The owners of the newly updated and finally tasty again Luna Mansion in Los Lunas were taking a nice little respite in Chile when the earthquake hit.

After a long bout of fear, a ton of agog staring at the damage around them, and thanking the stars for their fortune, they are back in town and ready to spread some generosity – a special dinner Thursday night to benefit the relief effort.

NOW is the time to check out Luna Mansion all over again, for the food (and this event if your schedule is free).

Holy.  Fudgin’.  Shite.

Yeah, it was the most expensive meal of my life.  But when you get all pragmatic about it, in terms of dollars per minute per molecule of enjoyment, it was a bloody bargain.

The French Laundry is a bargain.   Yes, yes it is.  It has been a bargain since it opened over a decade ago, it was all through those intervening  years with visits from foodies and aspiring gastronauts, and it still is.

Now, away from the pragmatism, I’ll give you a very brief degustation with as little gushing as possible.

Rose, salmon, gougeres, caviar, panna cotta, fois gras, endive, black bass, sea urchin, scallops, Shiraz, veal tongue, pork belly, lamb roast, camembert, carrot cake, passionfruit sorbet, peanut butter chocolate mousse, citrus sorbet w/ olive oil, almond tart, mignardeses.

Yowch.  I do not feel the pain of overindulgence, nor do I feel any pain of sticker shock.  All is appropriate, all is perfection. No less than two dozen people had a hand in making my meal divine, including about a dozen in the kitchen.  They all earned it, especially my server who recommended the perfect wines and even chatted with me graciously about running and his own marathon training plans.  Unlike at a standard chain restaurant, I never got his name, so I can only say, Good luck!!!

The other thing I can say to those who balk at a several-hundred-dollar meal is this:

How much did you spend the last time you got on a plane to visit relatives for the holidays, or see a friend, or (forbid) take a business trip?  Was *that* four hours of your life enjoyable?  And how many times per year or decade do you spend that kind of money on transportation?  I rest my case.

Eat well.  Be well.  Take care.

As of yesterday, three of five locations are closed for good, and the corporation is filing for Chapter 11.

I reported on this news previously, and wondered how they could recover in their fight against the state, which now looks like it is a fight against a former employee.  They’re having a hard time tracking him down???  Don’t records exist with social security numbers, etc – especially if it was an employee there long enough to be able to steal over a million dollars.  That seems bizarre to me.

In any case, if you actually do appreciate their food and festive atmosphere, do go enjoy it while it lasts.

So…. there’s a pretty well regarded chain of “upscale” burgers moving into Albuquerque.  Not sure about their prospects, given that the Duke City already has a huge number of really good burger places where we can get our fix of either gooey green chile cheese or the truly squishy and delicious Otis Burger at Standard Diner (fried egg and all).

Per the NMBW, “For hamburger aficionados hungering for gourmet beef chains to arrive in New Mexico, the wait is over. Five Guys Burgers and Fries, a fixture on the East Coast, is invading the Land of Enchantment with 15 restaurants over the next five years.”

So what can Five Guys do that we already cannot?  (Apparently one thing they do that I applaud is print their nutrition info – that’s one thing that the chains have been browbeaten into doing in recent years and I don’t think it is a bad move.)

My hope is that if they do well, it is not at the expense of gems like Little Red Hamburger Hut and Bubster’s and heck, even places that are more refined like Independence Grill and Route 66 Malt Shop (yes, I called them refined – its the burger, not the atmosphere, that I’m assessing).

So where is it?  In that weird little nexus of Louisiana, San Pedro, and Paseo Del Norte that I had very little reason to frequent previously (Trader Joe’s) and now I’m pretty much never up there.  Guess I’ll be making another visit.

Are all of those meals screaming bargains for the $25?  Not necessarily.  That’s not the point, though you will find some respectable discounts relative to just ordering the same food off the menu, especially at places like Prairie Star, Lucia, and Casa Vieja, where your $25 meal would be in the 35+ range or so.

But again, that’s not the point – many of these restaurants are showcasing their most recent creations and I think there are just a few that have crafted an entirely new set of flavors just for this event.  Who’s doing that?  I’ll do the research and report back – stay tuned!

There are even some special events and dinners outside of the “regular” $25 specials, so make sure you take a peek at those.

So, what is the point? Simply, it is to get you all out eating at our local establishments.  Inspire passion and appreciation for those hard working cooks and chefs who put out food that would be respected in any major city, food that gets you fumbling for your phone so you can try to take a blurry photo or text your best friend to convey the wonderfulness that is happening in your mouth and on your plate.

Get out, enjoy our restaurants, and eat glorious food.  Perfect.

A nominee for “Best Chef Southwest”, I was tipped to this by Chantal’s tweet, and had to do some digging to find good links – as for a stint of time yesterday, the James Beard site was pretty much down under the load of a bazillion foodies all wanting to see the nominations list, from regional chefs to restauranteurs to writers and everything in between.

But then, way up in Denver, my old pal Westword comes to the rescue:  List of  Nominees 2010

They even included a link to the pdf, which I’ll post (below) when I can download the darn thing.

[Congrats are in order, as well, to James Campbell Caruso of La Boca (IMO, best fig newton EVER), and Eric DiStephano of Coyote Cafe (IMO, best bacon bourbon cocktail, seriously)]

Here’s the original link to the James Beard site, and a direct link to the pdf file

(Yeah, you do have to buy some real food, too – that’s how this kind of thing works)

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….

If you want to do something a little different but not crazy over Valentine’s Day, head out of town just a few miles to the green pine trees of Cedar Crest and the Greenside Cafe.

The owner/chef Jay Wulf is of the Range Cafe / Standard Diner clan and has been giving those in the East Mountains a better alternative for the last few years, with reliable morning-noon-night hours that keep nearly everyone happy.

On top of that, Jay likes to do wine dinners and special  occasions like he’ll be doing for Valentine’s Day.

Some teaser menu items from the evening pre-fixe meal:  crab cake salad, homemade truffles, pepper steak….

Here’s his info from the website (greensidecafe.net):

http://www.greensidecafe.net/valentine.pdf

Given how delicious and traditional the dish is around spring, you’d think someone found a work around for those of us who prefer (even if not always practice) to avoid deep-fried foods.

What is Torta de Huevo?  Simple yet involved, delicious and rich, perfect for days you’re not so much into meat and such.  Take separated eggs, beat the whites to peaks, beat the yolks to frothy, fold together and fry in little patties.  Drown it all in red chile sauce.  Done.

So, the key is how to reproduce the crispy texture that frying imparts, without deflating what is essentially a souffle.  My bet?  Broil the puppies, or REALLY gently pan-sear in a good non-stick.  Or both – pan sear then chuck the whole pan in the oven with no flipping required until it is done.

Haven’t tried this yet, but I know it will work, and if a local restaurant also wanted to try it, that would be super cool.  Let me know!