I arrived here yesterday for one of my regular opera treks to one of my favorite places and started with AMAYA located in my hotel (The HOTEL SANTA FE at 1501 Paseo de la Peralta www.hotelsantafe.com) with two dear clients from Washington and we all had a most satisfactory meal.
The dining room might be a bit dark with heavy woods, carpets, large chairs and laden tables, so we opted to sit in the quiet outdoor courtyard where is was a dry 78 degrees and simply gorgeous. The service is friendly, attentive and while note a "super-starred" destination, is well worth the visit.
A bottle of light bodied CYCLES Gladiator Pinot Noir 2006 from California's Central Coast was simple, yet fine for us as we had a long opera coming. Similarly, I opted for the CITRUS SPINACH SALAD with Cherry Tomatoes and COTIJA Vinaigrette (I believe this is a mild local pepper). It was well prepared and dressed salad and of very good size. The CHILI ANCHO GLAZED semi-boneless QUAIL with Peach Infused Risotto got a rave as well.
It was a tough decision with so many great entree choices. The APPLE GINGER Sauteed ATLANTIC SALMON with Purple Potato Truffle Hash, Carrots, Edamame and Saffron White Wine Emulsion was nice, but I try to avoid Atlantic salmon when heading west as we have so much back home near the Atlantic. The LEMON THYME SEA BASS with Tomato Artichoke Couscous, Baby Spinach and Sweet Corn Reduction had a beautiful crunchy skin that I could have eaten piles of, and the dish was a perfect combination of ingredients with the firm fish.
I went for the ELK TENDERLOIN with COFFEE CITRUS Marinade, Grilled Blue Corn Polenta Cake, Native American Succotash all in a delicious Sun Dried BLUEBERRY PORT WINE SAUCE that was the perfect foil to two huge rare elk tenderloins that just melted in my mouth. I loved every part of this dish, but ate every
single bite!
For dessert we sampled the nice sorbets:Mixed Berry, Mango, Raspberry and the tasty PICURIS Sun-Dried APRICOT PIE with Cinnamon CREME ANGLAISE, a lighter (but still large) option that can easily be split.
When we mentioned that the double espressos seemed a bit small, a second round came out gratis...keeping us awake for the opera and finishing off a nice meal with friends.
