Late Summer 2023: Four Corners

In 1863, when designating the western boundary of the territory that would become our state, Congress, with little regard for peoples or topography, drew a line straight south from Colorado. Thus resulted the anomaly known as the Four Corners—where not four but six jurisdictions, including the Navajo and Ute Nations, meet. But there is a more natural, expansive, dramatic, and much older shape to the cultural and culinary character of this region.

In this issue of edible, we travel the Colorado Plateau, drinking in its grand beauty and dining and talking with some of its chefs, farmers, and winemakers. Stopping through Mancos, Colorado, the gateway to Mesa Verde, we discover a food and drink scene as rewarding as the mountain biking and vistas. Then we journey over Waterpocket Fold to the remote gastronomic enclave of Boulder, Utah, where Hell’s Backbone Grill & Farm serves elevated, place-based cuisine on the brink of the Canyons of the Escalante. From there, we drop down to the outskirts of Sedona for wine and cocktails with Verde Valley native Candolin Cook. Back in New Mexico, we linger between the Bisti Badlands and canyons of greater Farmington, where Alexandria Bipatnath explores three Native-run food businesses, including that of James Beard Award finalist Justin Pioche. A few miles down the road, sommelier Michele Padberg tempts us to taste rosés and reds from the secret gardens at Wines of the San Juan.

Along the way, farmer M. Karlos Baca and forager Anna Marija Helt challenge us to view invasive plant species differently—to find occasions for learning, for self-study, for culinary use. Knowing that every journey ends at home, we also share recipes from Lois Ellen Frank’s forthcoming cookbook. Seed to Plate, Soil to Sky is a collection of plant-based recipes made using what the local scholar and chef calls the “magic eight”—all ingredients indigenous to the Americas, several of which have long been traded along routes similar to those taken in these pages. Whatever your ancestry, we echo Frank’s invitation to honor the stories behind the meals you eat while traveling through these spectacular and life-sustaining spaces.

In 1863, when designating the western boundary of the territory that would become our state, Congress, with little regard for peoples or topography, drew a line straight south from Colorado. Thus resulted the anomaly known as the Four Corners—where not four but six jurisdictions, including the Navajo and Ute Nations, meet. But there is a more natural, expansive, dramatic, and much older shape to the cultural and culinary character of this region.

In this issue of edible, we travel the Colorado Plateau, drinking in its grand beauty and dining and talking with some of its chefs, farmers, and winemakers. Stopping through Mancos, Colorado, the gateway to Mesa Verde, we discover a food and drink scene as rewarding as the mountain biking and vistas. Then we journey over Waterpocket Fold to the remote gastronomic enclave of Boulder, Utah, where Hell’s Backbone Grill & Farm serves elevated, place-based cuisine on the brink of the Canyons of the Escalante. From there, we drop down to the outskirts of Sedona for wine and cocktails with Verde Valley native Candolin Cook. Back in New Mexico, we linger between the Bisti Badlands and canyons of greater Farmington, where Alexandria Bipatnath explores three Native-run food businesses, including that of James Beard Award finalist Justin Pioche. A few miles down the road, sommelier Michele Padberg tempts us to taste rosés and reds from the secret gardens at Wines of the San Juan.

Along the way, farmer M. Karlos Baca and forager Anna Marija Helt challenge us to view invasive plant species differently—to find occasions for learning, for self-study, for culinary use. Knowing that every journey ends at home, we also share recipes from Lois Ellen Frank’s forthcoming cookbook. Seed to Plate, Soil to Sky is a collection of plant-based recipes made using what the local scholar and chef calls the “magic eight”—all ingredients indigenous to the Americas, several of which have long been traded along routes similar to those taken in these pages. Whatever your ancestry, we echo Frank’s invitation to honor the stories behind the meals you eat while traveling through these spectacular and life-sustaining spaces.

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