Follow the Culinary Ruminations of New Mexico's Sesquipedalian Sybarite. 1162 Restaurant Reviews, More Than 11,100 Visitor Comments…And Counting!
Though COVID-19 has left the restaurant industry in a tenuous position, the James Beard Foundation decided to offer “a glimmer of hope to an industry looking for light in a very dark time” by announcing …
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When we pulled up to the order window at the Oso Grill’s drive-through lane, Misty, our sweet server handed us a menu and contritely explained that the restaurant had run out of shrimp. “Why,” I …
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“Well, there’s not a taco big enough for a man like me That’s why I order two or three Let me give you a tip, just try a nacho chip It’s really good with bean …
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“I hate it. I think it’s an abomination. There are so many awesome things here, I don’t know why that should be featured. It’s leading with your weakness. So much other great stuff.” ~Anthony Bourdain …
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“Popcorn for breakfast! Why not? It’s a grain. It’s like grits, but with high self-esteem.” ~James Patterson The planet’s very first known popcorn aficionados may have expressed the sentiment “to the batcave” long before Batman, …
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Research has proven that taste buds are dulled by high altitude and cabin pressure, so as an aircraft climbs, our sense of taste diminishes by as much as 30 percent. That explains why many passengers …
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Until Dagmar Mondragon launched her first German restaurant in Albuquerque back in 1996, many of us knew very little about German cuisine in general and baking in particular. The only German baker with which some …
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“Now you’re just being uppity.” That’s my Kim putting me in my place the second I begin to crow haughtily about some highbrow or nouveau way to prepare something ordinary. Tandoori salmon pizza…that’s so me. …
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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 …
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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 …
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A few decades ago, Mad Magazine (or was it Cracked) published a two-panel cartoon depicting a couple of gringo turistas visiting Mexico on a stifling summer day. On the first panel, one turista tells the …
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A few years ago, my friend Bill Hanson, a gastronome of the first order, was hosting several of his Costa Rican employees at Intel’s Ocotillo (Arizona) plant. Like me, Bill delights in introducing his friends …
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“I don’t know why men like to barbecue so much. Maybe its the only thing they can cook. Or maybe they’re just closet pyromaniacs.” ~Cecelia Ahern, P.S. I Love You Whether or not the dubious …
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I first sampled Rudy’s Country Store & Bar-B-Q’s products in 1993 in Leon Springs, Texas, a San Antonio suburb on the fringes of the magnificent Texas Hill Country. At the time Rudy’s was just beginning …
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My brother Mario–seven years younger, much better looking and quite a bit smarter–and I have shared many memorable firsts. There was the time I taught him how to drive on our dad’s 1965 standard transmission …
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Fat kids, skinny kids, kids who climb on rocks Tough kids, sissy kids, even kids with chicken pox love hot dogs. Armour Hot Dog Commercial, 1960s Advertising standards in the 1960s were quite a bit …
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In an article entitled “Ode to the Handheld” in the April, 2020 edition of New Mexico Magazine, writer Alicia Inez Guzman noted that when her dad was growing up in the sixties, “the idea of …
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“There is no good meat that their stupid cooks do not spoil with the sauce they make. They mix with all their stews a certain paste made of rotten prawns…which has such a pungent smell …
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Several years ago after waging a lengthy and courageous battle, my friend Larry’s beloved bride of nearly four decades succumbed to the ravages of cancer. It was a devastating loss for her family, friends and …
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in February, 2020, Chef’s Pencil crunched the numbers of Google searches for ethnic cuisines to determine the most popular ethnic cuisines in America. The two most popular ethnic cuisines were deemed to be Mexican and …
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Family owned restaurants have been called the heartbeat of a community, its pulse and its roots. Beyond the tintinnabulation of silver spoons on ceramic coffee mugs and over the hum of conversation, restaurants become living …
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You might remember a 2004 documentary called Supersize Me in which writer-producer Morgan Spurlock explored the consequences on his health of a diet consisting solely of McDonald’s food for one month. Spurlock has nothing on …
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Archaeologists in Spain claim to have unearthed the original man cave. What is most remarkable about this finding is how very similar Neanderthal man and contemporary man are. Men, it could be said, have not …
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Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are inextricably tied to the ancient city of Jerusalem, the epicenter of sacred sites both unique and common to all three religions. One of the oldest cities in the world as …
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Some might call the American Realty and Petroleum Company (AMREP for short) a pioneering visionary for its early 1960s purchase of over 50,000 acres on the dusty Sandoval County plains that are now Rio Rancho. …
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During a 1997 episode of Seinfeld, the “show about nothing,” George Costanza and his girlfriend du jour discussed the possibility of incorporating food into their lovemaking–not as a post-coital meal, but in flagrante delicto. George …
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Old-timers whose opinions I respect consistently rate Mary & Tito’s as Albuquerque’s best restaurant for New Mexican food, a restaurant that has been pleasing the most savvy and indoctrinated palates alike since 1963. It takes …
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In December, 1997, two-time James Beard award-winning author Deborah Madison penned a memorable article for Sunset Magazine. Its provocative title “Land of Enchiladas” certainly resonated with me. Before relocating to the Santa Fe area where …
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In the 60s and early 70s, movies and television programs would have you believe all spies were hard-drinking, fast-driving, woman-chasing playboys as good with their fists as they were with a gun. They were worldly, …
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To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up …
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The geriatrically advanced among us who grew up during the golden age (1950s through the 1970s) of the “jingle” were constantly bombarded with earworm-inducing singing commercials, those catchy and memorable short tunes used to convey …
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For more than a quarter century, award-winning journalist Charles Kuralt had the type of job any aspiring sojourner would envy. He hit the road on a motor home, crisscrossing the fruited plains where waving fields …
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On our journey to together forever, my Kim and I have shared meals at thousands of restaurants. Even when we haven’t enjoyed those meals, without exception we’ve enjoyed our times together. We share everything…almost. Maybe …
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“I love the dignity in the name Philadelphia, but at heart, we’re Philly.” ~Lisa Scottoline New York Times Best-Selling Author “There are a couple of things you should know about Philadelphia,” my friend Vladimir “Speedy” …
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When my friend Schuyler sees the name of the restaurant on this review, he’ll probably tease me that my life of dissipation, debasement and debauchery finally caught up with me. “39-year-old juvenile delinquents like you …
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In 1620, King Philip III of Spain issued a royal decree mandating that each of the 19 recognized New Mexican Pueblos elect by popular vote, a governor, lieutenant governor and other officers as might be …
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