It seems like just yesterday that Julia Child turned 100. Oh yeah, that was last month. Sorry.

But now I’m back and have all the latest news and gossip that my ears and googlers have turned up. First up, minimum wage hits a stall? Looks like a new minimum wage act might either be stalled by restaurant owners who are reluctant to have someone else dictating when they give raises to staff, or it could be stalled by something as simple as a typo. Not just any typo, mind you – a typo that says that restaurant owners have to pay themselves more but not necessarily their employees. Weird. Here’s the story from HuffPo and referencing an Albuquerque Journal article (if you have access): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/06/albuquerque-minimum-wage-typo_n_1862240.html

Next, great news for foo-foo salad lovers – You’d better veg out, you’d better not cry. You’d be foolish to pout – I’m tellin’ you why: Vinaigrette is coming to town! It’s like Santa Claus but with lettuce and beets, nearby in Old Town. I’m excited and hope that the quality is the same as in Santa Fe, regardless the price point Erin needs to hit to make a go of it here in the Duke City. Read the scoop on the NM Business Weekly: http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2012/09/06/vinaigrette-restaurant-to-open-near.html

Want to know which restaurants did OK on their inspections and which ones had complaints? The city is making things even more transparent (though not by going to a letter grading system like many cities use) by putting all historical inspection data online. It is not pretty, yet, but the full spreadsheet of data is yours to download, right here (look for restaurant inspections): http://www.cabq.gov/abq-data

Finally, your local restaurant association is holding a hospitality banquet to honor those that kick ass in their field of providing excellent service and giving back to the community. On September 24th, the event takes place in Old Town at the Hotel Albuquerque. It’s not cheap but is a chance to meet and greet the players in the local food scene. https://m360.nmrestaurants.org/event.aspx?eventID=54120&instance=0

Holy wow – this year Julia Child would have been 100 years old. Her contribution cannot be taken lightly, so Jennifer James and her able crew at Jennifer James 101 are taking charge and holding a bunch of events guaranteed to put a happy purr in your tummy.

This is the basic lineup: Saturday the 11th will be a special Community Table (normally these are only on Tuesdays!).

On Sunday, August 12: cocktail party   5-7pm   $50pp

Here’s what they are serving:
cured salmon, meatballs, oysters, stuffed eggs, puffy things, peanuts…and more…

And finally, the big party:

august 15    birthday party     6pm   $100pp 
hors d’oeuvres | champagne
wild dungeness crab | bourgogne blanc
roast duck & parsnip boats | bourgogne rouge
los gatos gâteau cake | sauternes
mignardise | coffee

Find all the rest of the details and more importantly, make a reservation, at Jennifer James 101′s website.

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.

…”all the way over” in Cedar Crest is a gem of a restaurant founded by one of the dudes behind The Range Cafe and Standard Diner.  I say “all the way over” because really, Cedar Crest is about 10 minutes from town – closer than most stuff on the Westside.  But I digress.

I like this place but don’t go a ton, but when I receive their emails for specials and new ideas, it always makes me happy they are doing well against the likes of really mediocre Chinese food and other less worthy options.

The owner and cook is Jay Wulf, and the place is Greenside Cafe.

On Valentine’s Day, Jay is offering a 4 course meal with wine pairings for $65 – yum!

Here’s the menu, to get you salivating enough to make reservations: