“It’s good…New Mexico good.” As a proud New Mexican, it galls me to hear apologists demean, denigrate and otherwise concede (quite erroneously) that restaurants in the Land of Enchantment are good, but not as good as restaurants elsewhere. It’s as if New Mexico’s restaurants can’t possibly be as good because…well, we’re New Mexico and we’re just not supposed to be very good. Look at where we rank in so many quality of life categories. It’s akin to University of New Mexico (UNM) Lobo basketball fans being content to make it to the “Sweet 16,” a goal no Lobos team has ever achieved.
My counterargument is why the #$%*&! can’t a restaurant in New Mexico be considered one of, if not THE most outstanding restaurant in the Fruited Plains. Similarly, why can’t the Lobos blow past the Sweet 16 and win an NCAA championship in basketball? It’s as if a Pygmalion effect (low expectations lead to poor performance) has cast a pall over the Land of Enchantment and we’ve become the “Land of the Mediocre.” Channeling Howard Beale from the Academy Award-winning movie Network “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more!” The next time someone tells me “It’s New Mexico good,” I might just practice a little defenestration.
Despite being adamant that New Mexico’s restaurants aren’t as good as restaurants in other states, nay-sayers have to concede that we have the best (and it’s not even close) New Mexican cuisine in the universe. Never mind that we our restaurants are practically the only ones in the country serving New Mexican food. Restaurants serving the state’s sacrosanct red and green chile are the best! Sure, it’s a source of pride, but why can’t that pride be extended to other foods our restaurants prepare and serve as well as restaurants at other states?
Of course, my argument only has credibility if I can testify first-hand to the greatness New Mexico’s restaurants. I’ve extolled the culinary excellence of New Mexico’s restaurants for years, but haven’t really declared any of those restaurants to be the nation’s best (other than our New Mexican restaurants). In 2024, the James Beard Foundation came close to doing that for me, naming The Compound a finalist in its prestigious “Outstanding Restaurant” award category. The Compound Restaurant has been heralded for years as one of the two or three best restaurants in the Land of Enchantment and no less than the New York Times, Gourmet magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and Wine Spectator have all declared the Compound as “Santa Fe’s favorite.” But is it the best in the country? I think so, but will leave it to you to decide as I build my case below.
First, a little about the James Beard Foundation’s “Outstanding Restaurant” award. James Beard awards have been likened to the Academy Awards of food. It’s well-established that James Beard award-winning chefs become superstars and restaurants become travel-worthy destinations. A James Beard award is life-changing. New Mexico has fared exceptionally well in regional award categories, especially in recent years. In national categories such as “Outstanding Restaurant,” New Mexico has been shut out–both in nominations and in winners. With Albuquerque’s Burque Bakehouse in the running for the country’s Most Outstanding Bakery, New Mexico has two national James Beard Foundation award finalists in 2024.
Since 1990 when the “Outstanding Restaurant” award was instituted, New York City restaurants have dominated the category, winning the award a whopping twelve times. California restaurants have won six times, Chicago restaurants four times and Philadelphia restaurants twice. Restaurants from New Orleans and Boston have earned the award once each. In recent years, “Outstanding Restaurant” winners have included restaurants from less populous cities: Asheville, North Carolina (2022) and Birmingham, Alabama (2018). So why not Santa Fe?
As far back as the early 1990s, Santa Fe was already being named one of America’s best cities for restaurant dining. It was the era of Mark Miller’s celebrated Coyote Cafe and the advent of “Southwest cuisine,” a veritable melange of cross-cultural culinary exploration. A handful of other restaurants were also making significant inroads. Among them was Compound, which first opened its doors in 1966. It wasn’t quite the nationally renowned juggernaut it is today. That really didn’t happen until Chef-Owner Mark Kiffin left the Coyote Cafe and assumed the helm nearly a quarter-century ago (2000). In 2005, Chef Kiffin earned the James Beard Foundation’s award for Best Chef – Southwest. At that time, the Southwest region included Texas, Arizona, Nevada and Colorado, all boasting of formidable restaurants.
