HUNGRY GERALD

Going to be a family Christmas at the HG/BSK hacienda compound. SJ, Exquisite Maiko, Adorable Haru plus Family Martonovich will be in attendance. Some food stuff HG is anticipating: Christmas Eve smoked fish feast courtesy of Russ & Daughters. SJ’s super creamy, yummy mashed potatoes. BSK’s stuffing and cranberry chutney. SJ & BSK’s roast turkey. HG pouring frozen vodka to accompany schmaltz herring. Adorable Haru gobbling up red caviar, rice and crisp nori. Noel M’s baked goodies. SJ’s Christmas morning potato latkes with red caviar and Greek yogurt. BSK’s soft, buttery scrambled eggs (with red caviar and sour cream, of course) and warmed (not toasted) New York bialys and cream cheese on the side. Lightly toasted New York bagels with scallion cream cheese, Nova Scotia smoked salmon, thin slices of sweet onion and capers (a couple of Kalamata olives on the plate).

Pre-Christmas birthday celebration for SJ at Gabriel’s with margaritas, sangria, tableside-mixed guacamole, pork carnitas with onions, peppers and warm tortillas. Charro beans. House-made flan for desert. (Maybe some breakfast burritos smothered in green chile the next morning at Tune Up–a continuation of the birthday festivities). Menudo at El Parasol with SJ to chase away any vodka hangovers.

One thing for sure: The best family cook, Expectant Mom Exquisite Maiko, is not allowed to display her skills. Time for her to rest and be pampered.

The Pojoaque Super Market on Highway 285/84 in New Mexico (15 minutes north of Santa Fe) is an HG favorite, a veritable treasure trove of ingredients needed for authentic Southwestern cuisine. There are at least 100 salsas on the shelves ranging from “super hot” to “mild.” “Mild” raises an instant sweat. “Super Hot” can induce cardiac arrest.

There are at least 40 varieties of canned beans and posole. An encyclopedic array of peppers — hot, sweet, fresh, canned, frozen, jarred and dried. Spices galore. A take out counter featuring truly funky menudo, green chili stew and enchiladas.

Customers are a colorful group. Latinos. Native Americans from the nearby San Ildefonso Pueblo and Santa Clara reservations. Sikhs from local ashrams. Artists, politicians, farmers, and of course, Bronx reared elder Jews like HG himself.

HG loves to browse, taking in the regional goods. A big, recent discovery: Candy Krisp Jalapenos from Texas Pepper Works (a Houston outfit). There’s a rattlesnake on the jar label and the words: ” Nice Bite. Not Too Hot. Not Too Sweet.” That’s truth in advertising. Perfect accompaniment to any pork dish.
Great on a cracker with some goat cheese or cream cheese. If you have trouble sourcing a jar visit: www.ribafoods.com.

Two cliches that should be buried: You can eat well in London if you only eat breakfast and you can eat well in Santa Fe if you only eat burritos. Okay, English breakfasts are great if you hold off on the tinned mushrooms and beans and burritos smothered in green chili are a blessing. But, London is now one of the world’s great food cities, on a par with New York (better than New York for Indian food, not as good as New York for Chinese dining). And, Santa Fe, though resolutely New Mexican, offers the eater a wide variety of exceptional international food treats.

Jambo Cafe, located in a strip mall on busy Cerrillos Road, is an HG favorite. Chef-owner Ahmed Obo offers a distinctive Afro-Caribbean cuisine. On a chilly afternoon this week, HG warmed body and soul with Jambo’s “Island Spice Coconut Peanut Stew.” Flanked by a plate of fluffy jasmine rice, this was big bowl of layered flavors. There was plenty of heat (Jalapeno or Scotch Bonnet peppers?) gentled by coconut milk and chicken stock. The peanuts gave the stew a Szechuan Tan-Tan noodle zing. The chunks of chicken in the stew had a juicy, free range taste. There were some halved cherry tomatoes in the stew and it was topped with grilled scallions. A super generous portion designed for all day nourishment. There are other great stews at Jambo — goat stew reminiscent of Jamaica, East African lentil stew, Moroccan lamb stew. There’s jerk chicken, plantains, lamb burgers, hummus — cooking that hops and skips from the Maghreb to Eastern and Southern Africa and over the seas to Caribbean islands. Everything is assertively spiced and served by charming wait persons in a very busy, casual room.

