About the Episode:
“Set in the scenic Ojo Caliente River Valley overlooking the majestic Jemez Mountains is the secluded and serene NOSA restaurant & inn. NOSA is an acronym for “NOrth of SAnta Fe” and also an old Spanish word for “ours” which speaks to the communal nature of a place to gather, dine and rest.”
Links
NOSA website
Follow NOSA on Instagram
Bunny’s website
Buy Bunny’s book on Amazon
I Love New Mexico Instagram
I Love New Mexico Facebook
Original Music by: Kene Terry
Featuring:
Graham Dodds
Graham is the executive chef and owner of NOSA Restaurant and Inn. He has been in the restaurant business for many years, moving to northern New Mexico from Dallas to bring his fine dining expertise to this beautiful community.
Episode Transcript
Bunny: (00:00)
Hi there. I’m Bunny Terry, and you’re listening to the I Love New Mexico podcast. Whether you’re a native new Mexican, who’s lived here for your entire life, or you’re just considering a visit, this episode is for you. Join us as we share a lot of New Mexico stories, talk about all things New Mexico, and include topics like what’s magical here, where are you ought to visit, what’s happening, and the things you absolutely cannot miss in the land of Enchantment. We’re excited that you’re here and we can’t wait to show you what an amazing place New Mexico is, because let’s face it, I love New Mexico Today. Our guest is Graham Dodds, who’s somebody I know you’ve all been dying to meet and spends some time with because he’s running one of the coolest new restaurants, inns in Northern New Mexico. It’s near, it is, it is basically in Ojo Caliente, which is north of Santa Fe. So the name of the place is Nosa. But Graham, I, you and I have never met personally. We were just lucky enough to connect in this manner, so I wanna hear about it, tell us what Nosa is, what it means, and where that dream came from. It’s stunningly beautiful, from what I can tell.
Graham: (01:26)
Thank you so much. Thank you so much. It’s a really, really special place. Um, you know, it’s honestly, it’s super hard to name a restaurant. You have, you come up with names and you hate ’em a month later. And I loved how it was written. I didn’t love as much how it sounded. I really wanted like a, an acronym like soho was to north of Santa Fe. Um, I started playing around with the letters. It, it looked nice. And then really what sealed the deal for me was it was I came across an old Spanish word was Nosa. That meant ours. And that really spoke to me about the communal nature of the place, about a place to gather and eat and, and spend time with other people. And, and it felt nice. It felt like it fit and it clicked with me at that point.
Bunny: (02:21)
And I gotta kudos to you because your website is one of the prettiest websites I’ve seen in a really long time. I mean, it helps that you have this…
Graham: (02:30)
Oh, thank you.
Bunny: (02:31)
Incredible setting. But wow, it’s, um, you know, I wanna tell folks because of course I’ve been cyberstalking you for several days, but it’s NOSA, n o s a n m.com. And, um, for those of you who are listening in, you know, New Jersey or South Dakota or something like that, you know, I’m sorry, because when you go and look at this website, you’re gonna wanna move to Northern New Mexico immediately. ,
Graham: (03:00)
That’s amazing. Thank you.
Bunny: (03:02)
I’m, it’s so that area is one of my favorites. Anyway, I’m curious to know, you are not from New Mexico, but it looks like you’ve been visiting for a while.
