Restaurant Review: Vinaigrette

Lettuce inn

By: Susan Meadows
Published online: Friday, September 14, 2012
Appeared in: Pasateimpo

Peter Rabbit’s mother warned him in vain to stay out of Mr. McGregor’s garden, but if Peter lived in Nambé he wouldn’t need to sneak into Erin Wade’s 10-acre organic farm — and neither do we. Wade brings the farm to us at her popular Santa Fe restaurant Vinaigrette, open since late 2008, where the leafy green stuff that got Peter into trouble takes pride of place on the menu. It’s a vegetarian-friendly restaurant that also welcomes omnivores — you’ll find plenty of add-ons from the animal kingdom for plumping up the main- course salads. Some of those salads, frankly, might not be enough by themselves for some appetites, at least at dinner, despite protein pairings. But appetizers, soups, sandwiches, and side dishes like macaroni and cheese along with desserts round out the menu so that no one, not even those children who may think Peter was crazy to risk his life for greens, has to leave hungry. Many of the best things on the menu, in fact, are casually relegated to sideshow status.

In summer, the outdoor patio is a shady oasis of surprising calm, despite the restaurant’s proximity to downtown Cerrillos Road. Inside, though, the decibel levels can make conversation difficult during busy hours. Wade studied fashion design in Milan, which shows in the stylishly contemporary yet relaxed ambience promoted by bright red-orange metal chairs, light wooden tables and benches, and a green-glass- tiled bar. But the dining room would give an acoustical engineer a headache. Opt for the patio when weather permits — you’ll want to anyway — or simply choose to go during off hours, when inside feels more like a place to linger over a glass of wine, hibiscus tea, or a homemade seasonal soda that pops with pure fresh flavor without the sugar overload. The pleasant, breezy atmosphere created in summer by whirring ceiling fans and open windows and doors carries over to the lighthearted yet mostly efficient and smiling servers.

Fresh grilled artichokes prepared Roman style — peeled and cleaned with a good portion of tender stem intact — are a personal favorite. Watermelon gazpacho, the special soup of the day, had a classic tomato flavor with an underlying distinctive sweetness of watermelon where one expected the cool herbaceous flavor of cucumber. A generous cup disappeared quickly.

For a restaurant so named, the most notable negative in my experience has consistently been the vinaigrette. A Cherry Tart main salad was a perfect balance of flavors and textures with a pile of tangy arugula, sweet-tart dried cherries, and the crunch of pecans — and wanted only any detectable dressing. It was as underdressed as a khaki-shorts-clad fellow I saw at the Santa Fe Opera one night. The Greek salad is more what I think of as a Mediterranean chopped salad: diced fresh vegetables with feta and vinaigrette dressing. A Caesar main salad, though with an interesting smoky flavor from flash-grilled romaine leaves and the snap of red onion, suffered from a noticeable grittiness either in the lackluster dressing or in remnants from the farm clinging to the leaves themselves. Perfectly grilled tender scallops and flavorful duck confit (once it warmed to room temperature) salvaged the meal.

We fared better with the side salads that came with a perfect grilled Reuben sandwich (tangy sauerkraut and hearty corned beef on rye) and the pork-lovers dream that is the Cuban torta (roast pork, ham, melted cheese, and spicy dressing on a tender bun). The garden salad is simply fresh greens and carrot ribbons boosted to star level with a romesco dressing made with roasted red peppers, almonds, and olive oil. A Commanderie de la Bargemone Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence rosé with mineral tang was the perfect patio companion.

A thick slab of dense deli-style cheesecake will amply fill the gaps, but I preferred the dark flourless chocolate torte with a dollop of buttery whipped cream. However, the hands-down winner was the Nambé peach pie with an endearingly home-style tender crust and just-churned vanilla ice cream. Peter Rabbit risked his life for food as fresh as this.