SANTA FE, THE TOWN
Santa Fe was the hub that I used for years during the shoulder seasons during my professional cooking days. Working my gigs in Alaska during the summer and ski resorts in the fall and winter seasons. It enabled me to learn Southwestern cuisine from this most enigmatic and eclectic New Mexican hilltop town. In addition, I’ve always found Santa Fe to be very friendly and accommodating to outsiders and tourists. This friendliness was even more during the Santa Fe Wine and Chile Fiesta.
The town was eager to show the best is offered to the gastronomic and oenophilic public. Arriving early in the week allowed me to settle in and visit some of my old haunts to get in the proper mood for the four-day extravaganza. Since parking is at a premium in Santa Fe, I chose a location that would allow me to walk to all of the instructional and tasting venues. This blog post is significant because the festival itself was huge!
ACCOMMODATIONS
We stayed at the Hotel St. Francis in the heart of Historic Downtown. This turned out to be a capital idea since it allowed me to be within a few blocks of the wine classes and chef demonstrations. It also allowed me to visit some of the great shops and local drinking and eating establishments that Santa Fe is most famous for. The hotel itself offers free WiFi and is pet friendly but doesn’t have the excess perks other hotels might so check the website if you are thinking of staying here. The parking lot was small, but the hotel validated the pay lot across the street.
Some of my old haunts include:
The Pink Adobe has recently been revamped, and I hear it’s a good thing. Back in the days when I was prone to dive into the mysterious depths of all things Don Julio Reposado, this was my favorite venue. Even though it may be a little gentrified these days, the same owners and barkeeps are still there, ready to aid you in your search for its meaning.
El Farol is a great little place close to my buddy’s pad. I could walk over to feast on authentic Spanish tapas and a robust selection of wine and liquor.
Cafe Pasqual’s is an iconic Santa Fe restaurant known for its organic sourced beef, eggs, poultry, vegetables, and flours.
The Coyote Cafe, opened initially by Mark Miller in 1987, still cranks out a fantastic product and has an elevated second-story open bar area that continues to be very popular. If memory serves and you are there during Sunday brunch, try the Pressed Breakfast Sandwich with fried egg, ham, bacon, cheese, and green chile.
Sazon, operated by Chef Fernando Olea, is the undisputed master of Mole. Originally from Mexico City, Chef Olea captures, for me, the essence of Santa Fe cuisine. This restaurant is currently my favorite place in town. Reservations during big event weekends are hard to come by, so keep this in mind. If you had only one night to have dinner in Santa Fe, this would be my choice.
Last but far from the least of my regular visits to Santa Fe is Horseman’s Haven. In the old days, the Haven used to be a tight twenty-seat, hole in the wall built into the side of a run-down Texaco. It is still next door to a gas station, although they can accommodate about 85-90 people. I have never found a better Huevos Rancheros with Chile Verde than here in all of my travels. Think breakfast and then give thanks for the Haven.
I had to squeeze this in. The menu item at Horseman’s Haven Huevos I most regularly have is Rancheros, two eggs topped with chile (red or green) and cheese and served with beans, potatoes, and a warm tortilla. So if you go, make it your secret place. I still want to be able to get in regularly.
This is a complete list of great places to eat, drink, or both in Santa Fe. There are dozens of other worthy sites in and around town. Santa Fe is a culinary destination for some, but it’s not the only thing in town. The shopping, art, and antique market scenes are just as compelling, and I always mix them all in every time I’m in town. In addition, there is plenty of hiking, mountain biking, vineyard tours, and other outdoor activities here to boot. Santa Fe nearly has it all.
THE FIESTA
Most wine seminars and food tastings are located in or around the downtown area during the Wine and Chile Fiesta week. Many are at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center, which offers quite a few rooms for the winemakers to give tastings and lectures about their respective vintages.
Among the wine seminars were Grgich Hills, Tablas Creek Esprit (California), De Beaucastel Vertical, Selbach-Oster (Germany), Gobelsburg and Nikolhof (Austria), Donnhoff, Louis Jadot, Henri Boillot, Volnay, Domaine Paul Pernot Chassagne Montrachet (France), and Fontanafredda Barolo Vertical (Italy) to mention just a few.
Celebrity Chefs included Rick Bayless of Topolobampo in Chicago and PBS fame Mexico-One Plate at a Time, Stephan Pyles, Flora Street Cafe, Dallas (Father of Modern Texas Cuisine), Martin Rios, Restaurant Martin, Santa Fe (Best Chef in the Southwest 2016 & 2017) and a much-anticipated mole demonstration from Chef Fernando Olea, Sazon, Santa Fe given at the Santa Fe Cooking School.
Tablas Creek Wine Seminar included Beaucastel from 2003, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2014, and 2015. An iconic Paso Robles Mourvedre-based wine grafted from Chateau De Beaucastel vines in Chateauneuf-du-Pape in southeastern France.
The Santa Fe Cooking School hosted Chef Fernando Olea’s master class on different regional Mexican moles.
Chef Olea instructing a class on Mole Blanco.
A close-up view of Mole rosa and Mole poblano
Cooking Theater with overhead mirrors so everyone could see the preparation.
Tasting and answering questions about a Mole
HOG ISLAND OYSTER AND CHAMPAGNE FEST
The Hog Island Oysters and Champagne walk-around was hosted at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center on the patio. Of course, the champagne (all French) was from Perrier Jouet Grand Brut, Laurent Perrier Ultra Brut, Louis Roederer Brut Premier, and Gaston Chiquet Tradition, all at or above 90+ ranking free-flowing to wash all the fresh-shucked Tomales Bay, Northern California oysters down.
