Taste Of El Paso Preview – Red Mountain Bistro

The best restaurants in El Paso are all getting together in one spot this week just for you!

Taste Of El Paso is this Wednesday and Thursday in the Convention Center downtown.  Two nights of fine food, craft beer and incredible desserts, all in one place!  One of the restaurants participating this year is Red Mountain Bistro.  Located at 631 Resler near Belvidere, Red Mountain Bistro is more than a restaurant, it's an experience for all the senses!

Red Mountain Bistro welcomes you with a private patio so, as soon as you enter, it's as though you've left El Paso for a bit.  Inside the restaurant, you'll find a warm, welcome environment that owner and chef Justin says is "built from the ashes of El Paso".  Justin has scoured the area looking for bits and pieces of El Paso to decorate with.  The El Paso sign on the patio once hung above the original El Paso Times building.  The door to the bars kegerator was once the refridgerator door in The Plaza hotel, installed there in 1939!

The music is light and a few tvs around the bistro stay on food related shows. It's a treat for your eyes and ears, as well as the history buff in you!

The food is the important thing though and it is amazing!  Chef Justin creates his dishes in a Tuscan-style but, merged with other styles, he has created his own thing.  All the dishes are prepared from scratch using the freshest ingredients and a wood oven so the food, even if it isn't grilled or baked, retains a smoky flavor.

Chef Justin keeps it local, also!  Not just the decorations, but the food, too. He uses Baka beef from New Mexico, coffees from Sehams Coffee on Montana and local produce.  Even the mesquite used in the ovens is from the El Paso area!

Seafood items are flown in a couple of times a week from Hawaii so any seafood item is also fresh, never more than a day or two out of the water!

We had the green chili risotto, the bruschetta ( pesto, oven-dried Roma tomatoes, fresh mozzarella & balsamic reduction) the tuna tartar and the incredible, made-from-scratch bread.  The risotto was delicious and very hearty, PERFECT for these chilly fall evenings!  It's a rice dish with grilled chicken, sweet corn, cilantro, green onions, & shaved parmigiano reggiano.  It doesn't look like a large portion but, I bet you can't finish it!

The tuna tartar was served with fresh guacomole and cucmber leaves along with a sweet soy and sesame oil dipping sauce.  I don't know how they do it, but it was smoked as well. On top of the incredible lunches, dinners and salads, on Sunday they serve an excellent brunch.

It's more than a restaurant, it's an experience!

If you haven't visited Red Mountain Bistro yet, you are missing out on a true El Paso gem! They're open daily for lunch and dinner, reservations are recommended as they fill up fast!

Call 585-6940 for more info.