Chasing Santa Fe: The Chef's Farmer - Romero Farms & Il Piatto

Photos by C. Whitney-Ward

Sometimes the real action at Santa Fe's il piatto restaurant isn't inside the kitchen but outside on the sidewalk. Around 3pm every Saturday afternoon, Dixon Farmer extraordinaire Matt Romero parks his truck along Marcy Street - next to the restaurant - and sets up a satellite market along the sidewalk.

Within minutes, out comes il piatto's Chef/Owner Matt Yohalem to pick up - literally - his produce order and to see if there's anything else that tickles his fancy.

Yohalem (left.) & Romero (rt.)

Yohalem visits the Santa Fe Farmer's Market during the week to check out what will wend its way onto his menu and to place his order, and just like clockwork every Saturday afternoon, Matt Romero delivers his beautiful produce. "It's really farm to restaurant," laughs Yohalem, who has known Romero for years (they're hunting buddies) and trusts him implicitly to deliver exactly what he ordered. "Matt (Romero) was an Executive Chef and he understands restaurants and how a kitchen and executing a menu works." And, says Yohalem, Romero is known for growing specialty, old-fashioned variety produce that has wonderful intense flavors...

And if you're eating at the restaurant this week, you'll see these lovely raw goats milk cheeses with ash on the menu - a wonderful Market find. And fresh herbs and spices are infused into olive oil served table side.