A Taste of America

You guys.

When we were in Santa Fe, the Drury Hotel in the downtown plaza was offering a special Georgia O Keeffe tasting menu. We heard about it from Em's aunt who has done everything in the world at least once and whom I idolize to an unhealthy extent. We had to do it. So on Saturday night while Em's aunt was at the opening night of the opera, Em and I were seated outside in front of a lovely fireplace, toasting cocktails and awaiting quite the culinary experience.

Chocolate-infused tequila cocktail served with orange.

The first course was aromatic. The server brought out large, hardback photo books for each of us and told us the story of Georgia O Keeffe's relationship with the American southwest, particularly New Mexico. She had a ranch (Ghost Ranch) in the next town over and was known for her interest in local spices, herbs, flowers, and seasonal foods/flavor combinations. The chef at Drury Hotel was inspired to create this menu because his grandmother, Eloise, cooked for Ms. O Keeffe for many, many years.

The server walked us through beautiful paintings and also photographs of the land while we sniffed lavender, sage, jalapenos, dried red chili pepper, apricots, and strawberries. We didn't eat a thing and it was by far my favorite course of the night. Looking at the pictures, hearing the stories, and smelling the bright, wonderful aromas was an experience all its own.

But then. The food!

The second course was a New Mexican purple potato chip topped with chipotle aoli, sliced red onions, and local trout caviar. It's meant to be eaten as an amuse bouche, all in one bite so that you can appreciate the flavors. It was crisp, spicy, and just wonderful.

Look how it was served! Ms. O Keeffe's art often featured white-washed skulls.

The third course was a salad of bitter greens, local beets (fresh and pickled), and green beans in a light herb dressing. The beets were so good that I bought two jars of them. Notice that the courses were either served with table props that highlight the region and the artist, or atop plates that included photographs of her. The whole meal was a multi-layered artistic experience.

The fish course was salmon and a purple potato cake served on tomatillo sauce. We might have deliberated actually licking this plate. The sauce was spicy and added a southwest zing to the fish, which was lightly grilled to perfection. I kid you not; this was one of the best meals, and meal experiences, that I've ever had.

The meat course was grilled lamb. It was served with a southwest vegetable ratatouille and was so good that we - I kid you not - picked up the bones at the end of the course and ate every last morsel.
#yolo
#notashamed

The dessert course was apricot sorbet made with apricots picked off of a tree right next to our table. The course also included a caramelized brioche cake atop apricot sauce. This was Em's favorite course of the night.

Each course was served alongside wine pairings (which were international and included wines from Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Belgium) and the dinner in its entirety took about 2.5 to 3 hours. It was the perfect way to recoup from our 7-mile-straight-up-a-mountain hike earlier in the day. The night air was cool and refreshing; and two friends who are apart most of the year got to catch up and just relax.

It was such a taste of America.

When you're in Santa Fe, I highly recommend this restaurant (Eloise) at the Drury Hotel.