Graham: (03:16)
I am not from New Mexico. I originally, I had come out here in college, um, in the early nineties was my first time to New Mexico. I came on a camping trip with a college roommate of mine. We tried to camp in December at the Diablo Canyon, and it was freezing at a ton of snow and we abandoned that quite quickly. And, uh, went back to his brother’s dorm room in Santa Fe and stayed there. But I fell in love with the place. I fell in love with the culture. I fell in love with the food, couldn’t wait to come back. I had been here over the years just sporadically here and there. And then found this remarkable in and restaurant that was, um, really in a transitional phase where it wasn’t open. It was a lady was living in there and doing some cave tours for the raw Paulette caves around the area. And it was being really underutilized. Um, and the place changed hands with, uh, some, a neighborhood couple. And I saw the opportunity, and honestly, this kind of probably is my most dramatic manifest destiny I’ve ever experienced in my life where I became obsessed with the place. I thought about it constantly. It felt like a dead end when the previous owner had it cuz she was wanting to sell it. And I wasn’t in any position to do that. And then the new owners took over. They had built their house because of Rancho de San Juan that was there. They had come 20 years and stayed there and eaten there and become friends with John and David and the owners. And by the time they finished building their house, the place had closed and the guys retired to Mexico, so they never really had their restaurant down the street. And I reached out to them, honestly, I reached out to them the day they bought it when I heard they were buying it and asked them if I could do this restaurant and inn. And it all fell into place. And then I thought, oh goodness, now I’ve gotta come up with the money to do this. And I asked, um, a friend in Dallas that I had done a lot of, um, private chef work for, I had done a lot of her high end, um, private dinner parties. And I asked her thinking she would refer me to one of the clients that we had, that I had cooked for in the past and secured the funding that way. And then she decided she was gonna do it. She has been a big supporter of me over the years, and she put her own money into this, um, to make my part of it possible. And it all, I mean, it’s just, uh, crazy how it all came together. And then, uh, we, it took a year and a few months to get it back to where it is now with, uh, construction and, and updates. And of course, with it being c it took longer than we thought. But, uh, yeah, I ended up moving out here full time in March and we got it open, uh, on July 23rd. So, you know, we had some difficulty with alcohol license, um, with the timeline. It, it, it was a lot. It took longer than I had expected. And, uh, we’ve launched lunches first really to kinda the word I knew people would or forget about having alcoholic beverages on, on at lunch a little. And so we did that for a few months while I still navigated the state county requirements for getting the alcohol license, but finally got that cured. So I’ve opened for dinner three weeks ago and we’re able to serve beer and wine now with my fine dining
Bunny: (07:07)
, that’s New. Mexico has such interesting, I mean, less interesting than they used to be, but wow, that the liquor laws are certainly different here than they are elsewhere. Um, and I, so I want you to know that your name has come up a lot because I’m of course the board chair of the Cancer Foundation for New Mexico, and, and we’re in the middle of putting together, and I’m not putting you on the spot here. I’m just telling you, you’re generating a lot of conversations and we, and people were saying, or what are the cool restaurants that people don’t know about that we need to hit up for donations? And three people at the table at the, in the board of director said, Nosa, that’s the place that we keep hearing about. So you’re getting, I don’t know if you’re paying for a lot of advertising or you just have an amazing Instagram presence, but people, you’re, you have a reputation already for doing something that is, um, I mean, first of all, tell, tell our listeners it’s pretty rural where you are. Where are you exactly. Explain to somebody who’s, who doesn’t live
Graham: (08:09)
It is very rural, you know, and to, to, to go back, you know, to backpedal on this a little bit, I would, you know, I would say the original owners of the place, John and David had this dream of moving out here and fell in love with the place. And they bought several hundred acres and built this restaurant and everybody thought they were crazy and nobody would come. And it was out in the middle of nowhere is the serenity and the, and the peacefulness of the place. You know, even with the forum, it feels very secluded and very private. So they had a really special place that they found and and built, and it’s got a great soul to it. And then they became very successful. They got really Chateau designation. They became, you know, they had a presence in that guidebook. It was the only place Southwest. Yeah. So they had a plan to come out and, and, and open this bed and breakfast. And everybody thought they were crazy. Everybody thought that nobody would come, that they were out in the middle of New nowhere, New Mexico. And they were laughed at and they had this dream. They built this beautiful place, they found this acreage, and they bought a bunch of land and, and they built this thing. And within a short amount of time, they got Relay Chateau designation, which is a pretty sweet luxury hotel designation from Europe. And they were in the guidebooks and people started coming. It was the only place in the southwest that was a relay Chateau property. And they held, you know, they held them to those standards of, of and they ironed everything every day. I mean, that was, it was a spectacular property and became very special and became a destination for a lot of people. So, and they made it for 25 years. Um, so to me that was a very inspiring part of this story where, you know, they had made it such a success. It had such cool history. It was such a magical place. Just the, you know, the bare bones of it, the view, the, the building, the guest rooms, all of it. Just this combination. So I saw the potential that it could really be something special. Um,
Bunny: (10:38)
And and how far are you from, like, say, um, Santa Fe? How far?
