March 9, 2012 Dinner – Farm and Table Restaurant

March 9, 2012 Dinner – Farm & Table.

Our dear friends Harry and Annie Weil, who live in the north valley, invited us to dinner at a new restaurant next to their house.  After greeting us, we walked across their parking lot, past their barn and through a gate into the parking lot of the Farm & Table Restaurant, which is attached to the back of La Parada at

8917 4th Street NW.

 

We were immediately impressed with the fine finish work of the interior of the restaurant.  Harry is friends with the owners and had a reservation, so we were immediately shown to the table nearest the large west window that overlooks the 13 to 14 acre gardens that are attached to the restaurant.  The entire property is owned by Peter Montoya, whose daughter, Cherie Austin, and her husband own and run the restaurant.  Soon David Montoya and his wife, Pam, walked in with their grand daughter and said hello and sat at the  table beside us.

It was my first time and I was impressed that the restaurant was full of customers and bustling with activity.  Harry immediately ordered a bottle of Spanish Lorinon Rioja (Crianza Cosecha for $32.00).  The theme of Farm and Table is organic with lots of organic wines that tend to be a bit expensive and lots of local and New Mexico grown and produced ingredients.

But the food is the real pay off.  There were two soups of the day. I ordered a bowl of leek, potato and kale soup that was a bit long on potato chunks, a bit short on leek and just the right amount of delicious green kale ($6.00).  I do not often find vegetable soups that are so delicious. 

My second choice was a small plate of Braised Local Pork Belly with crisp apples and Butterscotch miso sauce ($9.00).  Three squares about 1 ½ inches across of meat served on a long narrow plate (like sushi) drizzled with miso sauce.  I have never encountered a butterscotch miso sauce, but it was truly delicious and a perfect complement of brown (akamiso) with honey.  The brown miso was sweetened and reduced to a butterscotch consistency.   The pork belly was flakey and flavorful.  It fell apart at the touch of my fork.  Pork belly is a boneless cut of fatty meat^[1] derived from the belly of a pig often made into bacon (Wikipedia), but in this case slow cooked until all the fat was rendered and only the succulent meat was left.  I recommend this dish without reservation. 

Suzette had a dish of Seared Scallops and Bacon Brussels Sprouts served on a puddle of white bean puree and topped with apple foam and vanilla balsamic caviar; a very impressive demonstration of gastronomic artistry and accumen ($22.00). 

The culinary team includes Ka'ainoia Ravey, Eric Mshier and Rachel Patton.  Ka prevoiusly cooked at Casa Vieja.

We had another bottle of wine so by the end of the meal we had about a half glass each left and decided to have a dessert to finish off the wine.  We decided to share two Piloncillo Bread Puddings that turned out to be another example of the the kitchen’s mastery of sauces.  The Bread Pudding was made with house made brioche molded into a column with creamy custard and caramel and accompanied with a scoop of lime-frozen yogurt ($6.00). 
 
My impression is that the wine is a little pricey but the food is first rate, creative and well priced. 

I can not wait until the gardens are planted and there is produce from Farm and Table’s gardens in the dishes.  How fun will it be to sit on the outdoor patio by the fountain and look at the large garden while eating dishes prepared with produce grown in the garden; conceptually like Blue Hill at Stone Barns in New York, the Green House Bistro and Bakery in Los Lunas or Live Food Nation at Eldorado, near Santa Fe.  I am thrilled that Albuquerque has its own first rate country restaurant like the ones mentioned above or those found in California or France, where they gow many ingredients in their own garden.   

Bon Appètit