A
Taste of Santa Fe
Over 400 Years of Culinary Celebrations
by
Sunamita Lim
 Savoring memorable bites
works magic in sustaining historical and cultural glories of the table long
after an event is over. So it is with Taste of Santa Fe™’s 13th annual
fundraiser benefiting the New Mexico History Museum.
Headlining the cast of top toques at the Gala Dinner was celebrity chef and
Santafesino, John Rivera Sedlar. (Rivera Restaurant in Los Angeles is an
elegant eatery embracing three thousand years of Latin American cuisines.)
Taste’s smorgasbord continued the next day with an afternoon “walk in the
Railyard park” of tasty edibles from notable local restaurants.
Tastes of Yesteryears
How did
New Mexico History Museum, open only since May 2009, inherit Taste’s
culinary crown? It’s thanks to the Palace of the Governors—when Santa Fe’s
historic gem garnered the distinction of being the oldest continuously used
building in the U.S. as a world-class museum. Built in 1610, it still is.
The
Palace has experienced an amazing 400-year history. Spain’s King Philip II
ordered Las Ordenanzas or royal edicts to proclaim his country’s possessions
in the New World. In the early 1600s, Santa Fe’s Plaza was drawn up and
built according to Las Ordenanzas. Architectural elements such as the Palace
(to house Spain’s Colonial Governors and their families) were part of this
footprint.
Santa
Fe’s unique history has included Native American, Spanish, and Mexico
dominance. Long anchored by Native American Pueblo settlements going back
over 12,000 years, the City Different (as Santa Fe is also known) ultimately
surrendered to Anglos from the East. In 1846, a bloodless American takeover
by General Stephen Watts Kearney introduced a third overlay of cultural
trimmings.
In 1878,
U.S. Territorial Governor Lew Wallace arrived, charged with bringing law and
order to a Wild West frontier. Along with arresting the final antics of
Billy the Kid, Gov. Wallace also finished a longstanding bestseller—Ben Hur—while
residing at the Palace.
Today,
the Palace continues to thrill visitors with its priceless heritage and rare
collections. Now though, it’s part of the New Mexico History Museum. And no
visit to Santa Fe is complete without venturing into this venerable
repository on the north side of the city’s world-renowned Plaza.
Today’s Taste of Santa Fe™
 With today’s cultural
travelers hungry for new destinations and nouvelle experiences, Taste of
Santa Fe™ is worthwhile to calendar for years to come.
For
example, it was a novel treat to be served tortillas bearing botanical
motifs. John Rivera Sedlar left thoughtful notes on his “Decorated
Tortillas”—special occasion traditional tortillas still served in the
Mexican state of Querétaro.
While
two men cooked up these decorated tortillas, a Mexican lady used a
traditional wooden press to: 1) flatten the corn orb and 2) hand-decorate
each with rose petals and chives or a yellow pansy petal symbolizing, “la
sol.”
Not only
were these nature-inspired designs lovely to behold, John took his culinary
fusion another step by serving them Indian-style. Not American Indian. But
with a cucumber raita (diced cucumber with yogurt) and turmeric-infused
butter typically served as condiments with regional cuisines in India.
Interestingly, John’s handout also notes how tortillas are, “used as eating
utensils, in lieu of cutlery, as well as providing additional nutrition and
flavor to the meal.” In India, gustatory enjoyment encompasses eating with
one’s fingers—where food is rolled into balls and popped into one’s mouth.
It may
take longer to eat with one’s fingers. But the pure joy of feasting on good
food along with the effervescent company of friends and family is an
under-appreciated nourishment that’s also vital for body, mind and soul.
Communal sharing of common joys are simple pleasures to treasure. It
reflects how getting along at the table is good for everyone in getting
along on other levels, as well.
“Our
history shows us that our environment is beautiful but fragile, that we need
each other to survive here. No one group tries to dominate and we strive
daily to be a welcoming community living well with cultural diversity and
economic challenges,” notes Santa Fe Mayor David Coss. Although unable to
attend this Gala, the Mayor makes time to attend many of the city’s cultural
events.
Other
chefs at this gala were no less forthcoming. New Mexico’s latest luxe resort
and casino, Buffalo Thunder, served appetizers of crispy goat cheese with
dried cherries poached in a spice wine and seared scallop carpaccio. Chef
Mick Hug dished up a nine-spice lamb rack chop with japaleño blackberry
chutney; green chile cheese grits rounded off his robust main course.
Chef
Patrick Gharrity of La Casa Sena served wild king salmon “tamales” wrapped
in banana leaves with mushrooms and red-white quinoa with a piquant
avocado-tomatillo sauce.
Embudo
Station provided locally sourced farm greens (Embudo is on the way to Taos)
and chocolate cupcakes with local wild cherries in a red chile crème fraise.
Equally
engaging were desserts from Hotel St. Francis’ Tabla de Los Santos
Restaurant. Chef Estevan Garcia’s tres leches sponge cake was poached in
three different kinds of milk (sweetened condensed, goat and evaporated) and
frosted with a fresh strawberry cream. Entrees were traditionally Northern
New Mexico. Chile Relleño del Cielo was divine—tender green chiles stuffed
with mushrooms in a delicate pinto bean-garlic sauce. Beef tortas reposed on
fresh tomato sauce.
A
Taste of the New Railyard
 Santa Fe’s original Plaza
will always reign as a signature destination, as it has been for over 400
years. However, change is inevitable. The new Railyard re-develoment is
emerging as an exciting new venue with more space for larger events such as
Taste.
Indeed,
a foodie “Community Taste Event” the next afternoon was a hot
event—weather-wise and food-wise. Many had to cool off at the beer and wine
garden.
For L.A.
food blogger Matthew Kang, his take-home memories were, “baby-back ribs
glazed with honey and red chiles served with a coleslaw spiked with green
chile.” This delish standard from Josh’s Barbecue warms the heart, always.
Meanwhile, an Albuquerque couple piled up two plates of desserts for
lunch—coffee cheesecake, chocolate ganache tart, lemon tart, key lime
cheesecake, raspberry cheesecake and chocolate macaroons from the Whole
Foods tent.
Crowds
also lined up for O-Gelato’s double vanilla and blackberry yummy frosties.
Flying Star (an Albuquerque restaurant chain with one location in Santa Fe
at the Railyard) doled up wholesome green chile eggs benedict with turkey
burgers. Jambo Café’s Kenyan chef, Ahmed Obo, charmed eaters with his
pleasantries and tasty peanut soup variations (meat and vegetarian).
Chef
John Rivera Sedlar returned for a “Spice-ology” demo. Paying homage to the
rich and powerful notes they impart to enhancing cooking and healthy eating,
this chef relishes creating custom spice mixes—even as traders of yore
braved global spice routes to bring uncommon treats to the table. On his
restaurant website, he acknowledges three thousand years of culinary
adventures from three continents with an array of Latin American menus.
For
Taste attendees, these were gustatory adventures worth tickling the palate.
All
photo credits to Cheron Bayna.
BIO:
Sunamita Lim is a food/lifestyle writer and author from Santa Fe, N.M.
Web
Resources
http://www.tasteofsantafe.com
http://www.riverarestaurant.com
http://www.nmhistorymuseum.org
http://www.palaceofthegovernors.org
http://econtent.unm.edu
http://www.railyardsantafe.com
http://www.santafe.org
| 
