Category: Gone But Not Forgotten

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2007Gone But Not ForgottenSandwich

Chicago Beef – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Ask any Chicago transplant in Albuquerque or anywhere else to list the five things they miss most about the Windy City and it’s a good bet the list will include Italian beef sandwiches, a staple in Chicago. Citizens of the Toddlin’ Town are almost as passionate about this sloppy sandwich as they are Da Bears. Chicagoans grow up worshipping at high counters on which they prop their elbows as they consume Italian beef sandwiches–sometimes because the restaurant has no tables, but more often than not, because no matter how careful they are, they’re bound to spill shards of beef, bits of giardiniera and drippings of spice-laden beef gravy onto their clothing. The authentic Italian beef sandwich is, according to Pasquale…

AmericanClosed in 2011Gone But Not ForgottenLas Vegas, NevadaRated 27

Rosemary’s Restaurant – Las Vegas, Nevada (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

You might think that a chef and proprietor whose restaurant has garnered almost every conceivable accolade might be almost unapproachable, perhaps even haughty and aloof…that being among the gastronomic glitterati, he wouldn’t make time for admirers of his culinary craft. We learned during a June, 2006 visit that THE Michael Jordan (the other one was a pretty fair basketball player) is one of the nicest, most unassuming and genuinely endearing celebrity chefs we’ve ever met. We had the great fortune of running into Jordan at his restaurant and he wasn’t solely concerned with what we thought of our meal (we loved it, of course). He engaged us in conversation about New Mexico, Chicago, restaurant critics and Chowhound, a Web site…

Closed in 2018Gone But Not ForgottenItalianLas Vegas, NevadaRated 27

Ristorante B&B – Las Vegas, Nevada (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

A pair of trademarked orange Crocs on the reception kiosk was as close to Mario Batali as we got. It’s as close as some of the wait staff has gotten in the months since Ristorante B&B launched. We had expected no less. Batali has parlayed his celebrity chef status into a veritable empire of highly acclaimed restaurants in New York City, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Like many restaurant impresarios, the “Great One” is intimately involved in the development of the concept and menu for all the restaurants which bear his name. He was also involved in the selection of the kitchen staff who execute to his vision. That’s why visits to some of his outlying restaurants are few and…

Closed in 2010Gone But Not ForgottenLas Vegas, NevadaPeruvianRated 23

The Paradise Grill – Las Vegas, Nevada (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Americans spent several billion dollars a year on products touting their ability to provide fresh breath.  Ultrabrite toothpaste promises to “give your mouth sex appeal” while Colgate’s Oxygen toothpaste’s slogan is “Pure, Fresh, Clean.”  Fresh breath is so important to our culture that we even insist our pets have it. Milk Bone Dog Biscuits pledge to “freshen breath naturally” so of course, we buy that product in bulk for our four-legged children. Fresh breath, it seems, translates (at least on humans) to a “cool, minty sensation with no mediciny taste” if commercials are to be believed. It’s unlikely dogs would appreciate having minty breath, preferring instead something smelling with the aroma of rotted carcass.  So why this digression into the…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2008ContinentalGone But Not ForgottenNew Mexico

The Cup – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Buxom silent screen siren Mae West was so renown for her use of double entendre that she once said, “If I asked for a cup of coffee, someone would ask for the double meaning.” When my wife suggested we have breakfast at The Cup, I wondered what she really had in mind. The Cup, after all, did not impress her in the least during our inaugural visit in January, 2007. It was even worse for me as The Cup’s emptiness triggered memories of a dark day in the late 70s when I was the recipient of bad news (the “Dear John” kind) at the only restaurant I can remember as empty as The Cup that night–a long defunct Burger Chef.…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2010Gone But Not ForgottenNew Mexican

