Geronimo

If you'll recall yesterday was Nate and my 6th wedding anniversary. Nate picked the restaurant location and I knew nothing about it other than what road it was located on. I trust Nate's judgement when it comes to food so I was anxious and excited to see where he picked. Oh. My. Goodness. His pick was probably one of the best meals I've ever eaten in my 27 years!

Geronimo

Location: 724 Canyon Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501

The restaurant is located in an adobe house built in 1756 and nestled in the heart of Santa Fe's gallery road. It is decorated with minimalist Southwest details like possibly original wood paneled ceilings, caramel-hued leather chairs, animal antlers and paintings of wild horses. It is quintessential Santa Fe without being kitschy or too "in your face".

They have a small patio dining area, that looked like it had around 4-5 tables on it - however since it is Corona, they were only allowing 2 tables at a time to sit there.

The interior dining area consisted of 3 larger rooms and a lounge with a bar and a few tables. Everything was absolutely stunning. It was cozy in the way eating at your family's house is, but elegant enough that you knew you were somewhere very special.

After being sat at a corner table, we were greeted promptly by our server (outfitted in a face mask) who gave us a wine list and offered us water while we perused the menus. They had a vegetarian tasting menu last night with hand-picked sommelier wine pairings - so I put myself in the capable hands of the executive chef and in-house somm.

Vegetarian Tasting Menu - June 7, 2020

We mentioned to our server we were celebrating our anniversary and were given glasses of New Mexican bubbles to toast with! Very nice touch.

I had abstained from eating since our Cranberry Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast breakfast so I was quickly aware of two things: 1) I needed to get something in my stomach quickly and 2) if that didn't happen, that glass of bubbles would turn me into a very cheap date. Thankfully our server quickly placed a selection of breads in front of us - a green chile and cheese brioche (crusty exterior, chewy interior and spicy!), sourdough rolls (crunchy exterior, aerated throughout and tangy) and a lavash bread (crispy and flavored with a touch of wasabi). I could've (and honestly would've) eaten 4-7 green chile brioche rolls because they were excellent; especially when slathered with some European-style rosemary butter.

My first course was an endive salad paired with a Sauvignon Blanc and oh my word! This salad was so magnificently balanced, I wonder if I've been eating salads incorrectly up until this point. The endive was bitter and crisp, topped with 3 balls of tangy and fatty goats cheese, sprinkled with candied pecans and dressed with sweet onion dressing that I could've drank. Everything was fantastic and the bright wine was perfect for cutting through the richness of all the components.

Endive Salad

Nate ordered the beef carpaccio which frankly looked like a work of art. It was accompanied by a simply dressed arugala and fresh parmesan salad, capers, cheese straws and a duo of horseradish cream and basil sauce.

My second course was mushroom and sherry bisque, now I'm sure you're thinking "soup, big whoop." But I would've gladly eaten nothing BUT this soup for the entire meal! I'm not lying to you, it was THAT good.

Wild Mushroom and Sherry Bisque (aka what I'd want as my last meal)

The presentation was beautiful. A server's assistant first placed a bowl in front of me with nothing more than a hill of sauteed oyster mushrooms, caramelized onions and bright green pieces of chopped asparagus, (he assured me there was more to my dish) and proceeded to pour the most silky and earthy-scented soup from a silver tea pot.

Nate was even given a small bowl to eat himself so I wouldn't have to share!

The bisque itself was creamy and full of flavor. Nate and I couldn't believe it was a vegetarian dish purely based on how substantial it was. Every bite was exquisite and Nate can attest to my many "mmmmm" noises whilst eating. My wine pairing was a Malbec - juicy and berry forward to balance out the earthy flavors from the mushrooms.

Next came the entree course. I had potato gnocchi with mushrooms, burrata cheese topped with basil pesto and mourney sauce. The gnocchi was so pillowy and light but perfectly soaked up the fresh basil and creamy mourney. The burrata was so creamy it was like another sauce on its' own. AND THE MUSHROOMS. Expertly cooked and meaty without drowning out the other ingredients. My Pinot Noir was acidic and had great minerality to balance out the creamy burrata and light gnocchi.

House-Made Potato Gnocchi

Nate ordered the special: a 72 hour sous vide beef short rib with short rib-stuffed tortellini and potato puree with a side of broccolini. The short rib was giant, as were the 2 golf ball-sized tortellini. The broccolini was simply prepared but vibrantly colored and full of flavor.

Finally came dessert. I was given the option to swap out my dessert option, which I took - the Meyer Lemon Crepe sounded fantastic, but I was craving chocolate and coffee after my rich meal. So I ordered the Toasted Coffee Tiramisu, and let me tell you, this ain't your grandma's tiramisu. The textures were balanced between the traditional soft cake, a crisp wafer, coffee flavored jellies, and surrounded by a creamy mocha anglaise. To cut through the rich cocoa and coffee flavors, the dessert was paired with a scoop of the most delightful white chocolate-passion fruit ice cream! It was citrusy and fresh and I could easily take down a pint of it. Our server brought me a glass of port to round out my wine pairings. Prune and syrupy on the nose but with flavors of dark red fruits and less sweet than the scent would suggest.

Toasted Coffee Tiramisu

I am so thankful I made the decision to not eat before going to Geronimo - I was able to eat everything I was served and enjoy every morsel to the fullest.

The service was also magnificent - our server and server's assistants were extremely attentive and helpful. We never had to ask for anything, they anticipated all our needs and were willing to answer any questions about the dishes we had.

Another couple at a nearby table was also celebrating their anniversary so we chatted with them for a few minutes. They were older and had met each other by total happenstance later in life. They had both attended the same small university in Pennsylvania (at different times), had both previously been married and were introduced through mutual friends at an alumni event years later! They were celebrating their 1 year anniversary and mentioned he had just moved to Santa Fe 3 weeks ago - it made Nate and I feel like old locals. We chatted about local hiking spots and briefly about our backgrounds, it was the perfect ending to our incredible meal.

I would absolutely return to Geronimo in the future, the meal and ambiance were sublime and I highly recommend this spot to anyone who wants a truly 5 star experience, which makes sense considering the restaurant is a 3-time Tripadvisor Travelers' Choice, a AAA Four Diamond Award, OpenTable Diners' Choice, and Forbes Travel Guide award winner.