Other Santa Fe destinations for the discerning internationalist: Eric Stapelman’s Shibumi Ramen Ya for outstanding ramen and small plate izakaya treats; plus his adjacent restaurant, Trattoria Nostrani for sophisticated and creative Italian cuisine. Another good Italian bet is Steve Lemon’s “O” Eating House, located a short drive north of town (HG has written about it often). There’s Shohko Cafe for wonderful sushi and tempura, La Boca for Spanish tapas, New York Deli for bagels and bialys and Geronimo, for classic cuisine in the elegant European style. Raaga is the spot for Indian food (whole curry leaves enliven a number of dishes). Nile Cafe has good middle eastern fare and Pupuseria y Restaurante Salvadoreno fills its customers up with hearty pupusas (like tamales but more robust).

Lots of good international dining. But, don’t skip burritos and green chili.

and green chili.

Yes, it’s true. HG, the devoted carnivore, has become a veggie junkie. Dinner last night was HG’s garlicky eggplant caviar, a big platter of sliced radishes and baby white turnips. Ripe, sliced tomatoes with buffala mozzarella (okay, cheese isn’t a vegetable) and lots of basil and very good Sicilian olive oil. Tonight, HG and BSK will have a modest reprise of the turnip, eggplant and tomato appetizers. Then they’ll settle in with penne rigate mixed with a load of cauliflower sauteed in garlic infused olive oil. Tomorrow night plans call for kasha (buckwheat groats) mixed with farfalle (butterfly) pasta. The dish (known as kasha varnishkes) will be topped with fried onions and mushrooms. Greek yogurt on the side. Next night, BSK is contemplating haricots vert and fingerling potatoes in an Indian inspired cumin and mustard seed curry.

Blame the vegetable madness on the superb produce available at the Santa Fe Farmers Market. Star of the market is HG’s organic farmer neighbor Gary (known in the market as Mister G.). You’ve got to get to his stand early to stock up on his incomparable lettuces, escarole, fingerling potatoes, shisito peppers, radishes, turnips, arugula, parsley and many other good things. The knowing gourmets of the Land of Enchantment snap up Gary’s produce quickly.

Trader Joe’s in Santa Fe is a hoot. Talk about diversity. TJ’s staff and customers represent every variety of cult, color, costume, age, beauty (and its reverse). Good humor, helpfulness and a post-hippie buzz pervades the market. TJ’s is HG’s source for French-trimmed pork chops, surprisingly good New Zealand lamb chops, buffalo mozzarella, brown tomatoes (yes) and hummus. Lots of very good cheap wine. Also, a big time red at $13-$16. Avoid the famed Two Buck Chuck wine. Plonk.

Two spectacular Santa Fe women, Sarah N. and Vicki B., took HG to lunch today At Tia Sophia’s, the Mexican restaurant on San Francisco Avenue. Sarah N. had taken umbrage at HG’s comment in a recent post that Santa Fe Mexican bistros were “too touristy.” So she and her co-conspirator taught HG a culinary lesson.

It was a lesson that HG was happy to learn and he swallowed his own words with joy. Tia Sophia’s was a down home wow. HG had a platter of pork green chile, posole, beans and a cheese enchilada. Everything tasted fresh, authentic — delicious layers of un-pretentious Northern New Mexico flavors. HG’s companions had huevos rancheros and enchiladas topped with eggs. Selfish damsels didn’t offer HG a nibble. The cost? Very very modest.

Tia Sophia’s is opposite the Lensic Theater. Come to Santa Fe and enjoy music, performance and drama at this beautifully restored landmark. And, then tear into some Tia Sophia grub for a perfect evening.

HG was served a dish at “O” Eating House that surpassed, in finesse, creativity and restraint, the best Paris has to offer. (HG has posted frequently about “O” and its chef, the gifted Steven Lemon. “O” is located on Highway 84/285, some 15 minutes drive north of Santa Fe). The delectable dish HG is referring to was composed of six squash blossoms, plated beautifully on a long, slim oval plate. The squash blossoms were stuffed with a mixture of ricotta, sweet corn, pine nuts and tarragon. They were then tempura fried to an ethereal lightness. The blossoms were separated by streaks of pesto and flanked by stewed fresh cherries. Crisp, unctuous, herbaceous, salty, sweet.

