Red or Green–New Mexico’s Food Scene Was on Fire in 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a cautious reemergence into a world where “normal” is constantly being redefined. New Mexico’s restaurants continue to push boundaries, shift paradigms, and invent new and better ways to serve their guests. 2021 saw the proliferation of the “ghost kitchen” concept. Bold restaurateurs began pushing back against parasitic delivery companies that misrepresented alliances with the very restaurants whose profits they usurp. Branded meals–ingredients, recipes and pre-cooking started by a restaurant and finished at home–became a part of the fabric that is dining out. So is the ever-increasing shift to off-premises dining and the growing popularity of food trucks. Menus were increasingly streamlined, in part to supply chain issues and staffing shortages. Most diners agree 2021 was an improvement…