May 5, 2013 A New World Cuisine Day

May 5, 2013 A New World Cuisine Day

Today we wanted to do something special.  After the Zoo Run at around 11:00, we decided to go to Santa Fe to see the New World Cuisine exhibit at the Museum of International Folk Art.  We enjoyed seeing all the food related objects and Amish Quilts and Suzette bought a maté drinking straw made out of bamboo.   

When we exited the Museum I saw a banner featuring new ceramics at the Indian Art Museum at the other end of the Plaza and suggested we take a few minutes to view it.  As we walked by the Museum Hill Café we noticed that it was open and saw a placard featuring New World Cuisine.  It was 2:00 p.m. and we were exceedingly hungry so we walked in and were greeted by the Manger, Weldon, who told us if we wanted to try something interesting we should try the special Café Sampler Plate.  We agreed and he showed us to a lovely table by the window facing west with an amazing panoramic view of the Jemez Mountains.  When our waitress came to take our order we asked about the Sampler Plate and she said it was no longer available but then she went to check and reported back that only the appetizer of Sweet corn Custard was not available and we could substitute any of their three soups for it.  We both decided to order albondigas soup with the sampler plate for two and a flight each of the recommended wine pairing for the New World Sampler Plate. 

 

Here are the menus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Our albondigas soup was terrific.  It featured a meatball submerged in a squash, bell pepper, mint, tomato and onion caldo with flakes of rice and bits of egg.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 When the sampler platter for two with the three entrees came, we dug in immediately before taking a picture it looked so good and we were so hungry.   The cold Nopal Salad was the hottest dish; perhaps intensified by the addition of vinegar.   I saw bits of Serrano pepper in the sopa dish but I avoided them and enjoyed the tomato, crema, pinto bean and sopa combination.  As you can see Suzette loved the Poblano Mole, with its pulled chicken in its rich chocolate and poblano mole sauce with the fresh corn tortillas.

 

The wines were excellent.  We both loved the Torrones best with its crisp fruity flavor and its passion fruit and grapefruit bouquet.   The Albarino was also pleasant with a floral bouquet and the Malbec was smooth and complemented the and Dark Chocolate Truffle in a Graham Cracker crust dessert exceedingly well.

 

After lunch we felt revived and invigorated, so we went through most of the Indian Art Museum.  Not only was the new ceramic art wonderful, but there was the best North American Indian basket exhibit we had ever seen.   

Finally at around 4:00 we went downtown to see the William Clift photography exhibit at the Fine Arts Museum. They still had the 14,000 years of New Mexico Art exhibit up and I got to see the Ted Chapman rendering of the Fine Arts Museum again.  After seeing the shows, we went to the book store and purchased a postcard with the Ted Chapman rendering and a note card with a great Cady Wells watercolor done in 1934.

 

 

Finally around 5:00 we left for home after a wonderful art blitz and food excursion.  

Bon Appétit