Picture a farmhouse. It’s hospitable and warm, with a pleasant aroma of earth, food, and tradition. A devoted dog naps quietly on the porch. The entire place is comfortable and casual, and when a stranger comes calling, they are graciously welcomed with a plate of homemade food and a glass of ale. The food is…
Kei and Molly
Can a dish towel be more than a dish towel? Can it serve a greater purpose than drying dishes or hands and looking pretty? Can it provide security, compassion and even hope? In rare instances, yes. With their socially conscious business, Kei & Molly, Albuquerque-based textile printers Kei Tsuzuki and Molly Luethi create more than beautiful…
The Railyard—Santa Fe’s Family Room
Community. It means different things to different people. It can be a neighborhood, a city, a club, a civic organization or a collection of like-minded individuals. There are communities built around religion, retirement, lifestyles, hobbies, residence, parenthood, ancestry… the list goes on and on. But the one thing that all communities share is human connection….
New Mexico’s Native Hops
Here in New Mexico, we like our hops. In a land where spicy food is king, powerful flavors rule. When it comes to our beer, hop-forward IPAs are a statewide favorite. So it seems only fitting that New Mexico should grow its very own native hop variety, the Neo-mexicanus 1, and that New Mexico hop…
Backstreet Bistro
“You gotta ansa tha phone!” Backstreet Bistro owner David Jacoby’s Brooklyn accent—undiminished even after decades in Santa Fe—rises over the clamor of soup bowls and clang of metal ladles during the lunchtime rush. His tone is more insistent than angry, and by the second ring, he’s around the counter and on the phone, jotting down…
Santa Fe Workshops
There’s something exceptional hidden away in the foothills of Santa Fe—something that has drawn people to our city for almost three decades. Travelers have come from all over the world—Hong Kong, Singapore, Colombia, Israel, India—to work, to study and to teach at a modest little campus on Carmel Road. Some students come again and again…
Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta – Mass Ascension
Last weekend, I got up early and went to the Balloon Fiesta grounds for Dawn Patrol and the Mass Ascension. The launch was cool, but the spot where a bunch of the pilots set down for landing was even better! They landed in a field and the nearby burn scar, full of burnt-out cottonwood trees….
Jambo’s Ahmed Obo
One of the first things anyone notices about Chef Ahmed Obo is his smile: it’s warm, sincere and frequent. His beaming goes beyond charm and optimism, however. It reflects his heartfelt desire to give of himself: everything and anything he can. Photo by Kitty Leaken As a child in Lamu, Kenya, his teacher told him,…
Albuquerque: The Frontier of Beer
When I began this story, I set out to visit all the Albuquerque breweries. “No problem,” I thought, “it’ll only take me a few days!” Little did I realize that the number of establishments crafting locally produced, small-batch beers has positively skyrocketed in the past few years and Albuquerque is now home to some 25…
Off the Plaza: Santa Fe Neighborhoods
When it comes to Santa Fe, people think of the Plaza. We all know and love the Plaza. For festivities, people-watching and the occasional loitering about, it just can’t be beat. But it really is an almost ludicrously small segment of what Santa Fe has to offer. (And I’m guilty of it, too. As I…