by Jessa Cast
this farm-to-table restaurant is as friendly to the earth as it is to the tastebuds
“IT’S AN ODE to New Mexico, really, and the farm-to-table movement,” says Cherie Montoya. “It’s an homage to the way most generational families here lived. Families had gardens and grew a lot of their own food.” From that concept, in 2012, Montoya founded and grew Farm & Table, a restaurant focused on fresh ingredients tucked into a quiet stretch of Albuquerque’s North Valley.
True to its moniker and Montoya’s vision, this one-of-a-kind establishment is all about moving food straight from the field to the plate. Its atmosphere is lively but serene. Much of the restaurant is dedicated to al fresco dining on the award-winning patio, strung with romantic lights and surrounded by towering trees. It’s only open for dinner, making starry sky viewing a common mealtime perk.
From the street, one could easily miss that this local gem sits at the front of a sweeping 12-acre property. Montoya’s father purchased the land long ago to preserve it and prevent it from being populated with homes. Now, Montoya and her team are in the process of turning that land into a permaculture farm to support the restaurant’s menu. They grow nuts, berries, fruit and a few crops with an eye on sustainability. Ingredients not grown on-site are sourced from local farms to ensure only fresh, inseason products go into every dish.
“Our restaurant is very different from the average restaurant because we are beholden to seasonal availability. So, we are always changing the menu based on the ingredients we can get from farmers,” says Montoya. “Our chef, Jens Smith, is fantastic. He is skilled at creating seasonal menus by working with those local farmers.”
The dinner menu offers light fare—appetizers or less-filling meals—and main entrees. Though the menu changes, some recent dishes include a pear and Gruyere salad with turnips and tarragon, a curried root-vegetables plate, trout with quinoa and sunchoke, and a ribeye with potatoes and greens. Vegetarians have plenty to choose from among the vegetable-rich options. Every dish is plated beautifully, celebrating the simplicity and flavor of each ingredient. Artful, unfussy and delightfully tasty.
“We are always changing the menu based on the ingredients we can get from farmers.”
– Cherie Montoya
Beer and wine are available, as well as creative desserts, some of which the restaurant suggests a wine or port pairing. For those curious about the in-season ingredients behind the current menu, on the website, chef Smith posts the seasonal foods and the farms from which they hail. Farm & Table also hosts themed dinners each month. Look for themes based on the flavors from a specific region or pairings for a particular libation. Relish the local bounty of the earth in a unique and tranquil locale where the food and service are stellar and supporting sustainability feels good.