Overlook of the San Juan River and Farmington. Photo by Mona Makela.

In the midst of the Bisti Badlands and iconic eroded rock formations, Farmington has one of the most unique sceneries in the United States. Known as Tòta by the Navajo people, meaning between the waters, the small city is the meeting place of three rivers: the San Juan, Animas, and La Plata. If you’ve been looking to delve more into Native American cuisine, Farmington is just the right place to get your mouth watering and thirst quenched.   

 Justin Pioche plating for LorAmy pop-up dinner.

Pioche Food Group

Various locations in and around Farmington, 505-258-2907, piochefoodgroup.com

In March 2023, two years after creating Pioche Food Group (pronounced pie-oh-chee) in partnership with his sister Tia Pioche, Justin Pioche was nominated for Best Chef: Southwest in the James Beard Awards. The duo’s innovative approach to food takes them on culinary adventures all over the country, providing their unique food experiences and outstanding hospitality in locations from New York to Wisconsin to Alaska. They also host frequent private dinners in the Farmington area, serving up fresh seasonal menus without replication, allowing their guests to truly immerse in their distinctive culinary experience. 

“I showed interest in food a long time ago when my grandma had a little farm at her house,” Justin told me. “I remember her making a dish in particular. I watched her standing in front of the stove. She took peas from her garden and made a soup out of it. Then she made fresh fry bread on the side. I just remember that soup being so scrumptious and full of umami—then the hot, crispy fry bread that had salt on top. I remember taking that fry bread and dipping it into the soup and biting it and boom, everything made sense. The fat, the salt, the sweet from the peas, it was beautiful. That’s just when I knew, I like food.”

When Justin was twelve, he began peering through his mother’s cookbooks and started to experiment. By the time he was eighteen, he had his culinary beginnings working as a line cook at Fuddruckers in the Phoenix area, where he would eventually attend the Arizona Culinary Institute. He was employed at a mom-and-pop restaurant back in Farmington when an unexpected introduction to British celebrity chef Robert Irvine changed the direction of his culinary career forever. Irvine made a phone call to American chef and television personality Beau MacMillian, and Justin went on to work with Chef MacMillian’s catering department at the Sanctuary in Paradise Valley, Arizona. He later worked for renowned Phoenix chef Kevin Binkley, learning modern techniques in molecular gastronomy, such as spherification and the use of liquid nitrogen. With an unexpected move back home to Farmington, he found that there weren’t any restaurants in the area that would allow for the same creative outlets that he had just experienced in Phoenix. He got hired as a line cook at Texas Roadhouse, where he repetitively cooked the same things. “I don’t like sticking to the same menu—it sucks you know,” he told me. In desperate need of an outlet, he began to get creative in the kitchen that he worked at during their downtimes, ultimately sparking his interest in food again.

In admiration of her brother, Tia wanted to be a chef from when she was in fourth grade. And around 2005, during the early years of Justin’s first catering company, Tia would help her brother by serving and cooking. Having spent numerous years at Texas Roadhouse working in every hospitality position, she began refining her customer service skills through observation of the high-end restaurants she and Justin would visit. She knew she had a love for people and wanted to bring her skills to Justin’s team—to be his right hand, managing front-of-house operations while Justin was in the back-of-house focused on food prep and cooking. With an eagerness to learn more about the culinary world and bring more to the Pioche Food Group, Tia cooked for a while alongside Chef Brandon Gauthier at Confluence in Phoenix. “So, Tia is not only the general manager of the Pioche Food Group but also a chef through her hard work and dedication to the culinary craft,” said Justin.

Pioche Food Group had its humble beginning serving three dinners to raise funds for a trip to Israel. “We did a seven-course dinner that was a big hit the first time. We just loved it and fell in love with the idea of hosting these dinners, which is very different around here in Farmington, New Mexico, where you don’t get this type of experience, let alone with Navajo food incorporated in it,” Tia told me. After hosting their first dinner at a local bed-and-breakfast, which later extended to hosting their multicourse dinners at Juniper Coffee & Eatery, Justin and Tia said to one another, “Why don’t we just make this a thing? We’re obviously not bad at it.” They talked it over and ultimately said, “Let’s do it, let’s call it LorAmy,” a name inspired by the names of their late maternal grandmother, Lorene Barber-
Hersey, and their paternal grandmother, Amy Ford Pioche. “Just saying the name LorAmy, we’re introducing you all into our culture and family,” Tia said.

