Dolly’s Sense of Place

Contrary to a rumor we heard the day of Dolly Parton’s death, Saint Dolly, as some call her, did not welcome Dolly the sheep into the folds of her Tennessee ranch after science was done with her. But the sheep, cloned from a mammary gland, was named for Dolly, who with her characteristic grace said she was flattered, despite having no interest in being cloned herself. And as we learned while letting go of the weirdly perfect vision of a cloned sheep living out her final years grazing free range at Willow Lake Plantation, Dolly did play a role in conservation. She partnered with the American Eagle Foundation to create a bald eagle sanctuary at Dollywood in 1991, resulting in some four hundred rescued eagles being released into the wild over the past thirty-five years. Dollywood is also known for its butterflies, and at least one Dolly Parton fan is promising to launch a butterfly garden movement in tribute. (If you want to join that movement, the Backyard Refuge Program is a good place to start.)

Dolly the human was the master of her narrative. If she were a wine, she once told The Guardian, she’d be bubbly and sparkly. In the same interview, she claimed that she liked getting things like oven mitts for Christmas. She liked mashed potatoes; she signed her name to two quick-comfort-food-forward cookbooks and at least one line of baking mixes. We’ve read encomiums that insist on her personal truth, and eulogies that celebrate her contradictions. Did she really table surf in her pre-stardom years? We don’t know, but we do know that she donated millions of books to kids, including New Mexicans, so that they could learn to read and, just maybe, learn to take control of their own stories.

Like the butterfly, Dolly Parton’s sense of place was key to her brand: She donated millions of dollars to food-insecure families and food pantries, largely in her home region of Appalachia. And there is something to be said for such localized contributions. Sure, you could have roses delivered to Tennessee, but given that many New Mexicans live as precariously as old-time tobacco-farming families in Appalachia, truer to Dolly’s memory would be a local gift. Buy a ticket for the Hungry Mouth Festival, a benefit for St. Elizabeth’s Shelters in Santa Fe. Donate or volunteer with the Rio Grande Food Project in Albuquerque, or the Community Pantry in Grants and Gallup. Or sign up with Albuquerque Oasis to help local elementary school students learn to read—because what skill can more aid a kid’s self-determination of their narrative than that?

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Delicious Things

We’d have expected pintos, not lentils, in a vegan green chile stew, especially since we were at Itality. But while chef-owner Tina Archuleta is from Jemez Pueblo, she never set out to serve a strictly precolonial menu. And lately, we’ve been into lentils for breakfast, so why not lunch? Most importantly, the dish worked: the slim brown lentils striking a textural balance with soft hunks of potato, crisp and juicy yellow squash, generous green chile, and a deliciously light broth, such that this daily kyunah fit its genre while becoming a thing all its late-summer own.

Entrances & Exits

Marble Brewery’s downtown taproom and office are for sale, but the brewery itself is not. As reported by the Albuquerque Journal, the complicated move is known as a sale-leaseback, by which the brewery hopes to generate funds to expand their operation while leasing the property from whoever buys it.

Albuquerque’s Waffletopia, formerly known as Tia B’s Waffleria, has closed permanently. This is a blow to longtime fans of the restaurant’s sweet and savory, New Mexican–infused waffle dishes (and of their charming front and back patios). “Rising costs on every front (food, insurance, etc.) have made the business financially unsustainable,” the owner told Business First.

Sadly, Buen Provecho’s second location in Barelas has also closed—but their spot remains at El Vado, where they have their own indoor seating along with access to the patio seating shared by Ponderosa Brewing and the food court’s other vendors, including Raiz by David Reyes, opened in late May by the former chef of Old Town Farm’s Bike In Coffee.

With their Vend-A-Wheel up and running at As Above, So Below Distillery, Picnic NM has adjusted the hours for their cheese and sandwich shop at Chomp Food Hall. For now, the shop at Chomp is open from 11 am to 7 pm, Wednesday through Friday, and from 11 am to 5 pm on Saturdays. If you’re in need of fine cheese another day, or if you just want to admire the fabulous mural adorning the Vend-A-Wheel, skip over to AASB Distillery.