While Chef Kiffin no longer has day-to-day operational management of The Compound’s storied kitchen, he retains ownership of the dynastic restaurant. In 2022, Michelin-trained Chef, Weston Ludeke joined the team as The Compound’s Executive Chef. He’s poised to lead The Compound into the future while continuing his predecessor’s legacy of bringing the bounty of the farmers market to the table and pairing it with the same French technique and philosophy for which The Compound is known. If our inaugural visit is any indication, it’s very obvious The Compound pays homage to its legendary past with an eye to the future. That future might well–should!!!–include being named “Outstanding Restaurant” by the James Beard Foundation.
Towering evergreens drape over The Compound. At the golden hour, the site inspires profound veneration. We found ourselves thinking “we finally made it” after years of making excuses (mostly “it can’t be that good“) not to visit. Our awe and reverence continued when we stepped indoors and espied the two-feet thick adobe (possibly terrones) walls throughout the converted two-story adobe home’s stately dining rooms. The Compound’s interior was designed and decorated by acclaimed designer Alexander Girard (who donated more than 100,000 pieces from his collection to Santa Fe’s Museum of International Folk Art.) Girard also designed The Compound’s inimitable logo, dinnerware, napkins and other decorative facets that make The Compound unique.
My Kim’s favorite part of the restaurant was a paneled (almost mosaic) textile ceiling, another Girard touch. Those textiles are completely original to 1966, the year the restaurant was built. Over the years, those textiles may have lost some sheen and vibrancy, but they’re still eye-catching in their soft pastel hued glory. Folk art pieces, one depicting colorful Catholic icon0graphy, hang on unique shadow boxes on two walls. Recessed in a niche, in Girard’s unique typography, is a mitre-shaped tablet declaring: “For the spirits of men, the more they eat have happier hands and lighter feet.” Our hostess would probably have preferred for us to proceed to our table with more haste, but there is so much to see that we didn’t want to miss any of it.
Once comfortably ensconced at our table, we were in great hands with our server Pedro. Originally from the Dominican Republic, Pedro accommodated my intrinsic need to speak Spanish at every opportunity. So did our other servers. Each member of the service team was nattily attired in bowties, a tradition Kiffin has long insisted on. As he explained to edible in 2016, “To serve real food,” we need to wear real bowties; James Beard always wore one.” Pedro and his team were ambassadorial in their respect and reverence for The Compound and encyclopedic in their knowledge of the menu. Our evening would not have been complete had General Manager Rudolph not visited our table. Originally from Northern France, we shared anecdotes about our mutual days spent in Oregon, England and France. Rudolph is the consummate gentleman.
On the night of our inaugural visit, The Compound had just recently introduced its Spring, 2024 menu. There were no nightly specials on the menu. Pedro pointed out all the new additions, describing preparation techniques and ingredients with alacrity and aplomb. As we contemplated the menu, we enjoyed The Compound’s signature focaccia with unsalted butter. It’s always surprised me how many variations of foccacia (a type of Italian yeast bread baked in flat sheet pans) there are. Every restaurant and bakery seemingly presents something unique to itself. The Compound’s version is soft and fluffy with airy bubbles. It’s an outstanding bread, especially if you’ve got something to sop up with it.
Something like maybe the English pea tortellini, a Spring, 2024 addition. A luscious lobster bisque encircles a butter-poached Maine lobster, English peas and Sunrise Hill Farms pea tendrils (the curling, clinging parts that the pea plant uses to hold onto supports). Much as I might like to use the Elaine Benes yada-yada quote about lobster bisque, this bisque is too sublime to joke about. It’s quite simply spectacular, its only fault being we wanted more, more, more. The bisque’s delicate flavors were a perfect vehicle for the sweet, succulent lobster and the rich cheese-filled tortellini. English peas are one of my favorite vegetables. These were especially sweet and delicate. This spectacular starter was akin to beginning a multi-superstar concert with “The King” George Strait.