“I think people love Justin and [me], and that’s what I think draws people to us. We don’t want people to feel intimidated when they come to our dinners like a Michelin restaurant; I want to welcome them into our own home. We shower everybody with kindness and we don’t judge others. I think that’s why people just like us,” Tia said. “We’re just real and ourselves.”

Last April, Justin, Tia, and their mother, Jan Pioche, welcomed eleven guests into their cozy home in Fruitland. I was fortunate to be among this mix of old and new friends. Stepping inside, we walked into their home and sat down at a long rectangular table that stretched across the back corner of the room, draped in a white cloth and adorned with colorful flowers and wine glasses. At the end of the table proudly sat Jan, who entertained the guests all night with her cinematic storytelling and contagious laughter. “We’re introducing you all to our home for the very first time, which is very special. This is a very awesome dinner and Justin’s put in so much work through this menu, so I can’t wait for you guys to enjoy,” Tia said, welcoming us.

A variety of colorful foods such as sunchokes, radishes, and watercresses flown in from Oregon embellished our plates as the nine-course menu began to roll out. From beginning to end, each dish was beautifully plated. The menu’s second course, called Crudité, comprised miniature vegetables meticulously placed on a bed of sunflower puree, allowing the eyes to truly eat first in awe and beauty. “We want to welcome spring to our menu,” Justin said. Not just the visual beauty of the edible flowers garnishing each plate but the flavors of each dish evoked the spring season. The sixth course, called Intermezzo, was the perfect palate cleanser, featuring sumac, blood orange, and edible flowers. Liquid nitrogen was poured into tall jars of citrus juice, creating aromatic smoke that covered the table and danced across our laps. “Enjoy,” Justin said, smiling proudly. The dish itself tasted like watermelon sorbet and was a perfect transition from the fifth course, Red Butter Chicken. Marinated in red chile butter, the moist and juicy chicken was served dusted with dehydrated chile butter, paired with crispy corn tortilla on a bed of fresh green watercress and a juniper ash aioli. This dish exemplified the menu’s delicate balance of sweet, sour, salty, and umami. To follow the intermezzo was Bááh (meaning bread in Navajo), a beautiful two-bite corn bread made with dehydrated blueberries and served with ramp butter, ramp oil, and smoked salt. “We added popcorn as garnish to make it look cool and then garnished with fresh scallion for brightness,” Justin explained. The ramp butter tasted slightly of garlic and melted seamlessly into the warmth of the corn bread. The night concluded with warm conversations and happy faces as each of us guests gave big hugs to the whole Pioche family with deep gratitude for welcoming us all into their home.

Juniper Coffee & Eatery

5150 College Blvd, Ste 206, Farmington, 505-436-2145, juniper-coffee-eatery.com

Juniper Coffee & Eatery has hosted a number of LorAmy dinners, but they’re also known for their own quality, handmade fare. Their health-conscious and culturally relevant menu incorporates Navajo staples, like blue corn mush and juniper ash. Owners Bertina and Hamilton Cadman have had their doors open for three years, and they’ve developed a breakfast and lunch menu that seamlessly complements their coffee menu. Their menu is small, making it easier for indecisive customers like myself to decide what to eat, yet they have something for everyone, with both sweet and savory breakfast options.

“Hamilton is the coffee person. He’s completely self-taught,” said Bertina. When they first began renting out the space across from San Juan College, there was a coffee machine, and he began experimenting, which opened up a whole new world of coffee for him. “Hamilton taught himself everything about espressos, lattes, and beans. He’s very meticulous and all of our baking, he’s in charge of it. He has a lot more patience than I do,” said Bertina, laughing.

