Perea’s Tijuana Bar & Restaurant – Corrales, New Mexico

The curious appellation “Tijuana Bar” dates back to the 1920s when the 18th amendment to the Constitution established Prohibition in the United States during the period 1920 to 1933. Because Prohibition forbade the sale of alcoholic beverages, many Americans got their alcohol illegally or they went to Mexico. Tijuana was a popular vacation and honeymoon destination and it happens to be where Teofilo C. Perea, Sr. and his bride honeymooned in the 1920s. The newlyweds visited a bar called the “Tijuana Bar” and decided then and there to use that name should they ever open a bar. Bureaucracy being what it is, once a license to dispense alcohol is issued, it’s very difficult to change the name on the license–hence…

Red or Green–New Mexico’s Food Scene Was on Fire in 2023

2023: The Year In Review T’was the year that was, a banner year for Gil’s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog with more milestones having been achieved. Most significantly to your friendly neighborhood restaurant review blogger was the continued dialogue–your sharing of comments noting contentment, humor, news or displeasure with me or some other food topic. There are now 13,869 comments on 1,370 reviews, an increase of 619 comments and 59 new reviews over 2022. My edacious publicist Bob of the Village of Los Ranchos (BOTVOLR) retains the lifetime commenter achievement award with well over 1200 comments over the life of the blog.  In 2023, however, he was supplanted by the always clever and witty Lynn Garner as the year’s most prolific…

Red or Green–New Mexico’s Food Scene Was on Fire in 2022

New Mexico’s restaurant owners ended 2022 with a sigh of relief after yet another tough year. While the number of guests has rebounded (to some extent), already slim profits were diminished even further.  Restaurateurs faced ongoing struggles from inflationary pressure on food costs, hiring and retaining staff, along with supply chain issues and availability of key items. Restaurateurs felt the pressure on the bottom line in actual earnings.  These challenges made staying in business a difficult proposition.  A significant number of restaurant closures transpired during the year.   On the flip side of the coin, it was a banner year for New Mexico restaurants with the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives crew featuring restaurants in Santa Fe, Albuquerque and…

Ironwood Kitchen – Albuquerque, New Mexico

I’m not sure Matt Moody could sell milk to the lactose intolerant or ice to an eskimo, but it would be hard to bet against him. The genial owner of the Ironwood Kitchen on Albuquerque’s sprawling far northwest, Matt has a rare enthusiasm for both his restaurant and his recipes.  He won’t just describe a dish on the menu, he’ll tell you how it’s prepared and may even give you the genesis of its ingredients. That type of enthusiasm and confidence is infectious. Matt is also wise and experienced enough to understand the customer is always right…even if he doesn’t agree with them.  When my friend Bill Resnik and I practically accused him of being a “Cuminista” for using cumin…

La Choza Restaurant – Santa Fe, New Mexico

“I have tried to express the terrible passions of humanity by means of red and green.” ~ Vincent Van Gogh Using bold and furious brushstrokes and striking colors (mostly red and green), Van Gogh once created a painting intended to depict humanity at its lowest point. Calling it “Night Cafe” he described it as “…one of the ugliest I have ever done, a collection of clashing colors in the dreariest atmosphere.” To New Mexicans, the notion of red and green being ugly, dreary and clashing in any way is a heretical concept. For denizens of the Land of Enchantment, red and green are absolutely stunning especially when plated together over blue corn enchiladas stuffed with carne adovada. Red and green…

Tia Betty Blue’s – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Tia Betty.  If the name conjures images of a dowdy old woman, a face etched with wrinkles and thinning grey hair pulled back neatly into a bun, you’re probably not alone.  Not even the youthfully ribald nonagenarian Betty White can alter the contemporary stereotypes ascribed to the increasingly anachronistic name Betty.  It wasn’t always the case.  In fact, there was a time  Betty was one of the most popular girl’s name in America and not just as a diminutive of Elizabeth or Bethany. According to the Social Security Administration, Betty was the fourth most popular girl’s name in the 1920s with more than 283,000 babies so christened.  Betty was an even more popular name in the 1930s when it ranked…

Red or Green–New Mexico’s Food Scene Was on Fire in 2019

In 2017, legendary Los Angeles Times restaurant critic Jonathan Gold declared “food blogs are dead. There are still some people doing them, and there are still a bunch of cookery blogs where people are wrestling with cupcakes, but Instagram has so totally and thoroughly usurped whatever blogs used to do.” Much as I respect and admire the only restaurant critic to ever earn a Pulitzer Prize, there’s at least one blog that’s not quite dead. It’s not even on life support. In 2019, Gil’s Thrilling… actually experienced an upsurge in visits. For that I thank you. 2019 was another banner year for Gil’s Thrilling (and Filling) Blog as several milestones were achieved. Most significant to your roving gastronome was evidence…

2014: A Thrilling (And Filling) Year in Food

Tis the season…for year-end retrospectives in which the good, the bad and the ugly; the triumphs and tragedies; the highs and lows and the ups and downs are revisited ad-infinitum by seemingly every print and cyberspace medium in existence. It’s the time of year in which the “in-your-face” media practically forces a reminiscence–either fondly or with disgust–about the year that was. It’s a time for introspection, resolutions and for looking forward with hope to the year to come. The New Mexico culinary landscape had more highs than it did lows in 2014. Here’s my thrilling (and filling) recap. December 2014 saw the closure of 24 restaurants reviewed on this blog. We were just getting to know some of them (such…

Badlands Burgers & Tortas – Grants, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Out through the back door of Rosa’s I ran, Out where the horses were tied. I caught a good one. It looked like it could run. Up on its back and away I did ride, Just as fast as I could from the West Texas town of El Paso Out to the badlands of New Mexico. ~El Paso by Marty Robbins From the Texas cowboy immortalized in the Marty Robbins ballad to Walter White, Albuquerque’s favorite meth maker, through time immemorial whenever circumstances in the wild and rugged west have been at their most grim and perilous, even the most intrepid of heroes have escaped to the badlands of New Mexico. The badlands of New Mexico are an other-worldly expanse…

2012: A Thrilling (and Filling) Year in Food

Tis the season…for year-end retrospectives in which the good, the bad and the ugly; the triumphs and tragedies; the highs and lows and the ups and downs are revisited ad-infinitum by seemingly every print and cyberspace medium in existence. It’s the time of year in which the “in-your-face” media practically forces a reminiscence–either fondly or with disgust–about the year that was. It’s a time for introspection, resolutions and for looking forward with hope to the year to come. The New Mexico culinary landscape had more highs than it did lows in 2012. Here’s my thrilling (and filling) recap. The dailymeal.com apparently can’t keep a secret. In January, the site revealed America’s ten most secret restaurants, eateries which “remain conundrums to…

Green Chile Cheeseburgers

In the Land of Enchantment, the ubiquitous green chile cheeseburger can be found in restaurants, drive-ins, diners, dives, joints, cafes, roadside stands and bowling alleys.  It’s the centerpiece of many a party and social function.  It’s our favorite fast, casual food.  The list below includes my very favorite green chile cheeseburgers, some of which are not on the New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail, but all of which are visit worthy.  By clicking on the name of the restaurant for which you wish to know my opinion, you will be magically transported directly to my review of that restaurant. RESTAURANT WHY IT’S ON THE LIST Sparky’s Burgers, Barbecue & Espresso (Hatch) New Mexico Magazine‘s “best eats” award winner for 2011…