Check out the article in the New Mexican about the Green Owl below.

Green Owl aims to revitalize St. Michael’s Drive food scene

By: Candelora Versace | For The New Mexican

April 12th, 2012

With its aging fast-food franchises and worn-out convenience stores, St. Michael’s Drive may not be the first place Santa Feans think of as a mealtime destination. Scattered among the car dealers and empty storefronts, the handful of midprice restaurants along the road are often forgotten by being “out of sight, out of mind.”

Bill Healy, owner of the Green Owl, hopes to change that with his high-profile gas station remodel on the south side of the busy thoroughfare. After an extensive renovation, the space now gleams as a cafe with shiny surfaces and a menu of comfort-food classics. Along with breakfast and lunch menus, the eatery also offers fresh-baked pastries, breads and pretzel rolls, as well as Agapao coffee and Hawaiian-style, soft-serve ice cream.

“I thought maybe it was time to retire,” Healy said as he recounted his decades-long career as a professional baker and cafe owner in Long Island, N.Y. He spent the last 10 years or so coming to Santa Fe to visit his daughters, who now live in Albuquerque, so frequently that he considers the Inn and Spa at Loretto his second home.

“I got an offer for my business in New York, and thought maybe I’d look for a hole-in-the-wall space just to keep busy,” he said.

That search took two years, he said. His son-in-law, a physician at the former St. Vincent Hospital, frequently mentioned the lack of food options on St. Michael’s Drive. The more he researched the area, the more Healy became convinced that the location would be ideal for a culinary endeavor.

“I saw the need for our concept,” Healy said of his vision for fresh, high-quality baked goods, light meals and coffee. The breakfast menu includes breakfast burritos, bagels or rolls topped with eggs and cheese, and baked goods including muffins, morning buns and danishes. The lunch options include: individual pizzas, wraps, paninis, sandwiches, salads and soups.

Healy also offers what may be the only pretzel-roll “snackwich” in Santa Fe. He said he spent two months in Germany perfecting the combination of pretzel and bread for his pretzel rolls. “It’s low in carbs and fat and has such a unique taste.”

While the cafe does not source many of its foods locally, Healy and manager Cindy Sheptow said they are working to scout local vendors for their food sources. “We’re happy to use as many local products as we can find,” Healy said, noting that he’s already in discussion with a local produce farmer.

As for coffee, Healy said he has spent 40 years in the coffee business, starting with Chock Full o’Nuts (“the official coffee of the city that never sleeps”), and he’s confident about his choice.

“I know coffee, and I can’t speak highly enough of Agapao coffee and David Black,” Healy said. “He came out with a special blend for us. He really knows coffee; he may even be a step ahead of me. And the best part is, he’s local and he’s good people.”

Sheptow, formerly the pastry chef at Santacafé, agrees. “I’ve been a coffee snob for 40 years myself,” she said. “It’s clean coffee, it has no aftertaste, and we have some [talented] baristas.”

After eight months of renovation, Healy said, the cafe opened in early February. The building was so decrepit, he said, that it had to be completely gutted and rebuilt, including the wiring and plumbing. “It needed a lot of work,” he said.

After sifting through more than 100 applications, Healy hired 15 workers and has since let one go.

“We love the staff, we love the people that work here,” he said. “People always say that there’s a problem getting good workers here, but we think that’s wrong, dead wrong. We want the residents of the St. Mike’s area to have a nice place to come to, and we’ve already succeeded.”

With a comfortable patio, indoor seating and a drive-thru lane, not to mention eventual catering and delivery, Healy fully intends his big investment to pay off. Healy is so confident in his experience of providing good food and coffee with service to match that he’s already opened a satellite cafe inside the Inn and Spa at Loretto.

“It’s such a great hotel. I’ve been talking to them about it for a while, and a space finally became available,” he said. “We bake everything here and run it downtown. Hopefully, we’ll make a very good team.”

IF YOU GO

Where: 1698 St. Michael’s Drive

Link to the New Mexican Article HERE.

Contact Matt Desmond and Ryan Bolton

Located on Water street for as long as we can remember, The Catamount Bar and Grill is moving to the Railyard District and will occupy the space formerly known as The Railyard Restaurant (La Stazione). The owners of the Catamount have already begun an extensive renovation of the old Railyard space, and are slated to open by April or May. This weekend will be the last dates they will be open in the former space. 

Serving great beer and food, the Catamount has historically been known as the best bar in Santa Fe to watch a game or catch an occasional show. They also host trivia nights and always run specials on party holidays and big game days (i.e. St. Patricks Day/Superbowl). The new space in the Railyard should be suited even better for the Catamounts’ needs as there is ample parking, outdoor seating, and a newly renovated interior.

So, stop by the new Catamount in a couple of months. You may just find two tired realtors telling stories of the big fish they just caught.

Contact Ryan Bolton and Matt Desmond

This week’s New Mexican has a good profile on Slurp. Check out the full article below:

By Nico Roesler in The New Mexican

With Christmas carols long gone and the cheers of New Year’s Eve surviving as hazy moments in some people’s memories, a new sound is taking over the streets of downtown Santa Fe. Long slurps of homemade soup deliver a wholesome aural experience for those who can trace this noise back to its source.

Just west of the state Capitol on Galisteo Street shines an American symbol of freedom — a refurbished 1967 Airstream trailer. In this case, it is Slurp, a symbol of culinary freedom and soup sovereignty, the first one of its kind (licensed kind, anyway) in Santa Fe. “You can’t get more nutrition than in a homemade soup,” head Chef Jean-Luc Salles said about his soups, which have been ladled out at Slurp since November.

Salles and partners Frances Salles, Carlos Briceno and Rebecca Chastenet bring diverse backgrounds and experiences to their Slurp venture, which originated when Briceno resurrected the Airstream after purchasing it from a seller in Cañoncito. Briceno and his enterprising friends knew they wanted to open an eatery, and the Airstream provided a blank canvas. “It wasn’t going to be a restaurant, it was going to be something fun that we could play with,” Briceno said of the concept.

