March 29, 2014 Greenhouse Bistro and Bakery

March 29, 2014 Greenhouse Bistro and Bakery

I had been feeling itchy for the last few months and so I had a body scrub and massage at the Garden Gate Day Spa at Suzette’s Center for Ageless Living campus and then met Suzette for dinner at the Greenhouse Bistroand Bakery.

We and another couple were the only guests, which is a bummer for Suzette, but the food was excellent.

The new Executive chef, Darrin, who is an Australian, from the Broome area on the northwest coast, suggested that I try the new Australian Sauvignon Blanc, from the Margaret River region of Southwest Australia.  It was actually 51% sauvignon blanc and 49% semillon, which made for an interesting slightly sweet, slightly citrusy tannic blend.   When I mentioned to Darrin that I particularly like Sauvignon Blanc with seafood, he said, “I have a bit of salmon, and I can make a sousvide salmon roll”.   I said, “Great!”

So the first course was a loosely rolled rice paper spring roll of lettuce salmon and julienned red bell pepper and fresh beet leaves.  The ingredients were all fresh and very clean tasting, and the sweet lemon juice dipping sauce Darrin made for the rolls was a nice complement that accentuated the freshness of the ingredients while also balancing the Vietnamese-like gluttonous tasting rice wrapper texture with an interesting sweet and sour sauce; a very interesting combination of tastes and textures, fresh vegetables, tender fish and gluttonous rice wrapper along with the complementary combination of slightly sweet wine and tangy-sweet lemon dipping sauce.  I felt like I was in a trendy restaurant on the front of some indescribable new food wave.  I do not often experience the sophistication of a chef who thinks in terms of balancing texture and flavors in this way. The dish is the same as the veggie roll on the appetizer section of the Bistro's menu with the addition of a bit of salmon.

     

We requested and were served slices of fresh baked bread with butter.  I loved the slightly toothsome bread with fresh butter.

There were even more interesting surprises when the entrée arrived, which was an elk tenderloin medallion wrapped in duck bacon and grilled to medium rare, accompanied by a few sautéed leaves of fresh beet leaves and a slice of sweet potato galette.  The galette was a baked pie with a thin crust on top and bottom filled with many thin layers of sliced sweet potato and béchamel sauce flavored creamed white potato; a beautifully executed and conceived dish.   The elk medallion was the best I have ever had.   The elk was sauced with a drizzle of demi-glace and blue cheese sauce, which I have never had and can’t imagine why not, because it is a fabulous combination of flavors that go so well together.   The Elk Tenderloin entrée was featured on the Bistro’s Prix fixe menu for $19.95 with a dessert, which is about ½ of what it should cost at another fine dining restaurant.

  

I continue to be amazed by Suzette’s dedication to creating a fine dining venue in Los Lunas and the lack of recognition by the food community of what she and her able staff are achieving in the quality and creativity if the Bistro’s food.   I rank this dinner alongside of any fine dining experience I have had in the last few months, right up there with Joseph’s in Santa Fe and well above Elaine’s in Albuquerque.  I drank a glass of Drouhin Beaujolais with my elk entrecote that was perfectly matched the delicacy of the sauce and tenderness of elk tenderloin.   The duck bacon is a new item that I have never had before.   It tastes a lot like bacon but without the greasiness and has a slightly duck-like flavor.   Eating bites of it with bites of the elk and demi-glace sauce were divine, especially accompanied by sips of Beaujolais.

I tried two desserts that are not made on premise that were not very good, the five layer chocolate cake and an Italian cake willed with a cream sauce and one that was made by the Bistro’s amazing baker and pastry maker, Maureen, that was amazing.  It was a puff pastry shell, like the kind one uses for turnovers, but instead of filling it and turning it over Mo had filled the bottom of the shell with a fruit ganache and then covered that with a lovely pastry tube-extruded roll of chocolate caramel and baked the entire affair to golden brown.  I loved Mo’s pastry the best and it was the freshest and cleanest tasting of the three desserts.

I cannot say enough good things about this dinner and only hope that more people will soon enjoy the joys of dining at the Greenhouse Bistro and Bakery in Los Lunas.

The couple at the next table was each enjoying a Filet Mignon, which essentially was the same dish I had except with beef instead of elk.  “What are you having?”  “We are having Filet Mignons!”  A deal worth screaming about at $18.95.

Suzette had the crab croquette salad and enjoyed it very much, with the addition of some of the first organic greens from her organic garden at the Center with a vinaigrette dressing and tartar sauce. 

  

An afternoon and evening such as this makes one appreciate Suzette’s ability to coordinate so many moving parts at the Center in such a creative way and is a tribute to the depth of her managerial skills and creativity.   I have been to many great spas in Europe and the quality of service and food at the Center matches or exceeds that of any I have experienced anywhere in Europe.

Bon Appétit