Joy Godfrey
Maple Leaf Farms duck breast with butternut curry purée, fermented apples, sugar snap peas and black currant emulsion
Just for kicks, let's start at the end. Chef Martin Rios and his wife and business partner Jennifer began a tradition a few years back that has stuck around: Dessert comes with an embossed spatula. It helps get those last few smears of delectable sauce off the plate. We wanted it for the buckwheat-nut tuile and the ginger and cassis ginger curd that dotted the plate around housemade mint chocolate chip ice cream and a coffee and chocolate ganache ($11). Our main is roasted Colorado lamb lollipop chops served with quinoa, spinach, caramelized celery root and English peas with blackened rosemary reduction ($46). The menu is nothing if not creative, but not just for the sake of whimsy: The dishes are really tasty too. There's a reason Rios has been a James Beard semifinalist or finalist eight times. The most memorable dish of our visit this time was the ricotta cavatelli appetizer ($17), which had us picturing a little Italian grandmother standing over his shoulder. Plated with artistry, the tiger prawns had a pleasing grilled finish without even a hint of being overdone. The cream sauce made with chicken liver butter had a fresh approach with herbs and watercress alongside cured heirloom tomatoes. Sitting down at our patio table was the beginning of a good thing.
Lunch
Tuesday-Friday
Dinner
Tuesday-Sunday
Brunch
Sunday
.$$$.
Restaurant Martín
526 Galisteo St.,
505-820-0919
Instagram: @restaurantmartin
