To whet your appetite (note that not all dishes pictured are on the Restaurant Week menus): Begin your meal at the 疯客直播 Fe Teahouse & Bistro with a carrot and roasted beet salad (1). Boxcar served seared diver scallops on a sunchoke puree at the 2024 Wine and Chile Fiesta (2) with Executive Chef Eric Stumpf (3) behind the dish. Palace Prime chef Angel Franco鈥檚 (5) tagliatelle (4) and branzino (6). Manhattan Avenue Deli offers a hot pastrami sandwich on toasted rye (7). Queso fundido (8) at Joe鈥檚 Tequila Bar calls for a margarita from bartender David Pecorari (9).听
To whet your appetite (note that not all dishes pictured are on the Restaurant Week menus): Begin your meal at the 疯客直播 Fe Teahouse & Bistro with a carrot and roasted beet salad (1). Boxcar served seared diver scallops on a sunchoke puree at the 2024 Wine and Chile Fiesta (2) with Executive Chef Eric Stumpf (3) behind the dish. Palace Prime chef Angel Franco鈥檚 (5) tagliatelle (4) and branzino (6). Manhattan Avenue Deli offers a hot pastrami sandwich on toasted rye (7). Queso fundido (8) at Joe鈥檚 Tequila Bar calls for a margarita from bartender David Pecorari (9).听
Who doesn鈥檛 love a bargain? As the cost of ingredients goes up and up, the management at your favorite restaurants have to do what they can to keep the books in the black 鈥 and the effects end up reflected on your bill. Even Blake鈥檚 Lotaburger is adding a buck to any dish you order from them that contains an egg; a sign of the times, I鈥檓 afraid.
Happily, 疯客直播 Fe Restaurant Week, running Monday, February 17, through February 26, might be able to add flavor to our days and nights, tickle our palates, and be gentle on our wallets with some meal deals that allow us to try items on menus at places that might typically be beyond our budgets.
Now in its 14th year, the week鈥檚 lineup includes more than 30 places that will vie for your business by offering tasting menus and an array of dishes. Also new this year, 疯客直播 Fe Restaurant Week teamed up with the New Mexico Beef Council to offer an additional discount for meat lovers. It鈥檚 a clever approach, given that New Mexico cuisine tends to be more pork driven.
Diners get $5 off any beef-centric entr茅e of any of the menus that feature them at participating restaurants. Already I鈥檓 saying, 鈥淲here鈥檚 the beef?鈥 as I head to Palace Prime for Chef Angel Franco鈥檚 fork-tender steak au poivre, TerraCotta Wine Bistro鈥檚 new owner/chef Jose Rodriguez鈥檚 prosciutto-wrapped beef tenderloin with foie gras hollandaise, and Midtown Bistro Chef Angel Estrada鈥檚 New Mexico beef ribeye with green chile mashed potatoes. Hungry yet?
Not just full-service restaurants are participating — delis, bars, and pizzerias are among those offering the markdown. Check out to make plans, but note that some eateries are only offering the deal at lunch, some for both lunch and dinner; some are accepting reservations, while others are not. Prices for dishes range from $25 to $70.
The Beef Council (nmbeef.com) also offers information on choosing cuts of beef as well as cooking tips and a vast offering of recipes that tempted even me to try. The council also hosts Beef University, a free online training program that covers beef basics to help you raise and market your beef, should you decide to take up ranching. (I don鈥檛 think 疯客直播 Fe Avenue is ready for my cattle herd!)
Other dishes not to miss on the Restaurant Week lineup include: anything Chef Dakota Weiss whips up at the Coyote Cafe (yep, she鈥檚 back at the stoves while still running her popular Capital Coal Neighborhood Eatery); Boxcar Chef Eric Stumpf鈥檚 two-hander Guinness-braised Reuben; spicy chipotle shrimp and a margarita or two at the fun Joe鈥檚 Tequila Bar; perhaps a bowl of matzo ball soup, a knish, and a latke from the new Manhattan Avenue Deli; and so much more.
In cahoots with the Beef Council, I鈥檒l be teaching a class called 鈥淗ere鈥檚 the Beef鈥 at Las Cosas Cooking School on February 21 with meat provided by Moriarty-based Trilogy Beef and the wonderful butchers at Market Street.
疯客直播 Fe boasts so many unique food events each year, from Taco Wars to the 疯客直播 Fe Wine and Chile Fiesta, that it鈥檚 no wonder we are considered such a culinary destination. 鈼
Chef Johnny Vee is director and creator of the Las Cosas Cooking School, which just celebrated its 25th year under his direction.
