In lieu of my last post, about two of my favorite restaurants in Durango, Colorado being destroyed in a fire, I thought I’d offer two alternatives I recently discovered—East by Southwest and Cypress Café.

The Cypress Café opened on Durango’s 2nd Avenue, one block up from Main, in 1996. Although I lived in Durango until 1998, I never tried this restaurant until January of this year. Twelve years after it opened… Gosh, that makes me feel old! But better late than never. My mom and I had a cozy lunch at the café while outside, snow fell in inches, then feet, until my husband and I were officially snowed in when the airport closed for several days. Ah, good times, they were!

“Mediterranean country cooking” is how Alison Dance, the café’s owner, describes the cuisine. Her staff uses locally grown organic produce and meats, and sustainably harvested seafood to create a menu that is a blend of Italian, Greek, North African and Southwest American. I should add that The Cypress Café has been recommended by Bon Appetit, Sunset Magazine, and the New York Times. I can understand why. The food is delicious. It left both my mom and I craving more. In fact, we tried to go back a couple of days later, but they too were closed due to snow.

The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner. Visit their website for a sample menu.

East by Southwest strives to create “fusion” between the flavors of the Pacific Rim and the Southwest. They have an eclectic menu. Everything from Crab and Jalapeno Firecrackers to Seaweed Salad, Oyster shooters to Ceviche, Kobe beef to Lobster Tempura. You can order a seven course meal, Premium Seared Tuna, Thai Curry, or Free Range Chicken Teriyaki. What really sets this restaurant apart, however, is their vast Sushi menu. It’s huge. (Click on their site and check it out for yourself.) Our party of 6 adults and 2 children ordered the ceviche, an order of Pad Thai noodles, several sushi rolls, and a salmon wrap I don’t know the name of. My favorite was the NY NY roll. Nice and spicy and packed with flavor! I’m drooling as I write this. It’s so good, I’ve thought about flying into Durango for the weekend (which costs about $600 round trip) just to eat here. My seven-year-old nephew loves the raw salmon wrapped over steamed rice. He’s currently saving his allowance to take his entire family to sushi night. That’s how good this restaurant is—it inspires seven-year-olds to save! (Perhaps we have a future chef in the family…) What other endorsement does a restaurant need?

It should also be noted that they serve up a mean mojito. And, the young crowd flocks to this place.

East by Southwest is located on the corner of 2nd Avenue and College, a block up from the train depot. They are open for lunch and dinner. In addition, they have Happy Hour daily.

Two of the restaurants I blogged about in “Grubbin’ in Durango, Colorado” were destroyed in a fire and subsequent explosion on Friday, February 22nd. Le Rendezvous and Seasons, both located in historical buildings on the 700 block of Main Avenue in downtown Durango, were two of my favorite places to eat. I liked Le Rendezvous for a casual breakfast, and Seasons for an elegant dinner. (See the above mentioned post for details… )The fire allegedly started above Seasons, where there are reports that a kitchen exhaust hood wasn’t working. Luckily, the owner of Seasons is already talking about rebuilding. I hope Le Rendezvous will come back, too. Both will be missed in the interim.

Read the articles.

Watch the video.

Church Street Café

Located in Old Town Albuquerque, this unassuming café, one block from the main plaza, is loaded with historical charm. The house was built during the founding of Albuquerque, in the early 1700’s. The age of the house has been confirmed by its building materials, which consist of terrones, an adobe brick used until the early 1800s. Inside, the café is cozy, with unique historical artifacts adorning the walls and free-standing on the floor.

The food is predominately authentic New Mexican. I ordered the Handmade Tamale Plate with pork and the vegetarian green chile sauce, and my husband chose the Old Fashioned Chile Rellenos with red chile. Both were excellent. As red and green chile sauce is the staple of New Mexican cooking, it is therefore an extremely important part of the meal. Church Street Café knows how to make chile sauce.

Head here for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Visit their website for the full menu.

Tomasitas

This long-time favorite, located in the old train depot on Guadalupe Street in Sante Fe, is, in my opinion, over-rated. Skip it. It’s uncomfortably busy and noisy, the wait staff is inattentive, and the food is barely a step-up from a TV dinner. Don’t be wooed by celebrity stories and pictures on the wall. Eat elsewhere.

SantaCafé

This Santa Fe icon is worth every penny you will spend. (But it will cost you a lot of pennies!) Described as American cuisine with a southwest flair, SantaCafé has received endorsements from The New York Times, Gourmet Magazine, and The Food Network’s Giada DeLaurentiis.

The ambience is casual elegance, with simple white linens and tableware. The wait staff is attentive without being annoying, and the food is, quite simply, some of the best I’ve had. I also give high marks for the plating and originality of the dishes, as well as the wine list. The menu changes often (weekly, I believe) so your experience will never be the same. I had a delectable salmon dish with lentils and chard in, I believe, a butter-carrot sauce. The sauce was so good, I could have licked the plate clean. For dessert, I ordered a blood orange tart which came topped with a gorgeous sugar sculpture. Excellence all the way around.

Tulips

I was excited to try this restaurant, as I’d heard great reviews of chef Steve Jarrett. I was a bit disappointed, however. My first turn-off was the waiter, who was, quite honestly, one of the snobbiest and unhelpful people I’ve ever met. After being rude to my husband on the telephone, he messed up his drink order (on purpose, we feel).

The food itself was unique, but my dish at least didn’t match up to SantaCafé. However, I do believe chef Steve Jarrett is incredibly talented, and his personality is expressed in his unusual dishes. My husband ordered an elk tenderloin, which he described as perfectly cooked. I ordered the night’s special—olive encrusted blue crab cakes. I see potential in this dish, but it wasn’t quite there yet. The crab was a tad on the tough side, if that’s possible, and the flavors of the crust were hard to define.

Like SantaCafé, and most high-end restaurants in Santa Fe for that matter, the prices at Tulips are high. A bit out of range? Maybe. I ‘d like to try this place again before making a final decision.