Art & Food

What a combination! And no matter where you go in New Mexico, you'll run into it.

Art

I'm not going to pretend I know anything about the cities we visited, but it's a fair assumption that Santa Fe and Taos are best known for their vibrant art scenes. The coexistence of Hispanic, Anglo- and Native American cultures has attracted artists all along; Georgia O'Keeffe is obviously the most famous artist who moved to New Mexico, but she surely wasn't the only one. Our little trip was much inspired by O'Keeffe's legacy; we stopped at the O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, visited her summer vacation spot at Ghost Ranch, and ooh-ed and aah-ed at her home and studio in Abiquiu, where she permanently lived for more than three decades. Even if you know nothing about O'Keeffe or don't like her, I guarantee you'll love her art (and admire her for the feminist she was) once you've seen where she's lived and worked. Patroness of the arts, Mabel Dodge Luhan invited many artists and writers (most famously O'Keeffe and D.H. Lawrence) into her house in Taos, which we visited, along with the home of the Blumenscheins and Nicolai Fechin's Russian-inspired house. Fechin has to be one of the greatest portrait artist of all times; I was surprised to learn he had lived in Taos (if only for a few years).

Among the most memorable art on display in Santa Fe were baskets--woven, sewn, glued, hammered; traditional and very untraditional. If you pass through town before September, do visit the exhibition Intertwined (at the New Mexico Museum of Art). These baskets are amazing (if not necessarily always baskets). I want to learn how to do basketry now! And weaving! (Oh, those woven rugs everywhere!) Of course, jewelry and pottery are among the most prominently practiced crafts in the region, and we visited the Santa Clara Pueblo specifically to look at the famous black pottery, of which Erik's mom owns a few pieces.

Food

Yes, we ate plenty. I will exercise self-control and restrict myself to naming just three places (although I could name six, easily). (1) If you have a thing for gnocchi (which is a weird thing to admit to, but here I go: I love gnocchi. The home-made kind, the one that makes potato mash stick to everything in your kitchen and beyond, the one that is particularly delicious with melted butter and fried sage), go to the restaurant at the Inn of the Anasazi in Santa Fe. Gnocchi with oyster mushrooms: hello heaven! (2) There's nothing in Abiquiu but O'Keeffe's house, the smallest post office you've ever seen, an old-fashioned general store (called Bode's and quite famous), and the Abiquiu Inn. The food at the Inn--wow! So good! We had dinner there and breakfast, and both meals were absolutely fantastic. (Tamale Cake Napoleon, anyone? And that's just the appetizer.) (3) Vegetarians, don't be offended: I highly recommend the The Steakout Grill and Bar in Taos, but mostly because of its risotto. This was almost as good as Martina's risotto in Milan.

Oh well, here some more restaurant recommendations: Great breakfasts at (4) Tia Sophia's in Santa Fe and (5) Church Street Cafe in Albuquerque. Fabulous desserts at (6) Café Paris in Santa Fe.

I leave it to Erik to write about the New Mexico wine we tried. Cheers!