Santa Fe--Geronimo's

Took the girlfriend to Geronimo's saturday night. Late reservations, assuaged by good gin and tonics beforehand.
Started with hickory smoked duck breast over arugula in a preserved, smoked apricot dressing, minimally so (this is good). I ordered this because just that day i was talking to someone about the merits and de-merits of duck. You could smell the smokiness of the duck as soon as it hit the table--five great red slabs of meat. I can only explain that the smokiness of the duck, the peppery nature of the arugula, and the sweet/smoky interplay of the apricots went wonderfully together. A simple enough starter, exceptionally done.
Also had their lobster chowder, with mung beans and fried blue points. Only mis-step of the night, and, to tell you the truth, I don't even know why I ordered it. But, no lobster chunks, but rather a pureed broth, poured over a semblance of finely diced mirepoix, uncooked. This provided interesting texture, though the oysters lacked crispness (though not flavor), and the broth in general was, well, very bland. Oh well.
Then, had Charred King salmon with shrimp and smoked jalapeno risotto, baby spinach, dilled crema and crispy fried shallots. This dish was amazing. Perfectly grilled salmon--rare as could be on the inside--and the best part about the dish was the risotto, primarily because they didn't dumb down the spice of the jalapenos--very piquant, and played well off the creaminess of the shrimp and risotto. Dilled crema was perfect additive to the dish.
Highlight of the night was Peppery elk tenderloin with apple wood smoked bacon, roasted garlic fork-mashed Yukon gold potatoes, sugar snap peas and creamy brandied mushroom sauce, the latter holding morels. I've never had elk tenderloin, but it arrived, surprisingly and thankfully, intact--no slices arrayed across the plate as i've seen so often with pork tenderloin and the like (I refer to pork because the piece was much smaller in circumference than a beef tenderloin). It was a huge length of tenderloin, and it had this wonderful soft and dense texture. Bacon and morels only highlighted the wonders of this dish.
All this played off our 2001 Peacock Family Vineyards Cab Sauv immaculately.
Only thing that bothered me about the restaurant was that the waiter seemed to dismiss us, as if we were about to order a Cobb salad and Michelob. This was no doubt on account of that we're young, and it is my biggest peeve in the world of restaurants. I think he realized we weren't there for high school prom after the wine order, but he doted much more on others, and left us to fill our own wine from the decanter. Not wise, my friend. Not wise. (the problem is--if we let him know our distaste for the poor service via a detraction from his tip, we are no doubt reinforcing his ideas of young people and what he can expect in return from them--any solutions?)
Happened to be in a bar later that night, the Green Onion, and met a man by the name of John Stottler, who said he opened as a chef Geronimo's way back when. He praised the elk tenderloin (it was unclear whether this was his creation). He also went on a mite rant about Mark Miller of Coyote Cafe and his apparent betrayal and destruction of various restaurants. John was a nice man, though.
Anyways--absolutely wonderful meal, and I will be back.
Also hit Harry's Roadhouse for breakfast rellenos, and also drank my fill of Second Street Brewery, where my girlfriend's good friend Jordy is assistant brewer. She knows her beer, and their IPA is a hop-head's heaven.

ParkerS wrote:Only thing that bothered me about the restaurant was that the waiter seemed to dismiss us, as if we were about to order a Cobb salad and Michelob. This was no doubt on account of that we're young, and it is my biggest peeve in the world of restaurants.

ParkerS,

I'm an old fart and I find the service at Geronimo's equally snotty. My friends of all ages and classes feel the same way. The food is usually worth it, especially the starters, but the concensus among my foodie friends is that the entres are going downhill.

Bill/SFNM

Bill -

There's a chance that I'll be in Santa Fe for Thanksgiving. In searching for a fine dining spot for the holiday, Geronimo's came up. Your pan gives me pause. Where would you recommend for a stellar meal and a "classy" and/or "trendy" environment sans snooty-ness?

rien

Rien,

Not to put a damper on your plans, but holidays are the worst time to dine out in Santa Fe. This must be a problem everywhere, but for some reason it seems particularly acute here. The most senior cooks and wait staff get the holidays off; the quality of the food and service really suffers. Last Christmas Eve we took some visitors to one of the very best spots in town. It took 2 hours before our food showed up and it was highly mediocre.

I now only go to Geronimo's at someone else's request. The service is molto snooty, but as noted above, the starters are always stellar. I was invited there last week and my entree, the roast chicken, was great. But the consensus of the table was that none of the other entrees was "stellar".

My favorite restaurant in town is Tratoria Nostrani - always stellar. It is Northern Italian fare which isn't exactly what people come to Santa Fe for. I recently referred an LTH list member (please chime in) there and although he seemed to enjoy the food, I don't think he got stellar service. I should have called and made the reservation for him since I know the owner. It should not be that way, but it is, I'm afraid. I'd be happy to do that for you and anyone else on the board. PM me.

Bill/SFNM

Our current favorite for fantastic, overpriced food in a nice atmoshpere is The Compound. Service has always been gracious and friendly. Even when we have hit the bar late for drinks and dessert and I've been wearing my beat-up King Ropes Sheridan, WY hat. Although, I have read a few recent reviews that indicate the food has slipped a bit. What's your take, Bill?

ABB:

The Compound, which is one of several of Santa Fe's top tier eateries along with Geronimo's, Bistro 315, Old House, SantaCafe, etc., IMO, all suffer from serious lack of consistency. Some nights great; others not so great. The closer you get to the holidays, the greater the gamble, I fear.

Brian Knox's newest place, Aqua Santa, started out rather poorly last year, but is evolving into one of my favorites. The only thing I haven't enjoyed are his burrata pizzetas, but I'm unrepentant pizza snob.

And don't forget Rancho de San Juan out near Ojo Caliente. Spend the day taking the waters and massages at Ojo Caliente Spa, eat a sumptuous dinner, and then spend the night at the Rancho. Self-indulgent decadence at its best!

Bill/SFNM

Having just spent a month sedulously following Bill/SFNM's recommendations for dining in Santa Fe, I have little to add but a strong second for his opinions. My beef about our experience at Trattoria Nostrani is the "service/$" ratio. The food was very good and service competent, but nothing positive, friendly, or welcoming was offered: seated in the bar, no small talk or discussion of the food or wine (a great Barbaresco, by the way, but at 3X the liquor store price), told the chef was too busy to entertain a question, etc, at a restaurant that was among the most expensive we found in Santa Fe. One other anomalous note, when we called to reserve, we were told that the restaurant was "fragrance free" and instructed to perform our daily ablutions accordingly. I swear we did, yet we were seated beneath a large bunch of lilies, utterly redolent (the lilies, not us).

Perhaps the peak of my TN food experience was a nearly perfect burrata made in house. That alone would permit me to recommend the food even if the rest of the meal weren't good, too (though it was uniformly good). It must be said that I would go back to Trattoria Nostrani, but along with and under the supervision of Bill/SFNM.

I had nearly the opposite experience at Osteria d'Assisi: wonderful, friendly, engaging service from a paisano from Avellino, but pedestrian food prepared in the Depleted Pantry Nouvelle style.