(June 21st, 2013) Contrary to popular belief, Albuquerque isn't really a desert. It's true that we are mostly in a high desert, complete with the requisite cactus and tumbleweed, but even the high desert is littered with Junipers, sage, wild flowers (such as Indian paint brushes), buffalo grass, and tons of other naturally occurring vegetation. As you get closer to the mountains, the ecosystem transitions into something more mountainous, which eventually gives way to an almost alpine, high altitude forest near the top of the Sandias.
In the other direction, the river introduces another unique ecosystem - cottonwood forests and farms (pecans, vineyards, and lavender). One of the more well known lavender farms in the area is attached to Los Poblanos, which is annually ranked as one of the most romantic inns in the US. Having been to Los Poblanos several times for the annual lavender festival, Kim and I thought that it was about time to go and enjoy the restaurant there, La Merienda.
The dinner itself was nice enough, but it was an odd evening since our waitress was having some...issues. Possibly with her boss, possibly due to some family crisis, we couldn't tell which, only that she was a bit upset but doing her best to put on a good face to finish her shift. Poor girl.
To start, the field plate with sauteed field greens, a sunny side up egg, piny nuts, crispy capers, and pickled chard stems. The lighting in the following images will be a bit weird...we were eating outside and it started off bring enough, but, due to the aforementioned issues, it ended up quite dark by the time we finished as you'll note in the progression of photos...
Next, the Monticello Feature Plate, which was savory goat cheese under a layer of black pepper macerated strawberries, topped with grissini and Monticello NM 16 year aged balsamic vinegar. Savory is the key word here as it was not what you'd expect just looking at the picture. Good, but unexpectedly interesting and almost too savory.
Main course number one: the Los Poblanos pork loin, larded and brined. Served with a honey red chile glaze and root vegetables from their garden that were roasted with corriander.
And the second main course for us, the lamb two ways - a chimmichurri rack of lamb and a carnitas style shoulder of lamb, served with blistered young onions and shallots. All of it was fantastic and highly local. And you can definitely tell the New Mexican influences on the cuisine....red chile glaze, carnitas style, pinon (pine nuts), etc.
We never really figured out what dessert was as it was on the house since dinner had taken such a long time. In fact, even though we had arrived in the middle of the dinner rush, our order wasn't put in (due to a slip up) until the very end, so the pork loin was the last that they had in the kitchen, and definitely the last cut that they would have wanted to use. Below is a chocolate mousse of sorts with a raspberry glaze on top, and above is a brioche with a peach sauce of sorts. We may never know anything other than it was good.
From here on out, hopefully, I've got more detailed notes about all the food that I enjoy posting pictures of...
And yes, we ended up being the last to leave. Night had come, and the peacocks had gone to roost elsewhere.
In the other direction, the river introduces another unique ecosystem - cottonwood forests and farms (pecans, vineyards, and lavender). One of the more well known lavender farms in the area is attached to Los Poblanos, which is annually ranked as one of the most romantic inns in the US. Having been to Los Poblanos several times for the annual lavender festival, Kim and I thought that it was about time to go and enjoy the restaurant there, La Merienda.
The dinner itself was nice enough, but it was an odd evening since our waitress was having some...issues. Possibly with her boss, possibly due to some family crisis, we couldn't tell which, only that she was a bit upset but doing her best to put on a good face to finish her shift. Poor girl.
To start, the field plate with sauteed field greens, a sunny side up egg, piny nuts, crispy capers, and pickled chard stems. The lighting in the following images will be a bit weird...we were eating outside and it started off bring enough, but, due to the aforementioned issues, it ended up quite dark by the time we finished as you'll note in the progression of photos...
Next, the Monticello Feature Plate, which was savory goat cheese under a layer of black pepper macerated strawberries, topped with grissini and Monticello NM 16 year aged balsamic vinegar. Savory is the key word here as it was not what you'd expect just looking at the picture. Good, but unexpectedly interesting and almost too savory.
Main course number one: the Los Poblanos pork loin, larded and brined. Served with a honey red chile glaze and root vegetables from their garden that were roasted with corriander.
And the second main course for us, the lamb two ways - a chimmichurri rack of lamb and a carnitas style shoulder of lamb, served with blistered young onions and shallots. All of it was fantastic and highly local. And you can definitely tell the New Mexican influences on the cuisine....red chile glaze, carnitas style, pinon (pine nuts), etc.
We never really figured out what dessert was as it was on the house since dinner had taken such a long time. In fact, even though we had arrived in the middle of the dinner rush, our order wasn't put in (due to a slip up) until the very end, so the pork loin was the last that they had in the kitchen, and definitely the last cut that they would have wanted to use. Below is a chocolate mousse of sorts with a raspberry glaze on top, and above is a brioche with a peach sauce of sorts. We may never know anything other than it was good.
From here on out, hopefully, I've got more detailed notes about all the food that I enjoy posting pictures of...
And yes, we ended up being the last to leave. Night had come, and the peacocks had gone to roost elsewhere.
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