I don’t remember exactly when it happened, but several years ago I wearied of steak. Any steak at any restaurant. Because steak is one of my Kim’s favorite meals, I “choke it down” (don’t tell her that) when she prepares it. It was no surprise that she would order The Compound’s Grilled Natural Reserve Black Angus Beef Tenderloin served with grilled broccolini, red onion marmalade, fried scallion sauce verte and beurre rouge. While ordinarily the accompaniment (particularly the two sauces) would have been my favorite part of a steak dinner, the beef tenderloin was so good I’m starting to remember what I once loved about steak. Tender, you bet. Tenderloin (or “eye fillet,” as it’s known in other parts of the world) is the best part of a filet. Tenderloin is a fine-grained, lean piece of meat with very little connective tissue or fat. Prepared correctly (roasting) it’s an absolutely amazing steak. The Compound’s premium Black Angus beef tenderloin is prepared perfectly. At a degree of doneness of medium rare and seared to a golden tan, its velvety texture and pure deliciousness would make the most stoic among us swoon with appreciation at every bite.
In 2007, a panel of esteemed culinary luminaries in New York City cited a $44 lamb chop as an example of just how overpriced everything was..and that was before the “Build Back Better” economy. I momentarily pondered that notion when studying The Compound menu and contemplating its $59 roasted lack of lamb. With eighteen years having elapsed since the New York panel decried the pricey lamb chops, I figured a $15 price increase wasn’t too bad, especially considering the quality of The Compound’s food.
New to the Spring, 2024 menu is the roasted rack of lamb (fregola sarda, asparagus, fava beans, spring onion, cherry conserva, lamb sauce). Like me, you might not know what fregola sarda (a beautiful, tasty Sardinian pasta resembling tapioca balls) and cherry conserva (a type of jam made with pitted cherries) are, but with every bite and nibble, you’ll learn and you’ll appreciate. These ingredients will teach you how an already wonderful roasted rack of lamb–maybe the very best I’ve had–can be improved. Three surprisingly thick and luscious chops, artfully arranged in a pyramid shape flanked by and draped over by asparagus were cooked to perfection–just ever so slightly charred and pink and tender on the inside. Every single morsel is a a mouth-watering, taste explosion adventure in delight.
Side dishes include crispy onion rings, minted English peas, Steak fries, potatoes au gratin and wild mushrooms with a herbed buerre blanc sauce. Because both my Kim and I were having meat entrees and we both cherish umami experiences, the wild mushrooms made most sense. The beurre blanc () formed a luscious lagoon around a generous mound of woodsy, earthy, beautiful mushrooms. As expected, the wild mushrooms were a wonderful complement to our meat dishes.
Five desserts make up The Compound’s dessert menu, but you can also have one, two or ten scoops of the restaurant’s daily selection of ice creams and sorbets. The Compounds signature dessert is the Classic Opera Cake featuring dark chocolate, chocolate mousse and pistachio cream. A chocolate shell envelops the frothy mousse with crushed pistachios lining the bowl. This is an “adult” chocolate dish. It’s not especially sweet and will appeal mostly to those of us who don’t like cloying desserts.
So, is The Compound THE MOST OUTSTANDING RESTAURANT in the country? If very well may be. I think it is, but an esteemed panel of James Beard Foundation judges will tell us for sure in June, 2024.
The Compound
653 Canyon Road
Santa Fe, New Mexico
(505) 982-4353
Website | Facebook Page
LATEST VISIT: 24 April 2024
# OF VISITS: 1
RATING: N/R
COST: $250
BEST BET: English Pea Tortellini, Black Angus Beef Tenderloin, Roasted Rack of Lamb, Wild Mushrooms, Compound Opera Cake, Foccacia
REVIEW 1392
Did you mean to add as many $ as possible? Two seems low, though I’ve never been.
Thank you, Julie. Nice catch! Including tip, our bill for the night was in the neighborhood of $250.00. It would have been more, but we don’t partake of adult beverages when driving.
I’m finding that the “$” system I use to ballpark what a meal might cost is woefully out-of-date courtesy of the “Build Back Better” economy. Restaurants that may have been accorded a “$$” cost two years ago are now “$$$” and “$$$$” restaurants.
The Compound was worth what we spent! It’s a phenomenal restaurant