Small Bites

Izanami

As popular as tapas menus have become, it's no surprise that our new Japanese small-plates restaurant is already a big hit. This recent addition to the Ten Thousand Waves campus is a sure thing for a unique dining experience best shared with a companion or two. Enjoy some sake and watch servers fill the glass to the brim and then some in a gesture meant to symbolize overflowing abundance. Crunch into tempura green beans ($6) and a variety of fermented goodies such as gingered burdock root ($5) before you settle on a nami burger ($14) made with wagyu beef. A roasted sweet potato dish ($6) topped with miso butter and togarashi spice blend is superb. If sake is not your thing, try one of several sparkling fruit beverage offerings such as the yuzu citrus-ade ($4.50) And when you are done, wipe your hands on the warm, moist oshiburi napkin and look out at the mountain view one more time. Breathtaking doesn't even begin to describe it.

-Julie Ann Grimm

3451 Hyde Park Road, 428-6390
Lunch and dinner daily.
izanamisantafe.com

SweetWater Harvest Kitchen

A live reggae trio sets a placid atmosphere during a recent Sunday brunch at the Pacheco Street establishment that has a modern but homey feel. Co-owner Soma Franks' belief that feeding people feeds community is on full display, as Sage Grey plays harp and his group's soft lyrics about Babylon dance around the diners' chatter. On the breakfast menu, look for the most unique breakfast burrito ($9.25) in Santa Fe, filled with black beans, sweet potato and a fried egg, wrapped in a wheat tortilla and topped with jack cheese, smothered in your choice of chile. The colorful heirloom tomato eggs Florentine ($11.25)—two poached eggs, spinach and Hollandaise sauce on top of a sliced tomato—is a healthy and tasty alternative. Dinner dishes include a Thai curry chicken noodle bowl ($18), garden lasagna ($16) and fish tacos with Moroccan sauce ($18). Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options abound. Make sure to try the vegan chocolate mousse ($5.50-$7). It's a cup of tasty richness made with avocado and topped with fresh strawberries and raspberries.

-Justin Horwath

1512 Pacheco St., 795-7383
Breakfast and lunch Monday-Saturday;
dinner Wednesday-Saturday; brunch on Sundays.
sweetwatersf.com

Hungry for more? Our 2015 Restaurant Guide is out! Pick it up at over 50 locations across town. You can also find it here.

Santa Fe Reporter