Graham: (10:45)
So it’s not bad. I mean, I drive into Santa Fe often for, for food and supplies. Um, it’s 45 minutes really to the north part of Santa Fe. It’s not all the way to Ojo Caliente. We’re 12 miles south of the spa and the post office. Um, we’re all closer to Hernandez. We’re only about three miles, um, past the split of 2 85 and 84. And, so it’s not quite all the way to Ojo.
Bunny: (11:16)
And you’re, you’re in, you know, for somebody who’s never been up there, you’re in Georgia O’keeffe country, which is I believe the most, and I’ve been everywhere in the state, I think except the Gila wilderness. But it is the most beautiful part of the state.
Graham: (11:31)
It really is. It’s phenomenal. I mean, there’s a lot places in New Mexico for sure. It’s, it is a very special place. And it was a gathering spot, you know, hundreds and hundreds of years ago. The Three Rivers kind of conjoined right there. And there’s a lot of petroglyphs on the mesa behind us. I mean, it was a big, it was a big gathering spot. And you know, then the hot springs as well was a draw for people. So Yeah. Magical place for sure.
Bunny: (12:06)
So, so we’ve talked about the, um, we’ve talked about, you know, how you got here and the end. But I want to read , um, a couple of these. I know you’re doing different meals, but I just wanna read the menu. I saw your dinner menu on Instagram for, um, November 18th and 19th. And, and some of these, I’m, I’m probably not going to say them correctly, but you have like a, um, a Saffron a, I don’t even know what this is. Arancini, um, uh, roasted
Graham: (12:38)
Del, it’s ache. It’s ache. It’s uh, like a fried risotto, kind of fritter. It’s a classic Italian dish.
Bunny: (12:47)
And the other stuff was like, um, uh, roasted delicata squash, vel sweet breads, a bison ossobuco, and then an autumn frost squash and carrot tortes. So this is, um, this, it’s a different menu than I’ve seen in a while. And, um, are you, you know, your tagline, one of the taglines I read was that you wanted the, you wanted to be hyperlocal and ultra seasonal. So I’m curious what that means
Graham: (13:19)
To you. Yes. So what that means to me is, it’s, it’s always been super important to me to source food that I know how it’s being grown and meat, that how I know that it’s being raised. Um, and, and the special relationship that you form with the people doing that. And there’s no better place than doing that right outside your back door of, of finding the people in the close vicinity that are passionate about the ingredients and that I get them that day from being picked that morning. I mean, it’s so much, it’s so much better of a product. It’s so much more special than something that just comes from California and sits on a truck for two weeks before we get it. And there’s a story with it. There’s a passion behind what they’re growing and why they’re growing it, and it’s special and it’s nice to tap into those ingredients that are right here, that are at their peak and that are in season. And I feel like that’s how people would like to eat and, and should eat as things that’s around at that time of year. And so that’s really how I plan my menus. I find a special ingredient, I create a dish based on that ingredient, and then it goes from there into the other dishes and there’s a thread that ties the menu together, kind of a narrative that speaks to a certain region or a certain style of food. I’m pretty hard to put in a category. I don’t really fit in a, in categories a lot with my restaurants. I’ve, you know, I’ve been called eclectic and know, but it’s really, to me it’s, it’s classical combinations with local ingredients. It’s, it’s, it’s drawing on some European classic dishes, you know, whether it’s from Spain or France or Italy, you know, it’s, it’s drawing on some American regional dishes. Some southwest, some southern some Mexican. I mean, like to from lots of different places.
Bunny: (15:37)
Well, like I said, I spent a lot of, time taking a look at your Instagram account account because the food is so lush and it’s so pretty. And are you, you’re doing breakfast now, right?
