Christmas Day – Finding our White Christmas

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Slept in even a bit more than yesterday, breakfast at 9:30 at the hotel then off for a day in the Mountains. We covered a lot of ground today, 175 miles in the car, and 3 miles on foot.

The Jémez Mountain Trail.

The Jémez mountain trail is just northwest of Santa Fe. It is a circular route that takes you through the Bandelier National Monument, Caldera National Preserve, the Jémez National Forest and Jémez Indian Reservation. It was a very diverse drive with dramatic changes in both landscape and weather. The day started with clear skies and as we rose higher in elevation turned to snow.

The first stop was White Rock Overlook. This offered a dramatic view of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the Rio Grande River. From there it was on to Bandelier National Monument. The park was technically closed but you could still go in, just any of the informational or other amenities (except the restrooms) were not open. The reason you make the trip to Bandelier is 1) the views are spectacular and 2) to visit the village ruins and cliff dwellings of the Ancestral Pueblo peoples. Just a side note, the native people were not called pueblo, that is a name given to them by the Spanish Conquistadors.

Our timing was perfect, we got there just before the main parking lot filled up, when we left there was on available parking in the overflow lot. To view the dwellings, you take a 1.5-mile loop walk, some of which has several narrow stairs and some steep inclines, but we had our boots on and would not be deterred by any aches or pains of aging. The trail winds through the Frijoles Canyon (named as the main crops grown by the native people were corn, beans and squash, all in the same space.) The beans were the main crop as it added a layer of moisture protection for the corn, while the squash added extra mulch. I could go on for a long time about the history and sheer beauty of the area, but I will let the pictures speak for themselves, so be sure to check out all of the pictures at the bottom of the post.

This was the major sight of the day; the rest were basically drive byes and photo ops. We spent just over an hour at the sight. The next sight took us through the Valles Caldera National Preserve. The views here were beyond imagination. The preserve was created by a massive dual volcanic eruption millions of years ago. According to all of the signs along the way, it was 500 times more powerful than the May 18, 1980 of Mt. St. Helens. Now, since I am a native Oregonian and was 18 when Mt. St. Helens blew, I can tell you that what happened here must have wiped out everything, because Mt. St. Helens was pretty devasting, it wreaked havoc on our pool, not to mention the ash that was everywhere.

What is left is the amazing valley and now preserve, today which just happened to be covered with snow. Just before we arrived at the preserve, we had pulled over at a parking area to have our picnic. Which was eaten in our car as it was snowing when we had lunch.

From there it was just a nice scenic drive through the Jémez Forest. There were no further stops as most things were closed for the winter. We did drive through Jémez Springs, known for the natural hot springs, which would have felt very nice on my back and ankle, and the Jémez Pueblo, which is not open to visitors except during very specific festivals. There were some dramatic red rock cliffs in this area.

From there it was just a drive back to Santa Fe, did see a group of hot air balloons as we drove back to Santa Fe.

It was a very nice drive, but driving combined with the high altitude and the extensive walking does tend to wear you out. We didn’t have a lot of time back in the room before we had to head out to Christmas Dinner. This time was devoted to Tarragon.

Diner at Geronimo

Tonight’s dinner was arguably at the best restaurant in Santa Fe, confirmed by our Lyft driver who use to be a limo driver for a very wealthy Santa Fe Resident. It is on Canyon Road, the same street that our Farolito walk was on last night. The street tonight was much different no crowds of people, just a quite street. It is located in the Borrego House and old adobe hacienda. When you walk in there is a fireplace to welcome you and a very warm and comfortable atmosphere.

We were a bit early for our 7 pm reservation, which was not easy to get in the first place. We were in the last seating of the evening. We were warmly welcomed and led through a series of rooms to our table. A very nice corner table. We walked through a larger dinning room, that had a fire place on each end. Everyone seemed to be having a very good time.

After we were seated, we were greeted by our server and presented with two complimentary glasses of Gruet. He then gave us a brief explanation of what our experience would be for the evening then left us to relax and look over the menu.

Before I continue, just a few comments: 1) our server was more of a narrator than server. Throughout the evening he would in great detail explain each thing we ordered, then add other highlights of the dish when it was served. 2) The pace was outstanding, he even inquired if it was ok to put breaks in between courses. 3) It is not cheap, 4) tonight’s diner was a special four course menu for Christmas (there were several choices for each course.

Everything on the menu looked good and it was very difficult to make choices. In the end we decided to work our way backwards by choosing our entrée first, then the Second, then the First course. While we were perusing the menu, we went way off script and instead of continuing with the champagne, we each ordered the Borrego Margarita, simply the best margarita I have had since sitting at the kitchen counter at my dear friend Michelle parent’s house sipping a perfect margarita made by her father.

We had finally made our choices. The first course had several stand out items to choose from, not the least was a nice twist on Lobster Bisque, unfortunately it was made with clam stock so I could not have that. Since this was an outstanding meal, I am going to go through each course and fully describe each dish as presented on the menu and if I can remember how it was embellished by the server. Before I begin the food, the bread alone hit all the standards, it was warm, butter soft and all pretty much clearly house made. One choice was a jalapeno cheddar roll and the house made tortilla chips were amazing, a dash of cayenne and chile baked in.

