December 16, 2016. Lunch – PPI Pho Miso Chicken soup. Dinner at Greenhouse Bistro and Bakery

December 16, 2016. Lunch – PPI Pho Miso Chicken soup. Dinner at Greenhouse Bistro and Bakery

December 16, 2016. Lunch – PPI Pho Miso Chicken soup. Dinner at Greenhouse Bistro and Bakery

I ate yogurt, vitamin powder, blueberries, and milk for breakfast.

I worked all morning and finally stopped to eat around 1:30m when I ate the rest of the soup I made for dinner earlier this week.

At 3:30 I drove to the center in Los Lunas for a massage and dinner.

I met Suzette in the Greenhouse Bistro at 6:00 after my massage.

She wanted to try the braised pork shanks with sautéed onions and mushrooms on creamy risotto.

I wanted to try the Spinach salad.

The Bistro is a hidden treasure and definitely the best restaurant in Valencia County.  It serves wonderfully fresh food that is elegantly delicious at reasonable prices.  What could be fresher or more delicious than a warm baby organic spinach leaves, bits of onion lightly dusted with flour and fried to crisp, and diced pieces of thick sliced crisp bacon tossed in a skillet with a slightly sweet sherry dressing and garnished with a poached egg for $9.00.

We inspected the freshly baked breads, cookies, and pastries in the showcase in the restaurant and when we asked for bread with our salad the waitress took a loaf of honey whole wheat bread to the kitchen where it was sliced into thick slices and grilled until warm and slightly toasted and served on a warm plate with several of those small individually wrapped pads of butter.

Our entire was equally simple, fresh, and elegant - three inch sections of fresh pork shank braised until crisp on the outside and tender inside;  until the meat fell off the bone at the touch of a fork, served on a mound of the most delicious creamy risotto you have ever tasted with a glass of Beaujolais.

Finally, a piece of fresh home baked chocolate cake made by the Bistro’s new baker.

This was the simple but memorable meal I ate Friday night at the Greenhouse Bistro.

We sat in the Bistro’s gaily lit dining room with only one other couple who left before we were served, making us feel like we very aristocratic with our own private chef and wait staff.  The Bistro has  only about twenty-five seats,  so even filled with customers it will be intimate dining.

I can not say enough good things about Chef Kelly, who cooked in the Pacific Northwest for many years.  When I told him that his risotto was the best I have ever tasted, he replied, “I worked for an Italian family for a number of years who were very particular about their food.”

Perhaps that is the secret ingredient that sets the Greenhouse Bistro apart from the other restaurants in Valencia County, an Executive Chef in the kitchen who has years of food experience and is very particular about the food.

I look forward to the new seasonal field to table dishes that Chef Kelly will make this summer with the fresh produce grown in the Bistro’s own certified organic gardens.

Bon Appetit