Now that we're back in San Jose, and closing up the trip's posts, we wanted to end on a high note. While perusing the many galleries of Canyon Road (some 125+), we came across The Teahouse.

It's a quaint, friendly, pleasant place to be. They offer nice shade and seating for the art seeking tourist and local cyclist alike. We enjoyed Iced Matcha Green Teas - Jenny's sweetened with Ginger.

A worthwhile stop for sure, even if not visiting the galleries.

Thank you all for following. This has been fun and we hope you've enjoyed our reviews. Cheers!
The Honeymooners

Let me start with the best parts of La Casa Sena. They have a lovely outdoor patio, occupying a large courtyard. With white christmas lights up tree trunks, running fountains, birds chirping and rustling leaves, it's a lovely place to spend time. They also have a nice art collection decorating the interior of the restaurant including original Gustave Baumann prints.

That said, it goes downhill from there. Most good food follows certain norms: not too salty, good texture, proper ingredient proportions and highlighting the main ingredients. Conceptually La Casa Sena got things right, like with the idea of a wild mushroom tamale, but they missed out by making a corn meal which was flat and uninteresting. Then with the hanger steak, which was good, they served flat vegetable strips, which were really more like peelings. They were so thin as to be without hunger abating merit. They were just too thin to be useful in the meal.

The halved quail was nicely cooked, but the savory strawberry sauce was bitter from over cooking. The blue corn muffin was very nice on its own while making no sense with the quail and its sauce.

It's at this point that the wife insists I mention that the mashed, cheesed potatoes in the chile, that went with her hanger steak, were very good and did help redeem the meal.

But to dessert...the green tea panna cotta was more like half plain yogurt, half panna cotta. It did come with a good cookie, but the cookie didn't complement or contrast with the panna cotta - it was just a mismatched pairing. And lastly the white peach and basil cheesecake. It was so sugary that even Jenny admitted it was too sweet. It was marginally saved by the basil which would go well with a proper cheesecake.

On the whole, visit Geronimo instead. For almost the same cost, La Casa Sena is an epicurean flop. It's the Windows Vista of Santa Fe restaurants, over priced and underwhelming.

Appear here in the last part of the Geronimo Dinner, Mango and Vanilla Creme Brulee, with Crispy Almond Cookies topped with fresh mint. The creme brulee was a bit thicker than I expected but the flavor was delicious sitting atop a tasty mango reduced puree. Both the creme brulee and the mango puree were neither over nor under flavored. The mango's sweetness was a nice counter balance against the rich creme brulee. Even the crispy almond cookie sticks were delicious. And the presentation was beautiful.

Two mornings I had these pancakes and both were very good. The brand bacon varied though, the first time being a wide, thick style and the second time narrow and flat. The fresh fruit was good both times - a really nice breakfast. Both times with Whole Milk - which seemed to help with dehydration more than water or juice with breakfast.

Tesuque, NM at 1:58pm MDT.

Well, I'm not as skilled with words as my husband is, but here's my review of dinner at Geronimo's. The service was very friendly - helpful and attentive, but not intrusive. Across the street, there was a band playing for a gallery opening. The music was beautiful and unique. It sounded like a small orchestra playing modern pop songs.

I had Steak "Frites" for dinner. Sterling Silver Farms Tenderloin of Beef over Sauteed Chard with Bacon, Hot and Spicy Hollandaise, Au Jus, Horseradish. Hand Cut Russet Potato Fries, Caramelized Onion. I ordered the steak well done and it was excellently prepared. It was moist and delightfully tasty. The flavor was a subtle combination of garlic, butter, and herbs. The dipping sauces gave me the chance to top off the steak with a variety of tastes. Playing it safe, I tried the au jus first. The au jus was light and flavorful - a great, traditional, addition to the steak. The cheese sauce was delicious, but too much of it would have been spicy. I kept going back to the cheese sauce. It had an interesting flavor, combined with the steak. The horse radish and caramelized onions were just that. The horse radish was strong, as expected. I could only include a tiny bit of it on the steak. The caramelized onions were tender and sweet, but not too tender or too sweet. They were also a tasty addition to the steak. Although these sauces were included, the steak was amazing on its own. The "frites" were russet potato fries and nicely done with a light flavor. The chard was also well done with an almost sweet taste. Although I think it would have been fine without the prosciutto, or with less of it.

