Well sit right down, kids, and we'll tell you the tale of the time we had a cajeta (that's goat milk caramel sauce) sundae at Dr. Field Goods in Santa Fe that was so good we spent the following several gazillion months looking for a similar sauce.
OK, so we know that sounded like we'd have a big buildup to some kind of long story, but the truth is, we fell in love with this particular cajeta and wanted some for the house. And though we found some commercial-grade stuff at El Paisano grocery store that came close to scratching the itch, we finally (finally!) found a product that tastes precisely right, but comes with the added benefit of being a local thing.
First off, apologies here, because we're going to mention Picnic NM hot on the heels of having mentioned it recently in The Fork's Second Annual Best of Santa Fe from earlier this month—but it's where we got the dang stuff we're about to describe. Deal with it America! Special thanks, too, to Picnic NM's Lauren Stutzman for helping us out (read, offering us a sample) and even bigger thanks to Ghost Town Goats, a goat farm in Cerrillos and the very place that makes our new favorite cajeta.
For a mere $10 (plus tax), you can get a little mason jar of the goaty goodness, which comes to us courtesy of Ghost Town Goats' herd of Nigerian dwarf goats (here's a link to the website, which means a link to a bunch of photos of ADORABLE goats). Owners John and Brynn (whose last names we don't know) have been known to set up at the Farmers' Market in Cerrillos within the Cerrillos Station, so you could probably get the cajeta there, too. You can order via that website we just linked as well.
So what have we done with our cajeta so far? Well, it comes in an admittedly small container, so we're all Dune-core about they-who-control-the-cajeta. In other words, we've thus far drizzled a small amount on some vailla gelato, but it was perfect in its taste and in how it didn't get all rock-hard when we put it in the fridge. In fact, you could probably just sit on down and scarf a container of the cajeta on its own, but we're putting out a call to action: Get some cajeta, put it on something, tell us about it. If you describe a combo of cajeta and _______ that we love, snap a photo and send it our way and you'll be automatically entered into a contest wherein we pick someone at random and send them something cool.
In the meantime, goats forever!
When we think about goats, we think about Melvins.
Also
- We've been known to peruse the beer-forward website Dark Side Brew Crew, a blog sort of thing that follows beer in New Mexico. We recommend you do the same, because it's where we learned about a soon-to-open Santa Fe brewery called Keeping Together. The story is harrowing (no spoilers, but the Dark Side Brew Crew's story is dropping in three parts, and the first part is already Fork-long (which is to say pretty long). In summation, if you like beer, you might like the sentences before this one.
- The new owners have only been in charge for about 10 seconds, yet Kaune's Neighborhood Market already has a new product on the shelves that we very badly want—a number of aguas frescas, including piña colada, horchata and stawberry con leche.
- Though it feels a little early for chile roasting season (stupid climate change), the much-loved Fred's Socorro Chile Stand is open for biz at 1688 St. Michael's Drive as we speak. If ever there were a sentence you can practically smell, it's this one. You'll find lots of other chile roasters in the coming days, but if you're antsy right now and want it immediately, go to Fred's by following the smell (or going to the address we included up there).
- In now-deleted social media posts on both Facebook and Instagram, management from Canyon Road restaurant The Teahouse announced it will close as of Aug. 25. That's only a few days after this Fork drops, so you it's possible you've already missed your shot to dine there again—though if the whining we've seen online is any indication, most of you are super-pumped because you were scared of the new menu (SFR thought it was awesome). We've made repeated attempts to obtain a comment, but the phone has been busy for, like, days now.
Where have you been all our life, song about aguas frescas?
More Tidbits
- We assumed Beyoncé has enough money, but she still released a new whiskey with Moët Hennessy dubbed Sir Davis. Right on, Beyoncé. Right on. Have we told you about the new Fork drink? It's called water and you get it from your kitchen faucet like magic.
- In "Oh, shit, are we now in a position where we have to say 'good job, Walmart,'?" news, Walmart is cutting prices on thousands of items, including groceries. It seems that doesn't apply to certain dry goods and processed foods and soda, but it's still better than if they upped prices, wethinks. If you're not a poor like us, you might be surprised to learn that it's really hard to afford food and stuff right now.
- Lastly this week, Costco soda cups have been deemed NSFW and thus gone viral, and it's all because if you tear a certain part of the cup in a certain way, the negative space looks kinda-sorta like a dick. You can see a photo here, but we don't get what the big deal is. Grow up, America.
A totally scientific breakdown of The Fork's correspondence
In this week's edition of SFR, Dinner For Two surprises one of our writers who just can't get over the past.
Number of Letters Received: 10
*Pathetic, y'all.
Most Helpful Tip of the Week (a barely edited letter from a reader):
No tips.
*What the hell?
Actually Helpful Tip(s):
A bunch of people complimented us, but we can't cook that.
*Start writing us more letters, dang!
The GOAT,
The Fork
