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SOMEWHERE TO GO

Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado in Santa Fe
In a world full of deadlines, stress and social media, sometimes you need to refresh by unplugging for a little bit. “If you want to find a place to disconnect with your day-to-day life, you come here, and right away you disconnect with the world and you reconnect with yourself,” says Bixente Pery, general manager of Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado in Santa Fe. The resort, situated on 57 acres in the Sangre de Cristo foothills, offers a bevy of outdoor activities ranging from guided hikes to hot air ballooning. Thinking of visiting this summer? Try the Boots and Bubbles excursion, a private guided exploration of Santa Fe followed by a visit to luxury boot boutique Back at the Ranch and a flight of award-winning New Mexico wines. If you’re looking for a spiritual experience, the Journey to Abiquiu excursion offers a private hike-to-yoga meditation experience surrounded by nature, starting with a smudging ceremony. “We can do any type of adventure here,” Pery says. fourseasons.com/santafe

SOMETHING TO BUY

Love Dog Republic
Dog lover Laurie Stephens always wanted to find a way to help the animal rescue community. In 2020, she launched Love Dog Republic and its flagship subscription box. Whereas most canine subscription boxes focus on toys and treats for dogs, Stephens wanted to show “dog moms” a little love, too. Ergo: a typical box might include a water bottle that doubles as a Bluetooth speaker (with dog walking in mind) along with the expected items for dogs, from collars and leashes to bowties and bandanas. In addition to its standard four subscription shipments a year ($70 per box), Love Dog Republic sells themed boxes (seasonal and holiday), retails its own line of dog and dog mom accessories and participates in popups at O.H.S.O. brewery. You can also find its dog accessories at Little O’s. “It’s a labor of love, actually, and it’s important to me that aesthetically they’re really pleasing when you open the boxes and that all of the products go well together,” Stephens says. lovedogrepublic.com

SOMEONE TO KNOW

James Beard-Nominated Baker Mark Chacón

Mark Chacón still can’t believe February’s announcement that he was a 2022 James Beard semi-finalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef. He wasn’t even sure Chacónne Patisserie was eligible for the honor, as it doesn’t have a traditional brick-and-mortar location. (You can procure his delectable cream cheese Danish or cinnamon brioche for pickup through his website, chaconnepatisserie.com). But nothing about the chef’s life has been typical. Chacón came to the Valley intending to play and teach violin, but when health issues derailed his dream, he fell in love with baking and drove to San Francisco to learn his craft at the world-famous Tartine. He came back to Phoenix and served as Chris Bianco’s pastry chef before striking out on his own.

What did you learn working with Bianco?
He suggested that I consider doing something less traditional and pointed me in the direction of a cloud kitchen because he thought it sounded like a unique opportunity. It’s a fast and casual way to get food out there without the fuss and overhead. If there is one thing we’ve learned during the pandemic, people are open to getting their food in different ways.

Which pastry or technique do you think might have swayed Beard voters?

I believe it’s the finishing touches in my morning pastries. I had an experience in 2007 when I worked at Tartine watching a chef named Lori Oyamada shape, proof and laminate the dough. It embodied what I love about music, and I wanted to learn more about it. I kept seeking more experience. Now that I’ve accumulated all this knowledge and managed my own bakers, it’s been great to bring it all together.

SOMETHING TO EAT

Espiritu
In February, just a few weeks before Rene Andrade was nominated for a James Beard Award for his work at Bacanora in Phoenix, he and his cousin, Roberto Centeno—with whom he shares chef duties at Espiritu—quietly opened this cocktail-centric companion piece in Mesa. Highlights include mussels and clams ($28), the duo’s haunting take on a traditional broth-and-mussels bowl, here done as a simmering birria consommé spiced with chiltepin pepper and jeweled with bits of chorizo. Wrenching open the bivalves and sopping up that earthy, bewitching broth with toasted Noble Bread, you may drift into altered state of consciousness. Hyperbole? Sure, but these guys are just so darn talented. You won’t find Andrade’s famously pitch-perfect pollo asado at Espiritu—that Santa Maria grill can only be in one place at once, after all—but the new place actually boasts a larger full-time menu, churning out Andrade favorites such as shrimp aguachile ($22), messy-good queso fundido ($10) and frequent whole-fried-fish specials. Chicken or no, Andrade East ain’t so bad. 123 W. Main St., Mesa, (480) 398-8129, espiritumesa.com