2 minute read
TAOS INN
Locally-Sourced Authentic New Mexican Cuisine
Taste New Mexico...
Locally-Sourced Authentic New Mexican Cuisine
125 PASEO DEL PUEBLO NORTE | 575.758.2233 | TAOSINN.COM
WHAT’S YOUR SECRET INGREDIENT?
Thompson, from Providence, Rhode Island, went from 18-year-old dishwasher to line cook and on to famous culinary school, Johnson & Wales, to whipping up curryand-coconut inspired French toast at Julian’s restaurant (in Providence), to opening up an Asian food cart in the John Dunn shopping center, to eating his way through every place he’s traveled to. He says it all goes into the mixing pot of inspiration. The third generation restaurateur (his grandma with her own spot and his dad in hospitality) compares cooking to music: it’s all already been done before. He’s quick to joke that he obviously didn’t invent pho. Or the clay pots utilized in Japanese cooking that the restaurant is named after and that keep flavors banging with each bite. Part of his spin settles on sourcing local ingredients. For example, fresh herbs and vegetables like cilantro and carrots and squash from Umami Gardens in Ranchos, or the tender wagyu beef from Jason at Taos Wagyu, which is used in the tournedos served with a blood orange glaze. The restaurant makes their own ramen. Marshall started tinkering with food when he was young, because mom’s boiled squash would come out as mush, and dad’s specialty was Kraft Mac and cheese with store-canned pickled beets and a grilled hot dog. (Marshall admits this is actually still a favorite meal of his.) “In college and poor, I’d torture my roommates with outrageous concoctions,” says the now-45-year-old. “Apples, lentils and mustard. Let’s mix it all together! Hey… it works.” •
MARSHALL THOMPSON
DONABE ASIAN KITCHEN
WHAT’S YOUR SECRET INGREDIENT?
BY ARIE LLE CHRISTIAN
robert krause
TAOS ALE HOUSE/BURGER STAND
For The Burger Stand at Taos Ale House’s chef, Robert Krause, what makes a meal go from tasting good to “mysteriously delicious” is the balance between acidic and sweet. The way a few drops of vinegar or lemon can brighten the flavor in a salad dressing. “If the fire jam on the Fire Burger didn’t have acid in it, it’d end up tasting hot only. It’s not the heat that I crave. It’s the complexity,” says Krause, who goes on to explain how the avocado on that burger adds a meaty textural cool down to the overall flavor. → 54