The oysters were served four ways: fresh-shucked, grilled, fried, and cold marinated. Kevin Nash (2017 Best Chef of the Midwest) was on hand to oversee the production.
Hand shucking Hog’s Island Oysters.
Grilling Hog’s Island Oysters
A light, seasoned coating for the quick-fried oysters
Serving up fresh shucked Hog’s Island oysters.
Cold marinated Hog’s Island oysters
They were discussing and pouring some great champagne with the rep from Louis Roederer. All four champagnes served were rated at or above 90 points. Well worth the price of admission. The Louis Roederer Brut Premier is an animated version, finely knit and elegant, with floral, toast, and smoke aromas on the nose and flavors of crème de cassis and lemon curd riding the lacy mousse. Wine Spectator rated this Champagne at 92.
A classic blended Champagne: 40% Pinot Meunier, 35% Chardonnay, and 25% Pinot Noir, with a 90+ rating from Wine Spectator
An incredibly versatile Champagne, L-P Ultra-Brut matches well with everything from fresh goat cheese to sushi. But, of course, the classic and unparalleled food pairing is with oysters. Wine Enthusiast gives it 93 points—surprising depth and power with purity and concentration of flavor all its own. Amazingly well balanced and absolutely bone dry, 55% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir.
What a way to spend a Friday afternoon
THE GRAND TASTING
The Grand Tasting was held at the Santa Fe Opera House grounds to accommodate the enormous sold-out crowd. This was the most comprehensive celebration of a single city’s culinary heritage and the spirits that match that I have ever seen. The Grand Tasting of the Wine and Chile Fiesta pulls out all the stops. Nearly 80 Santa Fe restaurants catered the food, and over 180 world-class wines and liquors were served non-stop for four hours. The list of wine vineyards alone read like a who’s-who of modern winemaking:
(Alexander Valley, Bodegas Ontanon, B R Cohn, Browne Family Vineyards, Cakebread, Caymus, Chalk Hill, Louis Roederer, Chateau Bligny, Cline Cellars, Clos du Val, Duboeuf, Duckhorn, Ferrari-Carano, Francis Ford Coppola, Grgich Hills, Hahn Family, Hess Collection, J Lohr, Jordan, Kenwood, Kendal Jackson, Louis Jadot, Oberon, Perrier Jouet, Ramey Wine Cellars, Robert Mondavi, Rodney Strong, Schramsberg, Schug Carneros, Ste. Michelle, and the list go on and on.)
This list isn’t comprehensive and does not include the ports and dessert wines. I even found someone in the chocolate tent free pouring a Jeroboam of Graham’s old tawny port! This is a food and wine festival gone wild.
The opening hour of the Grand Tasting at the Santa Fe Wine and Chile Fiesta
Checking things out
Roast suckling pig tacos with green chilies.
Calamari Ceviche on Radish Chip
Tacos al Pastor
Grilling lobster tails for tacos.
There were a couple of stages for live music as well.
Wine for everyone!
Green Chile Chicken Posole. This dish might be my new hangover cure! Topping with the fresh diced white onion and cilantro was essential.
Grilling Oysters on the half shell
Sazon cook, grilling lamb
Chef Olea was doing his thing. The man, the legend, the real deal! You owe it to yourself to sit in this man’s restaurant at least once.
Pink Adobe’s Clams Lucifer for a spicy taste.
Even the Santa Fe Thai restaurants got into the act. It wasn’t all southwestern. It was a celebration of all cultures that use chiles in their cooking. Whether you are a confirmed carnivore, vegetarian, or vegan, every taste and preference seemed readily available.
THE TAKEAWAY
My summary for the Santa Fe Wine and Chile Fiesta met and exceeded my expectations. Every wine seminar, cooking demonstration, guest celebrity chef, and food & wine tasting was held flawlessly. This year’s weather threatened a hard rain but was held off except for a few brief light showers. Other than that, every day was exceptional.
Each night my wife and I had fun trying out new places. At the Hotel St Francis, they had an excellent bar called the “Secreto Lounge.” My wife favored the Smoked Sage Margarita: Espalon Reposado Tequila, O3 Brazilian Orange Liqueur, freshly squeezed lime juice, and Smoked Sage infused with Hickory Smoked Sea Salt rim. Delicious! The Hotel Restaurant, Tabla de la Santos Restaurant, made a good breakfast with a catty-corner view of Cafe Pasqual’s. On a couple of mornings, my wife and I sat as soon as we walked in at a table near a grand fireplace.
We watched endless lines of patrons huddled in the cold waiting to get into Cafe Pasqual’s while we sat with a steaming hot cup of coffee and a good-sized breakfast featuring a house-made green chile sausage. Excellent! There was a great crowd in town the week of the festival. Everyone we met seemed in a convivial good mood, eager to make/share memories in Santa Fe. I can’t say this about every city I pass through, but Santa Fe delivers every time I’m in.
Huevos Rancheros de Santa Fe (Two eggs cooked to order on blue corn tortillas, cheddar-jack cheese, pinto beans, and breakfast potatoes. Smothered in green/red chile or both-Christmas style) with a side of house-made green chile sausage and a never-ending cup of hot coffee.
The “Secreto Lounge” is small but very well stocked. We used the oversized and beautiful stucco and Spanish tiled lobby for overflow seating.
A large fountain filled with lit candles and a sizeable Mission-style fireplace sports a crackling fire with oversized couches. I was surprised to find that the waitstaff from the Secreto Lounge circled to help us with our drink order. Civilized service indeed.