The state fair opens this weekend and I am super stoked. Miniature goats! Corn dogs! The winners of Best Beet and Biggest Pumpkin! I can't get enough of this stuff. I was down at the Socorro County Fair last weekend, specifically for a chainsaw competition, but also for that big Navajo taco up there ^^. To win the chainsaw competition, you have to be the guy who makes two cuts from a huge log in the fastest time, without being DQ'd for picking your chainsaw up too early or whatever. To some of you this may sound dull, but if you love weird local festivals or you are a lady who gets the chills when you see big dudes doing big stuff with big power tools (TMI?) then you would get a kick out of this.
Also: check out these two junior cowboys who rode to the fair on this float (the hay was to be used later in the hay stacking competition!). They shared some candy with me because they felt bad I missed the parade and so didn't get any of the Jolly Ranchers they threw. Are they they cutest ever?
Anyway, turns out most of the guys in the chainsaw competition were from Alamo, a Navajo Nation chapter about an hour from Socorro. Apparently they have a bigger and better chainsaw competition out there during Alamo Indian Days, so put that on your calendar: October 7-9. Here's a story about it from the Navajo Times.
And while you're there you can continue your lifelong quest for the best Indian taco. Mmm...
UNM's main campus may get a taproom if a student proposal gets university approval. Students proposed the project, which would sell local beers, in part as a way to help students interested in the craft brewing industry. They proposed a three-beer limit. Currently UNM sells beer at football and basketball games. UNM President Bob Frank has said the idea deserves consideration. It would likely require approval from the regents, changes to school policy and a state license.
Add this to the list of reasons why I prefer not to eat human flesh: Mad People Disease. Otherwise known as kuru, a mysterious fatal condition found in Papua New Guinea that functions kind of like Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. Women on the island used to cook and eat the brains (and everything but the gall bladder) from the dead person because otherwise the body would be eaten by maggots or worms and to have friends and family consume them was seen as a better idea. Didn't turn out that way. The epidemic lasted until 2009 when the last case was seen. Hear all about it on NPR.
La Boca, the little tapas (and more) restaurant on Marcy Street, is celebrating its tenth birthday with a pig roast on the patio Sept. 17 from 2-5 pm. It costs $20. Find more info on Facebook or call 982-3433. Chef James Campbell Caruso is celebrating with some reinvention, including an expansion and a new website.
Reminder: The Green Chile Cheeseburger Smackdown is this Friday from 5-8 pm at the Railyard.
And the Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta is two weeks away. Tickets to the Grand Tasting at the Santa Fe Opera (a mind-boggling $150) are still available, as are tickets to most of the seminars, guest chef demos and luncheons. The list of wine dinners is here; reserve through the restaurants.
Most of the wine dinners are pretty predictable but here's something different: Izanami at Ten Thousand Waves and Skurnkik Wines have teamed up for a Wine Vs. Sake Challenge. It's a five-course dinner paired with wine and sake, of course. Tickets cost $129 per person.
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