As of this writing, there are 27 hours left to vote in Whole Foods’ national Foodie Fantasy contest and I’m the only contestant from Austin! I’m so appreciative of the Statesman and the Chronicle for encouraging their readers to vote for me.
Thank you to everyone on Facebook who has been voting for me over the past week and a half. Your support means so much to me and no matter what happens, I’ll be grateful. If you haven’t voted, you can potentially vote twice before the contest ends — …

On this trip to Santa Fe, I didn’t have much of an appetite and felt nauseous most of the time due to altitude sickness, so I actually didn’t eat very much. However, some dishes and restaurant experiences did stand out.
Linda’s Nutty Granola at Pasqual’s.
Plato Mexicano at The Pink Adobe, a restaurant serving an interesting fusion of New Mexican and French food. One of my favorite questions they ask when you order New Mexican food is red? green? or Christmas? Christmas is what they call red and green salsa together.
Drinking chocolate …

No one should be surprised that the biggest reason I was excited to visit Marfa was the food.
Where I ate:
Cochineal, which ended up with its own post because it was so memorable and delicious.
Tacos del Norte: Adam and I stopped in to this former gas station to pick up tacos before our morning tour of the Chinati Foundation. While it took a lot longer than the average Austin taqueria to get our food, everything was made with love by the two women running the place, and we watched them freshly …

When I think of West Texas, upscale dining isn’t what comes to mind, but when I read the rave reviews about Cochineal, I had to try it.

Adam and I stopped in for dinner our first night in Marfa and walked right past it at first because the sign is almost concealed and the nights are very dark in this part of the world. Walking through the outdoor patio, I was reminded of Justine’s in East Austin, but it was way too cold to even think of sitting outside. The interior was …

In Austin, Marfa is spoken of in hushed tones almost as if going there is a religious experience. I can’t tell you how many times people have said to me over the years, “you have to go to Marfa, you will love it!”

Now, I’ve been there. And, I love it. Marfa is seven and a half hours west of Austin, and I can’t wait to make the pilgrimage again.
We stopped in Alpine on the way in, the largest city in the triangle of cool West Texas towns that includes Marfa …