Mrs. Buce nailed it: the secret is in the bread. We'd just stepped into the SantaCafe in Santa Fe. Nice environment, actually--very good imitation of a Mediterranean cloister, with all-weather seating. But Mrs. B. muttered: if they pile the bread that high on the sandwich, it means the customer isn't interested in the food.
Sure enough, that was all you needed to know. Enticing menu with a suggestive range of Asian/Latina recipes. Cooking good enough. But they skimped on the ingredients: the chicken "confit" in the taco tasted a bit too much like the stuff we got in the army, where "confit" (if they used the word at all) would mean "overboiled." The ceviche tasted like it had been on the truck a few hours too long. In sum: much better to look at and read about than to eat.
Nice wines, though: we drank a Pinot and Syrah, bothItalian Australian (!!) and both worth the price.
Fn: I read one review which describes the space as "zen." Japanese/Italian fusion architecture, to match the Asian/Latina on the menu?
Sure enough, that was all you needed to know. Enticing menu with a suggestive range of Asian/Latina recipes. Cooking good enough. But they skimped on the ingredients: the chicken "confit" in the taco tasted a bit too much like the stuff we got in the army, where "confit" (if they used the word at all) would mean "overboiled." The ceviche tasted like it had been on the truck a few hours too long. In sum: much better to look at and read about than to eat.
Nice wines, though: we drank a Pinot and Syrah, both
Fn: I read one review which describes the space as "zen." Japanese/Italian fusion architecture, to match the Asian/Latina on the menu?
1 comment:
Reminds me of Hemingway's observation that you can always tell a poor country---the bread is good and the whores are young.
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