Beer Me

New spot combines stellar microbrews and inspired, affordable, farmer-friendly cuisine

The newest kid on the block in the tasty North Guadalupe Street 'hood is Fire & Hops (222 N Guadalupe St., 954-1635), owned and operated by Josh Johns, who previously helped launch Santa Fe Hard Cider, and chef Joel Coleman, formerly of Santa Fe restaurants Koi and before that, Mauka.

I should admit straight away that I have long been a cheerleader of Coleman's inventive culinary approaches. His knowledge of Asian and Polynesian flavors and his ability to take them to new places using deconstruction, bold technique and disparate flavor combinations may be reason enough to be a groupie. Pile on the fact that he approaches his art/craft/work with sincere passion and humility, and it's easy to see why he has gained a devoted following in this town over the last decade or so.

The cozy adobe building that houses Fire & Hops has some interesting history, and I am intimately familiar with its interior. It was once home to Tulips, an upscale joint run by chef Steve Jarrett, who hired my now-husband to help him mind the front-of-house proceedings. After Tulips shuttered, the space housed a medical-marijuana facility. All traces of Tulips and sweet kush have disappeared from the property, and the atmosphere of the restaurant and patio now strike a fun and un-fussy balance between beer-drinking casual and wine-quaffing formality. It has become a popular hangout for local chefs, brewers, servers, restaurateurs and others who take their food and drink pretty damn seriously.

Chef Coleman's globally influenced gastropub menu is tailor-made for the 10 microbrews on draft, 10 to 13 beers by the bottle, 10 wines by the glass, 14 wines by the bottle and seven ciders, and although some selections on two visits were unavailable, the friendly servers are food-and-beverage knowledgeable and eager to find you a decent replacement pairing.

On the first visit, we decided to sit indoors and soak up the dinnertime-rush vibe. Even on a Monday, the place was hopping. At the moment, Fire & Hops doesn't take reservations, so make sure you bring some patience with you on a weekend night. You'll be rewarded for it. (You can also visit Fire & Hops for their local, sustainable, farmers-market-driven lunches on Saturday and Sunday; call the restaurant for details.)

Coleman's dinner menu comprises an array of flavors and textures that stretch from northern Thailand to the heart of Canada and New Mexico, and sometimes they intersect. Plates range from "snacks," to "small plates," to "larger plates" and desserts. A snack of housemade chicharrónes (fried pork rinds, $5) is ultra-crisp and dusted with a semi-spicy (by local standards) chile-powder mix. A snack of salt-and-vinegar potatoes ($4) presented a small bowl of crisp-yet-tender multicolored fingerling and youngling 'taters kissed with a delicate piquancy and plenty of crunchy salt.

Coleman's roasted-beet puree, burrata (a really creamy and loose fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream) and mostarda (an Italian condiment of candied fruit and mustard-seed-infused sweet syrup) salad has become his signature vegetarian starter at the restaurant ($7), and for good reason. Sweet meets creamy, salty and earthy in this stellar combination. For textural contrast, try a small plate of the "Fish & Chip" fritters ($9): tender flakes of white fish and grated potato, fried into discs the consistency of your favorite tater tot, served with a salt-and-vinegar aioli.

Three other dishes—a ceviche ($10) with shiso (an Asian herb with hints of mint and basil); a green papaya salad with dried shrimp, peanuts and toasted rice ($7); and a larger plate of grilled, housemade Chiang Mai pork sausage with spätzle, sauerkraut and red curry ($17)—were textural and compositional marvels that all suffered the same fate: a heavy hand with extremely aromatic fish sauce, an ingredient to be used with deference to the ingredients it hopes to accentuate. Our server was nice enough to comp the Chiang Mai dish, which I only took one bite of, but it wasn't a complete comp. She reduced the total bill before tax by 10 percent. A $6.90 comp for a $17 dish. I am not sure I am comfortable with this system.

However, I revisited Fire & Hops exactly one week later and had one of the best restaurant experiences of my adult life. Patio dining is conducive to advanced relaxation, and it doesn't hurt when the first glimpses of fading autumnal sunlight glance off your 11.1-ounce bottle of Dogfish Head Brewery's deep, rich, complex, continually hopped My Antonia imperial pilsner (named after the 1918 Willa Cather novel).

Add to this delicious mix a small plate of house-pickled carrots, onions and other veggies ($4), and the onset of fall and pickling season begins to present itself nicely. Four pork spare ribs with a garnish of pea shoots and whole-seed, milk-stout-infused mustard ($8) are tender and slightly sweet, while grilled calamari with avocado and grapefruit ($9) offer a welcome respite from the fried-squid bounty found at other venues in town.

New Mexico's chile-roasting season meets a Québécois staple in Coleman's rendition of poutine (pictured left, $8), a hearty blend of French fries, vegetarian gravy, green chile, cheese curds and slivery lardons of smoky bacon. This, friends, is global comfort food at its finest.

For dessert, a triplet of banana-chocolate donut holes nestled in a sea of overly salty, sticky marshmallow cream and crunchy graham cracker crumble ($9) proved dense but flavorful. A buttery clafoutis of local blackberries and salted caramel sauce ($8) melted in the mouth with the help of a glass of 2009 Domaine de l'Ancienne Cure "L'abbaye" Monbazillac ($9), a sweet white-Bordeaux blend of Sémillon, Sauvignon blanc and Muscadelle grapes. I put my money, wisely, on a trio of ice creams ($6)—three small scoops of frozen housemade delectables that simultaneously wiped the palate clean and threw the senses into a new matrix of flavor discovery: peanut butter and jelly (with raspberry jam), red chile-peach and a tame strawberry concoction that helped neutralize the two alpha-male scoops between bites.

Coleman, Johns and their team have succeeded in creating a relaxed-yet-stylish dining environment that truly welcomes everyone, and they serve until 11 pm. Beer culture historically demands that sort of inclusiveness but too often, the food component in a brew-friendly joint is regarded as an afterthought.

That's hardly the case here, and Santa Fe is a better place for it.

AT A GLANCE
Open: 5-11 pm Monday-Friday;
 2-11 pm Saturday and Sunday 
To die for: New Mexico poutine—a heavenly combo of French fries, gravy, roasted green chiles, cheese curds and bacon
Best Bet: Burrata and roasted-beet purée salad with mostarda

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