WORLD-CLASS
Geronimo the Metropolitan Opera of Santa Fe fine dining
Here we are again, at the beginning of a new year. Just for fun, we thought we’d start year at the top of the local restaurant food chain and work our way from there.
In the classic 250-year-old adobe, Geronimo must be the Metropolitan Opera of settings. From the rack of antlers above the cheery hearth to a suffused amber glow and those towering flowing folds of golden drapes, it is positively Wagnerian.
We prefer the chamber setting of the lounge; intimate, at times crowded, with a fireplace, bar and small tables. Perfect. (Also, there’s the fond, not-toodistant memory of Sam Shepard, alone at the bar doodling in a notebook, our brief discussion about bourbons — he was “prejudiced,” he said, and it was Kentucky only for him — and buying him a drink, anonymously, afterward. Here’s to you, Sam.)
Several items available only in the bar make it reason enough to be seated, with the same top-drawer service and great value — pomme frites ($12, with truffle aïoli, spicy ketchups), Maine lobster tempura ($24, with sesame chile aïoli, yuzu sweet and sour), the popular green chile macaroni cheese ($12, Hatch green chile, applewood-smoked bacon), mesquite-grilled prime flat iron steak ($19, potatoes, snap peas, pepper glacé) and a trio of Kobe beef sliders ($16, cornichons, Asian cucumber slaw, hoisin ketchup and cheddar cheese).
Remaining in the lounge, we chose liberally from the main menu, stuck close to the fireplace, Geronimo notables and “comfort food,” and were generously rewarded. My companion declared that the Maryland blue crab cakes ($17, caviar-dill sauce, braised leeks and baby watercress in a beurre blanc) were the best she has had anywhere and, having just returned from Washington, D.C., where I enjoyed excellent crab cakes (Ted’s Bulletin, 14th and T), I must agree.
Another serving of crab followed with the warm leek and white asparagus bisque ($16, spinach purée, jumbo lump crab and buttermilk biscuit), a cheeky combination of textures and tastes nicely conceived and created; and after a classic red Belgian endive salad ($16, warm sweet onion vinaigrette, applewoodsmoked bacon, Tucumcari organic goat cheese, candied pecans), we were ready for main courses.
A signature dish is the fiery sweetchile-and-honey-grilled Mexican white prawns ($36, jasmine almond rice cakes, red onion, and yuzu-basil aïoli and frisée), and it did not disappoint. The cooked-two-ways organic chicken ($34, with housemade artisan cheese tortellini, Italian sausage, chanterelle mushrooms, au jus) is a hearty Italian-style variation on coq au vin and just the thing on a chilly Sunday evening.
You might think that after all that, there was no room for dessert — and you would be wrong. One who has had everything always wants more, and so it was that the flourless German chocolate cake ($12, vanilla bean ice cream, balsamic caramel sauce, fresh berry compôte) was as photogenic as it tasted, and ditto the fresh Meyer lemon crêpe ($12, lemon curd, creme fraïche and limoncello), and not a bad combination. For the world-class dining adventure, Geronimo is the place to go.