NOSA Restaurant and Inn, a new lodging and dining option, has been in operation near Ojo Caliente since last summer.
A long gravel road off US 285 winds through brush, taking guests to the reservation-only restaurant and inn operated by owner and chef Graham Dodds. Silence shrouds this secluded spot in a veil of mystery, from the restaurant’s seemingly esoteric modus operandi to the moment you set foot in the gravel parking lot, where no echo comes from the mesa beyond.
The new restaurant was conceived in 2021 after Dodds, 51, moved to the Dallas, Texas area. Although NOSA sometimes refers to “northern Santa Fe,” Dodds says it also means “our” in the Galician language, a nod to his goal of bringing people together around food. While NOSA may be new, the building was constructed in 1993 by an architect and interior designer. Originally a bed and breakfast, it became a Relais & Châteaux designation and remained in operation for 25 years before closing in 2012. Extensive renovations and pandemic-related delays prompted the opening of NOSA at the July 23, 2022.
The restaurant only opens three times a week, serving dinner on Friday and Saturday, while lunch is served on Sunday. Meals at NOSA are divided into five courses and served in a formal dining room.
“They don’t have a television. The fireplace is the TV,” Dodds said of the four rooms available for booking on Airbnb. Inn guests are encouraged to make dinner reservations; they also have the option of requesting a breakfast of the day prepared and prepared by the chef. Breakfast is served at 9am and Dodds accommodates dietary restrictions.
There is a small team and the only person in the kitchen is Dodds, who organizes and manages all of NOSA’s culinary business. He is accompanied by a caretaker who cleans the restaurant and inn, as well as part-time service staff. According to Dodds, the restaurant is only open three days a week out of convenience, but he hopes to expand the restaurant’s hours as business picks up. In the spring, he hopes to open a casual space for à la carte dining.
Both dinner and lunches are accessible by reservation only, but reservations can be secured until the doors open. The formal dining room seats 20-24 guests. “It’s a good number of people who can control, do it yourself, can tackle it beautifully,” Dodds said. “When you work in a place that feeds 400 people, you don’t get that kind of care and love on every dish that you get here.”
Although there are only three meals a week at NOSA, preparation for Dodds begins right away. His menus are different every week, depending on the season and what he can get at local farmers’ markets. Dodds thinks the unpredictable menu “feels appealing to people.”
“First of all, you take inspiration from the actual ingredient,” Dodds said. “That’s how it works for me. I find something, you know, [like] a very, very good carrot or an unusual turnip (nowadays there are a lot of root vegetables). It starts from there, and you take an overall view of the dish, you piece it together with the other dishes on the menu and then, generally, I don’t do wild and crazy stuff; I draw from classic combinations.
Dodds added that the five courses are centered around proper flavor pairings. He says he always tries to think ahead when preparing a menu, not only considering aspects like flavor but also weight, being mindful of heavier ingredients like creams and cheeses.
“Typically it starts with a dish using one of these ingredients,” Dodds said, “and then it progresses from there. either that dish, the others go really well with it, whether it’s Spanish, French, Italian, New Mexican, Mexican, or Southern There’s usually some kind of loose theme to each menu.
As for cooking, Dodds says it’s “all I’ve ever done.” At university, he studied fine art and sculpture, but, he added, “I discovered that I was more interested in cooking than in classes”.
“When I really dove into [cooking], it really eased my need for creativity and art – very temporary edible art, but still art,” Dodds said. “There’s just the constant amount of learning, I mean you can constantly learn new things and new techniques to perfect your craft over the years.”
For Dodds, food has always been part of his family life. When he visited his grandparents in Scotland, he helped his grandmother in the kitchen and went fishing with his grandfather.
“I had a super food-centric family,” Dodds said. “My dad follows chefs and restaurants like people follow sports, and we used to go on vacation depending on which restaurant we were eating at. It was definitely a big goal growing up, and so I had an appreciation pretty early on.
As a professional, he has showcased his culinary talents to an international audience, cooking in the United States as well as in Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Thailand. But NOSA is the first restaurant Dodds has ever operated alone.
At the end of the meal, Dodds mingles with the guests. According to the chef, it’s a “special” moment, as he shares his process with customers and allows them to ask him questions about the meal. Above all, Dodds likes to present dishes to customers that they wouldn’t otherwise eat.
“I always think it’s funny when somebody thinks they don’t like something,” Dodds said, “and you give them a version of it, or they’ll eat it and they’ll like it, so it’s is always very interesting to me.. I really enjoy, let’s say someone doesn’t like beets or turnips or whatever, then they’ll leave and rave about beets and turnips. I think a lot of times people have a bad version of something and they hate it.
Dinners are held every Friday and Saturday evening, while two lunches are held every Sunday at 11:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. In the dining room, patrons can browse and purchase artwork by Hebé García, a local artist from Abiquiu.
“It’s fun to share space with people,” Dodds said. “It’s a truly magical place, and a lot of people will remember coming here before – the place has been here for a while. … It’s nice to bring people together and create memories and experiences.
NOSA is located at 49 Rancho de San Juan, Ojo Caliente. Reservations for the hostel can be made through Airbnb and meal reservations can be made on nosanm.com.
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