D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
May
2009
Table Talk
Update on Meson de Mesilla
As mentioned in last month's Table Talk, Meson de Mesilla has been sold. Two couples, Jodie and Jim York and Joseph and Courtney Muench, make up May Entertainment, the Mesilla restaurant's new owner. Jodie York says her brother, Barry Dennis, a chef with 35 years of experience, will be the general manager. The group is planning to start serving dinner on May 1 and adding lunch the following week. The restaurant will dish up a classic American menu, offering steak, seafood and chicken, possibly with wine tastings and an appetizer menu on Tuesdays. 1803 Avenida de Mesilla.
Now Serving
Two Spirits Cafe has opened in Pinos Altos, bringing a welcome option for breakfast and lunch to the tiny mountain town. Cage-free eggs, local organic vegetables and fruits and slow-roasted, natural prime meats are the eatery's hallmarks. Breakfast is served from 7 a.m., with everything from freshly baked muffins and coffee cake to a variety of egg dishes and biscuits and gravy. The lunch menu, served 11 a.m.-3 p.m., includes soup, chili, salads and sandwiches. "It's been standing-room only lately and so we've expanded our hours," says owner Leigh Eagle, adding that the cafe will soon be decorated with an old Packard auto filled with blooming flowers and that she plans to expand with patio seating in the very near future. After 1 p.m., the cafe makes available its crock-roasted meats for sale by the pound. Box lunches also are available. Open Wed.-Fri. 7 a.m.-3 p.m. and 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Miss Eddie's Place, Eddie Lacy's new eatery at 504 E. Amador Ave. in Las Cruces, is open. Lacy worked at Tegmeyer's Salad Works on El Paseo since it opened in 1987 and bought the business in 2004, but due to legal issues could not take the Tegmeyer's name with her to her new location on Amador.
And the husband-wife team of Rafael and Marina Garcia have opened Paola's Bakery and Cafe on North Main Street in Las Cruces, in the plaza just behind Burger King near Pepe's Chicken. Look for pupusas — like a thick tortilla — along with other treats not commonly found in the city, owing to Marina Garcia's El Salvadoran roots.
Buns in the Oven
Coming soon: Taco Santa Fe in the 700 block of East Lohman in Las Cruces.
And another Little Caesar's Pizza is coming to Las Cruces in about five months. El Paso businessman Ernest Koury, who owns 14 of the pizza stores in the Sun City as well as the one at 2499 N. Main St. in Las Cruces and one in Alamogordo, will open his newest Little Caesar's at 1609 El Paseo Road, former site of Tommy's Cake Shop & Cafe.
The Kitchen Is Closed
The economy has taken a bite out of the Las Cruces restaurant world. Risotto's MedRim Bistro, which had locations in Las Cruces and El Paso, announced in late April that it had closed.
And the city's original Quiznos restaurant, at 1455 Hickory Dr., has closed its doors. A sign on the door read "Store closed," and workers were disassembling the interior.