There are nearly 800 hotels across the 122,000 square miles of New Mexico. They offer everything from budget-conscious accommodations to luxurious world-class indulgences. Thankfully, tucked inside so many of these gems, you can find some of the best examples of the state’s great and diverse cuisine. Contributing writer Bill Smith shares some of the exciting changes in a number of the dining establishments inside Heritage Hotels.
Heritage Hotels’ Restaurant Magic in New Mexico
Founded in 2005, Albuquerque-based Heritage Hotels & Resorts now has a portfolio of some ten properties – from Taos to Las Cruces – where visitors and locals alike can also take in New Mexico’s cultural heritage.
What Heritage also brings to the table are gorgeous and iconic properties that serve as the perfect backdrop for incredible culinary explorations.
“Exceptional dining adds to the customer experience at our properties,” said Jim Long, Founder & CEO of Heritage Hotels. “Our goal is to invest in great talent and give them the resources they need to deliver great food and great experiences for our guests,” he continued.
A Little Something For Everyone at Heritage Hotels
Over the past many months, evolutions in Heritage Hotels food offerings have underscored what Jim Long described as a “serious effort” on the part of the company to become a bigger player in the space.
Level 5 at Hotel Chaco
The group’s portfolio ranges from large properties with mammoth conference and meeting spaces like Hotel Albuquerque in Old Town and Santa Fe’s Hotel Eldorado to the decidedly more intimate, including Hotel Chaco located in downtown Albuquerque.
Part of a complete reimagination of the neighborhood where the hotel sits, Hotel Chaco is a luxurious feast for the eyes. All the more reason then, that last year, foodies gleefully took note when James Beard Foundation semifinalist, acclaimed Chef Marc Quinones landed at Level 5, the rooftop dining space of the hotel.
Chef Sean Sinclair
A New Menu From Chef Sean Sinclair
After his departure from Level 5 earlier this year, Heritage offered the space to Chef Sean Sinclair. Sinclair honed his skills at a number of venues, including the 3-star Michelin restaurant, the Inn at Little Washington, outside Washington, DC. He also developed a sound following in the state for doing extraordinary things at the Castaneda Hotel in Las Vegas (NM).
Chef Sean’s first menu is a stunner. An array of simple “snacks” to enjoy in the outdoor lounge area includes potato tostones with a creamy herbaceous dressing, ABQ-style popcorn (with chile, of course), and a delectable Australian farm cheese served with local Heidi’s raspberry jam and thin, baked crisps. Main courses include suckling pig matanza-style, a duo of duck, and a decadent rainbow trout whose sauce is from a tomato water reduction with butter. This is, pardon the pun, next-level cuisine.
Chef Gilbert Aragon
Chef Gilbert Aragon’s Touch on Heritage Hotels
At Heritage’s Hotel St. Francis in Santa Fe, Wolf and Roadrunner has opened in the austerely elegant dining room and is helmed by Chef Gilbert Aragon. Aragon has worked his way up through Heritage Hotels over the past 16 years. He also speaks affectionately of the mentorship provided to him by southwest chef extraordinaire, Mark Miller. The initial menu is built around what Aragon describes as his love for “world cuisine.” He puts the establishment’s wood fired parilla (grill) to use on many of the offerings, including steak and game entrees.
Wolf and Roadrunner at Heritage’s Hotel St. Francis
Taking Simple to Next Level With Chef Jonathan Perno
Finally, at the restaurant Luminaria inside Inn & Spa at Loretto, which Heritage acquired in 2017, Chef Jonathan Perno temporarily came on board as the Executive Chef to help develop and launch a new set of menus for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Formerly of Campo at Los Poblanos in Ranchos de Albuquerque, where he spent 14 years, Perno earned accolades for innovative cuisine rooted in New Mexico. In 2020 he was a finalist for Best Chef of the Southwest by the James Beard Foundation.
Chef Jonathan Perno
As an appetizer, a humble head of cauliflower is transformed by simple roasting, spiced with zatar and a sprinkling of dried orange zest, and served over a base of guacamole. A marinated shrimp appetizer is accentuated by “hard herbs” and a hint of heat from chile oil, with texture being tended to by a duo of sweet potato chips and a puree. Then, a squeeze of a lime wedge adds acid and citrus.
The sauteed halibut main course benefits from studded rosemary and garlic in the flesh of the fish, imparting a depth of flavor – something Perno said he learned from Chef Eric Ripert. The real star of the dish is “Bobby’s Potatoes,” an honor to Perno’s partner’s mother, the potatoes simmered in cream with onions, celery, and capers. The Red Chile Braised Short Ribs, also served over perfectly seasoned polenta, are every bit New Mexico with the red chile glaze providing just the right amount of heat and flavor.
Luminaria at Loretto
This Winter Menu is Just the Beginning
Hal Leonard, General Manager of Inn & Spa at Loretto, told TABLE that while Perno has now departed Luminaria, his menus are in place and the kitchen team was trained to execute them with fidelity.
The winter dining scene is an exciting one for what Heritage Hotels is offering up in their restaurants. And what lies ahead for Heritage’s culinary journey is a point of excitement for Long. “What you see is just the tip of the iceberg for what is coming,” he exclaimed.
Story by Bill Smith
Food Photography by Tira Howard
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