A dish that strummed every taste note.

HG has long discovered that even the most humble of restaurants (excepting the very worst) have something that they do wonderfully. And, that’s the way it is in Jacona, HG’s New Mexico neighborhood some 15 minutes north of Santa Fe. There’s El Parasol for a wonderfully soothing and earthy menudo. Gabriel’s for the ultimate mixed-at-the-table guacamole. Sopapilla Factory for (you guessed it) sopapillas ( they also do a giant chicken burrito smothered in green chile and a killer bowl of charro beans). All eateries are located on Highway 84/285.

HG never eats New Mexican food in Santa Fe. Too touristy. Santa Fe is HG’s venue for Japanese food: Shohko Cafe for sushi and tempura and Shibumi for Ramen.

On a cross cultural note. Last time HG was in Sopaipilla Factory, HG saw a large gent in a turban, long cloaks, etc, digging into an appetizing and spicy
platter. HG made inquiry. Sikh gent replied: “Tofu carnitas in red chile sauce”).

HG and BSK enjoyed the perfect Santa Fe evening. Following a day of intense, blue sky and golden sunshine, HG and BSK went to the William Siegal Gallery for the showing of the paintings of Jane Cook. Indebted to the legacy of the action wing of the abstract expressionist movement, the physicality of Cook’s paintings yield to an immediate visual pleasure; yet, beneath the grand gestures, there is a deep, contemplative element that seems grounded by and inspired by nature.

Art encourages appetite so HG and BSK joined Colorado friends for dinner at Eric Stapelman’s Shibumi Ramenya, a lovely, small restaurant that features both lusty Ramen and an Izakaya menu of small plates. Started with Izakaya: squid salad with a very light lemony dressing; cod and potato croquettes and house smoked salmon croquettes. These croquettes were fish cakes that died and went to heaven. Crisp, greaseless exterior. Fluffy, flavorful interior. Grated daikon set them off nicely. Then some Ohitashi spinach, an inventive preparation that balanced sweet and sour flavors accented with bits of raw tuna and dry bonito flakes. Tsukune ( ground chicken meatballs) grilled on wooden skewers. BSK had the special pork Ramen “Fujimaki Gekijyo”, a big bowl of the most robust flavors with hints of seemingly more than a dozen herbs and spices. Unforgettable. HG and his Colorado companions opted for Eric’s more conventional pork Ramen — a flavorful broth, juicy pork and perfect noodles all melding together for a perfect bite or slurp as it may well be; the delicate lick of pork fat in the broth lingering on our lips and mouth. Icy Kirin accompanied the feast. Only disappointment was our inability to try everything on the Izakaya menu including such delectables as bacon wrapped mochi, meatballs with leeks and corn; Steak Kusiyaki, chicken yakitori and more–much more.

HG and BSK will be back.

Many times.

Yesterday, Colorado State Senator Gail S., probably the state’s smartest and hardest working legislator (a Dem, of course), was busy attending to government matters near the New Mexico border. Accompanied by her husband, the brilliant lawyer Alan S., one of HG’s favorite dining companions (they shared an epic feast at Le Dome in Paris). Last minute phone call and these delightful people shared an improvised, tossed together dinner Chez HG and BSK. Flutes of Prosecco on the terrace. Then a platter of sheep feta, Kalamata olives, Kumato tomatoes, sliced sweet onions — all showered with basil and olive oil. Main course was linguine with a sauce of Spanish tuna, sauteed onions and garlic, tomatoes, capers and Italian parsley. Mighty good. (Top flight Italian or Spanish tuna is imperative for this dish). A loaf of Santa Fe Farmers Market sour dough bread enhanced the meal. Cotes du Rhone red wine. Mango sorbet for dessert.

Illuminating talk about the eccentricities of southwest USA politics and the proclivity of the French ruling classes to walk away with impunity from shocking charges of venality and corruption.