You’ll just have to imagine the ice-cold wave of terror that hit our spine last week when SFR’s editor texted us to be like, “Hey, dingus, where’s The Fork?” We’ve been doing this a long time and have taken breaks here and there (who could forget the classic Aussie ramblings of The Knoife while we were on vacay—though to be fair, we tried to look it up to link it, but Google and it’s stupid fucking AI just kept showing us a recent SFR piece about Japanese punk act Shonen Knife), but this was the first time we ever just plain old forgot that we’re supposed to do a food newsletter every week. We are a dingus, but the dude still bailed us out with this piece. Whew!
But our error also got us thinking about what we remember in the food milieu. Snacks we loved so much in ye olden times have since fallen to dust on the ash heap of history, but we went down the rabbit hole of foods and drinks we once loved (or at least were in our house) and felt the warm, terrifying stab of nostalgia over and over. And we have a list of those things, so think of this like the Ready Player One of Forks, which is to say we’re about to do a whole lot of, “Hey, remember, um, that one thing? That was cool.”
Ecto Cooler
Though we’ve learned that drink brand Hi-C revived the drink for the 2016 Ghostbusters that was led by ladies (and pretty enjoyable if you’re not a misogynist), the orange-tangerine “juice,” which we put in quotes because who even knows what it really is or was, was a mainstay in sack lunches during our youth. In short, the drink was themed after that most gluttonous ghost Slimer from the original Ghostbusters, which means it was green or whatever. We forgot about it, but then we remembered because we’re remembering.
Kudos
Though our mom never once put anything cool in our lunch except that Ecto Cooler, we saw plenty of kids rocking those choco-covered granola bars known as Kudos. They were likely not healthy, but we wanted them and didn’t care who knew it. To be fair, we did once talk our mom into it, but after the box ran out we never saw another one. Do y’all remember those?
Shark Bites
They were shark-shaped fruit snacks, and we could get ‘em at the student store. In fact, we did get ‘em at the student store instead of BBQ Corn Nuts most of the time.
BBQ Corn Nuts
That last one reminded us of Corn Nuts, the teeth-breakin’-est snack ever around. If you didn’t know, they were basically crunchy bits o’ corn that came plain (salty), BBQ (the best kind) or, after Cool Ranch Doritos flared into existence, ranch flavor. The thought of eating them now makes our jaw quiver, but they were a mainstay. Also? We looked it up after writing this and they totally still exist, we’re just saying we forgot about them.
Viennetta
File this one under it-made-a-comeback, but there was a time when we all tried to describe this weird little ice cream dessert we’d had from ice cream brand Breyer’s. Those who’d had it knew the deal, those who hadn’t insisted you were rambling like a maniac. But then it hit shelves again, and we all got to partake in its layers of ice cream and flaky choco-ness like no time had ever passed. Our verdict? It wasn’t as good as we recalled, but obviously our palate has evolved over time, so…deal with it, America.
See? It was a thing, man.
Also
Remember when we told you we’d let you know about the opening date for the incoming Railyard speakeasy (by which we mean it’ll be a bar with, like, some jazz-esque trappings) Gatsby’s? Here it is: Nov. 6, 2025. That’s the grand opening. Gatsby’s will be open 4 pm-midnight Monday-Thursday, and 4 pm-2 am on Friday and Saturday. Everyone keeps talking about how pumped they are that there’ll be a late-night thing, but we’ll just see how that pans out in Sleepy City, USA. Like, that Sleepytime Tea bear could be our town mascot, y’all. Hypnos is your dad. Our sports teams should be called The Narcoleptics. Naw, just playing. If they get some stuff in there that isn’t, like, ragtime, it could be cool. Fingers crossed for metal night, y’all. Find Gatsby’s in the Railyard in the spot that once housed Opuntia. Something about Zelda Fitzgerald! (Side note, we just learned Zelda is the shortened version of the name Griselda, because of course it is.)
Southside haunt Joe’s Diner has rebranded, and are you sure you can handle the new name? Henceforth, the spot shall be known as Joe’s Diner & Pizza. From what we understand, not much should change outside of the part where there’s pizza now. We’ll go eat it, too, and let you know how that goes.
Downtown bar/restaurant Del Charro (where we all used to go because the burger was like $5, and you could get fully housed near a fireplace) has a new happy hour deal running through Dec. 31, 2025, and that deal comes with $2 off all beers and apps, plus free chips and salsa. Alright, that’s pretty good. Plus, a dude who was in the band Gwar used to work there years ago—true story.
Locally owned and operated commercial kitchen/food biz The Kitchen Table has a new tenant/company chopping it up in there, and that company is Desert Graze, a mobile charcuterie bar kinda thing that can and likely will pop up at your event if you check out the website and ask them nicely. Said website uses words like “elevated,” and it has that sort of beige-y aesthetic that people love, so…yeah, if you need charcuterie for a party served out of a “rustic bar,” your ship has come in.
Speaking of mobile food, that one mobile fish and chips truck On the Hook is slated to return to Santa Fe on Wednesday, Oct. 15. You’ll find ‘em in the Lowe’s parking lot at 3458 Zafarano Drive, and word on the street is that it’s all about wild Alaskan cod. The question becomes how badly you want or need fish and/or chips, but we also have heard these guys do it really well, so…your move.
