Alcohol is, of course, a legal drug—given certain usage constraints—and I’ve just had a smidge too much of it in the service of exploring the offerings put forth by New Mexico distillers.

In 1995, the Hubble Space Telescope captured dramatic images of gas formations in the Eagle Nebula, approximately 7,000 light-years away from Earth. One of these images became known as the “Pillars of Creation”—an awe-inspiring demonstration of star formation, of literal creation in the vastness of the universe.

Americans can’t just wake up on any random day of the year and resolve to do things a little differently. But the ritual of using birthdays and the new year to effect change in our lives appears to be locked in the pomp and circumstance of being a curious consumer creature in the cornucopia of Western culture.

Although I’m a regular drinker, I try hard not to drink in excess. Sometimes I fail. And the night before my dinner date with friends at Casa Chimayó, I failed spectacularly.

Legend has it that Simeon Turley’s mill, in Arroyo Hondo near Taos, did great business in the 1840s selling a wheat-based whiskey to travelers, soldiers and wandering mountain men.

Stalking and killing your food is much tougher than donning sweatpants and hunting the grocery store aisles for meat. The process can be time-consuming and messy, but it comes down looking a being in the eye and making a life or death choice.

I’ve been a fan of theoretical à la carte cable television for years because I never understood that you had to buy the whole package just to get the good part. Mostly, access the internet provides

If you are unsure of what exactly the Santa Fe Harvest Festival is, you are not alone. When I think of a harvest festival, I imagine stacks of hay and pumpkins, long wagon rides and naively hot farmers’ daughters—none of which are part of this inaugural festival.

Tomme, the new restaurant that has opened on the downtown corner vacated by Louie’s Corner Café, makes so much sense that I worry it may be a little ahead of its time.

Each year, SFR makes a list (and checks it twice) just for those restaurants that define the City Different. They’re the ones we know and love—and have for years—for their consistent quality, reliable service and special spark. They’re the comfy jeans of Santa Fe’s restaurant world—ripped in the knees and soft as silk. Obviously, that only makes them sexier. (Alexa Schirtzinger)