SANTA FE

The food photos here are dispersed with scenes from Madrid - a 45 minute drive from Santa Fe; once a coal mining and railroad town - turned ghost town - brought back to life by a small artist community. We loved our time spent in Madrid and highly recommend a couple hours out there to check out the shops, the Railroad Museum and Mine Shaft Tavern. Also pictured - I ventured to the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum solo as none of the girls had much of a desire to see it. O'Keeffe is a legend in not only Santa Fe but the art world in general - I was glad to have spent some time immersed in her world.

Breakfast: 

Cafe Pasquales - located in the heart of downtown Santa Fe; the bright and festive dining room features Kelly green furniture and hand painted tiles. One of my favorite meals overall, I had Huevos Motulenos - two scrambled eggs, sautéed banana, feta, green peas, roasted tomato-jalapeno salsa, green chile tomatillo salsa, black beans + a corn tortilla. Such a unique and incredible dish! They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner here.

Tune Up Cafe - casual counter service café for a quick + hearty breakfast featuring a cute outdoor patio just outside of downtown. I kept it simple with Cornmeal Pancakes and maple syrup. 

Lunch: 

El Farol is hailed as Santa Fe's most historic + iconic restaurant and bar since 1835. Located in the Canyon Road neighborhood, El Farol came highly recommended and while we had a nice lunch - we had a bone to pick! Three of us ordered meals (BLT, Grilled Cheese, Cheeseburger) listed on the menu with French Fries, naturally! We received our lunches with chips and were disappointed, mainly because the waiter didn't think to mention that the restaurant was out of french fries (what?!) One of us would have legitimately changed our lunch orders. Two of us would have opted for the  salad. My El Farol Grilled Cheese with cheddar cheese, piquillo peppers, smoked paprika aioli, bacon + avocado on pan rustico was good, but I think we'd have to experience dinner here to understand the hype. 

Dinners: All of our dinners were a stones throw from the Plaza in downtown Santa Fe!

The Shed features traditional New Mexican cooking that won a James Beard award for excellence in 2003. The Sheds chili comes directly from the farm and is ground on the premises to guarantee freshness. I had the Blue Corn Bean Burrito in what they call "Christmas" style, meaning its smothered in both Roasted Green chili and Red chili. It was SPICY and sublime.

La Boca - Funny story. Via a message on Instagram I learned that 8 time James Beard Award Nominee, Chef James Campbell Caruso is a good friend of mine from high schools Uncle! He came out to greet us and chat so that was a neat connection. Serving Modern Spanish Cuisine La Boca offers contemporary tapas in a space with a lively European wine bar feel. A fanfare of plates starts with Piquillo Peppers (same idea as Shishitos but OMG the spicy ones are pure fire, I got one first bite and wow) and ending with a delectable Paella. In between - everything from my favorite tapas Patatas Bravas to a juicy Watermelon Salad to creative Cantimpalitos - grilled spanish chorizos presented on vertical sticks!

Sazon - Chef Fernando Olea hails from Mexico City and Sazon is his interpretation of contemporary and traditional Mexican dishes. The space heralds captivating pieces of artwork, stunning décor and beautiful tile. This dinner was tricky - we could only get a 5 pm reservation and as much as we tried to time it right, no one was hungry! The tasting of five moles to kick off the meal was marvelous; I truly appreciate a good mole and had never tasted so many creative interpretations. I had a very good Spoa de Amor and Timbales - a trio of mini corn, beet and spinach cakes with mandarin habanero foam, creamy sauce of chile poblano and gruyere cheese. 

Drinks: most everywhere had live music, from Jazz to cover bands. We visited Tonic (the art deco bar pictured), Evangelo's, Dragon Room Lounge and Cowgirl BBQ. 

Once again, the girls and I had the best time discovering another really cool city. Thank you, Santa Fe!

Where should we go next year?!

Saltie Girl

You guys!! I'm finally getting around to sharing my dinner at Saltie Girl - where one of the most talked about food trends - tinned seafood! reigns supreme. This was an impromptu dinner on a memorable summer night. We had just taken our engagement photos. I was wearing my late grandmother Julia Fenton's vintage party dress and feeling like a 1960's goddess as we gallivanted about our final shoot location on the Esplanade. 

