Collaborative efforts: The Craft Kitchen at Old Town combines classic dishes and local spirits, brews

Everything has come full circle for chef J Martin Torrez.

He has returned to Old Town where his culinary journey began washing dishes at age 15 at what is now Hotel Albuquerque.

In October 2023, he took a leap of faith to open a restaurant with business partner, Damon Maddox. The Craft Kitchen at Old Town quietly opened its doors during the first week of Balloon Fiesta.

The Craft Kitchen shares a building with The Taproom at Old Town, which offers cocktails created with Left Turn Distilling spirits, as well as craft beer and ciders produced by Palmer Brewery and Cider House. It is located at 524 Romero St. NW and open from 4-9 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, from noon-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday, and noon-7 p.m. Sunday. Brunch is served beginning at noon on Saturdays and Sundays. More information can be found at facebook.com/thecraftkitchenatoldtown or craftkitchenoldtownabq on Instagram.

“The collaboration is amazing,” said Miranda Chavez, general manager of The Taproom at Old Town. “(There is) great communication between the bar as well as the kitchen, which is great for us. Customers really seem to enjoy the food served with the cocktails. We’re creating some New Mexican flair on both sides, both the distillery and brewery as well as the kitchen, which people really enjoy.”

Menus change seasonally for the kitchen and the bar.

“We’re always going to be keeping it fresh and progressive,” Torrez said of the food menu. “We don’t really have a cuisine type per se. I am going to be doing a homage to some of my mom’s food. It’s just a take on some family traditions like the enchiladas, the handcrafted tamales and our red and green (chile). It is really authentic.”

Torrez will be switching things up after the holidays but for now he has plenty of patron favorites on the menu including New Mexico Papas, which are crispy, fried potatoes, dressed with green and red chile, and topped with queso blanco.

Collaborative efforts: The Craft Kitchen at Old Town combines classic dishes and local spirits, brews

“I just wanted to do something that was fun and shareable to eat, kind of like french fries, but with a New Mexico twist.”

Tamales are a must-have when celebrating the holidays in New Mexico.

“We make our tamales with brisket,” Torrez said. “We’re really proud of (our tamales). A lot of people can’t have pork, so we tried to switch it up a little bit. We braise the brisket for 12 hours and then we shred it.”

On the lighter end, The Craft Kitchen offers a flaky and flavorful Ruby Red Trout out of Colorado. It is served with cilantro lime rice and a warm tomatillo salsa. The tuna wontons are comprised of ahi tuna tossed in a sweet citrus soy sauce placed on light and crispy wontons and topped with housemade sriracha aioli and pickled cabbage.

A touch of sweetness is added from confections created by chef de cuisine Tyler Linebarger. His desserts also transition with the seasons.

“We have a seasonal cheesecake that we do,” Linebarger said. “At the moment, it’s a spiced vanilla with a cranberry orange coulis with a gingerbread crust. We have a maple pumpkin bread pudding with a pecan praline sauce on it. And then we have a fudge plate with three different types of fudge on it, so there’s white chocolate peppermint, traditional chocolate and peanut butter.”

Linebarger also does an in-house bread program as well.

“We make handcrafted hamburger buns for our restaurant,” he said. “We’ll do slider rolls, baguettes, things of that nature when our menu changes to involve bread.”

Another highlight of The Craft Kitchen’s menu is its use of Left Turn spirits in some of its food menu items.

The blue corn whiskey barbecue sauce, which complements the barrel-smoked chicken lollipops, is made with the distillery’s New Mexico Blue Corn Whiskey. Torrez and his team also saute shrimp in Left Turn’s Tres Piedras Blanco Agave Spirit with lime, butter and chile powder for its tacos. Spanish rice and pinto beans accompany the shrimp tacos.

The restaurant’s food offerings paired with The Taproom at Old Town’s cocktails, craft beer, and ciders are an ideal union that will elate the palate. Its most requested cocktails include the Blue Old Fashioned, Rosemary Sour and the Ala Vargas.

“Our Blue Old Fashioned is made with our New Mexico Blue Corn Whiskey,” Chavez said. “It’s 100% blue corn and that gives it a really nice buttery popcorn flavor. Our Rosemary Sour is made with our Brothers Old Tom Gin and some toasted rosemary, lemon and housemade simple syrup. The Ala Vargas (includes) our La Luz Vodka, pomegranate juice, local (Heidi’s Raspberry Farm) jam, lime and housemade simple syrup.”

On the craft beer side, Palmer Brewery’s Low Card Lager and Export Stout are popular among guests. The Old Town Tea is also in high demand.

“Our Old Town Tea is a collaboration between the distillery as well as the brewery,” Chavez said. “We make it with our La Luz Vodka at the distillery and then the brewer (Rob Palmer) makes it all come together with the tea, lemonade and vodka inside of a keg. He kegs those for us.”

The Taproom at Old Town has been open for about 2½ years. The location offers indoor dining areas, a bar, a large back patio and a spacious front patio with seating. During the cold months, outdoor heaters, as well as fire towers at each of the tables, keep things cozy. A new addition to the back patio is a large, round fire feature. It was created by Left Turn owner and distiller Brian Langwell, who has a welding background.

Its sister location, located at 2924 Girard Blvd NE, is where Left Turn and Palmer Brewery have their distilling and brewing operations. The Craft Kitchen’s sister restaurant, The Kitchen at Palmer’s/Left Turn, is also located in the building.