Cocktail Week
It's Santa Fe Cocktail Week! Have you been celebrating? I kicked it off with a beautiful saucer of yum called the "Latin Lover" at Sazón. Yeah, the name is kind of embarrassing, but this passion fruit-flavored mescal concoction was the sexiest drink I've had in a while: a gorgeous sunny-yellow surface with a perfect fuschia orchid floating on the top. (Read more about Sazón in next week's paper!)
This weekend is the New Mexico Cocktails and Culture Festival.The highlight is Saturday's Celebrity Chef & Shaker Challenge at the Scottish Rite Temple (tickets are $55 in advance, $65 at the door). A handful of local chefs are pairing nibbles with participating spirits. For example, chef Edgar Beas (whom we wrote about recently) will be making food that goes with Milagro Tequila. And Mark Connell of State Capital Kitchen (see our recent review here) will be cooking things that go with drinks using booze from Campari America (the company owns SKYY Vodka, Wild Turkey, Cabo Wabo tequila and a bunch of other things).
Ladies in the House!
I happened to notice that all of the chefs participating are men, and hey, I love a sausage party, but don't we have any women chefs in Santa Fe? Jennifer Doughty, the chef at Inn on the Alameda's Agoyo Lounge, was recently named to the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs (an international food and wine society). Congratulations, Jen! But where are your sisters? People: Tell me about more female chefs in Santa Fe.
Meanwhile, pay attention to what you're eating while you're out there celebrating Cocktail Week. Did you know that just sitting in a dimly lit room makes you more likely to ditch your diet? A recent study shows that dining in a dark restaurant makes us eat more slowly and enjoy the food more—but also causes us to eat 14 percent more calories. I guess it's hard to go into a sweet-salty shame spiral of Twizzlers, Fritos and rum-and-Cokes when the big lights are on.
Rosé Tasting
If you’re thirsty but not quite ready for cocktails, check out the Rosé Extravaganza at Arroyo Vino this Saturday. It’s the first of the summer tent tastings at this restaurant and wine bar, and because it’s also a bottle shop, you can take home any of the wines you like. Tickets are $55. (Buying a case of wine at the tasting means a 10 percent discount on the case and a credit for $40 to offset the ticket price.) If you'd like to learn more about the exciting world of rosé, you can find handy tips in SFR's Summer Guide
Sweet Ignorance
Speaking of Cokes, did you know the FDA is going to require manufacturers to list added sugars separately on those nutrition facts labels as of 2018? It's kind of a big deal, considering one 20-ounce Coke includes 65 grams of added sugar, which is a) OMG tons and b) literally 130 percent of the recommended amount. Observers are wondering if this transparency about added sugar will cause the public to seek out products with less sugar, or without it, like they have with trans fat over the past decade. Oh, this ignorance has been bliss. Sigh.
Un Festa Delicioso
This weekend is also CineFesta Italia, a film festival that involves a lot of food. Pizzeria and Trattoria da Lino is hosting the Festa della Repubblica Celebration on June 2. It's a Sicilian buffet including dishes from two visiting chefs from Sicily. Friday night is the Gala de Chiusura at Hotel Santa Fe, involving an appetizer of creamy burrata cheese made at Osteria d'Assisi, and a pappardelle with white truffle boar ragu. There's also a Slow Food reception on June 4. Cinefesta is collaboration between Italian government agencies, cultural organizations and businesses — including Lino Pertusini of Osteria d'Assisi, who happens to also be the honorary consul of Italy in New Mexico. Full details here: http://www.cinefestaitalia.com.
Are there food festivals we need to know about? Great beers we should be drinking? Got news, tips or suggestions for The Fork? Let us know! Email thefork@sfreporter.com
