Santa Fe Wine and Chile Fiesta: A World Class Culinary Destination in the SouthwestEdited by Madelyn Miller There are two things that happen in New Mexico without fail every fall. The first is the crack and sizzle of famed Hatch chiles being tossed in roasters in every grocery store parking lot, sending a rich and lovely burned perfume into the air. The second is the Santa Fe Wine and Chile Fiesta—a gathering of 60 of Santa Fe’s finest restaurants and 90 wineries against the spectacular silhouette of the City Different’s Opera.
I have experienced the unforgettable aroma of Hatch chiles being roasted. But I have never been lucky enough to be in Santa Fe for the Wine and Chile Fiesta. I hope that this is my year. And I hope that you will also put this on your “must do” list. Or perhaps the “must taste” list is more accurate. There is no bad time to visit Santa Fe. Famous for its fabulous restaurants and food, just imagine what it must be like when everyone gets together to drink and feast.  The Santa Fe Wine and Chile Fiesta, known as The Wine Event with All Those Great Restaurants, will celebrate its 17th year September 26 – 30, 2007. The packed four day event begins with Guest Chef Luncheons where local chefs mingle with those looking for wine and cheese pairings hailing from Spain or Slow Food preparations promoting regional culinary heritage as well as wine seminars, blind tastings, and discussions on biodynamic, organic and sustainable wineries.
Other highlights include: Mark Kiffin, The Compound Restaurant owner/chef and winner of the James Beard Foundation’s “Best Chef in the Southwest 2005” hosting chef luncheon. Silent Auction of week’s best wines from all 90 wineries, including 45 rare wine lots to benefit the Santa Fe Wine and Chile Fiesta’s education programs. Grand Food & Wine Tasting at the Santa Fe Opera on Saturday, September 29 from 1 pm to 4 pm. 14th Annual Gruet Golf Classic scramble featuring six sparkling Gruet wine and dishes from six different Santa Fe restaurants every third hole.
 Tickets go on sale July 5, 2007.
info@santafewineandchile.org
www.santafewineandchile.org
WHERE TO STAY LA FONDA ON THE PLAZA
100 E. San Francisco
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
800-523-5002
www.lafondasantafe.com The Inn of the Five Graces
150 E. DeVargas Street
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
T: 505.992.0957
F: 505.955.0549
info@fivegraces.com
www.fivegraces.com Inn on the Alameda,
505- 984-2121, 800-289-2122
www.inn-alameda.com Bishop’s Lodge Resort and Spa
800-732-2240
www.bishopslodge.com La Posada de Santa Fe Resort and Spa
505-982-5474, 800-5276
www.rockresorts.com Inn of the Anasazi
505-988-3030, 800-688-8100
www.innoftheanasazi.com Inn and Spa at Loretto
505-988-5531
http://www.hotelloretto.com WHERE TO EAT Inn of the Anasazi, 505-988-3236 Amaya at Santa Fe Hotel Geronimo’s 505-988-5531 The Restaurant at the Inn and Spa at Loretto 505-988-5531 The Compound Restaurant, 505-982-4353 The Old House, Eldorado Hotel, 505-988-4455 Fuego Restaurant, La Posada Resort, 505-954-9670 be sure to try the foie gras SantaCafe, 231 Washington Ave. 800-252-8570 or 505-984-1788. Café Pasquals, 505-983-9340 (if you are traveling alone or in a hurry, ask to sit at the community table) Bumble Bee’s Baja Grill 505-820-2862. Healthy fast food, made fresh. Truly where the natives eat. BEST VIEW OF THE CHEFS WITHOUT THEIR CLOTHES ON Order the Santa Fe Nude Chefs calendar.($19.95.) All profits from the sale of the calendar will be donated to The Yaxche Learning Center Scholarship Program in Taos, New Mexico, the non-profit educational organization that benefits needy children from diverse indigenous backgrounds. Order Online: www.taoscooking.com Email Lisa Cancro, Director of the Taos School of Cooking at: leela@newmex.com Call: 505-751-4419 Mail: Taos School of Cooking, 4100 NDCBU, Taos, NM 87571
BAR WITH THE BEST VIEW Belltower Bar in La Fonda
505-954-3599, 800-523-50002 BEST SUNDAY BRUNCH ELDORADO HOTEL
www.eldoradohotel.com
