Review - Las Fuentes Restaurant at the Bishops Lodge Ranch Resort and Spa in Santa Fe New Mexico

The Bishop's Lodge Ranch Resort & Spa has had so many ups and downs over the years, it s easy to forget how beautiful it is. If it has sometimes felt rundown in the past, there's nothing shabby about it now. The handsome, high-ceilinged dining room, divided into two separate spaces by a blazing fireplace, is painstakingly maintained. The landscaping is as lovely as ever. The drive is less than 10 minutes from downtown.

The dining room: a salt-free diet Las Fuentes reminds me of the man who invented 6UP: he got so close. The menu is well thought out, the execution skillful, but too often something is missing. On one visit, someone evidently forgot to salt the halibut. The fish was moist, perfectly cooked - but saltless. Or near saltless - it doesn't matter which. At a certain point, adding salt from a shaker at the table just doesn't work. I re-salted a tureen of otherwise fine buffalo chile three times at lunch on another visit, and I'm someone who hasn't added salt to food since 1 left my high school cafetería behind. I tried the halibut a second time a week later, curious to see if the under salting was a choice or a mistake. The fish remained under salted.

The table argued about the beautifully turned baby carrots that accompanied the halibut. Some found them undercooked, others thought they were simply raw. When 1 later spoke to the chef, he told me he wanted something crunchy on the plate to contrast with the fish. Fair enough. Still, they were awfully crunchy. Other vegetables on the plate - baby beets, in various hues of yellow and red, and tender asparagus - were cooked as expected. Elk tenderloin, medium rare, with mushrooms and cheddar grits, was juicy and tender, but the maple rub far too sweet.

Whine, whine, whine. Was anything fine just the way it was? Absolutely. A big fat mussel prepared in a white-wine reduction - the amuse-bouche (small bite) was terrific, the best I ever had. The chef must have thought so, too, because he added a trio of them to the halibut. The Caesar-salad starter had such a lovely, subtle, faintly anchovy dressing that 1 wanted the recipe. Grilled-chicken green-chile white-corn chowder was worth the trip. Hazelnut patina cotta (Italian custard) served with hazelnut biscotti, next to a little mound of chopped hazelnuts, was a flavorful, light dessert. (Dip the biscotti into your espresso to moisten the tip and then into the chopped nuts before biting off the end and starting all over again.)

More than 100 bottles are on the wine list ranging in price from $28 lo S250. A dozen wines by the glass are priced from $7 to $14. A bottle of Spanish albarifio white at the low end of the price scale was just OK. A Washington Riesling at the very bottom of the price ladder could have been mistaken for apple eider. A glass of New Zealand sauvignon blanc was very good. There are draft beers, and the bartender is up to a good martini. In cold months the Lodge depends on conferences and small conventions, which are generally served in private rooms from a banquet menu. The dining room itself stays sparsely occupied. Service suffers. With only one or two servers, sometimes both out of the room, waiting for water or a check takes patience. It took 10 minutes to get the bottle of wine we ordered, although we were one of only four tables in the restaurant. At lunch one day, it took 15 minutes to get our soup, and we two were the only customers in the place.

Friendly and cozy; the bar has three tables to accommodate foursomes, plus a handful of stools at the bar itself. They tell me if the bar is full, customers can spill out into the lobby. (Capacity is considerably greater in warm weather when the patio is in use.) The bar menu, unavailable in the dining room, has some starters from the dining-room menu, plus hamburgers, quesadillas, taquitos, and chile rellenos. I had watched a nearby table enthusiastically share a huge plate of French fries with Parmesan cheese and truffle oil. So when I returned with friends after a movie one night, the first thing we did was order those fries for the table to share, even though those of us who ordered hamburgers knew we would be getting more fries with our meal - without the Parmesan or truffle oil. We ate those as well.

The 12-ounce Kobe beef hamburgers with cheese, grilled onion, and crisp bacon were excellent, too. The Caesar salad, which is served as a starter in the dining room, is a main dish in the bar - here with lots of moist chicken on top.

One of our party on my recommendation, ordered a bowl of the grilled-chicken green-chile white-corn chowder. Having ordered a cup on a previous visit, 1 noticed that both bowl and cup carne in the same size tureen, filled to the brim both times. The waiter admitted that, as of now, you get the same portion whether you request the smaller or the larger. Me: "Are the prices different?" He: (reluctantly): "Well, yes. We're still working out some kinks." Until they do, order the cup. The Bishop's Lodge Ranch is located at 1297 Bishops Lodge Rd in Santa Fe.