Hey, Forkers. Y'all good? Good. We're OK, but we actually have to start this week's edition with an "our bad." See, when we wrote of Dr. Field Goods' French dip sammie last week—oh, and side not, we're never ever gonna stop saying "sammie"—we tried to do the right thing and call the restaurant to ask about what day we'd find that special sammie on the menu, and we clearly misunderstood the nice dude on the phone. As it turns out, you'll find the French dip on the DFG menu every Tuesday, so please know that and please try it and stop arguing with us about the best sandwiches, because we are much cooler than you when it comes to knowing about sandos. Our apologies to chef/owner Josh Gerwin and his dope-ass staff.
Now then, this week's non-apology content comes in the form of a tale—one in which your old friend The Fork was tragically ripped from his home in the pre-noon hours of a weekend day to accompany La Forkette to Velarde where she hoped to sell a violin. A very enthusiastic hippie from Taos had responded to our dear Forkette's Craigslist ad for the instrument, and asked if she'd meet at The Fruit Basket, a Velarde staple that some folks might also know from its Santa Fe Farmers' Market stand.
Now, we agreed to make this journey, though our heart was secretly dying inside over having lost a morning of coffee-swillin', cartoon-watchin', air-ballin', mole-lippin' fun, but we re-learned a valuable lesson: When your woman wants you to get in the car, especially when she asks for so little the rest of the time, you do that. And anyway, we came out ahead in the end, because The Fruit Basket is awesome!
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Wildly, the Velarde-based biz is owned by a dude named Eddie Velarde—which is like a local version of Wayne Newton's Mr. New Vegas from Fallout: New Vegas (that one's for the nerds)—and his family. Even more wild? This is no pinché roadside bit of nonsense with a few moldy old fruits sitting there, but rather a robust business offering apples, plums, nectarines, berries, chile, chile powder, jams, jellies, grains, fruit butters, peaches, and, awesomely, cannabis (we noticed they had some pre-rolls for sale, so that's cool). Hell, The Fruit Basket even offers its own sodas, and we can tell you that the cream soda is good as hell.
We picked up some apple butter for the house, plus some cinnamon rolls. We wandered the mighty shop with glee. Eventually the hippie arrived and totally bought the violin, too, and by the time we'd downed that cream soda and got back in the car, we weren't even sure why we'd been upset about leaving the house in the first place.
In summation, The Fruit Basket rules and we're glad we went. We're not sure if buying fruit or whatever counts as a day trip, but if you're day-trippin' out toward Velarde, stop by. Tell 'em The Fork sent you. They won't know what that means.
The song "Day Tripper" by The Beatles
A good song for day-trippin'.
Also
- Since we apparently can't go a week without mentioning The Teahouse anymore, we couldn't help but notice the biz is now going by Santa Fe Teahouse & Bistro on social media, and that the company is hiring servers and hosts/hostesses. Interested parties can email info@santafeteahouse.com or call (505) 992-0972. Tell 'em The Fork sent you.
- Speaking of hiring, Atrisco Café and Bar is looking to fill host/runner positions and folks can apply in person at the the restaurant—193 Paseo de Peralta; inside the DeVargas Center. We like that place because it's basically the Tomasita's menu, only you don't have to wait forever for a table. Also? They're open on Sundays, which rules.
- We've got Oktoberfest things coming out the wazoo this week in Santa Fe, including the Santa Fe Brewing Co.'s Oktoberfiesta on Saturday, Oct. 5 and Sunday, Oct. 6 and Oktubafest (yes, tuba) at Second Street Brewery's Rufina Taproom on the same dates. We're talkin' brats, beers, steins, lederhosen, tubas, beers, other tubas, more beers, food, brats, contests, beers, contests, steins, tubas, steins beers, tubas and brats. For those who have never heard about Oktoberfest, it's a Germanic celebration that's all about those things we listed above.
- Also this Saturday and Sunday, Tesuque Casino hosts the 3rd World Posole Cooking Championships, a gathering of amateur and pro cooks doing their thing with one of New Mexico's most beloved dishes—posole. You'll find more info here.
- Sad news, Fork Frenz, as Santa Fe Spirits' General Manager Caitlin R (easily one of our favorite readers) has informed us SFS will close its downtown tasting room on Read Street after 11 years of spirits-ing it up. Apparently the company will extend its tasting room hours at its distillery tasting room and might could maybe pop up someplace else in the future. We don't have an end date yet, but check the site and call ahead, as always.
- Lastly in local food things to know, the Railyard's Nuckolls Brewing Co. hosts a special food truck pop-up this week featuring Los Angeles-based biz Cousins Maine Lobster. The long and short of it is that a truck will arrive with lobsters from 11 am-6 pm on Sunday, Oct. 6. Know that, shellfish fanatics.
The B52's "Rock Lobster"
If we're talkin' lobsters...
More Tidbits
- Yikes. Apparently of the myriad cinnamon brands tested by Consumer Reports recently, only six have been deemed safe. Ol' CR tested 36 ground cinnamon products, for the presence of lead, and they done found that lead in most. Want more info? Click this, bish. For real, though, check what cinnamons in your house and do a little research.
- Gov. Gavin Newsom of California signed the California Oppose Cruelty to Octopuses Act this week, because octopuses are rad. There's actually probably more to it than that, but the bottom line is that it's now illegal to farm octopuses in California. And before you write your fun little jokes about how "it's octopi," we urge you to clam it and know that it's actually octopodes. Octopodes nutz.
- Oh, Eater-dot-com, you never disappoint! Case in point? Writer Jess Brent breaks down how to cook a squirrel in their new piece. Glorious. We've never eaten squirrel, but just like we always say about any potential whale cheese that might flare into existence, we'll try anything once.
A totally scientific breakdown of The Fork's correspondence
In this week's edition of SFR, the other guy went to Carmelita's for a burger following soooooo much pressure from everyone, and we don't just mean Fork readers (though there are many of you..like, many more than any other section, we bet).
Number of Letters Received: 21
*What're we stuck on 21 for?!?!
Most Helpful Tip of the Week (a barely edited letter from a reader):
"Please don’t use “sammies”, it makes you sound like a Food Channel idiot."
*No deal, Patrick D! NO DEAL!
Actually Helpful Tip(s):
"I just wanted to add a location for a good french dip. The Cottonwood Kitchen at the Tesuque Casino has great French Dip and is well priced during happy hours"
*Reader Patrick M comin' in hot!
A total basket case,
The Fork
