This was my first Artfeast event and I chose the Edible Art Tour last night. I am now totally hooked on ArtFeast and wanted to tell you why.
Food and Art: We planned to spend the evening with a great group of friends. Hungry after not eating anything in the afternoon, we started out downtown at the Joe Wade Fine Art Gallery where we enjoyed the art and an excellent chicken salad courtesy of El Farol. At that point it was decided that we should head for Canyon Road and, perhaps, beat the crowds.
Transportation: Anticipating a nice brisk walk up to Canyon Road, I was pleasantly surprised at an ArtFeast "taxi" shuttle pulled up outside the Wade gallery. We piled into the shuttle and enjoyed our ride up to the top of Canyon Road. Being a bit lazy, we thought it would be easy to walk down Canyon Road rather than up. We were unprepared for the delights that we encountered.
Strolling and Grazing Canyon Road: Our maps gave us information on which galleries were paired with which restaurants. Galleries added punch, sparkling cider and water to the small meals we encountered. We did miss the Friday night wine offerings. I have to say that by the time we were a quarter of the way down the road, we were rather full. There was plenty of food, especially chocolate desserts!
Highlights: Although each gallery was a feast for the eyes, some of the food/art pairings stood out in my mind. As we walked, friends told us where to go. Cookies and Alice in Wonderland characters could be found in one gallery and a delightful La Fonda lamb dish was not to be missed at the Jane Sauer Gallery.
One gallery offered a roaring fire in their kiva fireplace with marshmallows, chocolate squares an graham crackers for s'mores. What a great idea!
The meal provided by Jinja was not to be missed. The hearty pot stickers and healthy lettuce wraps were wonderful. And to top it off, Jinja gave us all $5 off coupons. What a gift!
My favorite stop was the Zaplin Lampert Gallery where the food and the art were amazing. We ducked into this beautiful adobe building and immediately started recognizing classic southwestern artists. These were the artists of yesteryear... the highly collected pieces you may usually see in art books. As I passed by the Edward Curtis photographs, I was drawn to the guacamole provided by Whole Hog Cafe. But that was only the beginning. We marveled at the antique furniture, the textiles and Gustav Baumann lithographs.
As we made our way through the spacious gallery we spied a line. The line was for a Whole Hog dinner serving. And, yes, there was a whole roasted hog on the table. Pulled pork sandwiches were accompanied by creamy potato salad and topped off with a variety of barbque sauces. It was an amazing feast in an amazing gallery.
Recommendation
With fine art, excellent and plentiful food, free shuttles, and the wonders of walking Santa Fe, the ArtFeast Edible Art Tour makes for an wonderful evening out on the town. The cost more than covers what you will get and you will definitely find yourself going in more Santa Fe galleries than you knew existed. This is all for a good cause - art programs in the schools so be sure and sign up next year for this very enjoyable event.
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