We celebrated with fancy martini service at OAK Long Bar + Kitchen before Saltie Girl coaxed us in. Serving seasonally-inspired, fresh and tinned iterations of seafood, the intimate restaurant set in a regal brownstone at Dartmouth + Newbury affirmed one of my favorite evenings of the summer with fantastic food and wine. The Smoked Salmon Toast with Greek yogurt, truffle wildflower honey, and cured yolk on potato bread was a revelation. From the hyped, exceptionally curated menu of tinned fish the Tuna Filets in olive oil come with piquillo peppers, artisan bread, and hand churned butter on a handsome slate board. Tinned fish is much more expensive than I expected; it was very good though! We also shared Toasted Handmade Gnocchi with caviar, and absolutely could not pass up Saltie Girl's Fried Lobsters and Waffles with sweet corn butter and spicy maple syrup!

Saltie Girl

28 Dartmouth Street

Boston, MA 02116

SRV | South End

I'm confident that the food and cocktails at SRV are going to blow you away. One of my favorite meals in Boston this year and an exemplary choice for a special occasion; we celebrated my Mom's 60th birthday and they made us feel special from beginning to end. SRVs radical approach to cicchette + piatti (Italian small plates) and homemade pastas is nothing short of impressive. 

SRV stands for Serene Republic of Venice and proudly distinguishes themselves as Boston's first Venetian Bacaro + Wine Bar. Our table decided to go for the Arsenale ($45pp) chefs tasting at the encouragement of our waitress. We all agreed that each and every ciccette sounded wonderful, plus it's exciting to be surprised and to let the chefs send out what they think is the best of the menu. 

But first - drinks! The wine list is exclusively Italian and the cocktails showcase a heavy Italian influence. Between five of us we had a solid apertitvi sampling, which was perfect because I would have ordered any one of them. I love spotting new-to-me ingredients and different types of vermouth, amaro, spirits etc. So from the SRV Negroni ($12) with bully boy estate gin, cocchi vermouth di torino + campari to the Innocents Abroad ($12) with fighting cock bourbon, amaro nonino, gran classico + kina l'aero, SRVs bar staff delivers. The Streaking in Italian ($9) - pueblo viejo añejo tequila, contratto aperitif, cardamaro + lemon was another solid choice. The cocktails go on to feature one with grappa and another with cachaca. I'm super impressed!

~~~ And now presenting the Arsenale ~~~

 Fresh Goat Cheese - tomato brodo, herb blossoms, cucumber. A stimulating, creamy, fruity first bite!

 Stuffed Piquillo Pepper - Asiago cheese, herbed bread crumbs. Our meal continues in impressive fashion with perhaps my favorite of SRVs chiccetti.

 Baccala Mantecato - salt cod, black bread, herbs, garlic. The black bread is squid ink, a creative vessel for a bracing bite of salt cod. 

 Mozzarella in Carrozza - preserved tomato, bonito. Those whimsical bonito flakes that move on their own and this melty mozzarella is a winning bite.

 Beef Tartare - off menu and i forget what came in this besides sunflower seeds and other nuts adding a playful texture contrast. We all loved it. 

Smoked Sea Trout - salsa bastarda, lentils, turnip brovada, lemon hollandaise. The trout was reminiscent of an arctic char or salmon and ever so slightly seared yielding a delicate piece of fish with smokey flavor.

Lamb Belly - this was everyone's first time having lamb belly, and wow is it rich and fatty. Crispy on one side, tender on the other, it was reminiscent of both bacon and pork belly, definitely with a distinct flavor. The carrot in pinzimonio, saffron yogurt and stone fruit helped cut the richness of the belly.

Strozzapreti - spicy lamb sausage, ricotta salata, kale

Creste de Gallo -  smokey tomato, pesto, pine nuts. Both handmade pastas are terrific. Works of art in fact. We take votes and the table is divided on which is the winner. No matter what, I want more pasta dishes from SRV, that's for sure.

 Biscotti Misti - venetian cookies & confections

Tiramisu - mascarpone, savoiardi, cocoa nibs / Caffé Corretto - espresso with a touch of grappa / Affogato - espresso, hazelnut gelato, gianduja

The only disappointment of the Arsenale tasting menu is the dolci as it comes with a forgettable biscotti misti. We ordered the Tiramusi and Affogato on our own and loved both. All three desserts are $8, so swap the affogatto in for the biscotti and the Arsenale is one of the best prix fix menus around.

The space is tasteful and uniquely designed - antique decanters turned light fixtures meet heavy barn doors and there's a dreamy patio out back. Also, the bathrooms!!

SRV Boston

569 Columbus Avenue

Boston, MA 02118