Who needs three pounds of pasta? Total Pig, that's who…
May I recommend Aqua Santa as an excellent place to blow a bunch of someone else's money on way more food and wine than your waistline and workload allow at lunchtime? Let me explain. This was the lunch I ate today: half of an everything bagel, toasted and schmeared with artichoke pesto from La Montañita, followed by two leftover spiced quince halves, and then half a dozen teriyaki-flavored rice crackers (they were all I had!) dipped in the rest of the artichoke. All of this was washed down with the second half of a Diet Dr. Pepper I found rolling around under my desk. I hope this is making you feel better about your microwaved pizza-flavor Soup at Hand and frozen Snickers bar, because it's really making me sad when I compare it to the memory of yesterday's meal at Aqua Santa.
The place is pretty and homey, with vanilla-colored smooth plaster walls, wood-slatted chairs and a big rug that I vaguely recall as Oriental, but is probably Persian or from one of the Blah-blah-stans. The kitchen is open to the little dining room, but even when the tables are full the noise level is reasonable; there's no cacophony of clanging hotel pans or cooks shouting "Fire the oysters!" to distract you from your date.
The food is, well, fun. I say fun because I think food is more than yummy or filling, it's as much of a good time as a rainy day movie or night of nickel/dime/quarter poker with good buddies. Good restaurant food is intellectually as well as sensually appealing, and it says something about the mind of the cook. I've never met the guy, but I think chef Brian Knox's menu says something like, "Hey, I'm just a regular guy. I like pizza and tomato soup and pecan pie (all of which were on the menu in some form)-but wait, I got something so cool here, you gotta taste this!"
This sense of excitement comes out in dishes like his hamburger made from ground Shepherd's lamb ($10.50), the New Mexico-raised organic lamb that is absolutely outstanding. I mooched more than a few bites from my dining companion's burger and it was just oozing with juices that soaked the bun but didn't make it soggy.
Why don't more restaurants serve a lamb burger? It's like a burger, but better. Aqua Santa is the kind of place that could take someone who's afraid of food and turn him on to the high life for good. By the time the meal is over, your food-phobic friend won't care that he doesn't know what panna cotta is, but he wants to find out-and he would have been delighted by the excellent vanilla panna cotta ($6.50) with orange slices and blood orange compote. So check it out. The lunch menu runs from $6 for salads to about $16.50 for substantial entrees like swordfish confit with braised artichokes and heirloom tomatoes.
And now to completely change the subject. If that whole bit about Aqua Santa just didn't connect with you, then maybe you ought to check out Fatso's Fat Food at WilLee's Bluesclub. Chef Fabian Duranana and partner Thomas Wiggins started serving their trademark enormous portions during Fiestas de Santa Fe in September. Technically, you can order food as early as 4 pm, when the bar opens, but Wiggins told me that they've actually been serving as early as noon because so many of their friends, neighbors and regulars have begun banging on the back door and demanding food.
The menu offers foot-long subs that really are a foot long and plates of pasta that Wiggins says contain three pounds of pasta. No, that's not a typo, three pounds of pasta. "Do single people order that?" I asked. "Yeah, in fact the owner of the bar is having one right now," he replied before shouting a confirmation across the room. "HEY! WHAT IS THAT, THE LINGUINE? OH, TORTELLINI!" Three pounds of tortellini can't be good for you and Wiggins reports that most people do share. Not a bad deal, considering the pasta dishes cost about $9.
Wiggins says that his partner used to cook for Gov. Richardson before striking out on his own with dishes like the Fatso Burger. That's double meat, double cheese and double bacon with roasted poblano peppers. The burger is also $9, but if you can eat two in one sitting (each one weighs more than a pound) then they're both free. Otherwise, everything at WilLee's comes with a to-go box.
Aqua Santa
451 W. Alameda St.
982-6297
5:30-9 pm Tuesday-Sunday; noon-2 pm Wednesday-Friday
WilLee's Bluesclub
401 S. Guadalupe St.
982-0117
Serving food every night from 4 pm until last call.
Tell me where to eat! I need your input. Send all of your tips, gripes and raves to food@sfreporter.com.
