Geronimo landed on the sante Fe restaurant scene eight years ago, generating cries of delight among area foodies. Parachutes aside, the restaurant's name actually derives from the tale of a local farmer, Geronimo Lopes, who settled in the area some 200 years ago to raise many of the ingredients that would one day form the backbone of the area's contemporary cuisine. That long-ago Geronimo's unhurried life, and the slow-baked beauty of the region itself, is epitomized by the fine Southwestern fare that is now served on Lopes's porches and in his adobe rooms-food inspired by a fiery sense of innovation and creativity that is celebrated in this chile-infused region. No wonder it's tough to get a reservation at Geronimo's these days: locals can't get enough of chef Eric DiStefano's glorious cuisine.

This gifted chef-acclaimed by food writers like Anya Von Bremzen of Travel & Leisure-underwent a four-year European-style apprenticeship at Pennsylvania's four-star Hotel Hershey, where he acquired the rigor and discipline crucial to top-flight cooking. DiStefano worked the stoves at the Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida, and at The Registry in Scottsdale, Arizona. He wielded a ladle in top kitchens in South Africa and Europe before returning to the Hotel Hershey, where he soon worked his way up to chef de cuisine at the Circular Dining Room. With DiStefano at the helm, the restaurant garnered a great deal of critical attention. In 1996, this talented young culinarian was tapped for the opening chef's post at Santa Fe's deluxe Hacienda de Cerezo resort. DiStefano picked up a serious local following, and two years later he made the move to Geronimo, earning strong kudos for what Von Bremzen called his "painterly" fare. His grilled freshwater lobster with angel hair pasta and aïoli, she wrote, "easily trumps the art at the Canyon Road galleries next door"; his char-broiled elk served on scallion risotto is "delicious."