Restaurant bites, Oct. 4, 2022
Oct. 4—Renewal Life Bar has relocated from 810 Calle Mejia, Suite 107, to 533 Cordova Road. Owner Noreen Quintana is opening at the new location in early October.
----Joaquin and Benina Quintana have taken over ownership of Casa Chimayo, 409 W. Water St. They have operated Casa Chimayo since April 2021. They previously owned Bella's Mexican Grill in Taos, which closed at the start of the pandemic.
----Raaga-Go, 410 Old Santa Fe Trail, has added ayurvedic vegetarian options to the menu. These combine food types to promote balance of dosha functions that owner Paddy Rawal describes as "kapha (water), pitta (fire), vata (air)."
----Jonathan Boyd and Nina Koh will transform his Boyd+Allister custom furniture spot at 1200 Hickox St. into a "cozy little" Thai street food restaurant they are calling The Gold Tooth. "We want to have traditional and genuine Thai food," Koh said. "We will have 30 seats, mostly bar seating, eventually an outdoor patio." Koh believes it will be a good nine months before The Gold Tooth opens.
----Chow's Asian Bistro, 720 St. Michael's Drive, was sold to its chef Chow Lee at the end of August. Owners Richard and Lucy Zeng opened Chow's in 1993 and are now retiring.
----Nothing Bundt Cakes, 524A W. Cordova Road, is under construction at the Coronado Center, a few doors down from Trader Joe's. Nothing Bundt Cakes launched in Las Vegas, Nev., in 1997 and now has more than 430 locations in 43 states and Canada, including Albuquerque and Las Cruces.
----Chef Graham Dodds opened NOSA Restaurant and Inn, 49 Rancho De San Juan, on July 23 three miles north of the junction of U.S. 84 and 285 south of Ojo Caliente. NOSA is an acronym for north of Santa Fe. Dodds' focus is "hyperlocal and ultra-seasonal cuisine." For now, lunch only is served Saturdays and Sundays, but dinner is forthcoming once Dodds gets a liquor license, likely in November.
