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.

Happy Days, happy days.  Two of my favorite places in Albuquerque are expanding their reach.

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)

Community tables at JJ101 is one of those local things that I “want” to do more. I “try” to make time to go. And yet it rarely happens.

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.

I just had occasion to take another look at the menu at Vivace – one of the Nob Hill Italian eateries that has been a mainstay for many years in Albuquerque.

On the menu one of the items listed is a Bruschetta, and I noted that the bread is house made, “Tuscan style”.  I remember having mussels at Vivace some time ago and nearly being unable to stop eating the lusciously grilled hunks of bread that rimmed the brothy bowl.  Now I see why I was hooked – bread made by someone who knows what the heck they are doing is a wonderful thing, especially then when it is drizzled with good olive oil and marked by the grill.

Maybe I need to go back and have more of it….