Julia – A Spirited Restaurant and Bar

After an unsatisfying experience during our first visit, the Director of Food & Beverage, Fernando Moreno reached out to me and invited us back to dine at Julia. He was an extremely gracious host and made sure our entire evening was taking care of. We started off with delicious appetizers… tuna tartare and cranberry quinoa which he paired perfectly with a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. He offered us many suggestions for dinner, paired with a glass of his finest wines for each dish. He brought in a new red wine from Spain that was amazing. We had a very pleasant server as well as Mr. Moreno this go around. They both made sure everything went smoothly for us. We were extremely pleased with our visit and we had a great evening with our friends. Mr. Moreno was wonderfully gracious and it definitely made up for our initial visit. We will be visiting Julia again. The food and atmosphere was wonderful and the service was impeccable. Thank you Mr. Moreno and Julia for having us back and making things right.

I was in town for the Foodie event and came back in for dinner. The sommelier invited me back after NYE was less than awesome.
To cut to the chase the food was great. Salmon for her and halibut for me. Both were spot on. The preparation with the halibut was a unique Thai or Vietnamese take with coconut milk. Definitely a fusion dish. To back up, they served a bread starter called a popover which is something I never had before. Sort of a mini Yorkshire pudding (much better). Where were these the first time. Nice.
The wines were excellent. The Arsonist is great balanced blend with some spice. The halibut was paired with a great white Sancerre that I cannot recall the winery (I remember reds more).
Thanks Colin for the great meal and wines!

We stayed at the hotel, La Posada during our trip for 4 days. The service was decent; friendly staff and low occupancy.
The food; easily the worst restaurant I’ve eaten at in the past year and certainly the worst hotel food I have ever had.
Breakfast; the burrito is microwaved scrambled eggs and potatoes (not fresh either) in a flour tortilla. The eggs and ham plate was the only breakfast plate I could stomachs. You really can’t mess up two eggs and a piece of ham. Oh you can? Yes, it was $ 16 for two eggs a piece of ham and clearly microwaved potatoes.
For lunch, the meatloaf was edible and so was the burger. Still, nothing to be desired.
The food quality tastes and looks like it was ordered from a mass distributor, Sysco, pre made, heated and served.
Also noted, the NY steak is $ 20 for lunch and $ 28 for dinner. Exact same plate, however.

Drinks were delicious. Eric was great — bar is super cozy with nice fireplaces and comfy chairs. Try the market gimlet. Super yummy!

Our waitress made the night here. She made suggestions for everything from drinks, to appetizers to entrees, none of which were bad. On top of that she was just an incredibly and genuinely friendly person, as was every member of the staff we interacted with.
They also randomly brought us some green chili popovers, freshly made, that were incredible and I gladly would have paid for (had they charged for them). Try the prickly pear or blood orange margarita, worth every cent.

We had a breakfast and a dinner at Julia in La Posada. Most diners on our party thought the dinner was better than the breakfast. We had a nice bottle of Sanford Chardonnay and started with green chili stew, tomato bisque, and beet salads. For entrees we had dover sole, brick chicken, salmon and pork tenderloin. Everyone was satisfied with the food, the service and the ambiance

Mold on the desert. Stale ice tea. Management did not care. The best they would do is remove it from the bill. Do not eat here.

We discovered this gem via a search on Open Table, and were enchanted with our experience. Our server brought us some lovely popovers with a sculpted honey butter to accompany my Silver Coin margarita and my friend’s orange one. We started with a shared dish of Tuna and Lobster Parfait, faintly sweet fish seasoned lightly with a mix of sweet and tangy flavors, served over a circlet of Indian Fry Bread that was as light and delicate as a puff pastry, and garnished with a thin lattice of crispy goodness, possibly potato (I’m not sure) that added another layer of texture to this yummy dish. Our dining partner enjoyed the steak tartare with its hint of citrus flavors. My main course was the smoked pork tenderloin that was probably the best and most tender I’ve ever eaten, covered in a light, slightly sweet smoky sauce, morels, and a local variety of fog cheese that gave just a hint of tang to the dish. My dining partners had the lamb and the rock hen in clay, served with green chile cornbread and asparagus (a specialty of the chef’s apparently that garnered a feature on the regional television station
); both were pleased with their meals. Both of the managers, as well as our server, stopped by the table to make certain all was to our liking, which it was. For dessert, I had the vanilla panne cotta, which was very light and finished with fresh red raspberries and a light cream sauce which was just the right note with which to finish an excellent celebratory meal. My partner enjoyed the pueblo-​shaped blondie with dark chocolate garnishes dusted with cocoa, which was heavier, but also quite tasty. Be sure to walk back to the restrooms to check out the stately fireplaces of the old Victorian Staab home which allegedly houses a ghost along with a fascinating mix of works by local artists. The garden area looks like a relaxing spot, but was not open due to a rare bit of rain on the evening of our visit. I understand that this is a new endeavor for the chef; I wish him well and hope to return one day for another celebratory dinner.