Lastly in local news this week, we can apparently expect a Whataburger location to spring up in Santa Fe on Cerrillos Road at some point here. The Texas-based chain is sacred in the Lone Star State, so we’re not sure what our little city will make of it, but don’t act like you won’t at least try it out once.
Basically you after you have the fish #42
Also
- Remember when we told you we’d let you know about the opening date for the incoming Railyard speakeasy (by which we mean it’ll be a bar with, like, some jazz-esque trappings) Gatsby’s? Here it is: Nov. 6, 2025. That’s the grand opening. Gatsby’s will be open 4 pm-midnight Monday-Thursday, and 4 pm-2 am on Friday and Saturday. Everyone keeps talking about how pumped they are that there’ll be a late-night thing, but we’ll just see how that pans out in Sleepy City, USA. Like, that Sleepytime Tea bear could be our town mascot, y’all. Hypnos is your dad. Our sports teams should be called The Narcoleptics. Naw, just playing. If they get some stuff in there that isn’t, like, ragtime, it could be cool. Fingers crossed for metal night, y’all. Find Gatsby’s in the Railyard in the spot that once housed Opuntia. Something about Zelda Fitzgerald! (Side note, we just learned Zelda is the shortened version of the name Griselda, because of course it is.)
- Southside haunt Joe’s Diner has rebranded, and are you sure you can handle the new name? Henceforth, the spot shall be known as Joe’s Diner & Pizza. From what we understand, not much should change outside of the part where there’s pizza now. We’ll go eat it, too, and let you know how that goes.
- Downtown bar/restaurant Del Charro (where we all used to go because the burger was like $5, and you could get fully housed near a fireplace) has a new happy hour deal running through Dec. 31, 2025, and that deal comes with $2 off all beers and apps, plus free chips and salsa. Alright, that’s pretty good. Plus, a dude who was in the band Gwar used to work there years ago—true story.
- Locally owned and operated commercial kitchen/food biz The Kitchen Table has a new tenant/company chopping it up in there, and that company is Desert Graze, a mobile charcuterie bar kinda thing that can and likely will pop up at your event if you check out the website and ask them nicely. Said website uses words like “elevated,” and it has that sort of beige-y aesthetic that people love, so…yeah, if you need charcuterie for a party served out of a “rustic bar,” your ship has come in.
- Speaking of mobile food, that one mobile fish and chips truck On the Hook is slated to return to Santa Fe on Wednesday, Oct. 15. You’ll find ‘em in the Lowe’s parking lot at 3458 Zafarano Drive, and word on the street is that it’s all about wild Alaskan cod. The question becomes how badly you want or need fish and/or chips, but we also have heard these guys do it really well, so…your move.
- Lastly in local news this week, we can apparently expect a Whataburger location to spring up in Santa Fe on Cerrillos Road at some point here. The Texas-based chain is sacred in the Lone Star State, so we’re not sure what our little city will make of it, but don’t act like you won’t at least try it out once.
More Tidbits
- Did you hear about the winner of the Supreme Champion Spirit distinction at London’s 2025 International Spirits Challenge? An 18-year-old whisky from Japanese distiller Yamazaki took the prize. Now, as niche as this is going to sound, we prefer our Yamazaki to be of the SNK variety (if you got this joke without Googling it, let us know immediately—if you didn’t, don’t worry, you’re gonna be fine), but it certainly sounds like this stuff is tasty.
- Speaking of booze, it would seem that American spirits exports bucks dropped 9% compared to last year, likely in a kerfuffle over Trump tariffs. You can learn more about that by clicking here, but the short version is that times are tense and American spirits aren’t doing so well in other lands. The EU, UK, Japan and Canada—all countries that have been like, “Sure, we’ll take some Jack, bro,” are apparently doubling down on their homemade drinks (which sounds alright given that Yamazaki thing from before), and American people are moving on to things like weed and staring at the sun until you feel like you’ve gone crazy. Just kidding, that last thing isn’t a thing.
- Apparently we can expect some new menu items at chains like Applebee’s, Starbucks and Arby’s, though we think the real question is why one would give a shit when local spots exist? Naw, we actually get that some chains serve folks of particular economic brackets who deserve a meal out every bit as much as those who can drop $70 on a steak. As always, local first if you can, no presh if you like an Arby’s Big Beef and Cheddar like Isabella Rossellini. Click that first link to see what’s what.
In Summation
Y’know, it’s funny how we go through strange food obsessions we then completely forget about later. For example, we lived in California for a few years some years back, and on workdays we’d eat lunch either at this one Taqueria or this one Chinese joint—every day, for years. And we’d forgotten about how we did that until we started writing this week’s Fork. On the other side of the coin, we often think about how we could go for a no carne from Felipe’s Tacos, an iconic Santa Fe restaurant that shuttered a few years back following the retirement of founder Felipe Martinez. Isn’t it interesting what stays in the forefront of our consciousness versus the corn-based and nut-adjacent snacks that don’t? We’re just saying that food, like music, tends to spark emotions in us as people—a smell, a taste, the way your mom or dad made a grilled cheese, etc.—and it’s fun to spend some time thinking about/internet navigating through those things we once held so dear. On the one hand, we’d straight up send our own mother to prison if it meant we could have a fresh loquat, and we don’t even have to think about it. On the other hand, while we’ll always think back fondly on some other snacks and drinks that we could easily live without—and do. Oh, God. We just realized we’re going to die someday.
Not gone, not forgotten,
The Fork
