REVIEW
Palate Pleaser I’m always a sucker for a dining room with a fireplace, especially when the snow’s flying. And when the restaurant is within walking distance of my downtown abode, as Rio Chama is, it becomes a regular haunt. Although this popular restaurant recently dropped the title “Steakhouse” from its inaugural name, the large and creative menu still offers a gallimaufry of terrific beef and meat dishes, and so, so much more. Proximity to the Roundhouse, our state capitol building, guarantees a lively bar scene and Santa Fe Dining, the management group that conceived and operates Rio Chama, was clever to include a large and comfortable drinking and socializing area within the walls of this bustling restaurant. On any given night, and especially when the legislature is in session, the sprawling tavern is packed with a convivial crowd that is busy imbibing, cruising, lobbying, and debating. Already feeling the pressure of the hectic holiday season, I was delighted when Chef Tom Kerpon invited my group to dine with him in the downstairs private dining room, away from the maddening crowd. The Abiquiu Room, as the stylish clubby chamber is called, sports a front-row view of the incredible wine cellar, walled on one side by glass—what a treat to watch our other delightful host, general manager and sommelier Randy Ropek, venture in and out of this visible wall and pull out bottle after fantastic bottle of vino, each one specifically selected to complement each and every dish of our delectable tasting-menu meal. Kerpon’s pedigree, with stops at numerous other Santa Fe restaurants, and particularly his tenure at the Anasazi Hotel, is why the food here is so special. Iowa born, Kerpon spent part of his career as a high school history teacher—now he teaches us Santa Feans a thing or two about tasty cookery. Having sequestered away the four of us in front of a roaring fire, Kerpon guided us through a sampling of practically the entire menu, with 1) a descriptive monologue of how he conceived each dish, 2) where many of the ingredients came from, and 3) why he thought the dish deserved a spot on his wide-ranging menu. It was a foodie’s dream dinner; a gourmet gorging that made me glad I had a walk home at the end of the night. The first courses showed off Kerpon’s multi-cuisine deftness and his aplomb at incorporating world flavors, savory sapors that venture far beyond steak-, chop-, and rib-land. The steakhouse classic of a wedge salad was a whopping chop of crisp iceberg lettuce with ultra-creamy blue cheese dressing, cukes, and tomatoes, along with a salty lick of olives and applewood-smoked bacon—as luscious as you remember it being from the 1970s. My guests, who are recent transplants to Santa Fe from Miami, loved helping me slurp up pristine Miyagi oysters from the Pacific coast. The rare cumin-sesame-seared tuna, served with a fiery wasabi vinaigrette and seaweed salad, helped us forget the frigid temperature outside. A heady cambazola cheese slice was served room-temp and soft, perfect for spreading on the accompanying shiitake mushroom flatbread, the pungency tamed with strips of roasted sweet bell pepper and tart caponata. The favorite of the table from the starters we gobbled up was a plate of raviolis stuffed with unbelievably tender braised buffalo short ribs in a zippy green peppercorn sauce served on a puddle of celery-root puree. As we licked the plate we started to understand why the “steakhouse” phrase was removed—this ain’t your Daddy’s chophouse. 54
santafean.com
february/march
2011
Even so, the main courses were more “redmeat-centric,” as Kerpon described them. After sampling his 21-day, dry-aged South Dakota buffalo ribeye, I don’t think I’ll ever enjoy a cut of meat that hasn’t been cured in this popular fashion; the aging concentrates the flavor and tenderizes the heck out of it. The cinnamon-chilerubbed beef tenderloin was just as fork tender, and the yummy New Mexican flavors showed up again in the chipotle-cheddar mashed Top: Rio’s 21-day, dry-aged South Dakota buffalo ribeye; potatoes. above: chef Tom Kerpon; facing page, top: the Abiquiu For the non-carnivores, Room; bottom left: the Tribute—Kerpon’s mini buffalo burgers; right: the wedge salad the lump crab-crusted ruby trout with smokey Cajun butter sauce will surely thrill any non-red-meat eater as much as it did us. And although we didn’t sample the pesto-marinated tofu with goat cheese-stuffed portobello, Kerpon obviously cooks just as creatively for vegetarians as he does for everyone else. The bar menu is eclectic and fun as well, with great versions of dishes that go perfect with beer and booze—chili, nachos, calamari, ribs, fondue, burgers, and the like. Along those bar-menu lines, Kerpon wowed us with an item known as “The Tribute.” A trio of mini buffalo burgers on toasted brioche, with shredded short ribs and seared nubs of foie gras, the Tribute is Kerpon’s homage to celebrity chef Daniel Boulud, the man
DOUGLAS MERRIAM
by John Vollertsen