Did you hear about Modern General’s new pancake thing? My mom used to make pancakes or corn fritters for dinner. She was probably too pooped to think of anything else but she also just loves breakfast at dinner (and dinner at breakfast). Anyway, Modern General (637 Cerrillos Road, 930-5462) has this new set of “modcakes,” some savory and some sweet. There’s a red pepper Sonoracake made with wheat flour and roasted pepper pancakes stacked with Scottish lox, chive sour cream and sweet pepper syrup (shown above). Lime passionfruit curd is the draw for me on a stack of sweet coconut pancakes with almond butter cream and toasted coconut. You can also get plaincakes made with teff, white Sonora wheat or corn flour. They’re all in the $4.50-$8 range.
Like many of you, I slurped my way through the Souper Bowl last Saturday (while the rest of the city was out protesting in the snow). According to The Food Depot, more than 1,000 people attended the event and it was certainly packed! Here are the winners:
Best Overall Soup: Thai-Cambodian Coconut Chicken Soup by Chef Nath at Sweetwater Harvest Kitchen
Best Vegetarian: Cauliflower Soup by Chefs Jen and Evan Doughty at The Palace Restaurant and Saloon
Best Cream Soup: Green Chile and Corn Chowder with Chile Candied Bacon and Cilantro Pesto, by Executive Sous Chef Kevin Walsh at Terra Restaurant at The Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado
Best Savory Soup: Thai-Cambodian Coconut Chicken Soup by Chef Nath at Sweetwater Harvest Kitchen
Best Seafood Soup: Moqueca Brazilian Fish Stew by Chef Antonio Quintana at Kingston Residence of Santa Fe
I'll have a couple of those recipes for you in the paper next week.
Meanwhile, put this on your calendar now: Santa Fe Restaurant Week 2017 is Sunday, Feb. 19 through Sunday, Feb. 26. The list of participating restaurants is here and are three events posted already: a Tequila experience at the Anasazi ($35), a Mexican street food tasting with tequila, mescal and sotol at Sazon ($50), and a pie-making class at Sweet Lily Bakery and Café ($35). Make your reservations now!
And check this out. Serious Eats recommends a "better way" to peel chiles. Spoiler: It's by dunking them in a pot of water. I don't use water because I think it dilutes the flavor of the chiles, but Serious Eats argues that you can then use that dunk water as broth for your soup. I'm dubious. I have used water to peel chiles but I've used a running tap and I don't do it that way anymore. And I always throw away my red chile soaking water because I think it's too bitter to use. Do any of you use a dunk method for green chile AND use the water? I want to hear about it. Email thefork@sfreporter.com.
Spending time on the slopes this winter? 35° North Coffee (in the Santa Fe Arcade, 60 E San Francisco St., 983-6138) is trying to entice you in by offering a free coffee when you buy a pastry and show your Ski Santa Fe pass. (I'm snowboarding at Taos next weekend for the wine festival, so I'll be using my pass for the 20 percent discount at Ojo Caliente on the way home…)
The Draft Station (in the Santa Fe Arcade, 60 E San Francisco St.) is having its second one-on-one ping-pong tournament 7-9 pm Tuesday Jan. 31. Beer. Ping pong. Good times. Call 983-6443 to sign up.
Are you noticing how busy the downtown restaurants and bars are now that the legislative session has started? One of our loyal readers in the industry has a report: "The lobbyists are good tippers. Kind and respectful for the most part too. The legislators, not so much." Come on, you guys! Tip early and often!
What news do you want to see in this newsletter? We want to hear from you! Let us know! Email thefork@sfreporter.com
Santa Fe Reporter