Just a few tidbits for y’all.
Los Cuates, one of the stalwarts in our NM food scene, is expanding to a new location in Santa Fe – good for them! They’ll be inside the newly renovated Santa Fe Lodge hotel with a grand opening scheduled for early May. Another local opening will be at the Sunport, taking over the Garduno’s spot after winning the bid over El Pinto. The “Twins” will soon be quadruplets!
Next month was the deadline for a bunch of local restaurants to install really crazy expensive new sprinkler systems, and no one is happy about it – not the restauranteurs nor the city officials who will have to enforce the law, so they granted another 90 day extension to the businesses. I’ll be on the look out for closings over the summer due to small establishments not being able to pony up the $100K to update their systems. Ouch.
Really good restaurants often do well, that’s what I love to see. Here’s my quote of the week: “Recession? What recession?” – Christophe Descarpentries, one of the owners of P’tit Louis Bistro, with one downtown location and another opening up in Nob Hill. Well deserved, guys!
One of the heroes of my early days as a foodie here in Albuquerque is leaving town for family reasons – Chef Sam Etheridge, with a storied history in landmarks like Portabello, Bien Shur, Kanome, Ambrozia, and Nob Hill Bar & Grill had a decade to make you all happy with duck tacos, lobster corndogs, amazing Sunday brunches and the weirdest food innovations this town has seen in years, many of which are now standard menu items at your favorite restaurants. He spent the last several years as a writer for the Local IQ, tending to his cooking and his family. I wish him the best.