Hungry Travelers - Bringing the tastes of travel back home

Magic and nanotech make stunning Irish whiskey

Posted on February 4, 2025February 5, 2025 by Pat and David

Not that many years ago, Irish whiskey was an endangered species. As recently as the 1980s, Ireland was down to just two distillers. The marketing power behind Jameson's, however, sparked new interest and rescued a nearly moribund market. Now Irish whiskey is enjoying a renaissance. Of the more than 40 new Irish distilleries, one of the most exciting is Boann (boanndistillery.ie), named for the goddess of the River Boyne. The firm burst on the scene by winning best ‶new make″ (unaged clear liquor from its pot stills) at the 2021 World Whiskey Awards. After three years in barrels, that same ‶new make″ debuted last summer as Boann Single Pot Still Irish Whiskeys. We say ‶whiskeys″ because they are a trio, each aged in a different...Read More

Playoff pizza with healthy options

Posted on January 24, 2025January 24, 2025 by Pat and David

Improbable as it might be given our personal histories with organized sports, ours is a football household. Throughout the fall and into winter, we watch a lot of games. We are particularly fond of those that are broadcast during the early dinner hour. We call them the ‶pizza games″ because we often watch while eating a homemade pizza and drinking wine. (The NFL beer advertisers would be appalled, but we don't care. We mute their commercials anyway.) This couch-potato indulgence isn't always the healthiest. We might toss pepperoni or some other sausage on top, or use a tomato sauce filled with crumbled bacon. Full-fat fresh mozzarella is sometimes in the mix.We might even go for an extreme like a walnut-based white sauce topped with fig...Read More

Pining away for spicy autumn soup with piñons

Posted on December 13, 2024December 13, 2024 by Pat and David

Driving up a remote single lane road north of Taos, headed to the D.H. Lawrence Ranch, we had to weave around cars and pickup trucks parked on the roadside every 50 yards or so. We saw people of all ages crouched on the ground, picking away at the dirt or picking over something on blankets they'd spread under the bristly branches of roadside pine trees. It finally dawned on us that they were collecting piñons, aka pine nuts. Piñons are one of the great delicacies of New Mexico, and one of the region's most ancient foods. The trees grow wild and the nuts are apparently free for the taking on public land — including the roadside rights of way. Once we started paying attention, we...Read More

Pour a spicy Spanish twist with Thanksgiving dinner

Posted on November 15, 2024November 15, 2024 by Pat and David

We know everyone is suggesting that you pour a Pinot Noir from Oregon with the festive November meal. It's like the new article of faith that turkey and dressing go best with a soft red. Maybe we're traditionalists, but — barring a smoke pit — turkey is a subtle fowl, and fowl (unless we're talking wild duck) generally pairs best with a white wine. But in keeping with the revisionist thinking, we're on board with a spicy, assertive white. Specifically, we're recommending the 2023 Lagar de Cervera Albariño. When we think of spicy whites, three grapes come to mind: Gewürztraminer, Muscat, and Albariño. We've tried all three with autumn dishes, and while we like Muscat with apple and pumpkin pies, it's often a toss-up between...Read More

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