Chef Salles hails from Bordeaux, France, and brings classical culinary training as well as 30 years in the restaurant business to this comfy camper. Briceno, from Caracas, Venezuela, made his way into the culinary business after stints in graphic design, home building and reconstruction. Chastenet got involved after writing as a food critic and co-author of four cookbooks.

Their mission: simple, fast and wholesome food at an affordable price.

Under a huge, rusted-looking spoon bolted to the top of the trailer like an antenna, their mission begins each morning when Briceno arrives at 5:30 a.m. and starts baking fresh focaccia bread in a small convection oven.

Slurp offers simple breakfasts such as warm croissants with ham and a Tortilla Española — a rib-sticking combination of potatoes, onions and locally sourced eggs. The trio have been working with the Santa Fe Alliance to create a menu that is as locally sourced as possible.

Chef Salles then arrives at 7:30 a.m. to prepare the soups of the day. Slurp offers three soups a day, averaging about 15 different soups per week. Each weekday, Salles prepares 12 gallons of soup in the small trailer heated by bubbling broths. Soup aficionados can look for a daily trio of soups: a vegetarian option, such as their lentil/spinach soup, a hormone- and antibiotic-free meat offering, such as their wild-boar posole, and a cream soup, such as their celery/bleu cheese soup. Each slurp-able item comes in an Earth-friendly bowl ranging from 12 to 32 ounces. One component they are working on is finding an organic spoon that won’t disintegrate in the steamy soups.

“When they have their first cup of our soup, they become attached,” Chef Salles said of his customers.

Although Salles says some of his soups aren’t at the level he would like them to be (chefs tend to be perfectionists), Slurp’s business is meeting and surpassing his expectations. Success came without any advertising besides Facebook and Twitter pages, which update the soups that will be offered each day. The reputation of their soups has spread by word — or slurp — of mouth alone.

“A lot of the same people actually come every day,” Briceno said. “Others that come may be tourists, or just a friend of a friend who heard about us.” Recently, two of the daily soups have run out before closing time. Salles says Slurp will stock up more in the coming weeks because of the legislative session, which begins Jan. 18.

After being denied a parking space at various locations, Slurp finally found its niche and has been anchored at the same location for a few months. If things continue to go well for the cooks as they squeeze by each other in their 8-foot-by-27-foot kitchen, they plan to open a second mobile kitchen with a different concept.

As for Slurp, it’s now venturing into other dishes besides soup. It offers a pulled-pork sandwich and will soon have a mac-and-cheese dish. As Salles describes it, Slurp is a chameleon-type of eatery. He says he and his partners in chrome will have to adapt when summer comes around and offer more seasonal dishes.

This Airstream eatery isn’t a new concept to cities like Austin, Texas; Los Angeles; New York; Portland, Ore.; and Seattle, where these shiny silver bullets can be spotted everywhere filling stomachs with healthier, more affordable, oftentimes quicker meal options. But “for the people of Santa Fe to have something different,” Briceno said, “it gives more ambience, a more out-of-the-box mentality, and that is needed.” He hopes more unique food dispensaries start popping up around town.

 Click Here for the Original Article

Contact Matt Desmond and Ryan Bolton

The article features many of Santa Fe’s cultural events and spaces, restaurants, and going ons about town.

ARTICLE

36 Hours in Santa Fe
By Fred Bernstein

The Plaza, the heart of old Santa Fe, hasn’t changed much since the Spanish settled here 400 years ago. But surrounding the Plaza is an increasingly cosmopolitan city. Sure, it’s possible to focus entirely just on the historic center, where Native American handicrafts are for sale on every corner.

A Weekend in Santa Fe But the rest of Santa Fe now offers groovy contemporary art spaces, hot Asian restaurants and a park by a pair of trailblazing architects. Accept that Santa Fe isn’t just tacos and turquoise anymore, and you’ll find yourself loving the New Mexico capital not for what it was, but what it is.

Friday

5 p.m.
1) PUBLIC SPACE

For a beautifully curated introduction to Santa Fe, visit the New Mexico History Museum (113 Lincoln Avenue; 505-476-5200; nmhistorymuseum.org), which opened in 2009 and includes a gripping display about Los Alamos, where the Manhattan Project was conducted in secret during World War II. A large courtyard with ancient walls and shady trees separates the museum from the Palace of the Governors (palaceofthegovernors.org), the Spanish seat of government in the early 1600s and now a small museum of Colonial and Native American history. The two-museum complex is free on Fridays from 5 to 8 p.m.

7 p.m.
2) WHITE WALLS AND WINE

You’d have to be crazy to pay for a glass of white wine on Fridays. Canyon Road, which angles up from the center of town, has more than 100 galleries, and there are openings every Friday night. According to canyonroadarts.com, the largest category is contemporary representational (think brightly colored paintings of the desert). Check out Eight Modern (231 Delgado Street; 505-995-0231; eightmodern.net), where you’ll find the geometric scrap-metal constructions of the Santa Fe artist Ted Larsen. The backyard sculpture garden is a great place to marvel at New Mexico’s amazingly clear sky and savor its piñon-infused air before heading to dinner.

9 p.m.
3) AHI MOMENT

Martín Rios is a hometown boy made good: Born in Mexico and raised in Santa Fe, he apprenticed at the Eldorado Hotel and the Inn of the Anasazi — two local stalwarts — and made a brief appearance on “Iron Chef” before opening his own place, Restaurant Martín (526 Galisteo Street; 505-820-0919; restaurantmartinsantafe.com), in 2009. The main draw is the food — dishes like ahi tuna tartare ($14) and duck breast with smoked bacon polenta and Marcona almonds ($25) offer hints of the Southwest, with a dash of global aspiration. But the homey décor makes you want to stick around even after finishing the bittersweet chocolate truffle cake ($8).

