Author: Gil Garduno

Since 2008, the tagline on Gil’s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog has invited you to “Follow the Culinary Ruminations of New Mexico’s Sesquipedalian Sybarite.” To date, more than six million visitors have trusted (or at least visited) my recommendations on more than 1,300 restaurant reviews. Please take a few minutes to tell me what you think. Whether you agree or disagree with me, I'd love to hear about it.
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Gyros Shack – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

When my dear friend Adelchi Parisella introduced me to Greek food at Gyros Mediterranean back in the early ’80s, I thought to myself “now this is the food of the gods.”  As curious as any cat, I naturally researched whether or not the Greek gods of Mount Olympus actually did eat gyros and patates.  The only two “foods” I could recall the gods eating were ambrosia and nectar.  Research revealed that while ambrosia and nectar were the gods main source of substance, the haughty  mythological beings actually consumed other foods, none of which were gyros and patates. Dionysius, the the god of wine and pleasure and Priapus (a minor rustic fertility God, who protected the male reproductive organs)  were fond…

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High Point Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” Ask a physicist and you’ll get an earful about quantum theory, wave function, subatomic particles and rarefactions in the air. A philosopher might posit the plausible premise that when there is nobody around, the falling tree makes no sound at all–a premise achieved by interpreting the word “sound” to mean a human experience rather than a physical phenomenon. With well-practiced prattle and deft circumlocution, a politician would probably attribute culpability for the tree having fallen to “the other side of the aisle.” Ask this blogger and not only will you get a resounding “yes” to the oft-posed philosophical thought experiment,…

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Hot Tamales – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

While the word tamale is most certainly Spanish, its derivation is from the Nahuatl word tamalli.  Tamallis were developed as a portable ration carried by war parties in pre-Columbian North America and were as common and varied as the sandwich is today.  One commonality among tamalli then and tamales today, is the corn meal dough (masa) which is made through a process called “nixtamalization.”  In pre-Colombian times, the process involved using wood ashes to soften field corn for easier grinding.  Today this is done by slaking lime.  Interestingly, nixtamalization not only softens field corn, it aids in digestibility and increases the nutrients absorbed by the human body. Though the fundamental component of the tamale remains masa, fillings for this delicious…

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Fuego 505 Rotisserie & Bar – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

“I have become obsessed with cooking meat over fire. I get prepared for it. I make sure I’m hungry before I cook it. The smell of the smoke and the aroma of the crackling meat ignites some ancient genetic memories. It makes cooking and eating significantly better.” ~Joe Rogan, Podcast Host Those of us with a carnivorous bent can relate to Joe Rogan’s ode to cooking meat over fire.  There’s absolutely nothing as mouth-watering as the heady aroma and melodious sound of meat searing on the grill or sizzling in a pan.  An argument can easily be made that nothing evokes a wanton lust more than smoke perfumed by meat as it wafts toward our anxiously awaiting nostrils.  The sounds…

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Kaufman’s Coffee & Bagels – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

Seinfeld: “What is that smell?” Kramer “That’s East River.” Seinfeld: You’re swimming in the East River? The most heavily trafficked, overly contaminated waterway on the eastern seaboard?” Kramer: Technically Norfolk has more gross tonnage.” When I lived in the Boston area for two years immediately following high school, those of us in the Bay State (even temporary residents) refused to acknowledge New York City was better than Boston at anything.  We were devastated when the hated Yankees bested our beloved Red Sox in the 1978 American League East tie-breaker.  For that we’ll never forgive Bucky Dent.  Before my first visit to the dreaded Big Big Apple (Bucky Dent is the worm in that apple), friends told me in private and…

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Slate Street Billiards Bar & Grille – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

Discovering a bubbling crude…Texas tea, black gold, oil that is, transformed Jed Clampett from poor mountaineer who barely kept his family fed to a millionaire residing in a Beverly (Hills that is, swimming pools, movie stars) mansion.  Moving from a tiny ramshackle hovel to a luxurious and palatial dwelling brought with it one surprise after another for Jed and his family.  Among them was “a good strong eatin’ table” upon which “you could serve up a whole barbecued steer.”  Jed’s nephew Jethro who graduated at the top of his glass…”by a good foot” found out from a friend that the room in which the fancy eatin’ table was centered was called a “billy-yard room.”  Ergo, the table was a “billy-yard…

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Restoration Pizza – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

My dad taught me very early on that all people have inherent worth and dignity and are deserving of respect and kindness. A lifelong educator, he had a knack for reaching students deemed incorrigible or unteachable–students the “system” would just as soon discard. During his funeral nearly forty-five years ago, these were the students who cried hardest. They had just lost their biggest advocate, a teacher who believed in them, at times more than they believed in themselves. What set my dad apart from other teachers is that he demanded–and consequently received– no less than the best effort a student could put forth. He tried to instill that attitude in all students–demand the best of yourself, strive to achieve as…

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Viet Taste – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

In the “gobble and go” pace of contemporary American life, it’s sometimes difficult to remember what you ate during your last meal, much less recall the sensory experience of that meal.  When that happens to true gourmands, they will actively seek a memorable dining experience in which all five senses are invoked. One of the best restaurants in Albuquerque in which to have such a sensory experience is almost any Vietnamese restaurant. One such example is Viet Taste which opened on April 4, 2007.  Even more than most Vietnamese restaurants, Viet Taste exemplifies comprehensive eating, the most sublime form of Vietnamese cooking and eating. This style of eating involves all five senses. In comprehensive eating, you eat with your eyes…

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Duke City BBQ – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

During a 2016 campaign event in Phoenix, Arizona, Latinos for Trump founder Marco Gutierrez warned that if the country did not adopt tighter immigration standards as proposed by Republican nominee Donald Trump, there would be “taco trucks on every corner.”  For many of us, the only conceivable retort was along the lines of “what could possibly be wrong with that?”  Tacos (Mexico) have become as American as pizza (Italy), apple pie (England), French fries (Belgium), hot dogs (Germany), peanut butter (Ancient Inca and Aztec civilizations) and barbecue (Caribbean).  These foods may not have been invented in the good ol’ USA, but we’ve adopted them.  They’re part of the fabric of what makes this country fat…er, great. It’s likely that if…

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Burque Bakehouse – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

In 2023 Psychology Today profiled an Albuquerque baker who knows the mind-body connection very well.  Pratt Morales, long-time co-owner (with his son Chris) of the Golden Crown Panaderia believes he’ll live to be 130 years young.  You’ll believe it, too, after reading the profile.  Mr. Morales is an 85-year-old going on 22 who’s as spry and fit mentally as he is physically.  At an age when our couch potato lifestyles will mean an early grave for many of us, he can perform one or two hand cartwheels.  The secret of his longevity, he says is a focus on flexibility exercises and watching his diet. Chinese philosopher Confucius  is credited with an idiom that defines Mr. Morales: ““Choose a job you love and…

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The Grove Cafe & Market – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

Voracious readers*, avid aficionados of art and those aflame with a musical ardor know that great books, art and music are imbued with the power to transport them to another time and place. A recent influx of contemporary restaurants in Albuquerque also has that power. If you think about it, having a meal at most Duke City restaurants–transcendent though some may be–is just so…Albuquerque. There’s an almost boring consistency and sameness about many local restaurants. Their sole distinctiveness comes from the foods they serve. It’s very difficult, for example, to picture yourself on the beaches at Cabo San Lucas while sipping on a margarita at Garduño‘s. Noshing on mussels at the Indigo Crow just doesn’t feel like a leisurely repast…