Dining in New Mexico

When I think of New Mexico, I think of chiles.  Green Hatch chiles, New Mexico reds.  It would have been wild for me, for us, to spend a handful of days in the state and NOT have a taste of chiles.  Ah, readers, have no fear.  Eat them we did, though not in huge quantities.

So let's dive into the food we had whilst dining out during the New Mexico trip...

 

Corner Office.  Taos.  Friday night.  I wish I hadn't been so bloody on that Friday.  I spent most of the day recovering, and it was only by dinner time that I had any appetite.  I didn't drink at all that night, which was a shame given that we were at a place that had an extensive wine list and a nice little selection of cocktails.  We ordered a bunch of things to share, then a bunch more things, and I have to admit, I liked the first round more than the second.  The turnips with turnip greens in a chicken foot broth and with housemade chorizo was a successful dish. 

The grilled mortadella sandwich, however, was a bit too salty/greasy and was a curious thing to split. 

I liked the place, though our end of the table could not hear the other, and so Conrad, Courtney, and I mostly talked amongst ourselves.  Service was good, attentive.

 

Bent Street Grille.  Taos.  Saturday lunchtime.  The lunch special was green chile stew,

apparently the first of their season.  I have never had green chile stew, so I was a little surprised it was so red from tomato.  It was tasty, but it was also a lot of potato when I wished for a little more meat.

 

 

Love Apple.  Taos.  Saturday night.  Cash only, which was interesting.  We had to prepare for that one.  Interesting enough menu on paper, but the food didn't quite live up to it.  Not that the food was bad, but it wasn't as interesting set before us as it was to contemplate.  A nice little wine list, a lovely space in an old church or chapel.  Service was alright - I felt there were gaps of time when someone could have checked in with us.  Worse, the appetizers were coursed out oddly.  Conrad and I had each ordered an appetizer then a salad to share.  He got his appetizer (a cold one) and we got the salad at the same time, then my appetizer came in a second round that was most (but not all) of the hot appetizers.  Michael's quesadilla appetizer (I ordered that as well)

failed to turn up, and the waiter didn't address it beyond saying it would be right out.  Translation:  he probably forgot to submit the order.  Mistakes happen, but own them, people.  I liked the place, but I understand it has a great reputation in Taos, but I thought it was only fine.  The cornbread was nice enough,

the trout grilled on corn husk

was good but cooked a bit too hard.

  

The Stakeout.  Rancho de Taos.  Sunday night.  An event space that does Sunday dinners.  An excellent little bar, nicely stocked and with knowledgeable bartenders and owner.  I would have had everything on that menu, and I enjoyed what we did have.  Conrad wanted the burrata, of course. 

I liked the mezcal negroni! 

Plus, the patio and the views at sunset were fantastic. 

My favourite of the trip.

 

Orlando's New Mexican Cafe.  Taos.  Monday lunchtime.  Should we call this a diner?  A modest place with a menu featuring a lot of familiar Mexican fare.  Practically everything came with the question green, red, or Christmas, and while everyone else having sauce on their food opted for Christmas, I went green.  I love green chiles, so why not?  I had a combo, a chile relleno and a pork-filled tamale. 

I really enjoyed that it came with a side of posole!

 

DWTNR Cocktail Bar & Lounge.  Albuquerque.  Monday afternoon.  The dining space at a hipster hotel in downtown Albuquerque,

we thought it was supposed to have all-day breakfast and some lunch offerings.  Alas, when we got there, it was happy hour menu only.  Still, that meant a pretty good smashburger

(a trend I dislike - I want a thick patty!) and good fries.  Plus cocktails! 

The Big Bad John was a nice choice to finish the trip.

That was dining in New Mexico.  Nothing too fancy, but some good dishes and some perfectly fine ones. 

Montana escape, day 4

Last Wednesday we left the hotel grounds at rather a late time of the morning and drove into Bozeman first, and then on to Livingston.  More of Montana - hooray!!