Saturday

10 a.m.
4) SPICE MARKET

The Santa Fe Farmers’ Market (1607 Paseo de Peralta; 505-983-4098; santafefarmersmarket.com) dates back a half-century, but it stepped up a notch when it moved to a permanent building in 2008. Everything sold here, including dried chilies, yogurt and grass-fed meats, is produced in northern New Mexico. The market is part of a bustling district that includes the new Railyard Park by the architect Frederic Schwartz and the landscape architect Ken Smith, both Manhattanites whose taste is anything but quaint. As you wander around, be on the lookout for the Rail Runner, a gleaming new passenger train scheduled to pull in from Albuquerque at 11:08 a.m.

Noon
5) SUSTAINABLE SALADS

Santa Fe residents — as you learned roaming the Farmers’ Market — care where their food comes from. No wonder Vinaigrette (709 Don Cubero Alley; 505-820-9205; vinaigretteonline .com) was an immediate hit when it opened in 2008. The brightly colored cafe has a menu based on organic greens grown in the nearby town of Nambé. Choose a base — Caesar, Cobb and Greek are possibilities (around $10) — then add diver scallops or hibiscus-cured duck confit ($7) for a satisfying meal. Wines by the glass start at a very friendly $6.

2 p.m.
6) RIDING THE SPUR

Thanks to Santa Fe’s sometimes depressing sprawl, it’s getting harder and harder to find wide-open spaces. But drive (or bike) to the corner of Galisteo Street and West Rodeo Road, where there’s a small parking lot — then begin pedaling due south, in the direction of Lamy (about 12 miles away). What starts as an asphalt path morphs into a dirt bike trail that swerves around a 19th-century rail spur. There are some pretty steep hills, but they’re short, and the momentum from a downhill is usually enough to handle the next uphill. (If only life were like that!) The scenery is always gorgeous, especially in late afternoon, when the sun is low in the sky. Mellow Velo (638 Old Santa Fe Trail; 505-995-8356; mellowvelo.com) rents mountain bikes starting at $35 a day.

7 p.m.
7) TAPAS WITH STRANGERS

La Boca (72 West Marcy Street; 505-982-3433; labocasf.com) is one of downtown Santa Fe’s most popular new restaurants — thanks to its contemporary tapas, plus larger dishes like cannelloni filled with crab, scallop and Manchego ($11). You’ll find yourself sharing tips on what to order — and even forkfuls of delicious eats — with strangers.

10 p.m.
8 ) REGGAE FOR ALL AGES

Santa Fe isn’t a night-life town, but Milagro 139 (139 West San Francisco Street; 505-995-0139; milagro139.com) is helping to change that. A building that had housed a coffee shop was recently converted to a restaurant that becomes a club on Friday and Saturday nights. There’s no cover, and the drinks, including a house margarita called Beginner’s Luck ($5), are delicious. A recent visit coincided with performances by Rubixzu, a local band that performed a blend of reggae and Latin hip-hop to a diverse crowd, aged 9 to 90. For a trendier vibe, head to Meow Wolf (1800 Second Street; 505-204-4651; meowwolf.com), an alternative art space, or check its Web site for other parties hosted by Meow Wolf artists.

Sunday

10 a.m.
9) FREE-RANGE PEACOCKS

For a big breakfast and an early start, drive south on Cerrillos Road about 10 miles past the Interstate, until you see a handwritten cardboard sign that reads, “Pine wood stove pellets sold here.” You’ve arrived at the San Marcos Café (3877 State Road 14; 505-471-9298). Dozens of peacocks, turkeys and hens roam the property (which also houses a feed store), providing an Old McDonald-like backdrop for crowd-pleasers like eggs San Marcos, a cheese omelet in a bath of guacamole, beans and salsa ($12).

Noon
10) KITSCH TO CONTEMPORARY

If you ever thought that item you found at a roadside stand was one of a kind, Jackalope (2820 Cerrillos Road; 505-471-8539; jackalope.com), a sprawling, indoor-outdoor flea market, will disabuse you of that notion. There are hundreds of everything, including punched-copper switch plates and tote bags that depict Michelle Obama smiling on a swing. If you need to shake off the kitsch, head to SITE Santa Fe (1606 Paseo De Peralta; 505-989-1199; sitesantafe.org), a contemporary art space where the 2010 biennale, focused on moving image technologies in contemporary art, will run from June 20 to Jan. 2, 2011.

1 p.m.
11) YOUR OWN ADOBE

It’s difficult to spend time in Santa Fe without thinking about buying a home (or second home) here. So check out Zocalo (Avenida Rincon; 505-986-0667; zocalosantafe.com), a striking development by the Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta. He is known for crisp geometry and super-bright colors — a welcome sight in this city of browns and terra cottas. Consider it real estate voyeurism, combined with a crash course in contemporary architecture.

IF YOU GO

Santa Fe has a tiny airport, which offers nonstop service to and from Dallas and Los Angeles on American Eagle. Most visitors fly into the larger Albuquerque airport, about an hour south. A recent Web search found round-trip fares from Kennedy Airport on Delta, from about $260 for travel in June. Sadly, the Rail Runner doesn’t run to the Albuquerque airport.

The Hotel St. Francis (210 Don Gaspar Avenue; 505-983-5700; hotelstfrancis.com), billed as the oldest hotel in Santa Fe, completed a top-to-bottom renovation in 2009, and it looks spectacular. Doubles from $120.

The El Rey Inn (1862 Cerrillos Road, 505-982-1931; elreyinnsantafe.com) is a retro-chic 1930s-style motel, with nicely furnished rooms and beautifully landscaped grounds to go along with the kitschy Native American-themed architecture. Doubles from $99.

