Juan Tabo NE in Albuquerque.505.255.6782 and 505.293.1122, respectively. oniells.com.
Le Chantilly Fine Pastries Tucked inside the historic Hoffmantown Shopping Center for 28 years, Laura Shirley’s Le Chantilly Fine Pastries has become a generational phenomenon. “We now have grandchildren coming back as adults,” Laura says. Riding the wave of economic ups and downs over the past two decades, her strategy has been to stay true to the bakery’s French roots— everything has filling and butter. What was popular from the start remains so today, including Laura’s Apricot Regent which is built with two layers of white-butter almond cake and filled with toasted hazelnut meringue. Laura’s son Keith has been by her side since he was 15. Now 28, he handles the shop’s deli salads and savory menu. While the bakery side doesn’t cater specifically to food trends, he has incorporated vegan and gluten-free options to continue to attract a wider range of clientele. Le Chantilly offers salads and quiche as well as made-from-scratch breakfast and lunch selections such as stuffed croissants and homemade soups every day.
Leek and Potato Soup
from owner and baker Laura Shirley 2 quarts beef stock 6 russet potatoes, peeled and diced 4 leeks (white part only), thoroughly washed and sliced Bouquet garni: 2 Tablespoons each tarragon, basil, thyme, rosemary, wrapped and tied in 10-inch square of cheesecloth. Put stock and vegetables in a large pot and bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Remove bouquet garni. Roux: 4 Tablespoons butter 4 Tablespoons flour 2 Tablespoons feta cheese crumbles 1/2 pint heavy cream Parsley Over medium heat, make roux with butter and flour. Add cream slowly and then add feta. Combine the cream mixture with the stock mixture. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.
Le Chantilly Fine Pastries is located at Hoffmantown Shopping Center, 8216 Menaul Blvd NE in Albuquerque. 505.293.7057. lechantillybakery.com.
A Taste of Life in New Mexico
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ALBUQUERQUE
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321 W. San Francisco 986-8700
3409 Central Ave NE Albuquerque, NM 87106 (505) 244.3344 www.soulandvine.com
s i n c e 19 9 2
20% Off at Spa for Locals
Mother’s Day Brunch
#5 “Best Hotel Spa in the U.S.” by USA Today 10Best 505.984.7997 | innatloretto.com/spa
Sunday, May 8th | Buffet seatings at 10am, 12 & 2pm Plated service in Luminaria 11:30am– 2pm 505-984-7915 | Luminariarestaurant.com
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NEW CLIENT SPECIAL
Celebrate Mom! Mother’s Day Brunch Sunday, May 8 11:30am –3pm Patio Opens on Mother’s Day Reserve Today!
Buy one facial and get the second one at half price! Must be used in two consecutive months to experience the best results.
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Reservations: 505.982.4353 653 Canyon Road compoundrestaurant.com
Seventh Ray Skin Care Serving Santa Fe since 1992
2019 Galisteo St. N8 • seventhrayskincare.com • 505.982.98.65
photo: Kitty Leaken
A Taste of Life in New Mexico
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