Graham: (15:54)
I am. I do breakfast for the end guests on request, and that changes every day. That’s based on, it’s just a kind of a dojo breakfast is what I’m calling it. So it’s kind of a chef’s choice. I, I’ll always accommodate dietary restrictions and people give me those ahead of time and I can plan and, and I’ll, I do a nice breakfast with a, a small starter, typically a little , steel cutouts with some fruit and yogurt on top, or I’ve done a kind of a play on a banana split in the summer with, with some little berry fruit on that and Whipped Creek yogurt. And then there’s a more substantial entree. There’s trout and eggs or brisket hash, there’s some kind of a play on chichis. So it’s been fun and, and people are ringing about the breakfast. It’s, it’s a nice leisurely time, about an hour long breakfast. And it’s in the kind of more of the little wine bar casual area in the restaurant with the overlooks on the patio, overlooks the patio. So it’s, it’s a beautiful view at the Emmas Mountains. It’s a nice place to have breakfast.
Bunny: (17:08)
Well, I can’t wait to go there. How much space do you have? How many rooms?
Graham: (17:14)
So there’s four rooms. There’s two kings, queens, um, one of the kings is, is quite large. It’s got a quite a big suite in living area, and it’s got two bathrooms, a big soaking tub and a another bathroom with a walk-in shower. There’s another king next to that, which just has the one bathroom, but it’s also very spacious. I love the, the two queens. The two queens also overlook that nice view where you get the sunset side, like the patio of the wine bar. So that’s a really nice sweet room. Both of them are identical. And then, uh, there’s Kiva fireplaces in all of them, which are really nice this time of year to have a fire going and relax. And, and that’s kind of our TV
Bunny: (18:08)
. So, uh, so it seems to me like the perfect, I’m, I’m just talking about myself, of course, but to me, the perfect day would, or the perfect weekend would be to go up, spend the night with you, have dinner, have breakfast, and then maybe go and soak at Ojo for a little while.
Graham: (18:27)
Of course, a lot of people are doing that, a lot of people are staying with us, and it’s a perfect way to do it. A lot of people, a lot of guests are going toho cause of the proximity.
Bunny: (18:36)
Well, and then
Graham: (18:37)
Other, it’s that you’re, I mean, it’s still made four rooms.
Bunny: (18:40)
Well, and then you’re so close to Abiquiu I mean, just, I mean, it’s a quick run over to, um, you know, spend some time at the Georgia O’Keeffe house and, see Abiquiu I always think if people haven’t been to Abiquiu, they gotta go take a look.
Graham: (18:57)
Oh, it’s amazing. I mean, not just the Georgia O’Keeffe exhibits, those are amazing too, but just the, the scenery with the, with the different colored cliffs like, and yeah. And the hikes. I mean, it’s a, it’s a wonderful place to be. I love to go there often.
Bunny: (19:14)
It is. So, we’re gonna tell people how to find you, but, um, tell us, tell us what you have coming up. Um, I mean, my birthday is December 8th, I think we’re just gonna have to come up and spend the night, but what do you have coming up? But I mean, are you doing some holiday stuff?
Graham: (19:29)
Mine’s a week. Mine’s a week later on the 15th.
Bunny: (19:32)
Perfect.
Graham: (19:33)
Could so yeah, celebrate both of . Perfect. Yeah, we do have a great holiday schedule coming up. We just had a very successful Thanksgiving lunch with two seatings, and we had a great crowd for that. Um, one of the busiest days I’ve seen, aside from opening weekend, we’ve got, um, we’ve got Christmas Eve dinner on a Saturday night, and dinners always start at six 30. I just do one seating and you get the, you get the table for the whole evening. We don’t rush you out and see somebody behind you. It’s, it’s, it’s a destination experience where you get to, you get to stay there as long as you like. And then, um, Christmas lunch is, is shaping up to be a really busy day. We, we’ve a big two o’clock seating already, so that’s gonna be really special to have people there on Christmas day. I’m really excited about this. It’s, it’s gonna be my first Christmas here and I certainly don’t wanna just feed myself, so it’s really nice to have a bunch of people there to eat. And then, you know, the following weekend we’ll do like New Year’s Spa, on the Saturday night as well, brunch or lunch that day two seating.
Bunny: (20:57)
So, very, so quickly, I I, you know, we’ve used up a lot of time talking about what you’re doing now, but I know people are gonna say, what’s your story? Have you been a chef for years? Is this your passion?
