Happy Thursday, Fork followers! Santa Fe is gearing up for Mardi Gras on Tuesday, Feb. 9, and one local restaurant is in it to win it with a fine-looking four-course dinner. Feb. 8 marks the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Monkey, and Santa Fe Culinary Academy is celebrating early with a pop-up dinner in its student restaurant. Also, one local restaurant is encouraging Santa Feans to buy local with a new discount initiative aimed at local shops and restaurants.
Monkey Business
Chinese New Year is Feb. 8, but at 6:15 pm on Thursday, Feb. 4, Santa Fe Culinary Academy gets its Year of the Monkey groove on early with a four-course dinner in its student-run restaurant in Plaza Mercado. Celebrate with Szechuan-style egg rolls, duck consomme prepared hot and sour style, steamed pork buns and green tea ice cream with a fortune tuile (a delicate French cookie). Dinner is $45 per person (plus tax and tip), and beer and wine will be available for purchase. And do please make a reservation.
Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler!
If you're looking for somewhere to be on Mardi Gras for dinner, you might not have to look any further. At 6:30 pm Tuesday, Feb. 9, Loyal Hound pub and restaurant is serving up its Fat Tuesday Supper Club dinner, with beer pairings from Louisiana brewer Abita (sold separately). Chow down on baked oysters with chorizo butter, fried chicken and grits with redeye gravy, shrimp and sausage pie and paczki, a classic filled Polish doughnut. The community-seating supper is $45 per person (plus tax and tip), and reservations (471-0440) are required.
Join the Rebel Alliance
Dr. Field Goods Kitchen chef/owner Josh Gerwin and his manager, Tahirih Bolton, are daring you to up your buy-local game with Gerwin's newest project: the Santa Fe Buy Local Alliance. Here's how it works: Locally owned and operated businesses join the alliance, and patrons who shop or dine there get a 10 percent discount when they show their receipt to any other alliance member. The project is just getting off the ground, but member businesses already include Dr. Field Goods Kitchen, Barrio Brinery, Cheesemongers of Santa Fe, Museum Hill Café, Railyard Fitness and Amigo Tire & Auto. Interested in joining? Email SantaFeBuyLocalAlliance@gmail.com
Week-In, Week-Out
New Mexico Restaurant Week is almost here. The Santa Fe event runs Feb. 21-28. Almost 50 local restaurants are participating, from fine-dining favorites like Restaurant Martín and radish & rye to more casual joints like Jambo Café and Jinja Bar & Bistro. But dining out isn't the only thing to do. Special events this year include a happy-hour mezcal class at Sazón, a sake-pairing class at Shohko Café and more. Taos Restaurant Week runs Feb. 28- March 6, and Albuquerque Restaurant Week runs March 6-13. If you want to see what's on the menu in Santa Fe, just click on a restaurant on the Restaurant Week website.
Mixx It Up
Hungry? Heading to Lobo country but want to try something new? No problem. Albuquerque welcomes Mixx, a new full-service taco bar on the west side of downtown. Beer and wine are coming to the joint soon. More ABQ food news in the link.
Get Outta Town, and Eat Chocolate
Sick and tired of cold weather? Perhaps a trip to Silver City for the 17th Annual Chocolate Fantasia on Saturday, Feb. 6, is the ticket. The event, in which proceeds benefit programming for the Mimbres Region Arts Council, is a casual, strolling affair that encourages silly dress and dancing. $25 gets you 20 chocolates, and that isn't such a bad deal for supporting the arts.
Take It to The Bridge
Santa Fe Brewing Co, has undergone some tremendous transformations over the past few years, and for fans of live music, 2016 is going to be a year to keep your eyeballs peeled to the SFBC website. Renovations are underway at the old Santa Fe Sol performance space and restaurant (which SFBC owns), and owners hope to begin holding live concerts in March at the fresh venue, called The Bridge. And there will be food trucks!
Beer Me, Up-High
Ski Santa Fe is holding its Ski Santa Fe Brewski event at the ski area's Totemoff's mid-mountain bar on Saturday, Feb. 20. Six breweries are participating. An $18 ticket gets you a special silicone pint glass, three free samples and a free pint. Lift tickets are not required to attend this event. You can pre-purchase tickets via the Ski Santa Fe ticket office or by calling 954-3680. Tickets will also be available at the door.
Waste Not, Want Not
There's been a lot of talk recently about trying to combat food waste, and it's a long time coming. Some statistics put American food waste at nearly 50 percent, which doesn't really mesh with the number of hungry people living in this nation and the state of New Mexico. Want to learn more? Here's a movie about it.
Santa Fe Reporter