Also in Santa Fe, Chef Sean Sinclair’s Hook It Up is now open on Guadalupe Street. As at the Sawmill Market location, fish and chips is the heart of the show, but the menu at the new brick-and-mortar spot is broader, with cornmeal-crusted shrimp, fish tacos and sandwiches, and even a couple of dishes that might appease any vegetarian or fish-hating friends. Yes, there’s beer on the menu too.

Sometime this fall, perhaps as soon as September, Sopa! will open in Cedar Crest. They plan to specialize in “seriously stuffed sopapillas” and are seeking staff soon.

Occasions

Tonight at Sidetrack Brewing, Tenderoni Party is scheduled to host a pop-up; tomorrow afternoon from 3 to 6, the brewery (and their patio partner Zendo Coffee) will host Hej Hej, maker of gourmet Swedish-ish hot dogs. Hit up one of those events and sample a Basecamp IPA, winner of Gold both in its category and for Best in Show at the New Mexico Brewers Guild’s inaugural NM craft beer awards.

And while mushroom season in New Mexico may be struggling as much as local farmers, Chef Graham Dodds has managed to forage some in Colorado and will be featuring them in his dinner menu tonight at Nosa in Ojo Caliente.

Jambo Bobcat Bite is running a series of traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremonies paired with an Ethiopian and Eritrean buffet, and there are two dates left. Guest chefs Judi and Helen, who bring both East African heritage and international cooking experience, will be preparing vegan- and omnivore-friendly dishes for the occasion. Email jambobobcat@gmail.com to reserve your seats for either 5 pm or 6:30 pm on September 3 or 10.

August 31 is the deadline to RSVP for DeSmet Dairy’s 75th Anniversary Party. One of few true family dairy farms left in the state, and the only one in Bosque Farms, DeSmet Dairy produces Grade A milk (both raw and pasteurized) as well as pasteurized, non-homogenized yogurt. Their birthday party goes down September 12 right at their farm; RSVP to Erica De Smet at 505-350-9075.

Green chile season showed up early this year, with roasters running at farmers markets since July. Next weekend, Big Jim Farms hosts their Green Chile Fest, during which you and the fam can pick your own chiles and have them roasted on-site, with live music accompaniment and a petting zoo for the kids. There will be fresh flowers and other produce available for sale as well, a salsa-making class, and a seminar from the NM Chile Pepper Institute about chile varieties, heat levels, and growing advice for our state’s signature crop.

If you want to get the lowdown on butterflies in New Mexico while eating appetizers inspired by plant-pollinator relationships, the Institute for Applied Ecology’s Pollinator Palooza is for you. The September 26 event is free and open to the public, but do RSVP.

Also on September 26: Oppenheimer Gasthaus, Alamogordo’s destination for schnitzel, saurbraten, warm potato salad, and the like, is hosting an Oktoberfest celebration from 11 am to 9 pm. In addition to German food and beer, there will be vendors selling local handicrafts and products.

Distillations

This Wednesday was the ceremony for the inaugural Michelin guide for the American Southwest. Sadly, no New Mexico restaurants earned stars—but several did earn Recommended status, including Restaurant Martín and izanami in Santa Fe and Campo in Los Ranchos, whose team members also received special awards in cocktails and “Mindful Voices.” And good ole Frontier Restaurant graces the guide’s Bib Gourmand selections for the state.

Some more accolades: Leo’s landed on Bon Appetit’s Best New Restaurants 2026 list. Highlighted dishes from the restaurant on Hickox Street in Santa Fe include the “spiced lamb shoulder served with Thai-spiced green chile yogurt and showered in herbs, or the brazen catfish sum tum, lightly fried and set atop a Jenga pile of green papaya, pomelo, and mint.”

For The Bite’s latest story, Mitch Marty visits a magical coffee oasis in Albuquerque.