Hilton Santa Fe Golf Resort & Spa (30 Buffalo Thunder Trail; 505-455-5555, buffalothunderresort.com) is part of a new casino complex, about 15 minutes north of town. Doubles from $159. Hilton also built a less-expensive Homewood Suites nearby (10 Buffalo Thunder Trail; 505-455-9100, with doubles from $109.

Link to Original Article In The New York Times Here

Contact Ryan Bolton and Matt Desmond

Max’s opened in late 2007 and has been building a solid reputation in Santa Fe and beyond ever since. The owner, Max (Maxine), and chef, Brian Rood have created a menu that specializes in sustainable and locally farmed meats and produce. The atmosphere is cozy, sophisticated, yet casual, and certainly has an intimate feel.

A sample of menu items include:

Starters:

• Caramelized Onion and Red Potato Soup with Crouton 
• Hong Kong Style Shrimp with Saifun Noodles in Spicy Chile-Leek Ragout with Fried
• Shallot and Broccoli Florets
• Certified Organic, Grass Fed River Canyon Ranch Beef
• Grilled Sirloin Salad with Crouton and Charred Red Onion and Lime Vinaigrette
•  Homemade Duck Confit and Field Green Salad with Herbed Crouton, Roasted Shallot and Red Wine Vinaigrette
• Field Green Salad with Homemade Applewood Smoked Bacon, Local Farm Eggand Creamy Tarragon Vinaigrette

Mains:

• “Cassoulet”; Homemade Duck Confit, Slow Braised Pork Shoulder, Homemade Apple Wood Smoked Bacon, White Beans, Roasted Mirepoix and Parmesan Bread Crumbs
• Certified Organic, Grass Fed River Canyon Ranch Beef; Dry Aged Sirloin Coulotte with Heirloom Baby Carrots, Marinated Grilled Rapini, Fried Shallot and Veal Pan Sauce
• Pan-Seared Red Grouper with Red Potatoes, Braised Kale, Pickled Red Onion, Carrot Leafand Toasted Coriander-Lime Vinaigrette
• Certified Organic, Grass Fed Shepherd’s Lamb; Grilled Lamb Chop and Leg with Grilled Rapini, Roasted Oyster Mushroom Sweet Onion-Potato Confit, Fresh Herbs and Cider Gastrique
• Roasted Green Chile Shrimp and Grits with Homemade Apple Wood Smoked Bacon, Roasted Garlic and Mirepoix
• Vegetarian Homemade Semolina Pappardelle Pasta with Seasonal Vegetables in White Wine Cream Sauce 

When dining there last night I had the spectacular lamb dish, and my dining partner, Jerry, had the sea scallops (not listed on the menu above). The lamb was perfectly prepared, and the accompaniments were a perfect compliment to this rich dish.  The scallops, a somewhat lighter dish, were very fresh, and melted in your mouth. We both started with the field green salad, and, of course, had a nice bottle of Pinot Noir.

From the atmosphere to the food, everything at Max’s was fantastic.  I would highly recommend this restaurant to locals and visitors alike. They are open 7 nights a week from 5:30 to 9:00, and reservations are recommended, especially on weekends.  For more information on Max’s, click on the link below.

Max’s Restaurant

Contact Ryan Bolton and Matt Desmond

Santa Fe New Mexican Article:

Culinary crescendo: Restaurant Week to debut in Santa FeEvent featuring lower-priced meals, cooking demonstrations and workshops puts spotlight on food industry

Arin McKenna | For The New Mexican

It’s no secret that Santa Fe’s restaurants have been looking for ways to boost business in the late winter months.

In fact, last September they agreed to work toward holding a winter fiesta in 2011. But that was before Michele Ostrove, president of Wings Media Network, a public-relations and marketing firm, and her husband, Lucien Bonnafoux, stepped in and advanced the timetable.

A month after the meeting, the couple pitched the idea of New Mexico Restaurant Week to local restaurateurs, hoteliers and representatives from key tourism agencies.

“We had been talking about a winter/spring event that would feature the restaurants of Santa Fe and promote them at a time when typically it’s not very busy,” said Jeff Jinnett, president of the Santa Fe Restaurant Association.

The idea took off. Next week, about 40 restaurants in Santa Fe — and the week after, some 20 in the Albuquerque area — will be offering lower-priced meals to diners, as well as cooking demonstrations, workshops and wine and beer tastings.

In Santa Fe, the event lasts from Sunday through March 6 locally and from March 7-13 in Albuquerque.

Ostrove and Bonnafoux, co-founders of Wine Adventure, a wine magazine for women, moved to Santa Fe in 2008 from San Diego, where they said Restaurant Week was so successful that it’s now a twice-a-year event. “They started with 60 restaurants and they’re now up to 180 to 220, depending on the season,” Ostrove said. “It just seemed like it was a natural to bring to New Mexico.”

The key players agreed. “I thought it was a hot idea,” said Restaurant Association Secretary Michael O’Reilly. Officials at the Santa Fe Wine and Chile Fiesta, whose goal is to promote Santa Fe as a culinary destination, also signed on.

The boards of both organizations promoted the event to members and agreed to subsidize them. Participating restaurants pay $500 to cover the cost of organizing and marketing the event. The fiesta offered to pay $250 of that cost for all its 2009 participants. And the Restaurant Association contributed $50 toward the entrance fees of its members.

“My hope is that events like this will get the restaurant community more united,” Jinnett said. “There are 200-plus restaurants in Santa Fe, and together we have a very powerful voice, but it’s been difficult to organize. I think the more of these types of events that we can do to get the restaurateurs to unite for a common cause is good for any type of organization.”

Simon Brackley, president and CEO of the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce, which is distributing information about the event to members and visitors, called Restaurant Week “a good example of a collaborative effort to create something new in challenging economic times.”

