Hungry Travelers - Bringing the tastes of travel back home

Pretty in purple at Los Poblanos

Posted on November 1, 2024October 22, 2024 by Pat and David

In an uncharacteristic twist for us, we were drawn to Los Poblanos initially by the architecture rather than the food. We had known the property on the west side of Albuquerque primarily for its lavender products. But the 25 acres of lavender fields are only part of an historic Rio Grande Valley farm. It's actually quite an operation. A boutique hotel and restaurant occupy the ranch house. A farm store with a dizzying array of lavender products fills former dairy barns. Lovely gardens circle the estate. There's also a special event space, La Quinta, in the former cultural center designed in the 1930s by architect John Gaw Meem. At the same time, Meem renovated the ranch house to bring a uniform style to Los Poblanos...Read More

Remember El Alamo!

Posted on October 25, 2024October 19, 2024 by Pat and David

You might be forgiven if you thought Joseph Martinez named his winery in Alcalde, New Mexico, after the San Antonio (Texas) fortress where Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie perished after holding out bravely against overwhelming odds. After all, Alcalde is hardly the most hospitable climate for wine grapes. But Martinez named his operation instead for the gigantic cottonwood tree that towers over the acequia madre where it runs through his property. In Spanish, ‶El Alamo″ means ‶the cottonwood.″ The same irrigation ditch that coaxed that cottonwood into one of the largest in New Mexico also slakes the thirst of El Alamo's modest vineyard of Riesling and Baco Noir grapes. New Mexico's principal wine-growing regions lie at high altitudes in the southern part of the state...Read More

The two-handed taste of New Mexico

Posted on October 18, 2024October 18, 2024 by Pat and David

We love a good food origin story. Just to prove it, we drove more than two hours each way from our base in Santa Fe to San Antonio. San Antonio, New Mexico, that is — not Texas. The little village of fewer than 100 people is the birthplace of the Green Chile Cheeseburger. Now it's true that the burger has practically become synonymous with the state of New Mexico. There are, after all, 51 stops on the state's Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail. (newmexico.org/things-to-do/cuisine/culinary-trails/green-chile-cheeseburger-trail/) It's hard to imagine that there was ever a time when New Mexicans weren't munching down on their signature burger. But New Mexicans seem to agree that the Green Chile Cheeseburger first appeared at the Owl Bar, opened by Frank Chavez and...Read More

Chile Friday at Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta

Posted on September 30, 2024September 30, 2024 by Pat and David

A mariachi band was playing along the fence and the aroma of roasting green chile wafted through the air at the entrance to Fort Marcy Park in Santa Fe. There was no doubt about it: It was Chile Friday as the Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta (santafewineandchile.org) reached its climactic weekend of five days of eating, drinking, and talking about food and wine. The Fiesta began as a single Saturday afternoon event in 1991 with 20 restaurants and 20 wineries. Counting all the specialty wine dinners leading up to the broader public events, it now features more than 60 participating restaurants and 90 winery partners. Chile Friday joined the lineup just three years ago. The emphasis is on chile-based food. The 2024 showcase featured...Read More

At the heart of northern New Mexico tomatoes

Posted on September 21, 2024September 21, 2024 by Pat and David

We first visited northern New Mexico back in the 1990s to write about chile peppers being bred at New Mexico State University's extension service farm. Rather than develop hybrids, the breeders were cross-pollinating traditional chiles with desirable characteristics to develop chile peppers with various heat levels that were suitable for different growing conditions. In other words, they were taking a scientific approach to seed selection the way farmers have been doing it since the advent of agriculture roughly 12,000 years ago. This fall, at the Santa Fe Farmers' Market, we discovered that the practice is alive and well with all sorts of plants. We spotted a chip-n-dip bowl with three piles of diced tomatoes and a jar of toothpicks. “Free samples” the sign advertised. Post-It...Read More

Eating at the omphalos of the breakfast burrito

Posted on September 10, 2024September 10, 2024 by Pat and David

At the temple of Apollo at Delphi in Greece, a round stone covers a deep hole that plunges into the earth. According to myth, this well stone is a sacred spot that marks the center of the earth — the bellybutton from which all creation sprang. If you like breakfast as much as we do, Tia Sophia’s (210 West San Francisco Street, Santa Fe, NM; 505-983-9880, tiasophias.com) is the omphalos of the breakfast burrito. A breakfast and lunch stalwart just off the plaza in downtown Santa Fe since 1975, Tia Sophia's specializes in New Mexican comidas nativas, or local cooking. Founders Ann and Jim Maryol aspired to create a casual diner serving good food at good prices and catering to local tastes. This was back...Read More

Short and sweet, fika keeps Swedes on an even keel

Posted on July 13, 2024July 7, 2024 by Pat and David

In a country where the compound-noun penchant of the Swedish language makes many place names inscrutably complex for foreigners (think Fjäderholmarna or Malmskillnadsgatan) it's a relief to find short words that are nonetheless key to daily life. Take takk, for example, or hej. (‶Thanks″ and ‶hi,″ respectively.) Fika is just as important as a social lubricant. It's usually translated as ‶coffee break,″ but it is much more than a quick snack. It's an occasion — maybe even a ceremony — that happens at least once a day and usually involves socializing. Going for a fika essentially means catching up with a friend or colleague over a cup of coffee and a snack (usually sweet). Although Sweden doesn't begin to rival Finland for coffee consumption, Swedes...Read More

Ferry, bus, and nature hike lead to beachside lunch

Posted on July 9, 2024July 5, 2024 by Pat and David

Sometimes we go to great lengths for lunch. Literally. After two fun excursions by ferry, we were eager to get back out into the archipelago. But we were hoping for a less obvious journey. We found a good option on the Stockholm city tourism website, VisitStockholm.com. Called ‶A day trip with the commuter ferry,″ the suggested itinerary combined a long ferry ride with a bus and a hike that ended at a beach on Lake Mälaren. There was, of course, lunch at a lakeside cafe. We caught the first #89 ferry of the day from Klara Mälarstrand, close to City Hall, since we knew it would be a day-long outing. As we set out on a carefree trip, we felt a bit sorry for all...Read More

Vaxholm summer Sunday feels like a garden party

Posted on July 6, 2024July 3, 2024 by Pat and David

We chose a sunny Sunday morning for our next excursion into the Stockholm archipelago. We were hardly the only ones with that idea. The ferry from Strömkajen was full of folks out for a day on the water or decamping to their summer homes for a month or more. On the 90-minute trip to Vaxholm, the ferry stopped about a dozen times to let people off. For us it was a great way to get a better sense of the physical layout of the archipelago itself. We also got a peek into the way of life for people who live in the midst of this floating garden. The water was very placid. David observed that compared to his days on the Maine coast, the tidal...Read More

Summer idylls in Stockholm’s archipelago

Posted on July 2, 2024July 2, 2024 by Pat and David

Talk about a civilized country. The U.S. could do worse than to emulate Sweden's vacation practices. The Annual Leave Act guarantees workers 25 paid vacation days every year. It also permits them to take four consecutive weeks off between June and August. No wonder every third Swede seems to have a country home! Mind you, that home could be a mansion on a lake or it could be a cabin in the woods with primitive plumbing. In either case, it's an excuse to get out of town.. But even Stockholm dwellers without their own (or their family's) country home can make quick getaways by hopping one of the many commuter ferries to the islands in the Stockholm archipelago. When we followed suit, we learned that...Read More