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.

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:

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).

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 . . .”

Think you know the history of the Bundt Cake?  Yeah, me neither.  But that’s O.K. – all you need to know is that Nothing Bundt Cakes is located at Wyoming and Academy – near the 5 Star Burgers and Whole Foods, etc.

And, don’t forget the FREE – I will be giving away a YEAR of “Bundtlets”, individual cutesy cakes, one per month.  Just comment below and you’re in the running – I’ll give away the certificate this weekend!  If I get a crapload of comments I’ll decide who deserves the cake the most.  If I get just one, well…. you get it!

I’m not going to attach the press release because it’s kind of PR overload, but here are the details you need:

Today, 8/17:  ribbon-cutting ceremony

Friday 8/19: Animal Humane NM benefit – go on this day and help out critters to the tune of 20% of anything you buy!

Saturday 8/20: First 50 customers get free cake, AND more benefits for Animal Humane.  Yay!

5901-X Wyoming Blvd NE
505.924.4444
albuquerque@nothingbundtcakes.com
Monday-Friday: 9AM-6PM; Saturday: 10AM-6PM

Whatever you want to call it, your voice must be heard, crying out in the wilderness of yellow processed cheese and canned chiles – choose the best, and vote as many times as you can ethically stand.  Get creative and remember that amazing burger you had in some little dive in a tiny town, or just pile the love on to something BIG and inspiring and well-known.

VOTE NOW!

Wha….?

No more info was given, and a “thanks for your patronage” closing made me very, very worried.

Noda’s is one of those restaurants I talk up quite a bit and visit far less often than I’d like. I hope that my inaction is not a contributor to their current woes. Or that this is all just worrying in vain and they have a huge shiny new space on the ready to welcome old and new eaters alike.

He will be at Bookworks on Monday signing his superlative new book and then, Pat Keene and her staff at the Artichoke Cafe will be preparing a dinner based on David’s recipes for a captive audience. If tickets are still available, snatch them up ASAP – a single meal’s ticket includes a book, so you’ll be all set to create your own dishes after the evening has concluded.

Because my interviewing style is not quite as wondrous as, say, Jon Stewart, I captured a lot of tidbits from the conversation that I hope will give you a great idea of the kind of man and chef that David is. Enjoy!

I just “ogle the vegetables” – how David loves to choose his produce for the day when visiting the farmer’s market

“I like to go from the beginning to the end” creating menus that flow from the very first bite all the way through to a simple and sweet dessert.

All I need is a “wooden spoon, cast iron pan, knife” – David’s only cooking essentials, if he were reduced to a desert island style restriction. This speaks so well to how he cooks at home – it must be meditative and fresh and something you can do with unfussy attention, perhaps while sipping wine or chatting with guests.

When you cook, “it connects you with your friends, it connects you with your community”. Essentially, by injecting your own labor into raw ingredients you are making a transformation that benefits your fellow diners as well as supporting whatever fresh vendors have supplied those ingredients – the more local, the better.

Seasonality RIGHT NOW, “here in california we are getting rain, end of season tomatoes, eggplants, great squashes and wild mushrooms”. Visit Chez Panisse this week and these are the ingredients on which the kitchen will work their magic.
What was the last meal you cooked? “A little pot of beans – on toast, just like in the book; fresh pinto beans make the best meal of all.” I’ll concur, the book’s photo of beans on toast is one of the most drool-inducing simple concepts I’ve seen in months.

Enjoy, go see David, and BUY HIS BOOK. Your cooking world will be enhanced in ways that will transcend the cover price.

Wine and Cheese in Cedar Crest — Taste wines and cheeses from around the world TONIGHT at the Triangle Grocery in Cedar Crest (12165 N. Hwy. 14, 281-3030). 5-7 pm.

Right next door is Greenside Cafe, the perfect place for dinner after your sips and nibbles. Jay Wulf, formerly of The Range and Standard Diner, will treat you to well-crafted entrees in the cool light of evening.