Their house-made chai was spicy and rich; I could taste the cloves, star anise, cardamom, and more with each warm sip. And then our brunch was ready: a sweet blue corn bowl, savory blue corn waffle, and turkey pesto panini with a side salad. The sweet blue corn bowl is a classic blue corn mush garnished with fresh fruit, toasted almonds, chia seeds, and honey, and our daughter happily munched this dish down, giving it the toddler-approved stamp. The waffle itself was exceptional, soft and moist; paired with an egg, bacon, and a drizzle of maple syrup, it made for a truly mouthwatering dish. And the pesto on the sandwich was beautiful, melding with the sun-dried tomatoes, oven-roasted turkey, provolone, and balsamic glaze on toasted bread. Satiating and delicious, this is the perfect go-to lunch dish.

Their logo is fresh and minimal. When I asked what inspired the name Juniper Coffee & Eatery, Bertina shared, “Originally, we wanted to base it on something that complemented the Four Corners area where we’re located. The juniper tree is a significant symbol of Navajo culture. We make juniper ash from the juniper tree, which is used to mix into the blue corn mush. It’s used in a lot of our cooking and has a lot of cultural significance.” Their logo signifies a metaphor in that “it’s a plant and something that grows—we would like for our business to grow in the same ways,” Bertina said. “Juniper is inspired by our language and teachings from our bloodlines. We wouldn’t be here without our parents’ and grandparents’ sacrifices and prayers.” Bertina’s clans: Bit’ahnii, Ta’neeszahnii, Kinłichíi’nii, Áshįįhí.
Hamilton’s clans: Naakai Dine’é, Tł’ááshchï’í, Áshįįhí, Tó Dích’íi’nii.

Speaking of their location, Bertina shared that they “wanted a place in Farmington in particular. There’s a large Native American population with surrounding reservations. Natives have a big impact on the community here and there aren’t many Native-owned and -operated businesses here either. [Food] by Native Americans, we wanted to offer that. We have incorporated ingredients that are familiar to the [Native American] community, like blue corn, with menu items that more people are familiar with.” Their space isn’t just limited to coffee and food but also includes a cool space where they have featured artwork by local artists and, of course, cool Juniper Coffee & Eatery merch for purchase. When chatting with Hamilton, it was very clear that they both want to uplift the community by supporting the creative arts, with plans for mentoring up-and-coming chefs and culinary entrepreneurs within the community.

Left: Monument Magic at the Rambler Taproom. Right: Savage Times Sour IPA and Scenic West Hazy IPA.

Rambler Taproom

5100 East Main St, Ste 109, Farmington, 505-592-7082, bowandarrowbrewing.com/rambler

Bow & Arrow Brewing Co. opened the Rambler Taproom in 2021, bringing the distinctive artistry of their beers to Farmington. Owners Shyla Sheppard and Missy Begay opened this taproom to serve the community in the Four Corners region that inspires so many of their beers’ unique names and flavors. As my partner and I approached the venue, we glanced simultaneously at a sign on the front door that read “No jerks.” Smiling, we walked into the taproom, a cozy, intimate space with a minimalist industrial aesthetic and a laid-back and welcoming vibe. A great sound system played alternative indie music and as I gazed around the room, cheerful customers sat happily chatting on barstools. From their familiar staples to new releases, you can’t help but get excited to not only see what the craft beer will look like but how it will taste. Sitting comfortably, my partner and I decided to enjoy two of their draft beers, Twist and Turns Session IPA and Monument Magic West Coast–Style IPA. The Twist and Turns Session tasted of cardamom and citrus, while Monument Magic had mellower, more bitter notes.

Utilizing their ancestral knowledge by infusing local ingredients like Navajo tea, sumac, and foraged neomexicanus hops, to name a few, they’re truly innovating the beer market with their creativity and unique flavor pairings. Their Farmington location is an intimate space that’s great for “the ramblers, roamers, and sunset seekers,” Sheppard said. The Rambler offers periodic paint parties and pop-up markets with local vendors, and is also available for private bookings.