Bozeman is an attractive town.  A college town.  A destination for lovers of the outdoors.  Apparently a mecca for Californians and others (Boze Angeles is a nickname, or something like that).  It has some terrific historic buildings downtown that have survived and been repurposed. 

We walked around a little, taking photos, then stopped at a Sweet Peaks for a scoop each of the River Float flavour. 

Mmmmm...  After that we poked in a few stores and bought a few souvenirs.  By then it was later in the afternoon, so we hit the road east to get to Livingston in time for an early dinner with Matt

and his family.

I've known Matt professionally for at least a handful of years, but it was only a few years ago that we got to chatting a bit and catching up at conferences over a drink or a bite.  He'd been encouraging me for some time to come visit Montana, and although he and his wife don't live in Bozeman or all that close, it wasn't so far that they didn't want to come through, pick up their son (who is at college in Bozeman), and come for dinner.

Van had found the restaurant

in Livingston in a write up in a magazine or newspaper.  I can't recall which, but maybe the New York Times?  It all sounded good, though - a hip Italian place in a small Montana town that was a thriving arts.  Campione

at 5:00 for five of us, giving us a small window of time to walk the main street before (and then after) dinner

and buy a few more souvenirs.  Matt and his family were a little delayed, but not badly.  Before too long we had an excellent bottle of wine and some appetizers:  meatballs,

ricotta whipped with bone barrow,

smoked cauliflower. 

My entree was the trout

- when in Montana, right?  And then all of us shared the olive oil cake for dessert. 

After a bit of a stroll around town, we split up and headed home.  Van and I got back just as things got dark, a bit of an unnerving drive for us because there is so much wildlife around out there.

Our last full day in Montana was a very good one, indeed.  Friends, souvenirs, good food, sunny skies.  A delight through and through.

dinner failure: trout

I'm more than a little miffed right now. Not at anyone - Conrad is safe from my ire, assuredly (he so rarely does anything that gets up my nose anyway) - just kind of at myself and Whole Foods and the evening and ...

[deep breath]

I bought a couple of rainbow trout yesterday at the gaybourhood Whole Foods. I've had good success baking them before. I figured I'd make them for tonight's dinner somehow. Great. Through the day today I pondered idea on and off and decided to pull in some nuts and fennel. Excellent. I love it when a cooking idea comes together.

Got home - soaking wet, thank you Chicago weather this "summer" - and began work on the fish. I thinly sliced a bulb of fennel and a shallot and set them to caramelize slightly in olive oil with some coarse ground pepper and some coarse salt mixed with fennel seed and saffron. Cleaned and cut up (only a little) some rainbow chard for steaming, set it aside. Made a mixture of walnuts, parsley, fennel fronds, fennel seed, more pepper and the coarse salt and buzzed it down in the food processor until it was a kind-of sticky coating for the fish. Set out a pate of flour and an egg and milk wash for the fish as well. Got a pan ready. Pre-heated the oven. Got the fish out of the fridge.

Hmmm. An off odour. A bit of a concern. I forged ahead. Sometimes the raw fish has a scent but the cooked dish is fine. Really. I hoped. I trimmed it up, coated it, got it into the oven.

And thought to myself that it likely would be off-tasting.

All of the parts done I plated it, photographed it, and called Conrad to the table. And before he could sit down, I took a taste. Yep. Off. Just not right. Under the strong (tasty) nut crust, it was a skanky little bit of fish without much flavour other than, well, off.

But I was biased. I was letting my thoughts take over. Conrad - the love of my life but not as discerning a palate, sorry - would be the final arbiter. He found it bland, but there was a lingering off taste for him, too.

Into the garbage it went. I scrambled to salvage a dinner of the veggies for Conrad and a quickly cooked chicken sausage. I also had a sausage, but there weren't enough veggies. Raw radishes and a bit of feta completed my incredible plate. Sad. Pathetic.

Ah, but no feeling sorry for me. I bought the fish without smelling it first. I should have chucked it earlier and called Ping Pong for delivery. And I've got some German Riesling to make me feel a little better.

But truly, I am miffed to have to waste food and to have put effort into something that I had to toss.

[deep breath] [deep breath]