Green Chile Burger at Bobcat Bite (Santa Fe, NM)

The green chile burger at Bobcat Bite may be the most famous food item in Santa Fe, having been voted best burger in America by Bon Appetit, featured in Gourmet, Food Network, and many more.

Bobcat Bite is actually on the outskirts of Santa Fe and about a 20-30 minute drive down the Old Las Vegas Highway. We made the drive from the city at the urging of FoodGPS. The restaurant's name apparently came from the wild bobcats that used to wander around to get fed. I wonder if they like green chile too?


Here's the burger breakdown:
Buns from Fano bakery in Santa Fe, a juicy 10 oz patty (ground chuck), a mix of American and Swiss cheese, melted, tomato, lettuce, and of course minced green chile.

Look at that thick juicy patty, pink in the middle:

A very satisfying burger, with a kick. If you're already in Santa Fe, it's not that far of a drive and worth visiting. Eat outside or in the low ceiling-ed dining room. It's tight, but it's part of the experience.

Bobcat Bite
420 Old Las Vegas Highway
Santa Fe, NM 87505
(505) 983-5319
www.bobcatbite.com/

Liquid Lunch: Smoked Tomato Martini with Beef Jerky at Napa Valley Grille

The phrase "I drank my lunch/dinner" is often thrown around jokingly - I've heard it mostly in reference to Guinness - but with Napa Valley Grille's Smoked Tomato Martini ($12), you can literally do so.

The martini was a collaboration between the bar and the kitchen, between beverage director Christina Sherwood and Executive Chef Joseph Gillard. It contains vodka infused with smoked tomato and peppercorn, blue cheese ball tossed in cashew crumbs and wrapped in salami, house-made prime sirloin beef jerky, olive, rimmed with togarashi and salt.

I suggest starting with the spicy jerky and martini part, then calm your tongue down with the creamy blue cheese.
It's spicy, it's savory, it's boozy. Three-martini lunch, anyone?

Cafe Del Rey (Marina del Rey, CA)

Seems like I've been making my way to Marina del Rey more and more now. Cafe del Rey is a favorite of MDR locals and I have recently heard great things about it from friends, so I welcomed the invitation to a blogger tasting there.

Ahi tuna crudo

From the dining room you get a view of the boats in the marina.

Their cocktail list is fairly small but interesting enough. One of them features "hum botanical" which is rum infused with hibiscus, ginger, green cardamom and kaffir lime. This was the first time I've seen it in a cocktail menu and the herbal taste was quite strong (may not be for everyone).
I started the night with a spiced apple bourbon (woodford reserve, spiced apple cider, simple syrup, ginger ale) -$12

Executive Chef Daniel Roberts grew up in New York City and started his career in Queens. Upon moving to California he worked as executive sous chef at Mondrian Hotel and Asia de Cuba, where he was promoted to executive chef after one year. He then moved on to work at Portofino Hotel and Yacht Club before finally landing at Cafe del Rey.

We started with a trio of raw appetizers, including the ahi tuna crudo pictured above, beef carpaccio, and scottish salmon.
Beef carpaccio, unexpectedly complemented with golden beets, arugula salad, lemon caper vinaigrette.

Housecured Scottish salmon with crisp artichoke, crème fraiche, tiny greens. This dish comes with a shot of basil vodka limoncello, which I thought paired quite well with it.

Chef Roberts also exhibited some Mediterranean slant in his menu, like his fun Kafta cigar (lamb kafta wrapped in dough and deep fried, sitting on an "ashtray" of tzatziki sauce) and falafel.

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