505-988-4455 BEST GUACAMOLE LA FONDA BLACK BOOK FOR CHOCOLATE LOVERS (maybe I should say dark semi-sweet brown book) Café Paris Bakery, 31 Burro Alley, (505) 986-1688
Chocolate Maven, 821 San Mateo Road, (505) 984-1980
Cloud Cliff Bakery and Cafe鬠1805 Second Street, www.cloudcliff.com
Delectables, 720 St. Michael's Drive, Suite 2M, 438-8152
Ohori's Coffee, Tea & Chocolate, 507 Old Santa Fe Trail, (505) 982-9692
Senor Murphy Candy Maker, 1904 Chamisa Street, 1-877-988-4311
Todos Santos Chocolates and Confections, 125 East Palace Avenue #31, (505) 982-3855 Gourmet Fudge and Wedding Favors
(505)856-8242
1-877-423-8343
1-877-42FUDGE
sandra_todieforfudge@msn.com Bumble Bee’s Baja Grill 505-820-2862 Try anything baked by Katalyna Weil. She does a mean cowboy crunch and Mexican espresso brownies. I love the cowgirl kisses Kakawa Chocolate House, Mark Sciscenti, Chocolate connoisseur, Pasty chef and Certified Herbalist. 505-438-3402. sunsilver@earthlink.net
Try his chocolate truffles and authentic historic chocolate drinks. My favorite was the chocolate chilli drink. FAVORITE FLAVORS OF SANTA FE Pear Mascapone Soup at Fuego in La Posada. Chocolate Terraine at Hotel Santa Fe Guacamole at La Fonda RANDOM THOUGHT Why does it seem that everyone in Santa Fe is either a chef or a massage therapist or has a family member who is? Maybe that is why you get such great food and massages in Santa Fe. WHAT TO DO Browse Canyon Road. This gallery row features an amazing assortment of fine art, crafts, antiques, jewelry, clothing and restaurants. Santa Fe School of Cooking Take the taste of Santa Fe home by enjoying cooking classes featuring Santa Fe’s top chefs whipping up everything from traditional Northern New Mexican cuisine to contemporary Southwest. 505-983-4511 If you can’t get there, buy the book. THE SANTA FE SCHOOL OF COOKING COOKBOOK by Susan Curtis.
Gibbs Smith, Publisher
www.gibbs-smith.com Santa Fe Opera. One of the most famous in the world. www.santafeopera.org. FLEA MARKET. If you are there on a weekend, check out the flea market by the Opera. Tesuque Flea Market is the official name, but no one calls it that. The land it is on is owned by the Indians. Only open in warmer weather. GET A MASSAGE Shanah Spa and Wellness Center at the Bishop’s Lodge Resort and Spa. Ask for Lanka. My favorite treatments are Native Purification Polish and Native Stone Massage. 1-800-9shanah. You will want to reserve ahead. The Bishop’s Lodge Resort and Spa
P.O. Box 2367
Bishop’s Lodge Road
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
800.732.2240; 505.983.6377; www.bishopslodge.com ShaNah Spa Telephone: (505) 819-4000; www.shanahspa@bishopslodge.com Avanyu Spa
Get a Avanyu Body Bliss at with Nancy DeMill. Your body will be thankful from the top of your scalp down to your toes. La Posada de Santa Fe
330 E. Palace Avenue
Santa Fe, NM 87501
Office: 505.954.9631
Fax: 505.954.9761
www.rockresorts.com 10,000 Waves, 505-982-9304. Indulge in an outdoor massage while nimble fingers soothe out any stress. Call ahead because this is a very popular place. If you are adventurous, have an underwater Watsu massage. SHOP FOR ART AND COWBOY BOOTS Stop by Back at the Ranch, where Wendy Lane has been making fashion cowboy boots for the past 15 years. I believe she pretty much "owns" this niche. She has lots of celebrity clients, including the Governor of New Mexico.
www.backattheranch.com.
209 East Marcy Street
888-96 boots
505-989-8110 ART BROWSING SITE Santa Fe is located at 1606 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe, NM
WWW.SITESANTAFE.ORG Minkay Andean Art
The unique and original pieces on display include brilliantly-crafted, ceramics, evocative retablos with hand-made figurines using boiled potato and plaster by famed artist Nicario Jimenez. The collection also includes colorful and intricate Andrean textiles, Alpaca garments and objects used in the traditional folk medicine in the Andes.
233 Canyon Road
www.minkay.com
505-820-2210 The Turquoise Trail leads to Hotel Santa Fe...
