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?)

That’s all a long way of saying that less than six months after Casa Vieja closed, the main gastronomic mind behind the kitchen is now in a new kitchen at Desert Fish just east of Nob Hill. Given that Desert Fish has impressed me mightily, I have to check out what Josh Gerwin is going to do with the place. And of course, I’ll have to find out where or where the previous chef/owner went.  I can barely keep tabs on these folks!

Here’s the short scoop, over at Larry’s website: Josh Gerwin rises again!

The wine and cocktail mistress from Casa Vieja is also branching out – rumor has it that the talented Kate will be emerging into a new venture. When I know, you will, too!

….. but I do.  Let’s round up some of the latest restaurant gossip, shall we?

Firstly, I did not know that former co-founder of Relish was Chef de Cuisine at Artichoke Cafe. Go, Tony Nethery!

Next, Nob Hill is abuzz with openings, closings, and speculation. A new spot should be coming in where Bumble Bee’s was – called Z, and owned by the Street Food Asia folks. And, Andre’s quietly closed. Did anyone even eat there, aside from the one horrible Urbanspoon review?

And mentions do pop up about people that eat here and love it, like this one about Perea’s.

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.

But they are also huge winos.  I mean, wine freaks.  I mean, fermented grape hounds.  Yeah, that’s it.  Jillian Oaks of the Local IQ has a great profile on them and their plans to take their uncle Roger and father Richard’s Roessler Cellars to a new level with a second venture called R2.   This focus will bring even more varietals of wine to the restaurants and making dining all the better.  Salud!

The open date was set for early July, but no word yet on the status.  Even the website is an empty shell with no real information.

So, what’s up?  Anyone have some additional details on this new competition for StreetFood Asia?

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.

ONE:  Cafe Giuseppe, home to fantabulous espresso, decadent gelato that kicks the crap out of Ecco, and a laid-back feel for sipping cappuccinos or surfing the net on their wifi.  They’re adding a second location downtown near 3rd, right in the vicinity of….

TWO:  P’tit Louis Bistro, home to kickin’ frog legs (har) and the best lemon tart on this Duke City planet.  Their fame is so unmatched they too are opening another location . . . right near Cafe Giuseppe.

Bizarre, neato, and I hope they both continue to thrive and receive raves.

StreetFood Asia is Nob Hill’s newest and most darling upcoming restaurant gossip object. They just had server training last weekend and will be having a soft opening this Thursday during the Shop n’ Stroll.

But…. their website shows NOTHING for a menu or details. I’ve got it, and you get a sneak peak. Enjoy!

StreetFood Asia Menu Page 1
StreetFood Asia Menu Page 2
StreetFood Asia “tapas” menu (2 pages)

This coming month the quotes are coming off and I’m going, dammit. Why? Single ingredient themes.

Here’s a few choice items from the list:
coconut
stone fruits
banana
tomatoes
soy
peanuts
coffee

She kind of had me at tomatoes, but banana sounds pretty interesting, too. Will there be plantains? Some old-school banana pudding with vanilla wafers? I could totally see them do that with the comfort food tendencies that are borne from their midwestern background.

After all, this is the restaurant that brought us Grandma’s peach pie, fantastic fried chicken, bacon fat popcorn, and Nellie’s own amazing coconut pie. Whoa. I just realized I might need to go to the coconut night as well. I’m having a thing for macaroons lately since being thrust back into the world of Orangette with the blog and reading her book and all.

As per the usual setup, it is $35/person with a table wine included, but tax+tip not included.