Pan-Asian Magic in the High Desert

It's Alkeme, I tell ya!

Howdy to everybody in the 405 diningscape from the High Desert, home of the 505 diningscape. The past two communiques have been from Las Vegas via Jared Gleaton Eats, and seeing how I find myself nestled in the bosom of one of the nation’s top culinary destinations I thought I would offer would-be travelers some ideas.

Last summer, I was in New Mexico as a James Beard Foundation judge to eat at Burque Bakehouse and Mesa Provisions in Albuquerque and Zacatlan and The Compound in Santa Fe. I had dinner at Coyote Café while I was at it. Since moving to the High Desert last October, I’ve eaten as much red and green chile as you would expect. Truly, it’s Christmas every day when you live walking distance from Tomasita’s, The Shed, La Choza and Atrisco Café.

But I want to focus on something completely different I think folks in the 405 will appreciate. Last month, I wrote a cover piece about Santa Fe’s small but tight-knit Vietnamese community and shared their personal legacies. My pathway into the story was, of course, food. Among the other amazing restaurant within a stroll of home is Alkeme at Open Kitchen.

Alkeme is the dreamchild of chef Hue-Chan Karels, a born cook from Vietnam who grew up in East Lansing, Mich., honing the craft at the side of her grandmother. Alkeme is a nightly showcase for chef Erica Tai, who was born and raised in Taiwan. Together, they’ve built a menu centered around tasting menus that feature Pan Asian cuisine, steeped most profoundly in Vietnamese flavors and ingredients. That’s because Vietnam is not only Karels’ culture, it has long been her business. From two business consulting firms founded when embargos were first lifted in 1992, to annual culinary travel tours to this day, Karels and her husband John have been introducing Vietnam to the world.

At Alkeme, Karels and Tai express the Vietnamese diaspora along with the numerous Asian flavors it brushes with and through on its trip around the globe. The “culture-to-table” concept earned Karels and Tai a Best New Restaurant semi-finalist nod from the James Beard Foundation in 2024.

After four meals at Alkeme, I can say with full confidence you need to add it to your dining list when you’re visiting Santa Fe. Listen, you’re bound to need a break from chile if you’re in Santa Fe for more than a day or two. Seriously. Your body will demand it. Alkeme is an ideal contrast to Northern New Mexico flavors without leaving the setting altogether.

My first trip started with a drink from the special Year of the Snake cocktail menu, I opted for the Wood Snake (Barrel Proof Wild Turkey Rye, 5-Spice Myers Rum, cherry juice, walnut bitters). Smooth, spicy and ideal for shaking any sleepy palates to life.

That night I began my voyage through the three tasting menus with the seafood-centric No. 2 Tasting Menu, which started with house-made nori crackers and trio of sauce (gochuchang aioli, dill aioli and peanut-hoisin). Crunchy goodness dripping with a variety of bold sauces manage to shake to life any tastebuds unmoved by the Wood Snake. A sake pairing of Azuma Fumoto “Green Rain” made me wish I’d finished the Wood Snake faster.

Next up came Hawaiian Off-the-Hook Tuna Poke in Pani Puri paired with Azumano Fumoto “First Wave” Arabashiri. This dish built on the multi-pronged attack on the palate. The east Asian pastries matched with Hawaiian tradition was a match made in Indian-Pacific paradise. I could eat these by the dozen, and the earthy sake grounded the experience to prepare for the next step up the ladder.

Perhaps my favorite dish was the Cha Ca, a crispy turmeric and dill cod dish that is straight off the streets of Saigon. The cod was cooked perfectly, the batter a gem to the eye and palate alike. Sighs abound with each nibble, and the Chogetsu “Clear Moon” Junmai Ginjo that came with it did nothing to ebb my desire for more.

