NOSA

On paper, Graham Dodds might appear to be a newcomer to Northern New Mexico. After all, he arrived in Santa Fe from Texas in 2021, having cheffed at Bolsa, Wayward Sons, and Central 214, all in Dallas. But he says he’d been drawn to the Santa Fe area since his first visit in the ’90s. So, he bought, renovated, and began operations at NOSA Restaurant and Inn near Ojo Caliente mineral springs last July. “This is such an upgrade. I love it.”

NOSA—simultaneously slang for North of Santa Fe” and an evocation of the feminine singular Spanish word for “ours”—is a 30-mile drive from the City Different. Overlooking the Jemez Mountains, it occupies what was originally a bed-and-breakfast with a Relais & Châteaux distinction. “They were the only ones in the Southwest,” says Dodds.

The B&B’s original owners built the restaurant so that their guests would have a place to have dinner in an area without many options for eating out. Now with Dodds in the kitchen, single-handedly cheffing stellar farm-totable, prix-fixe meals, NOSA is set to become a Northern New Mexico star, attracting people not just for special occasions but also for exploring an area full of culture and natural beauty.

When the restaurant first opened, Dodds hadn’t obtained his liquor license yet, so he provided only lunch service and nonalcoholic beverage pairings. Now, almost unanimous praise peppers the reviews of his five-course lunches and dinners, which source local products and are themed to whichever cuisine or ingredient inspires him at the moment. “I tend to change up the menus often and try to make it so people can’t put me in a category,” he says. “But there’s typically a common thread or kind of a narrative to the menu.”

Showcasing local bounty in his internationally focused cooking is Dodds’ m.o. “Seems miraculous that they can grow this stuff out here,” he says. He has been sourcing sunshine kabocha squash, garlic, and radicchio from Ojo Farm in Ojo Caliente, as well as autumn frost squash and hakurei turnips from Vagabond Farmers in La Puebla.

The restaurant and four-room inn are reasons themselves to visit, but just 12 miles to the north are Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort & Spa and Ra Paulette’s stunning Windows of the Earth cave sculpture. Eighteen miles west is Georgia O’Keeffe’s Ghost Ranch, open for tours, hiking, and horseback riding. All of which makes NOSA a great spot to get to know wild and wonderful Northern New Mexico.