Just check out the fashion-conscious these days, and what you'll find is a plethora of turquoise, the deep blue of a summer sky, the perfect contrast for a summer tan, and the stone that for centuries has been the sacred stone and favorite adornment of Native Americans. So where would you expect to find the turquoise Mother Lode? Just follow the Turquoise Trail to the Picuris Art and Gift Shop at Hotel Santa Fe, where Manager Joan Greer has assembled a stellar collection of turquoise jewelry gleaned from neighboring reservations and pueblos and at prices that permit loading on the treasures, Native-American style. For example, there's a 5-strand necklace of turquoise beads or a single-strand necklace of turquoise heishi - the flat turquoise beads that are a specialty of Santo Domingo Pueblo -- mixed with nuggets. Hand-hammered coin silver beads are interspersed with turquoise beads, while oversize nuggets of turquoise make impressive earrings. The pièce de resistance: an impressive silver-and-turquoise concho belt, guaranteed to create a sensation back home. GREAT TIMES TO VISIT Don’t miss the ArtFeast benefit event in late February.
http://www.travellady.com/Issues/February04/OneofSantaFes.htm Souper Bowl Project
contact Director@thefooddepot.org to reach Sherry Hooper, the Director of the Food Depot, which organizes this event; their phone number is 505-471-1633 Wine and Chile festival
info@santafewineandchile.org Annual Santa Fe Market, a free public celebration of the colorful arts, crafts, jewelry and cultures of Native Americans and the American Southwest. Usually the first weekend in April
(619) 296-3161 or visit www.BazaarDelMundo.com GREAT GUIDEBOOKS HIDDEN PICTURE-PERFECT ESCAPES SANTA FE & TAOS
By Richard Harris
Ulysses Press
www.ulyssespress.com CULINARY NEW MEXICO
The Ultimate Food Lover’s Guide
By Sally Moore
Fulcrum Publishing
www.fulcrum-books.com THE NEW MEXICO GUIDE
By Don and Barbara Laine
Fulcrum Publising
www.fulcrum.com Hidden Southwest
By Richard Harris
Ulysses Press
www.ulyssespress.com LET’S GO ADVENTURE GUIDE SOUTHWEST USA 2003
ST MARTIN’S PRESS
www.stmartins.com Ski America and Canada has the best and most detailed overview of Santa Fe from a winter tourist/skier/snowboarder's perspective.
The new edition (15th) will be in bookstores about mid October.
Available from most bookstores, Amazon, www.bn.com and www.worldleisure.com MORE ABOUT NEW MEXICO THE OLD WEST
TRAVEL HISTORIC AMERICA
Explore ghost towns, Pioneer trails, Spanish Missions and more.
Fodor’s
www.fodors.com MOON HANDBOOKS NEW MEXICO
By Stephen Metzger
Avalon Travel
www.moon.com BEST SOUTHWEST COOKBOOKS ON THE CHILE TRAIL
100 great recipes from across America
By Coyote Joe
Gibbs Smith, Publisher
www.gibbs-smith.com SEASONAL SOUTHWEST COOKING
By Barbara Pool Fenzel
Foreword by Jacques Pepin
Contemporary recipes and menus for every occasion
Northland Publishing
www.northlandbooks.com FOR MORE INFORMATION SANTA FE: 800-777-2489
http://www.santafe.org
http://www.skisantafe.com BEST FREEBIE The Official 2004 Santa Fe Visitors Guide - A Free Guide to Santa Fe:
The 2004 Santa Fe Visitors Guide produced by the Santa Fe Convention & Visitors Bureau has been updated for 2004 and is free for the asking. The 98 page guide has everything a visitor needs to plan a stay in Santa Fe including articles or listings of attractions, lodging, shopping, day trips, restaurants and cuisine, the city's prolific art scene, activities for kids, the city's romantic side, edu-tourism, historic and cultural background of Santa Fe, a 2004 calendar of events and more. The four-color glossy magazine is filled with beautiful new images of Santa Fe and is THE resource for getting the most out of a Santa Fe visit. For a free 2004 Santa Fe Visitors Guide call, 800-777-2489, 505-955-6200, or visit www.santafe.org. BEST WAY TO GET THERE SOUTHWEST AIRLINES: 800-435-9792
http://www.southwest.com Madelyn Miller is a food, wine and travel writer who loves Santa Fe. Read her stories on www.travellady.com, www.cocktailatlas.com, www.chocolateatlas.com, www.carladynews.com, and www.americanwinery.com | 