The grand finale was butterflied Branzino with Canh Chua, a sweet and sour Viet sauce. Served in fish bone broth and flavored with tamarind and pineapple, it was served with tomato, okra and garlic confit. In traditional Viet fashion, it was topped with herbs and rice vermicelli chips. The sake pairing, Chokasian, “Mount Chokai Nama” was ideal.

For dessert, Ube Biko Pudding. Wrapped in a banana leaf like a luscious Vietnamese tamal, once unwrapped I found coconut-ube rice pudding topped in coconut-pandan caramel and toasted coconut flakes. The “Blue One” from Joto was the ideal sake pairing. Altogether, it resonated with “not-too-sweet” my Viet diningmates tell me is much-coveted from the best desserts of southeast Asia.

On my second trip to Alkeme, I went for Tasting Menu 1, which leans toward beef. That menu begins with a dynamite Miso Shitake Bisque. I liked this dish so much I ordered it again on my third visit. It was paired with Moriki “Bouquet,” a delicious sake.

Next up was Bun Cha Ha Noi, a play on the favorite from northern Vietnam. Grilled pork slice and patties arrive in warm broth of fish sauce, lime and garlic with vermicelli noodles, pickled green papaya and carrots plus herbs and lettuce. The Chokosan “Mount Chokai Nana” worked here, too.

A reimagined version of Banh Xeo arrived next. A Vietnamese rice crepe comes with braised pork belly plus zucchini, squash and onions plus Vietnamese pesto in place of the usual herb bouquet. The Clear Moon sake came through in the clutch for this dish, too.

The signature of this tasting menu was a Taiwanese variation on Applewood-smoked and braised beef short rib. It arrived on hand-pulled noodles, sesame sauce, pickled mustard greens and sauteed garlic-bok choy. Big sighs for big flavors followed, thanks in part to the pairing of Yuki No Bosha “Cabin in the Snow” saddled to it.

Then my favorite dessert in all of Santa Fe, and there a lot of desserts competing for that prize. Banh Flan Ca Phe is a clash between flan and Vietnamese coffee. And when I say Vietnamese coffee, I mean Lee’s Coffee, specifically. I’ve now been gone from the 405 diningscape for about nine months, and my affection for Lee’s coffee has only intensified. Distance certainly makes the heart grow fonder of nuclear coffee diluted with shaved ice and condensed milk. In chef Tai and Karels kitchen it’s a rich coffee custard with almond meringue. What’s Vietnamese for “Oi, vey!”? “Holy shit!”? If you don’t know Vietnamese coffee, this might not resonate with you the same way it resonated with me, but for me it was simply genius.

My third trip to Alkeme, I ordered a la carte while my dinner companion ate through the third tasting menu, which is vegan. The Pani Puri are filled with roasted beets, the Banh Xeo comes with a Vietnamese rice crepe instead of grilled pork, and the entrée a Japanese eggplant with Kabocha squash risotto in coconut milk, house-made vegan “fish” sauce, Thai basil-almond gremolata and sauteed winter greens. A stunning succession of dishes. While that was happening, I ordered the Adobo duck.

Visit No. 4 was a special dinner, celebrating Santa Fe’s annual Literary Festival, with special guest Viet Thanh Nguyen, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Sympathizer. Karels and Tai prepared a spectacular meal out of simple Vietnamese dishes to express the resiliency of the Vietnamese diaspora and the cuisine carried in its collective soul. The highlight of that dinner for me was Pho Bo Cuon, a reimagining of pho, turning into banh cuon, which happens to the last dish Karels ate in Vietnam before her family fled fifty years ago. It’s also the dish she ate when she returned on the anniversary of her departure this April.

Nguyen was a gracious special guest, who was complimentary of not only the food at Alkeme but in how the setting invites people to immerse themselves in the best of what comes out of clashing cultures.

If you’re in Santa Fe this summer, make dinner reservations for Alkeme Tuesdays through Saturdays. If seats on the patio are available, don’t hesitate to grab one — but bring a light jacket, even in summer.