Although there are fewer participating restaurants in Albuquerque, that city is also trying to build culinary tourism, according to Tania Armenta, vice president of marketing for the Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau. “We hosted our first culinary press trip in November and had journalists come out specifically to cover the area from the culinary aspect, and we talked about Restaurant Week,” she said.

Gov. Bill Richardson and the New Mexico Tourism Department also are backing the event. “Offering something new and fresh and bringing people during a time when they typically aren’t coming in droves” is important to the state’s economy, said Jennifer Hobson, deputy secretary for the New Mexico Tourism Department. Tourism, she pointed out, is a $5.5 billion business in the state, second to oil and gas.

The Tourism Department is supporting Restaurant Week through a link on its Web site, www.newmexico.org, which gets about 150,000 hits per month. (Hobson is blogging about the event there as well.)

Launching a new event when the economy is depressed might seem risky, but Michel Darmon, director of food and beverage for Terra at Encantado, said, “I think that when we look back at it in the next few years we’ll go, ‘Wow, this is one of the great decisions of Santa Fe.’ ”

Although many anticipate limited success the first year, they expect to see the event’s popularity grow rapidly. “If it works as well as we believe it will, I think everybody will want to be in on the next one,” Ostrove said. “And I’m really grateful for the people who did take the leap of faith this time and come aboard.”

“I’m hoping that when the dust settles at the end of the week, the overall feedback from the restaurants is, ‘I’m really glad that I participated. It was fun, the staff enjoyed it, we had a lot of people who had not been to our restaurant before that are now exposed to it and we can’t wait for next year,’ ” Jinnett said. “And my hope is that the restaurants that didn’t participate because they were skeptical go, ‘Wow, we really missed out, and we’re not going to miss out next time.’ ”

Bonnafoux said the next Restaurant Week could be as early as November. “I like to let the train get going down the tracks before we pull the switch,” he said. “We want to get the statistics first, but we believe this one will be so successful that it will warrant another in early November.”

Link To Original Article Here

Contact Ryan Bolton and Matt Desmond

The business is owned by partners Dennis Dampf and Don Scharhag, who have owned the restaurant for the last 27 years. “This has lasted longer than any of my marriages,” Dampf said Wednesday evening. “Don and I like to say we’ve only raised our voices to each other twice in 27 years.

“When asked about the reasons for the closure, Dampf declined to disclose them, other than to say it was partly due to difficult times in the restaurant business, which have seen fewer people eating out and more eating at home. “Business has been slow,” Dampf said. “That’s one reason for it.” Scharhag couldn’t be reached for comment.

A statement Dampf e-mailed to The New Mexican said in part, “owners Don Scharhag and Dennis Dampf are announcing the end of an era … many thanks to our loyal customers and wonderful staff. Don and Dennis hope to see as many folks as we can until the Jan. 24 closing. “Again a sincere thanks goes out to everyone for supporting us these past 27 years.”

El Nido restaurant and bar has enjoyed a long and colorful history, starting out in the 1920s as a roadhouse and dance hall known for its jukebox and lively tunes. “We heard it was a house of ill repute,” Dampf said.

The restaurant changed ownership many times over the years. It was owned from 1962 to 1976 by the politically prominent Arias family. Steve Arias couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday evening.

The murals famed artist Will Schuster painted at El Nido eventually ended up at the state Capitol building, Dampf said.

Santa Fe author Pen La Farge mentions El Nido several times in his book about Santa Fe, Turn Left at the Sleeping Dog, focusing on the restaurant’s colorful history in the 1930s and 1940s. “There weren’t many places in Santa Fe to go for entertainment, either bars or restaurants or dance halls,” La Farge said in a 2002 interview. “The two main ones were La Fonda and, going out of town, El Nido.” El Nido, La Farge continued, “as I understand it, based on implications from the way people speak about it, started off as a dance hall and went through various incarnations, including as a restaurant and as a brothel.”

El Nido became a popular spot for celebrities, including Gene Hackman, Gwyneth Paltrow and Randy Travis. Locals gathered there for birthdays, anniversaries and other celebrations. Scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratory tended to gather there, a tradition that started during World War II, when, rumor had it, more secrets were whispered on the dance floor at El Nido than spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg could have imagined.

El Nido was also popular with opera-goers because of the restaurant’s proximity to the Santa Fe Opera. “We’re well-known for getting people to the opera on time,” Scharhag said in a 2002 interview.

Flamenco dancer María Benítez began performing at El Nido in 1970.

Scharhag and Dampf moved to Santa Fe from New York in the 1970s, and both ended up working at The Steaksmith when it was at the former DeVargas Hotel, now the Hotel St. Francis. “At that time, The Steaksmith was the busiest restaurant in all of Northern New Mexico,” Dampf said. “The opportunity came along to take over El Nido, and we went for it.” Starting in December 1981, they spent several months remodeling the 7,000-square-foot building but not making too many changes to the adobe structure, which was apparently built in the ’20s or ’30s with additions over the years. “We wanted to keep the character of the building,” Scharhag said. “We did add some partition walls and retiled some of the floor and added the back bar.”

El Nido had been serving Northern New Mexican food, but the partners changed that, switching to steak and seafood. To this day, other than appetizers, they have only one New Mexican dish on their menu, a green-chile enchilada. “We were the first restaurant in Santa Fe to dabble with expensive fish, like sole, halibut and salmon,” Scharhag said. “We realized we were dealing with a diet-conscious community, and fish was a big part of that.”

The menu has remained pretty much the same over the years. “It’s a good, solid menu with quality food,” Scharhag said. “We’ve never tried to be trendy. Compared to a lot of other restaurants, I think we really give good value.”

Another big part of El Nido is its service, which Dampf and Scharhag oversaw themselves — at least one of them was on hand the six days per week the restaurant is open. And they weren’t just sitting at the bar schmoozing with customers — they took orders, cleared tables and even washed dishes.

