Restaurant Martin
On Saturday evening Oakley and I decided to leave the kitchen behind and have somebody else cook for us for a change. I haven’t gone out to restaurants lately, because I usually prefer to cook at home. Besides being easier on the wallet, it also has the added benefit of having left-overs that I can pack for Pia’s lunch the next days.
That said, I do enjoy going to restaurants and dissecting the dishes. After our first tastes of a dish, we sit there and try to list all the ingredients and how things were prepared. It’s like a foodie crossword puzzle.
Saturday Restaurant Martin was on the menu. Given past experience, we decided not to make a reservation, because we expected Martin to be moderately busy like most places in town. To my surprise, we did not get a table and ended up eating at the bar. I don’t mind that at all, in fact sometimes I prefer the busy environment of the bar over a quiet table.
Oakley was delighted when she spotted the “Snake River Farm Pork Belly” on the Appetizer menu. We added the lamb ravioli to round things off. Pork Belly is really hard to come by in Santa Fe. We asked all around town and there’s a slim chance that the pork guy at the Farmer’s Market will have some good news for us next weekend. The pork ended up being the dish of the evening, especially with the divine Cauliflower Mousseline which performed a happy-dance on our taste buds.
The appetizers were followed by some perfectly cooked Maine Diver Sea Scallops and an order of the Maple Leaf Farms Duck Breast. Both dishes were fine, but if you look for vegetables to go with your dish, you may want to order some extra sides.
And just because it was Saturday, we threw in one order of the Bourbon Vanilla Grand Marnier Creme Brulee to share, which was satisfying, but not more.
Restaurant Martin has re-visit written all over it. We had a delightful dinner and will most certainly try it again.