While we wait for Jenny's write up of the Steak, I'll tell you about the dessert I ordered. Described as "Coconut & Jasmine Ice Cream Bombe: Blueberry Soup, Vanilla Cake & Feuille De Brick Tuille" I have to say it wasn't what I expected.

Going layer by layer, there's the blueberry base, then the vanilla cake, then two ice creams braided together but not mixed, and topped with can only be described as a giant toasted marshmallow (technically it was a Meringue).

The blueberry base was so concentrated and sweet it was a real shock. It wasn't watery or even like a blueberry puree. It was thoroughly reduced and sweetened in such a way to intensify but not change the blueberry flavor.

The vanilla cake was perhaps a half inch thick - probably due to the weight above. It wasn't fluffy, but rather crumbly with a subtle vanilla hint.

The ice creams were...shocking? Can I describe ice cream as shocking? You'll see the purple and white bands in the picture if you look closely, the purple being jasmine and the white being coconut. They weren't blended, they were spiraled together. The coconut was nice but the jasmine stole the show. The very essence of jasmine's sweet flowery bloom was concentrated and just exploded on your tongue. It surprised us both.

Topping it all off was the toasted meringue. The dessert really should have come with a graham cracker and some chocolate to make a s'more from the topper. It was too much to finish but very easily the best meringue I've ever had. Like I said, it was more like a warm marshmallow - only lighter and moister.

Put all together it was hard to be less than dumbfounded. The jasmine ice cream, the blueberry soup, the meringue's soft sweetness - it all came together to pull your taste buds in every direction. Like the Elk Tenderloin, it was created by a savant.

Tesuque, NM at 9:17am MDT.

Tesuque, NM from 5:47pm to 6:06pm MDT (19 mins).

Santa Fe, NM at 1:33pm MDT.

Tesuque, NM at 9:07am MDT.

We had dinner last night at Geronimo and we were both hugely impressed. Everything we had was more than delicious, it was creative and subtle. We're going to split up the dinner into separate posts.

My main course was Peppery Elk Tenderloin with Roasted Garlic Fork-Mashed Potatoes, Snap Peas, and Button Mushrooms in a Buttery Brandied sauce. I ordered it rare.

My first bite was of a button mushroom absolutely dripping with the butter brandy sauce. It gushed with the rich, earthy flavor. The snap peas in contrast were crisp and tender without a hint of bitterness. They made excellent opponents for my attention.

The roasted garlic fork-mashed potatoes were the least interesting part of the entree, but any restaurant could use them as a claim to fame. The roasted garlic was mellow and subtle against the potatoes, some smooth some small wedges of little red and yellow potatoes.

The Elk I saved for last, which I ordered rare. To say it was perfectly cooked would be an insult to the chef. It was magically cooked as far as I could tell. The consistency of doneness with no drying I can only presume came from multiple cooking methods. It was clearly grilled but grilling alone couldn't have produced that steak.

For the flavor, it was milder than elk I'd had before. You could tell it wasn't beef, but it wasn't gamey at all. The most amazing thing though, is that it gushed with a rosemary broth with each bite. It's as though they dry aged the steak, then replaced the water with broth. It was really delicious and surprising.

Lastly, it was tender. Chewing would be an unfair description. You'd bite and it'd part ways. Tender by normal restaurant standards was perhaps the toughest little corner, but even that would be unfair to say. lol, it was really worth the cost.

Tesuque, NM from 7:17pm to 7:31pm MDT (14 mins).

Lamy, NM at 1:18pm MDT.

Lamy, NM from 12:35pm to 1:03pm MDT (27 mins).

Santa Fe, NM at 10:49am MDT.

Santa Fe, NM at 6:25pm MDT.

Palace of the Governors Photo Archives at 10:47am MDT in Santa Fe, NM.

Santa Fe, NM at 8:47pm MDT.

Santa Fe, NM from 6:57pm to 7:42pm MDT (45 mins).