Bob Quick | The New Mexican

ARTICLE: 

“Snowboarding,” one veteran skier told me on our ride up the lift, “is like riding a bicycle on the highway; I can see why it’s fun, but I’d rather you didn’t.”

Seventeen years after throwing aside my skis for what many considered a fad, the traditionalists who wish I’d go back are fewer and farther between, but, apparently, still exist and aren’t afraid to be vocal.

Fortunately, the slopes at Ski Santa Fe are friendly to downhill skiers, telemarkers and snowboarders alike. And though these sports spawn a sense of individuality, they also result in a strong sense of community.

Nowhere on the mountain are the inhabitants of these varied subcultures able to mix so well as Totemoff’s Bar and Grill, a 50-something-year-old cabin located just above the bunny hill.

Named for Pete Totemoff — an Alaska native who came to New Mexico in the 1940s to fight tuberculosis and who spent the next 50 years helping to develop ski areas and fight forest fires throughout the Southwest — Totemoff’s is a cozy little spot that offers the perfect respite from a morning of eating snow and allows skiers and snowboarders to bond while they warm up with nachos, tamales or a piping hot beverage. From Friday through Sunday the grill expands its weekday menu of appetizers to include burgers (of the meat and veggie variety), fajitas and chicken sandwiches.

It’s the drinks though, that make Totemoff’s the place to kick a bit of snow off the old boots, loosen those bindings and take in the scenery. The “Totemoff’s Special,” a concoction of hot chocolate, Copa de Oro coffee liqueur and Wild Turkey, not only takes the edge off but, consumed at nearly 11,000 feet, makes it a bit easier to catch an edge on the way back down the mountain, unless, of course, you’re Wild Turkey’s most famous advocate Hunter S Thompson, who probably could have downed a dozen and glided down the hill with ease.

As I lack even a BA in Gonzo, my Wild Turkey adventure seemed like a good excuse to pair the drink with a deliciously spicy bowl of green-chile stew (personally, I prefer pork, but the chicken Totemoff’s uses is tender and flavorful) to ensure a safe run — for myself and my fellow outdoor athletes — down the rest of the mountain.

Since getting grub from the supermarket to the house on a snowy Santa Fe day can be an adventure in driving, getting it halfway up a mountain seems like an impossible task. Totemoff’s manager Christian Fallard, who began as a bar-back at the grill more than 30 years ago, says getting food up the mountain is “a big challenge because we must move everything very quickly.”

To get the food to Totemoff’s, where everything is prepared in the on-site kitchen, snow cats and trailers are employed and “when we don’t have too much snow, we use trucks,” Fallard said.

OK, that sounds doable, but what about beasts, I had to wonder. It seems like a restaurant on the middle of a mountain, surrounded by woods would be a prime target for a few greedy, fuzzy creatures looking for a snack and a bit of warmth. “Animals don’t come around when there are people,” Fallard assured me, which makes sense. Not only are Totemoff’s patrons a boisterous bunch, they’re also armed with pointy sticks and clompy boots, just the kind of thing to scare off the most devilish woodland critter.

Working at Totemoff’s seems like a pretty sweet gig and Fallard — who came to the United States from France in the ’80s — is about the friendliest bartender in Santa Fe. He welcomes old faces to the bar with an enthusiastic “hello” and is joyously greeted right back.

“I love when people remember me over the years,” he said.

And how could anyone not remember the man who makes every customer feel like an old friend with his gregarious smile and stiff drinks. In fact, were it not for the cover charge (lift tickets range from $30 for the beginner lift to $60 for a day pass) Totemoff’s would be one of the most reasonably priced, most homey bars in the area. The drinks are inexpensive ($6-$7), beers are local favorites from the Santa Fe Brewing Company and the food is satisfying and fresh.

Maybe part of Fallard’s joyful disposition is his need to live vicariously through his customers, as he doesn’t get much of a chance to ski himself these days.

“I’m pretty busy working,” he said. “I like to go when there is a lot of powder, but it’s hard when there’s that much snow because it’s harder to get everything up here and to open on time.”

Come powder or not, Christmas Day at Totemoff’s will be busy but, according to Fallard, “pretty low-key because it’s a family holiday, and we can only serve beer and wine on Christmas.”

Things will start to heat up again after New Year’s with the Beats on the Basin concert. Every other Saturday (beginning Jan. 9 with Albuquerque Americana band The Porter Draw) in January and February, a different live act fills the patio at Totemoff’s with live music, giving skiers and snowboarders another excuse to escape town and hit the slopes. I remember a DJ set at Totemoff’s a few years ago that was so hoppin’ people peeled off layers of snow gear as they danced and the runs were virtually empty!

While the bottom of the mountain features La Casa Café Grill, a restaurant with a slightly fuller menu, Fallard is dead on when he says, Totemoff’s is “more like a little family because all the locals love to come to the bar. There’s great food down below, but people won’t hang out down there.”

That doesn’t mean nonlocals aren’t welcome though. In fact, that’s what makes locals so fond of Totemoff’s, everyone — skier, snowboarder, native Santa Fean, import or tourist — mixes and mingles over their love of winter and the need for a little warmth.

By: Patricia Sauthoff

The New Mexican

“The big news is that, undaunted by tough times, our readers are still out there, discovering the coolest experiences and reaffirming an enduring passion for travel,” said Conde Nast Traveler Editor in Chief Klara Glowczewska. “It’s clear that our readers are as devoted to the worldwide diversity of travel as ever.”