Barb’s Place – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. – Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 These lyrical words from the King James version of the Holy Bible have been attributed to the most sagacious of Jewish monarchs, King Solomon. They have been recited, sung and published in numerous prayers, songs and books. The words posit that there is a time and place for all things–even cumin. I’ve been accused of making my Web site a bully pulpit against cumin (more than once referred to on my site as “the accursed despoiler of New Mexican chile.”) Perhaps it’s true that I’ve been a bit tough on cumin, a pungent spice with a distinctive salty-sweet flavor, but my rail against…

AmericanBrunchClosed in 2013Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoSanta Fe

Eldorado Court – Santa Fe, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

In Spanish, the word Eldorado translates to “the gilded one” or the “golden one” and refers to an imaginary place of great wealth and opportunity sought in South America by 16th-century explorers. In Santa Fe, Eldorado means a stately landmark hotel just off the historic Plaza in which guests are graced by the art of hospitality in lavish accommodations. The heart of the hotel is the Eldorado Court, located just off the main lobby. During our first visit in 2005, the Eldorado Court was “guarded” by two multi-hued, bigger than life coyotes (the type that helped define Santa Fe style years ago). Those coyotes have been repositioned onto ledges where they still remain in vigilant watch. On Sundays, Eldorado Court…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2011Gone But Not ForgottenNew Mexican

Las Mañanitas – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Estas son las mañanitas, que cantaba el Rey David, Hoy por ser día de tu santo, te las cantamos a ti, Despierta, mi bien, despierta, mira que ya amaneció, Ya los pajarillos cantan, la luna ya se metió. This is the morning song that King David sang Because today is your saint’s day we’re singing it for you Wake up, my dear, wake up, look it is already dawn The birds are already singing and the moon has set Las Mañanitas, the traditional Mexican birthday song often sung in Catholic churches and birthday parties is one of my very favorite songs of any genre.  It offers the recipient a good-morning wish just as King David himself might have. During early…

ArizonaBurgersClosed in 2018Gone But Not Forgotten

The Original Wineburger – Phoenix, Arizona (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Every year, children of all ages fall in love all over again with the heart-warming 1947 Christmas movie, Miracle on 34th Street. We’re aghast when the district attorney demands that defense lawyer Fred Gailey provide “authoritative proof” that Kris Kringle is “the one and only Santa Claus.” We share Gailey’s seeming desperation when he offers as evidence, a solitary letter addressed to Santa Claus at the NYC Courthouse. We’re enraged when the D.A. retorts that one letter is hardly enough proof, and are proudly vindicated when Gailey has guards march in with huge bags overflowing with letters. We revel in Gailey’s argument, “Your Honor, every one of these letters is addressed to Santa Claus. The Post Office has delivered them.…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2009Gone But Not ForgottenGreek

Athens Eclectic Greek – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

There’s an expression in Greece that all roads lead to Athens. If restaurateur Gus Petropoulos has his way, all Albuquerque streets will take diners to Athens Eclectic Greek Cuisine, the restaurant he launched in August, 2007. Petropoulos is a veteran of culinary competition, having owned six restaurants in Florida before setting up shop in the Duke City. His new venture is located in the Far North Shopping Center where, just scant years ago, this was about as far north as you could go in Albuquerque. The eclectic in the restaurant’s name means you’ll find so much more than gyros, Kalamata olives, feta cheese and all the other standards we’ve come to expect from Greek restaurants. It means fresh seafood flown…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBreakfastClosed in 2010Gone But Not Forgotten

Chef Jim White’s Cafe & Catering – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Long before the Food Network made chefs legitimate on-air celebrity icons, Albuquerque had its own larger-than-life, media-savvy celebrity chef who, it seemed, spent almost as much time on the airwaves as behind the stove. Chef Jim White was a peripatetic presence on television where he hosted short cooking segments on two Duke City television news programs in addition to having a three-minute format airing in a San Diego station. He also wrote a highly-regarded food column for the Albuquerque Journal. So well known was (and is) Chef Jim White that in Albuquerque his name is always prefaced with his title, “Chef.” In society, only doctors and professors seem to earn that level of respect and in Hollywood, the celebrity equivalent…