First Course

Jerry started with the Wagyu Beef Carpaccio; perfectly thins slices of Wagyu beef served with Mustard-Horseradish Sauce, Herb Oil, Wild Arugula & Classic Garniture. What the menu didn’t tell you was that it was served with chopsticks and that the two bread sticks were like biting in to a cloud. There were also two sauces one an herb based the other lemon.

I had the Wasabi Caesar; Organic Romaine Spears, Crispy Rice “Dice”, Shaved Reggiano & Japanese Horseradish-Infused Caesar Dressing. The server went on to explain that the “Dice” were in fact three types of rice with I believe fennel that were then quickly deep fried until crispy. They were heavenly and still warm when served. The anchovy was served on the side, but I of course sliced it and incorporated into the salad. If I would have stopped at the first two bites, I would have been very disappointed, but as I got into the heart it just got better and better. It was so good that it has jumped into the top three of restaurant Caesars.

Just now as I was describing the first course, I got so hungry I had to go get some Kettle Chips left of yesterday’s picnic.

Second Course

In a very major switch, Jerry had the Lobster Raviolis (something I would normally order). Three lobster stuffed ravioli served with a leek puree, Meyer Lemon beurre blanc and baby greens. The lobster was cooked perfectly the ravioli melted in your mouth. The lobster had maybe a touch of paprika in it.

I when with the Hawaiian Tuna Tartare, served over sliced avocado, lime soy sauce & citrus greens. Nice presentation and the tuna was some of the best I think I ever had. The server explained that the tuna had arrived express from Hawaii that morning and was in the ocean two days before. Only way to get it fresher would have to be in Hawaii.

Other standout choices for the second course were the Maple Leaf Duck Leg Confit and the Carnaroli Rice Risotto (black truffles and lemon -caper emulsion).

Third Course

To accompanying our meal, we ordered a bottle of Chateau Monbousquet (St. Emillion). We requested decanting, which only made it better than it already was. It was a Grand Cru, and went perfectly with our entrées.

The table next to us (four top) were having a great time, and for each course they made sure to all order something different. Then they would take a couple of bites and trade plates so they each got to taste just about everything on the menu. They even ordered an Oregon Pinot and they were from Texas.

Jerry went with the Beef Duo; Pan-Seared Prime Wagyu Rib Eye, Slow0Braised Short Ribs, Sou Vide fingerling potatoes, Swiss chard & Veal demi. The meat was cooked to perfection. The Veal demi was what I strive for every time I make a Beef Wellington.

I had what also just happens to be the Dish of the Day, Grilled Colorado Lamb Rack. It was a full rack cooked perfectly medium rare; the only slight issue was it could have been just a bit warmer. It was served with Asiago cheese polenta, parsnip-leek purée, crispy shallots, Burgundy Lamb Demi & spicy Chimichurri. I had to ask for a side of the Chimi, as it was seared in to the lamb so I couldn’t get the full flavor. I am glad I did because it was some of the best chimichurri ever. The purée was wonderful could have had a bowl of it. Even Jerry liked the lamb.

If that wasn’t enough food dessert was yet to come. At this point we did take a brief break and looked over the aperitif menu. We very rarely order a after dinner drink, but this was Christmas and the best meal of the trip so far, so we splurged. I ordered a 15-year Dalmore Scottish Whiskey (more on that later) and Jerry had a VSOP Hennessy Cognac.

Fourth and Final Course – Dessert

Here is where it is very easy for a restaurant to miss the mark and not really finish strong with good desserts, not so the case here. Again, there were several things that sounded good but we did manage to choose.

Jerry had the “Apple”; Roasted apples in side a White Chocolate Mousse with hard shell so it looked like an apple, with butterscotch sauce (need a lot more of that), toasted cinnamon crumbs and Cognac Ice Cream (need to learn to make this.)

I went with a twist on my favorite cake. For years my mom always made me a German Chocolate Cake for my birthday, I have not had one for years. So, when I saw it on the menu, I had to have it. Yes, it was deconstructed, but had all of the classic elements. The cake was a flourless cake and the coconut frosting was in between two layers, all of which was inside a hard chocolate shell. It was served with a vanilla bean ice cream, fresh berry compote, chocolate crumble and balsamic salted caramel sauce (again needed much more of the caramel.)

After dessert, we enjoyed our cognac and Scotch. The reason I ordered the Scotch, was so we could toast to our upcoming trip to Ireland/Scotland. My thinking was if I toasted to the trip, we have been planning for over 2 years and sealed it with good Scotch, it would have to finally happen. We shall see.

True to form, we were the last to leave the restaurant. We were going to walk back, but between my back and ankle we opted for a Lyft instead.

The meal was a perfect ending to a wonderful Christmas Day. Back in the room we had a small nightcap and crashed.

I was so tired last night I could not finish this blog post so finishing up before we head out for the day. Museum Day 1.

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Photos

Grilled Colorado Lamb Rack
Dish of the Day