The full list of winners is on cntraveler.com at: cntraveler.com/readerschoice

The results of the 2009 Readers Choice Awards reveal some surprising news:
–  The friendliest U.S. cities are Charleston, Savannah, and Honolulu, while the least friendly, by an uncomfortable margin is New York (54/100–ouch)
–  Ubud, Bali, is the friendliest town of all
–  Santa Fe, New Mexico, bumped New York City out of the #3 spot for best
U.S. city to visit. San Francisco remained #1 and New York City slid to #4.
–  San Francisco takes the Best U.S. Cities category for a whopping 17th year in a row, a feat never before accomplished by any destination or property.  One reason: its worldwide high restaurant score.
–  Ubud dethrones Bangkok as the Best Asian City. Bangkok held the top spot since the category debuted in 2004.
–  Newcomer Virgin America was once again named the Best Domestic Airline, for the second year in a row, with JetBlue Airways at #2.
–  Singapore Airlines is again the #1 International Route Airline, and has led this category for 21 of the past 22 years. (Only Swissair, in 1994, has taken the top spot from Singapore Airlines.)
–  The growing number of mega-ship cruise lines merit their own category for the first time, led by Celebrity.
–  With so many superb hotels with fewer than 50 rooms, this year’s survey has three new categories: Small Hotels in Europe, Small Hotels in the United States, and Small Resorts in the United States with the Kenwood Inn and Spa taking first place.
–  Fully one-third of the hotels and resorts on our Top 100 list began their journey on our Hot List of the world’s best new properties, published each May, confirming that Conde Nast Traveler readers are ahead of the curve and connoisseurs of the cutting edge.

Below are results for the top three winners in each category.

Top Cities United States
1. San Francisco
2. Charleston, SC
3. Santa Fe

Top Cities Europe
1. Florence
2. Rome
3. Venice

Top Cities Asia
1. Ubud, Bali
2. Bangkok
3. Hong Kong

Top Cities Africa/Middle East
1. Cape Town
2. Jerusalem
3. Beirut

Top Cities The Americas
1. Vancouver
2. Buenos Aires
3. Quebec City

Top Cities Australia/Pacific
1. Sydney
2. Melbourne
3. Queenstown

Top Islands Caribbean/Atlantic
1. Bermuda
2. St. John
3. St. Barts

Top Islands Pacific

1. Maui
2. Kauai
3. Bora Bora

Top Islands Asia/Indian Ocean
1. Maldives
2. Bali
3. Phuket

Top Islands North America
1. Kiawah, SC
2. Vancouver Island
3. Nantucket, MA

Top Islands Europe
1. Mykonos and the Cyclades
2. Bozcaada and the Turkish Aegean Islands
3. Capri

Top Resorts Asia
1. Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle, Chiang Rai
2. Oberoi Vanyavilas, Rajasthan
3. Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan

Top Resorts Mexico
1. One & Only Palmilla, Los Cabos
2. The Tides, Riviera Maya
3. The Tides, Zihuatanejo

Top Resorts Africa
1. Mombo and Little Mombo Camps, Botswana
2. Sandibe Safari Lodge, Botswana
3. Safari Lodges at Phinda Private Game Reserve, South Africa

Top Resorts Europe
1. Hotel du Palais, Biarritz
2. Ashford Castle, Co. Mayo
3. Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Resort, Co. Limerick

Top Resorts Hawaii
1. Four Season Resort Maui at Wailea
2. Four Season Resort Hualalai at Historic Ka’upulehu, Big Island
3. Four Seasons Resort Lana’i, The Lodge at Koele

Top Resorts Atlantic Ocean
1. The Reefs, Bermuda
2. One & Only Ocean Club, Paradise Island, Bahamas
3. Grace Bay Club, Turks and Caicos

Top Resorts Middle East
1. Burj Al Arab, Dubai
2. Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai
3. One & Only Royal Mirage, Dubai

Top Resorts Oceana
1. Bora Bora Lagoon Resort & Spa
2. Huka Lodge, Taupo, New Zealand
3. La Taha’a Island Resort & Spa, French Polynesia

Top Resorts Mainland U.S.
1. Sanctuary at Kiawah Island
2. Inn at Spanish Bay, Pebble Beach
3. Montage Laguna Beach

Top Small Resorts Mainland U.S.
1. Kenwood Inn and Spa, Sonoma
2. Casa Palermo, Pebble Beach
3. Lake Austin Spa Resort, Austin

Top Resorts Canada
1. King Pacific Lodge, Princess Royal Island
2. Emerald Lake Lodge, Alberta
3. Wickaninnish Inn, Tofino, Vancouver Island

Top Resorts Caribbean
1. Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman
2. Curtain Bluff, Antigua
3. Nisbet Plantation Beach Club, Nevis

Top Resorts Central/South America
1. Four Seasons Resort Carmelo, Uruguay
2. Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo
3. Hotel Salto Chico, Explora en Patagonia, Chile

Top Cruise Lines Mega-Ship
1. Celebrity
2. Disney
3. Cunard

Top Cruise Lines Large Ships
1. Crystal
2. Regent Seven Seas
3. Cunard

Top Cruise Lines Small Ships
1. Sea Cloud
2. Yachts of Seabourn
3. Regent Seven Seas

Top Airlines Global
1. Singapore Airlines
2. Emirates
3. Tie: Virgin Atlantic and Cathay Pacific

Top Airlines North America
1. Virgin America
2. JetBlue Airways
3. Midwest Airlines

Top Car Rental Agencies
1. Hertz
2. Enterprise
3. Avis

Top Hotels Southern Europe
1. Il San Pietro di Positano, Positano, Italy
2. Il Pellicano, Porto Ercole, Tuscany
3. Four Season George V, Paris

Top Hotels Northern Europe
1. Hotel Taschenbergpalais Kempinski Dresden
2. Four Seasons Gresham Palace, Budapest
3. Ritz-Carlton, Berlin

Top Small Hotels Europe
1. La Scalinatella, Capri
2. La Colombe d’Or, St-Paul de Vence
3. Grand Hotel a Villa Feltrinelli, Lake Garda

Top Hotels Central America
1. Lapa Rios Ecolodge, Osa Peninsuala, Costa Rica
2. Casa Santo Domingo, Antigua
3. Villas Caletas, Costa Rica

