Last week's snowstorm gave me the opportunity to take a personal snow day; I was supposed to drive to Taos on a writing assignment, but Mother Nature had other ideas. Instead, I had a terrific lunch at The Compound Restaurant (653 Canyon Road, 982-4353), the bright interior helping us forget the weather outside. I rarely have wine at lunchtime, but it seemed like a good idea on this day. A young Robert Sinskey Vineyard merlot ($55) did the trick, not too heavy for the time of day.

My foodie friend and I enjoyed the made-to-order fall harvest soup with swirl of apple purée and crispy bacon bits ($9). I was impressed that both the soup and soup bowl were wonderfully hot, as were all of the food and plates — so important on a frigid winter's day. Bleu-cheese lovers will love the baby-iceberg wedge ($8); there's more creamy Stilton to each bite than anywhere in town. Yum!

For main courses we shared the tender chicken schnitzel ($17) and a lovely braised wild boar tossed with pappardelle, tomatoes, Parmesan and pepper cress ($18). The ginger-crème brûlée tart ($8) with cider-glazed apples and gingersnap crust is crazy-delicious, as are the Parmesan-parsley fries ($5). Service was professional and accommodating, and I decided The Compound would be my new winter hangout when I'm playing hooky from work. Dining well is the best revenge.


Whether you need a last-minute gift for a fussy wine lover or just want to give yourself an end-of-holidays treat, you should check out the Hyde de Villaine wine dinner at Terra on Saturday night. For the first time ever, HdV winemaker Stéphane Vivier will travel to New Mexico with seven of the food-friendly Napa Valley wines, which will be paired with a four-course meal and cheese pairing created especially for the event by Encantado's executive chef Charles Dale.
Michel Darmon, the worldly food and beverage director at Terra told me that HdV — a collaboration between Carneros' Larry Hyde and Aubert de Villaine of Burgundy, France — has only been making wine since 2000, and that he's been a "superfan" since he tasted that first vintage when he was living on the property. Price for the wine dinner is $105 per person (not including tax and tip). For reservations, call 505-946-5800.


I watched It's a Wonderful Life for the umpteenth time recently, and its message seemed to ring even truer this year with all the economic drama and doom and gloom in the air. You may recall that George Bailey, played to perfection by Jimmy Stewart, gets the opportunity to see what life in the little town of Bedford Falls would be like had he never been born. After seeing the positive impact he's had on the many lives he's touched — and despite the fact that he's on the brink of financial ruin — he remembers his loved ones and runs home through the snow to tell them how much they mean to him. The townspeople arrive to show their support for Bailey, each donating whatever they can to help, and a toast rings out: "To George, the richest man in town."

This holiday season and in 2009, I implore you to celebrate your life as if you were the richest man, woman or child in town. As Clarence the angel puts it at the end of the film, "Remember no man is a failure who has friends."


I have been blessed to have had Pat West-Barker as my editor at The New Mexican for more than five years. When Pat leaves The New Mexican at the end of the week, taking an early-exit package, I will be sad to lose that comrade at the other end of my e-mail — although I will, of course, develop a new relationship with her replacement, Rob DeWalt. And I am sure we will be reading more from Pat somewhere, sometime; you can't keep a good writer or editor quiet for too long.