Table Talk
Dinner Time
As mentioned recently in this column, Adobe Springs in Silver City recently started serving dinner Thursday through Sunday nights. Now the restaurant is expanding with catering, offering whole cakes, pies and fancy side dishes like polenta with bleu cheese. Long a weekday breakfast destination, the restaurant has dropped the early morning hours. "It just wasn't working," says Cynthia Shylo, who co-owns the eatery with her husband, Ladislav Dufek. "We have developed a whole new clientele, and they are a lunch and, now, dinner crowd." Shylo says she hopes to have her wine and beer license soon, will offer lunch delivery in the near future, and plans to rename the restaurant to reflect its new menu of international cuisine. 1617 Silver Heights Blvd., 538-3665.
Quick Fuel-Up
Business is perking at Durango Bagel, which earlier this year moved to a new location at 1405 S. Solano in Las Cruces, previously the home of the defunct Burger and Fry Company. Katie Hill and Sue Hamilton, the mother-and-daughter owners of the bagel-and-Joe business, have just opened Durango Bagel Express, a kiosk serving up espresso drinks, smoothies, blender drinks and homemade baked goods including muffins, brownies and zucchini bread, as well as bagels and cream cheeses. Mon.-Fri. 6 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sat.7 a.m.-1 p.m.
Aloha! Ono Grindz has opened on the Downtown Mall, bringing authentic Hawaiian and Pacific Rim delights to Las Cruces. The name is Hawaiian slang that roughly translates as "kick-ass eats." Entree prices top out at $7.95, offering locals a middle ground between fast food and fine dining. Owner Rachel Faulkner, a professionally trained chef who graduated from the Kapiolani Culinary School in Hawaii, is focusing on fresh food prepared in the blended-culture style of her native islands. From 2000 to 2005, Faulkner sharpened her knives and honed her skills as the owner and head chef at Joy Luck Chinese Restaurant in Las Cruces. Ono Grindz' fun, island ambiance includes surfboards, Hawaiian shirts, traditional slack-key guitar music, vintage Hawaiian posters, pennants and record album covers. The fully Hawaiian, eclectic menu includes such items as Teriyaki beef, Hawaiian barbecue chicken, big, juicy island-style burgers, fish tacos and more. About the only thing you won't find on the menu is Spam, the canned original "mystery meat," which, following its introduction during WWII, has become a staple food in the Land of Aloha, perhaps because of how well it goes with a slice of pineapple. 300 N. Downtown Mall, Mon.-Fri. 10:30 a.m.-8 p.m. (but closed from 3-4 p.m.); Sat. 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m.; closed Sunday. 541-7492.
Snagged on a sand bar?
It seems Tatsuya Miyazaki's new Aqua Reef restaurant, slated for a September opening according to Sabrosa, the Southwest dining and entertainment magazine, has been delayed. Aqua Reef's Web site lists the address for a Las Cruces location, at 900-B S. Telshor, but it things have apparently hit a snag. For a while, voice mail at the listed telephone number said the in-box was full. A recent phone call, however, did not go through, with a message from the phone company saying the number "has been temporarily disconnected," with no further information available. The chain restaurant's trademark M.O. includes dim sum, tapas and a sushi bar, complete with a water canal and floating sampans. Miyazaki has a great local reputation as a restaurateur, having opened such favorites as Tatsu and Saffron, so we hope the new restaurant will make its way to town before long.
— Donna Clayton Lawder
Send restaurant news to donna@desertexposure.com.