Top Hotels Oceana
1. Blankey Bay, South Island, New Zealand
2. Henry Jones Art Hotel, Hobart
3. Park Hyatt, Sydney

Top Hotels British Isles
1. Chewton Glen, Hampshire
2. Milestone Hotel, London
3. The Goring, London

Top Hotels Caribbean/Atlantic
1. Peninsula House, Samana, Dominican Republic
2. The Caves, Jamaica
3. Hotel Le Toiny, St. Barts

Top Hotels Asia
1. Oberoi Udaivilas, Rajasthan
2. Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo
3. The Peninsula, Hong Kong

Top Hotels Africa
1. The Saxon, Johannesburg
2. Table Bay Hotel, Cape Town
3. Cape Grace, Cape Town

Top Hotels Canada
1. Auberge Saint-Antoine, Quebec City
2. Fairmont Vancouver Airport
3. Hotel Le Germain-Dominion, Quebec City

Top Hotels Mexico
1. Casa Natalia, San Jose del Cabo
2. Las Mananitas, Cuernavaca
3. JW Marriott Hotel, Mexico City

Top Hotels United States
1. 21c Museum Hotel, Louisville
2. The Peninsula, Chicago
3. Mandarin Oriental, Boston

Top Small Hotels United States
1. Blantyre, Lenox, Mass.
2. The Swag, Great Smoky, Mountains, N.C.
3. Tu Tu’ Tun Lodge, Gold Beach, Oregon

Top Hotels South America
1. Hotel Monasterio, Cuzco
2. Four Seasons Hotel, Buenos Aires
3. Alvear Palace Hotel, Buenos Aires

Top Hotels Middle East
1. Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai
2. David Citadel Hotel, Jerusalem
3. Park Hyatt Dubai

The Readers Choice Awards gala was held on Thursday, October 15th in New York City at the IAC Building and was hosted by Stanley Tucci and Mary Louise Parker. Select photos and video from the event are available upon request.

Methodology
Every year since 1988, a select sample of Conde Nast Traveler readers have taken the Readers’ Choice Survey.  In 2009, the questionnaire was available to all readers through a secure Web site.  The final tabulations of 25,008 responses were done by Mediamark Research, Inc., of New York City.  Poll categories (Cities, Hotels, etc.), and the criteria for each appear at the bottom of the first page in every category.  Questionnaires contained lists of candidates (individual cities, hotels, etc.), and write-ins were allowed. Only candidates that
received a required minimum number of responses were deemed eligible for an award.  Each candidate was rated, by various criterion, on a five-point scale: excellent, very good, good, fair, poor.  Criterion scores, which represent the percentage of respondents rating a candidate excellent or very good, were averaged to determine the final score – e.g., in the category of Islands, Maui’s 90.1 is the average of its scores for Activities, Atmosphere/Ambience, Beaches, Friendliness, Lodging, Restaurants, and Scenery.

SOURCE  Conde Nast Traveler

Sarina Sanandaji, +1-212-286-6898, sarina_sanandaji@condenast.com, or Megan
Montenaro, +1-212-286-4935, megan_montenaro@condenast.com

Second Street Brewery, a fixture on the southwest side of Santa Fe since 1996, is planning an off-site expansion in the Farmers Market Building in the Santa Fe Railyard that will open before the end of the year.

“Once we’re set up, it will give us another place to sell our beer,” said Rod Tweet, president and brewmaster of the brewery since the business started. “Things are well under way down there — we started in September. It was great to be able to get into Farmers Market.”

Tweet said he started thinking about a new location four years ago. “It took a while — I was looking at different locations in the Railyard.”

Tweet said he’s pleased the new site is near railroad tracks, which also run right behind the original operation on Second Street.

The new restaurant, to be called Second Street Brewery at the Railyard, will include a restaurant that will serve food much like that of the original, Tweet said. “We will feature a lot of salads using ingredients from Farmers Market as much as possible.”

Second Street chef Tim Lopez
will be going to the new site to supervise the restaurant. About 20 new employees will be hired to work full and part time.

The restaurant will sell beer, all of it brewed at the brewery on Second Street, Tweet said. Second Street has brewed 30 to 40 kinds of beer over the years, but typically has about eight kinds available at any one time.

India Pale Ale is the best seller and has been for years, but “everything sells well,” Tweet said..

The new restaurant will seat 90 inside and another 50 or 60 on the patio. “It’s not quite as big as the original brewery, but it’s not tiny, either,” Tweet said.

Tweet declined to say how much the new addition cost, but he did say funding came from a small-business loan from Los Alamos National Bank and from a loan made by one of the brewery’s shareholders.
Second Street has been slow — and careful — in its expansions over the years. After the original brew pub opened in late 1996, the first addition to the bar was a patio, which opened in 1998. Then came a brewery and tap room, which opened in 2003.

“The new brewery increases the brewery’s capacity from 900 barrels of beer per year on a five-barrel system to 1,200 barrels on a ten-barrel system,” said a newsrelease from Tweet’s publicist, Jennifer Padilla.

The most recent addition was in 2006 and included an expanded bar and new tables with 20 additional seats.

Tweet said the brew-pub business is a strong one in the U.S., with more than 1,600 brew pubs in operation. “Our market share keeps growing,” he said.

One factor affecting the cost of beer has been the rise in the price of hops, which are added to beer to give it a bitter taste. Most hops are grown in the states of Washington and Oregon as well as in Germany and England, Tweet said, and recent crop failures in all those places caused supply shortages.

To deal with the problem, Tweet turned to the spot market, where hops were available but only at a high price and in cash.

That shortage drove up the price of beer some, Tweet said, but not enough to hurt the brewery.

“Our business is holding well,” he said. “We’re not busier that we were last year, but we’re about the same. And last year was a very good year.”

 By: Bob Quick | The New Mexican
Posted: Monday, November 16, 2009