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Roll up your sleeves for a cooking class at the Santa Fe Culinary Academy, then stroll through the growing gallery scene in the Railyard District.
(Photo: Courtesy of Santa Fe Culinary Academy (L); courtesy of (R)) |
Roll up your sleeves and dive into the bold flavors of New Mexican cuisine. Take a class at the Santa Fe School of Cooking (from $75) and learn to prepare four different types of chiles rellenos ($98), or try your hand at whipping up a custom hot sauce (you’ll sample three types: smoky adobo tomato, green-chile poblano, and mustard-mango habanero). The storied school also hosts different restaurant walks ($115) with stops at classic spots like tapas haven La Boca and new bistro TerraCotta; chefs will often unveil sneak peeks of new specials on their seasonally changing menus. For technique-obsessed foodies, the Santa Fe Culinary Academy offers community classes, such as how to master white sauces (velouté, béchamel, and beurre blanc) followed by a seated dinner of your creations ($75), and a wild-game cuisine demonstration ($95) using meats like elk, wild boar, venison, and duck. Check in for pop-up dinners ($45) like the recent “Holy Mole,” featuring dishes like pumpkin bisque with mole-verde wontons and "Moroccan Mole" lamb sausage.
Stroll through the robust contemporary-arts scene in the revitalized Railyard District, a departure from the more traditional Canyon Road galleries. Start your tour at the nonprofit pioneer Site Santa Fe, known for its edgy exhibits and biennial series, currently showcasing “Unsettled Landscapes” with 45 artists (through January 11, 2015). Continue to the neighboring David Richard Gallery featuring postwar abstract art, LewAllen Contemporary with terrific Fritz Scholder lithographs and Dirk de Bruycker’s luminous paintings, and Charlotte Jackson for sculpture and minimalist collage work. Down the street, Gerald Peters Gallery showcases a range of paintings from American modernists, to European Impressionists, to paintings out of the Taos Society of Arts and the Santa Fe Art Colony.
On Saturday mornings, stop by the vibrant, year-round Santa Fe Farmers Market with rows of over 150 local purveyors selling giant, gorgeous sunflowers; a seasonal array of fresh greens, baked breads, and cheeses; and local products like blue-corn posole, cactus honey, handmade goats' milk soaps, and sage smudge sticks. Stock up on gourmet dark chocolates from Chocolate Smith, fresh chiles (and warm tamales) from the Trujillo Family Farm, and green-chili-and-pinon-garlic mustard from Old Pecos Foods. During hatch-chile season (August to September), follow the unmistakable smoky aroma to the northern end and find resident chili authority Matt Romero Farms offering zippered sandwich bags ($6) and burlap sacks ($13) of the warm charred treats. Once you’ve stocked up on provisions, wander about the ten-acre Railyard Park, a collaboration by New York–based architects Ken Smith and (now deceased) Frederic Schwartz, featuring an alameda, plaza, and cool-water harvesting system.