New Mexico Restaurant Week is Here

Finally Restaurant Week has come to New Mexico and in its inaugural year it is running two weeks: February 28 – March 6 in Santa Fe and March 7 – 13 in Albuquerque!

For those who aren’t familiar with restaurant week, many large cities across the country do this to way to highlight their great restaurants with dinner specials at extraordinary prices. Generally you can have a three course dinner at a set price. Depending on the restaurant here it will run you from $25 for two up to $40 per person. A great deal.

Restaurant week will give you a chance to try those restaurants you have wanted to try, but considered out of your price range or just never got around to going.

I have put off getting together with friends until this week, thinking we will get more for our dollar and a great experience at the same time.

Wondering which restaurant to choose when you go? Here are my top three picks for Santa Fe and Albuquerque for New Mexico Restaurant Week.

 

Santa Fe:  

Compound: One of the higher end restaurants at $40 per person, which is a steal! This James Beard Award winning restaurant is worth the walk up Canyon Road to see the art along the way is worth it. My husband and I went there for my 40^th birthday and walked back to the Rail Runner following dinner.

The Ore House: On the balcony overlooking the Plaza is the perfect setting for early evening people watching and the only place I have ever sat in this restaurant.

Pranzo Italian Grill: Italian in Santa Fe? Why not? It is fabulous food, walking distance from the Rail Runner, and I took a cooking class from there and still cook some of their food at home to this day.

 

Albuquerque: So many of these restaurants are fabulous, it is difficult to pick three, but here they are!

Seasons Rotisserie & Grill: The first time we went here, we liked it so much that we made New Years reservations on the spot. They buy local food as much as possible, and have a great wine choice to go with it. Savoy Bar & Grill and Zinc Wine Bar & Bistro are related restaurants that are also wonderful. (I cheated, but all three of these restaurants are worthy).

Corn Maiden at Hyatt Regency Tamaya: North of Albuquerque at the Santa Ana Pueblo, but worth the drive. We went here for my husband’s birthday in early February and once again went all out for the birthday dinner. Ambiance is as fabulous as the food.

Brasserie La Provence: A French restaurant in Nob Hill has a nice variety of French food. My co-worker’s French  father approves. If a Frenchman approves, then it must be good.

There are many other participating restaurants and events. I hope you get a chance to enjoy our fine restaurants, and even some of the events. I certainly enjoy our fine restaurants on occasion.

Fried Fish Fridays

Acknowledging the season of lent and the strong Catholic influence in New Mexico, I must address an issue that presents itself more often than I’d like: fish can be healthy for you, but not when it is fried.

It may seem obvious, but read on. This clarification never occurred to me until one day several years ago, a fellow dietitian said that she opened her dad’s fridge and found several McDonald’s Fillet-o-Fish sandwiches. When she asked about them, he said that she had told him to eat more fish! From that day on, it cemented in my mind that every time I tell people that they should eat more fish I must clarify that it is NOT healthy if it is fried. Sometime people look at me like I’m crazy, as if it is obvious, where others ask “why” fried fish isn’t ok? I must further clarify that I am referring to deep fried fish, with batter.

The National Restaurant Association announced on Ash Wednesday that the fish promos are ready:

“Not only do savvy independent restaurateurs ready their Friday night fish fry promotions and upsell seafood entrées during Lent, but several quick-service chains have deployed their marketing and research and development dollars into seafood items for customers observing the tradition.”

Not many consumers realize that when they choose the fried fish sandwich at the quick service restaurants, these are not usually “healthier” choices as noted by this rundown of information from the respective restaurant websites today:

• McDonald’s Fillet-O-Fish: 380 calories, 18 g fat
• Wendy’s Premium Fish Fillet Sandwich: 500 calories, 24 g fat
• BK Big Fish: 640 calories, 32 g fat
• Carl’s Jr. Carl’s Catch Fish Sandwich: 710 calories, 37 g fat
• Subway 6” tuna salad sub: 530 calories, 30 g fat (while not fried, still high in calories and fat).

Friday Fixes

While this is likely a weekly occurrence for the next two months, these calories can easily add up and the fat grams are a third to half of a day’s worth in just the fish sandwich. Here is hoping you are spending Easter weekend at home and not at the heart hospital! It is when the fish isn’t fried and/or in a bath of butter, certain types of fish is good for you.

Here is what you can do to improve you fish: make your own meals. Homemade tuna salad with mustard and low-calorie mayo, grilled or broiled salmon, or salmon patties are healthier alternatives to deep fried fish. Additionally, grilled or sautéed shrimp is a good choice and easy and fast (under 30 minutes). Salmon, tuna, and shrimp are healthy options and generally easy to work with, especially when the salmon and tuna come in cans and vacuum packs.

Additionally, remember that while fish is a tradition, it isn’t required on Friday. As long as you are going meatless, you are good. So, salads are fine for lunch, and having a bean chile or other hearty vegetable stew with beans will also work on Fridays.

Breakfast Burrito Backlash

Frontier Breakfast Burrito

If you are New Mexican, or have visited the Land of Enchantment, chances are, you’ve had a breakfast burrito. After all, Tia Sophia’s in Santa Fe lays claim to inventing the breakfast burrito in 1975. If you have a breakfast burrito on a regular basis, you are doing a good thing, and perhaps a not so good thing.

The Good

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and it helps to jump starts your metabolism. Research indicates that people who consume breakfast tend to eat fewer calories throughout the day and weigh less. We need to fuel our body and our brain, “breaking” the 8-12 hour “fast.”

The Bad

The beloved breakfast burrito that so many New Mexicans go for in the morning  is a convenient grab and go breakfast. But here is the bad news: those convenient concoctions are potential disasters to your diet. A “basic” burrito of tortilla, two eggs and potatoes starts at 740 calories and 31 g fat. This is a burrito with NO cheese and NO meat. Start adding cheese, beans, bacon, sausage, carne adovada, and/or chorizo and the calories and fat grams quickly add up to 1,000 – 1,200 calories (or more if you smother it in chile). Additionally, you can easily get an entire day’s worth or sodium in a single breakfast burrito. So, even though you are eating breakfast, you could be ADDING weight, because you are taking in too many calories by starting your day with about half of your calories needs for the entire day.

What Can You Do

Continue to eat breakfast, but get control by making your own. Don’t have time? Think about this: going to get your breakfast burrito each morning is likely taking you the same amount of time or more to drive thru or walk to get your burrito than it would to make something yourself = about 10 minutes. Don’t believe it? Time it! Also, cutting back on the breakfast burritos to once a week, or even better, once a month, will not only help you save the calories, but cash (especially on the $4 breakfast burritos).

Here is what you need to know: Aim for about 20-25% of your total calories needs in the first meal of the day. For someone who needs 2,000 calories a day, that is 400 – 500 calories. Breakfast should include whole grain carbohydrate, lean protein, and fruit (or vegetable if you want chile).

• Whole wheat tortilla, 1-2 eggs, and salsa or green chile (8” tortilla is better than 12”)
• Hardboiled egg, 1 ounce of cheese (string cheese) and 6 ounces of 100% fruit or vegetable juice (toss in purse or backpack for a to-go breakfast).
• Whole wheat English muffin, egg and Canadian bacon (breakfast sandwich) and slice tomato.
• Fat free yogurt with frozen mixed berries and 2 tablespoons whole grain cereal
• Whole grain toast, peanut butter and banana
• Whole grain fruit and nut cereal and low-fat or fat-free milk
• Oatmeal with dried fruit and nuts and low-fat or fat-free milk
• A breakfast burrito — once in a while!