A few new tidbits have made my radar – stay with me and we’ll explore all of this new fun stuff together!

FIRST, do not forget that this weekend is the Fiery Foods Festival at the Sandia Resort & Casino. More Scoville units than you can shake a tall glass of milk at and all the outstanding vendors that make hot stuff!

For the show, local favorites El Pinto have created the WORLD’S HOTTEST SALSA. Even CNN got in on the reporting of this story.

Ha. We’ll see about that.

Next, in the space formerly occupied by Delicia’s Diner (where I had some darn good tamales a few years ago), there will be Jamon’s Frybread Cabana – this sounds really interesting. Chef James Trujillo, formerly of the restaurant at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, is going to offer Frybread, of course, but also “Brasilian Street Food”. His heritage just couldn’t be contained any longer and I’ll tell ya, this is awesome news.

The children are our future…chefs! At the end of March (the 28th), the New Mexico Restaurant organization will be putting on a competition for high school culinary wizards where they compete for huge scholarships and the chance to compete nationally. The ProStart Invitational looks for excellence in cooking and restaurant management. Cooking skills = life skills, regardless your future career.

La Hacienda in Old Town is (“temporarily”) kaput. Pretty much every time I see temporarily on a close notice, it’s for good. Sorry.

Apparently we don’t grow enough of our own chile here…. that’s a shame. “The New Mexico Chile Association said countries like China are trying to corner some chile markets. Currently, imports account for 82 percent of the U.S. consumption of chile, officials said.”

El Pinto gets vote as best New Mexican restaurant. That is, by New Mexico magazine. Pretty durn cool.

And….. after a much hyped waiting period, the former Bumble Bee’s Baja Grill has been taken over by yet another set of Santa Feans and again as a Mexican joint with tacos and such. It’s owned by Mark Kiffin of The Compound. The Compound. That’s serious cred.  I hope that Zacatecas Tacos & Tequila does ok, in the end. The talent is certainly there, but is the execution?  (And that “Z” looks a little too much like the Getrude Zachary Z…. or is that just me?)

Courtesy of nearly zero work on my part and a good assemblage of options from the city’s website, I present to you a smattering of Valentine’s Day dining specials. Enjoy, and have a wonderful weekend.

Andaluz (Lucia): February 10, 11 and 14. A four course chef’s menu. Seating times are from 5:30 p.m. – 10 p.m. Call 505-923-9080 to reserve, or via Open Table. Cost is $65 per person.

Nativo Lodge (Spirit Wind Cafe): February 10, 11 or 14, from 6 p.m. – 10 p.m. Featured items, plus a live guitar player on Valentine’s Day, if you like that kind of thing. Cost is $49 per person. Call 505-798-4300 to reserve.

Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (Pueblo Harvest Cafe): February 14th from 4pm – close.  $45.95 per person or $100 per couple, including sparkling wine. To make reservations, please call 505.724.3510.

Sandia Resort and Casino: Options for special menus are two: The Council Room restaurant will have an a la carte menu as well as a special menu for couples. Cost is $70 per couple.
The Bien Shur rooftop restaurant features a five course dinner. Cost is $125 per couple. Reservations can be made by calling (505) 796-7500.

Savoy Bar & Grill: Prix Fixe menu February 10 – February 14. $65 per person with wine pairings. $39 without wine.

Seasons Rotisserie & Grill: February 10, 11, 12, and 14th. Seasons will offer a special tasting menu in addition to their regular menu. Four courses of food with matching wines. $100 per person, which includes tax and gratuity.

Sheraton Albuquerque Uptown: February 14th. A three-course meal with four different entree options. Prices range from $24.95 – 29.95. To make reservations, please call 505.349.2520.

St. James Tearoom: February 14th. Three-course meal in the full afternoon tea tradition, long-stemmed red roses in a vase, and boxed truffles – all for only $52 per person. 11am, 1:30pm, 4pm or 6:30pm.

Torinos’ @ Home: February 14th. A cooking class and dinner on Valentine’s Day. Make ravioli, eat amazing food, take home chocolate! $95 per guest, plus gratuity. Call 505.797.4491 to make your reservation.

Tucanos Brazilian Grill: February 10, 11, 13 and 14th. What could Tucanos do? Add more meat, of course. Oh, and put roses and linens on the table. Not a bad deal, really. Lunch is $17.95 and dinner is $25.95. Reservations are being accepted at (505) 246-9900.

Zinc Wine Bar & Bistro: Februrary 14th. Zinc has extensive specials from 5 to 10pm. The Cellar Bar at Zinc will be hosting two four course dinners. Wine pairings and live music, too, for $65 per person (tax & gratuity additional).

I have a long history of defending Flying Star. I respect what Jean and Mark Bernstein do with local ingredients. I appreciate their ridiculously long hours, day after day (6 a.m. – 11 p.m. in most locations, most days). I am thankful for magazines I can browse while drinking refills of coffee.

I don’t like the usually burnt coffee. I whine a bit about increasing prices. Sometimes I find myself the recipient of sporadically inept hands in the kitchen.

BUT.

Flying Star, like Ari LeVaux said in his recent Alibi article, is the “friend you hang out with all the time, even though you sometimes complain about him”. And like an old friend, a heck of a lot of people would miss Flying Star if it were missing from the local dining landscape.

NINE, count ‘em, nine locations. Gorgeous interior design. Local roasting that has upsized several times. Over nearly 25 years, the operation has both grown and refined itself, finding solid ground in serving what most people want, most of the time, at prices that are perfectly fine (mostly).

Remember that organic costs more. Imported butter for great pastries costs more. Local chicken costs more. And in the middle of a recession, everybody hurts. Raw ingredient costs are up at least 25% for restaurants in the last 4 years, yet menu costs are up under 10%. That means that even though it sucks to pay more, the restaurants are sucking it up, too, and that includes Flying Star.

This is roundabout way of me congratulating Ari for his article. He appreciates what Flying Star does, even with a few grumbles thrown in.

On one day next weekend (September 25th), bRgR will donate 10% of all sales to Creative Albuquerque, a group fostering the growth of creative types all over town.  In short, they want urban “enlightenment”, and bRgR is just the sort of place to help out, what with that so-bizarre-its-cool wallpaper and chandeliers.

Here’s what Creative Albuquerque says about themselves, “Creative Albuquerque’s mission is to grow the creative economy to ensure a more dynamic and prosperous city.”

Here’s what I say about bRgR:  ”. . . you could imagine yourself at an eatery in Denver until you spot the Chile Bliss burger ($6), accented with smoked cheddar for extra punch . . .”