March 20, 2016 A Big food day, Breakfast in the Kiva a Café, Lunch at Old Martina’s Hall, and Dinner at St. Bernard Resort
We watched news programs in our room until 9:00. Then we dressed and walked to the Kiva Café in the main building. I love the round Kiva Café, which is round and painted with murals. Unfortunately, our free breakfast was not much to write about a hard cooked omelet with a chile cream sauce and no vegetable garnish except for a few strands of melted cheddar.
After breakfast at around 11:00 we drove to the Kit Carson House Museum. We really enjoyed the museum, even though there is not much stuff. The most interesting thing for me was a baby blanket made from bear skin sewn to silk. They had lots of children and Josefina actually died in child birth and Kit Carson died four months later than she did in 1869.
The coolest new fact I learned was that when the Confederacy invaded New Mexico, Kit Carson and a few other citizens, mostly retired Mountain Men, raised the Stars and Stripes and slept on the plaza to guard it. According to the information in the museum the U.S. Flag is one of 7 places that the American flag is allowed to be flown during night.
After touring the four rooms of the house, we walked to the old cemetery and visited the family plot where Kit and Josephina are buried with several of their children and Governor Bent and his wife, who was Josefin’s sister, and a bunch other early settlers.
At 12:45 we drove to Old Martina’s Hall and both ordered Cesar Salads. Their Cesar salad is my favorite in New Mexico, because it is made in an absolutely authentic manner with real anchovies, lettuce, a few croutons and a wonderful dressing. I asked for extra anchovies and Suzette ordered hers with a Sautéed piece of salmon.
We drank glasses of Gazela Rose'
After our salads we ordered desserts. I ordered a dark chocolate mousse in a chocolate cup with a liquor soaked cake in the bottom of the cup and the mousse on top.
My chocolate cup filled with dark mousse and cake
Suzette ordered a phyllo cup filled with hazelnut and salted caramel pastry cream. Unfortunately both desserts were frozen, so I ordered tea and Suzette ordered a glass of Spanish Cava to drink as we let our desserts rise toward room temperature. Mine did but Suzette’s remained firm. She had to do some serious cutting to break the caramel into pieces, whereas my liquor soaked cake and mousse loosened after a while.
After lunch we went to 203 Gallery, which used to be Tally Richards at the top of Ledoux street and saw several nice paintings, including several Earl Strohs and an automatic surrealistic Emil Bisstram.
We then drove to 222 Camino Pueblo for an art opening. I did not care for the show opening but we loved the holographic pieces in the back gallery, the small Frank Hammond sketches and talking to Clift Hulse, the gallery owner about the art and artists.
At around 4:00 we drove to the St. Bernard to meet Pierre Andre and Melissa for dinner. After being mistaken for guests we were told dinner would be served at 6:30. We waited at a fireplace in the St. Bernard and later walked to the restaurant area at the base of the the ski runs and sat in the warm afternoon sun until 6;00, when we returned to the fireplace at the St. Bernard. Pierre Andre is the nephew of Jean, who owns the St. Bernard and worked at the St. Bernard for twelve years before moving to Los Lunas to become a massage therapist. He now works for Suzette at the Garden Gate Day Spa. Melissa, who works as a respiratory therapist for the last twelve years, told me she suggested that Pierre Andre learn massage therapy because she believed he had an affinity for massage. I have had massages by Pierre and he is very good.
At 6:15 Pierre Andre and Melissa arrived and we sat at the table reserved for us. We soon were greeted by Jean and Pierre said hello to all the staff and took us to the kitchen to meet the chef and his cousin.
Soon the restaurant filed with guests who were mostly staying for a week. The restaurant has a week’s menus and most guests arrive on Saturday and leave after breakfast the next Saturday.
The menu started with a warm borscht of golden beets, which are in season, and red cabbage served with sour cream. I enjoyed it. Then the main course arrived, a Nova Scotia lobster tail with risotto and a fresh salad of locally grown greens. The lobster was perfectly cooked. Pierre said that his uncle Jean once worked as a saucier at the Pierre hotel and later joined the 10th Mountain Division. That he saved many people in Europe and Ernie Blake called him and asked him to head the ski patrol in Taos Ski Valley. That is how he came to Taos and the St. Bernard was started. Sitting with Pierre I could see that the St. Bernard is really one big French family business.
We enjoyed our dinner in the wooden lodge among the resort guests with Melissa and Pierre. The wine was Drouhin Puligny-Montrachet.
Finally, dessert was served, a family recipe of Floating Island in a light crème Anglais sauce with one blackberry and one raspberry. Jean came by and he commented to us that the recipe was an old family recipe. Pierre told me that the Crème Anglais is flavored with real Tahitian vanilla. The cream was thinner than I am used to but was perfect as the liquid in which the islands of meringue floated.
After dinner at around 9:30 we said goodnight and drove back to Albuquerque after another great day of food.
Bon Appetit
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