The Rutabaga Inn. O
Nicholas Thompson wrote:
Dale,
While we are ranting ....
Is there a restaurant in Santa Fe where one can get good food?
We celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary last saturday by going out to a
restaurant which served -- as a matter of style and conviction -- multiple
teensy weensy little entrees that managed to be overflavored and
unsubstantial. The waiter explained that this style was to allow us to
"appreciate what the chef was doing". It was like we were asked to lick
an oil painting before it had dried. The week before, we went to a mexican
style restaurant where the food was so over spiced one had no idea what we
were eating. Nobody seems to know around here that hot spices are a
bacteriostatic preservative not a flavoring, poured on food in hot climates
because otherwise you could not trust it not to kill you. A chef who over
seasons food is like a used car salesman who offers you one of those little
pine trees as a premium.
So. I am looking for a restaurant where the chef chooses the best,
freshest ingredient he can get his/her hands on and presents them in a
manner that doesnt get between me and the food. I am looking for the
gastromic equivalent of a sentence with a minimum of adjectives and
adverbs.
...that is, Good food. Is there such a restaurant in Santa Fe?
N
Nicholas S. Thompson
Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology,
Clark University ([email protected])
http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
[Original Message]
From: Dale Schumacher <[email protected]>
To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <[email protected]>
Date: 3/30/2009 2:14:25 PM
Subject: [FRIAM] Fwd: Locovores
Steve's rant motivated me to ask my local expert, my partner Beth.
Here's what she had to say...
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Beth Carls <[email protected]>
Date: Mon, Mar 30, 2009 at 2:29 PM
Subject: RE: [FRIAM] Locovores
To: [email protected]
Dale - Thanks so much for sharing this FRIAM thread with me. It is
indeed of interest to me.
I am a little saddened, but not surprised by the attitudes expressed.
It seems that what is missing from this thread, is the same sentiment
that I see missing from so many of the conversations on locovorism
(and organics, and vegetarianism for that matter), and that is the
idea of moderation. It would be unreasonable and perhaps disastrous to
expect everyone to "go local". But the reality is we no longer have
the luxury of doing nothing, and we should all do something to change
our food system. Our health and the health of our planet depends on
it.
I would argue that life is far too short for extremism and
deprivation. We should all make changes when and where we are able.
For some that means a garden, for others it means the occassional
visit to the local farmer's market.The key is to do what you can, but
do something.
Michael Pollan sums up these moderate changes perfectly in the mantra
of his book In Defense of Food; "Eat food, not too much, mostly
plants." I was also pleased last week when Michelle Obama, in an
article in the New York Times, acknowledged that not everyone has a
place to garden, nor can evryone afford organics, she advocates making
changes where you can and a move away from processed foods.
The bottom line is this: the time has come for us all to be more
mindful of our food choices, and our stewardship of this planet. And
the best way to be "mindful" is to be informed. The folks on your
FRIAM list seem to generally be reasonable, intelligent, and well
read. Perhaps they would appreciate a recommendation of resources...?
I would suggest, as a start, the above mentioned book by Michale
Pollan. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. And the book
I happen to be reading right now; Local Flavors by Deborah Madison -
this book is a collection of recipes and essay about eating seasonally
and locally from farmer's markets. Ironically, her "local farmer's
market" and the main subject of the book, is the market in Santa Fe,
NM.
Cheers!
Beth
Read the new blog -
http://inthekitchenandthegarden.blogspot.com
I've listed more new work on my website! -
http://www.bluevalentinepress.com
============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
------------------------------------------------------------------------
============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
