Sudsy, to a Degree
L ast week, Albuquerque Business First’s Juliana Vandais reported that Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) is launching a beer-brewing academy, thanks to a recent CNM bond approval. The $5.2 million set aside for the academy also includes money for a catering-operations hub and a centralized food-truck commissary location. The brewing program will offer both a one-term certificate and an associate degree, and classes are slated to begin this fall.
Delicious Philanthropy
There are a few events happening in the days and weeks ahead meant to shore up the coffers of some incredibly important organizations. On Wednesday, March 2, The Teahouse on Canyon Road hosts "A Culinary Circus," a five-course Italian wine-pairing dinner to benefit Wise Fool New Mexico. The menu includes silky burrata cheese with artichoke, pine nuts, currants and mint; your choice of lasagna Bolognese or eggplant Parmesan; your choice of Osso Buco with polenta and porcini mushrooms or polenta alla Norma (a Sicilian dish of polenta, eggplant, tomatoes and basil); a cheese course; and tiramisu for dessert. On Saturday, March 12, the Inn and Spa at Loretto presents a three-course dinner and auction to benefit the nonprofit Santa Fe Girls' School, a small middle school that allows girls to explore their education through programs specifically geared towards them. Dishes include a choice of organic baby-spinach salad, farm-greens salad or kale salad; your choice of "chicken under a brick," buttermilk-fried pork chops or wild-mushroom pappardelle; and dark-chocolate mousse with smoked pecans and raspberry gel. Also on March 12, the New Mexico Museum of Natural History Foundation in Albuquerque benefits from Chocolate Fantasy 2016: A Cosmic Soiree, a chocolate competition to be held at Sandia Resort & Casino. Competitors include Los Poblanos Historic Inn and Organic Farm, Route 66 Casino Hotel and Charity Teague Confections.
We Made Another List! (But Is It a Good One?)
A new study just released by Infogroup, a data analytics and marketing service, ranks the top 10 American cities with the best "foodie scores" based on things such as the frequency of visits to fine dining restaurants, the number of high-end or specialty grocery stores and "cooking for fun" data gathered from an external survey. While San Francisco came in first, Santa Fe ranked at a comfortable #7—ahead of New York City (#9). Still, The Fork firmly believes that true foodies dine out, cook and shop to their hearts' content at every economic level, and that sometimes studies like this miss the mark on many of the small mom-and-pop businesses, restaurants and specialty services that are the true workhorses of a food-focused city of our size.
Brew Big or Go Home
Second Street Brewery brew master Rod Tweet has big plans for the business's operations in Santa Fe. The New Mexico Dark Side Brew Crew reports that Tweet has secured a 20,000-square-foot building on Rufina Street that will allow Second Street Brewery to expand its barrel storage from 1,800 barrels to a whopping 12,000 barrels. There are also plans for a taproom and a canning operation.
Taco University
Did you know that tortillas are outselling sandwich bread in many US grocery regions? As the Latino population continues its steady growth in America, some schools are taking notice. For instance, the University of Kentucky offered a
this semester titled "Taco Literacy: Public Advocacy and Mexican Food in the U.S. South." We need that here. We want that here.
Sandwich Is Law
The world was shocked by the recent sudden passing of Associate US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, whose oftentimes controversial opinions and eccentric demeanor were the stuff of legal legend. Although not an official Supreme Court ruling, Scalia had some things to say about what constitutes a sandwich in a landmark Massachusetts case involving Panera Bread and Qdoba Mexican Grill. Is a tortilla wrap a sandwich? Well, it's complicated.
Bearded Chefsters
The 2016 James Beard Award semifinalists were announced on Wednesday, Feb. 17, and New Mexico made a great showing: Eloisa in Santa Fe was nominated for Best New Restaurant, and chef Martín Rios, from Restaurant Martín, and Andrew Cooper, from Terra at the Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado, are once again in the running for Best Chef Southwest. Congrats to all the semifinalists! Finalists will be announced on Tuesday, April 26.
Slingin' Gold
Congrats to bartender Andrew David Roy for taking home the top prize at the recent Arizona Cocktail Week Last Slinger Standing competition. Roy, who works at Coyote Cafe and radish & rye, joined New Mexico teammates David Hernandez, Chris Milligan, Natalie Bovis (the team's coach and a frequent SFR contributor), Andrew Gilbert and Michael Sebree for some heated competition and a whole lot of fun.
