Fine Alternative Dining in Las Cruces
St. Clair Winery & Bistro took over the Blue Teal Winery and moved in next door into a newer and larger building on Avenida de Mesilla. The place is full of wines, of course, and wine tasting is available. The cafe side of it is a nice, cheerful, colorful place with large firm tables and chairs. It is airy and clean. There is a nice outdoor patio in front for dining in the more temperate weather. Service is better than average, but could be improved upon. All-in-all, nice ambiance--upscale, but casual. The crowd this afternoon was mostly business types, young white-collar types, and older retirees with a few bucks. The dinner menu is quite different than the lunch menu and I am yearning to try it soon.
For lunch we had the Cuban Sandwich and the Panino di Prosciutto y Mozzarela. Both were on ciabatta bread which was delicious. They came with sweet potato fries which were smallish and rather crisp-- nothing to write home about. But, the sandwiches were excellent. If dinner is prepared with the same attention it should be quite good. This is not a place where comfort food is served, however, and if you want to "fill up" you might want to try another place. The slices of ciabatta were smallish and the sandwiches a little expensive for the size. That being said, the food was very good. This place is a highly recommended nice alternative to the usual Mexican, Italian, and Steakhouses around Cruces. I am giving it a four star rating for the time being. If dinner is as good as I expect it might be...I could raise it to a five. Stay tuned....    [14 Oct 2007 21:39:31]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: It all looked great.

     ­Roberto, Las Cruces