Graham: (21:10)
I have. When I came out to New Mexico with my roommate, I was going to East Texas State. I know, sorry, . It’s okay.
Graham: (21:21)
But, my parents are British English and, uh, so I’m first generation. I was born in Texas, and, uh, so I went to, um, the East Texas state, and I quickly found out that wasn’t really what I wanted to do. I was, I was cooking in a little restaurant at the same time and was, uh, I fell in love with it. I fell in love with the dynamic in the kitchen, fell in love with, fell in love with the best amount of learning that you can experience in this field. You never stop learning technique, recipes and tricks. And I delved into it. I have a very food centric Emily that we, we go on vacations based on what restaurant we’re going to eat at and really kinda our lives on that. So, you know, it’s been part of my life. I had a family friend group up who was a , and he would have us over and we would, he would have these ornate dinner parties, and he put a chef hat on me when I was eight.
Graham: (22:39)
And, it was a, it was neat and I always had this interest in it. My mother, I would help my mother cook in the kitchen. I would help my, and I always had an interest in it. Um, and so, yeah, this is all I’ve done. I left school and started cooking. I was able to get into a couple hotels in Dallas and learned a lot more than, um, I had learned in the family. Worked at, in, out in the college town with. And, uh, and then I loved to travel. I started traveling around all over. I I went to culinary school, Oregon and worked in Oregon and Alaska. I worked in Aspen, Colorado, worked in Massachusetts and Vermont. And then I used my, um, my dual in, I worked in London and I worked in Edinburg. Um, I spent a little bit of time in southern Switzerland and had a chef job at a place down there in the Italian part. And then I spent some time in Thailand as well. So I was able at different places and cultures and cuisines and really get a foundation of, of cooking. And, uh, along the way I always gravitated towards these chefs that would cook season and locally and, and farm to table. And, uh, so I’ve always just had a real passion for that.
Bunny: (24:24)
Well, so we hope, we hope you’re just gonna stick in New Mexico now because this is a, this is a real gift and I’m really interested. I mean, is your clientele from all over the world?
Graham: (24:36)
They’re from everywhere. Yeah. I mean, people are finding us and, you know, kind of back to your question about advertising and is’, it’s just me. I haven’t got a company, I haven’t got a marketing budget. And it’s really been interesting to see how this very kind, we’ve got a lot of support. You know, Santa Fe foodies has, has been extremely supportive and people were posting my menu right when we first opened and posting pictures and experiences. And it’s been neat. It’s been neat to see, um, love it and want to tell everybody else about it. And I couldn’t be doing it any other way.
Bunny: (25:26)
Well, I’m really excited to get up there and I’m not joking. I’m gonna ask for a weekend there for my birthday, so hopefully we’ll see you pretty soon.
Graham: (25:36)
Um, amazing.
Bunny: (25:37)
Yeah. Thank you, Graham. We’re gonna post all your links and I’m gonna tell people right now, you gotta go to the, and take a look because you’re, you’re gonna wanna book a night and dinner. It’s gonna happen.
Graham: (25:50)
Yeah. People are really enjoying it. It’s, it’s just such a sacred, special, magical place, and it’s a place to relax and drink some nice wine and then go back to your, your room afterwards. You don’t have to drive home.
Bunny: (26:06)
That’s perfect. Well, and if you do have to drive, I mean, that 45 minutes is not very far. I mean, people drive from Albuquerque to Santa Fe for work all the time.
Graham: (26:14)
It’s not, and
Bunny: (26:15)
We drive there, so that’s not very far.
Graham: (26:18)
I see that too. I mean, it’s, yeah, I think that’s part of living in this part of the world is you’ve gotta, you’ve gotta drive to get to some places.
Bunny: (26:27)
We’re out of time. But I’m so excited that you’ve done first of all, that you’ve created this space and that you are using local products. So you’re obviously a boost to the local economy, but you’ve just created a beautiful space. So thank, we’re gonna send a lot of folks your way.
Graham: (26:46)
Thank you. Thank you. I really appreciate it. Thank you so much.
Bunny: (26:49)
You’re very welcome.