Duke City Kitchen – Albuquerque, New Mexico
In the 1970s and 1980s, Reese’s Peanut Butter cups commercials consisted of a series of vignettes. Each vignette depicted the collision …
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Cantina Nueva – Garduños – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Garduños just can’t seem to keep up with the Joneses, at least in terms of familial propagation. The 2010 United …
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The Kitchen by 135 Degrees – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Once described as the “enfant terrible of the gastronomic scene,” curmudgeonly English food critic Jay Rayner pondered “Why would anyone …
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Bubblicitea Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico
According to the United States Census Bureau, by 2016 the Asian American population–including those of multiracial, Hispanic and Latino ancestry–had …
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Sixty Six Acres – Albuquerque, New Mexico
My high school football coach used to call his team “chiquitos pero picosos,” a Spanish term meaning “small but piquant” …
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Gil’s Thrilling (And Filling) Year in Food: January, 2019
The Food Network’s television cameras just love Chef Marie Yniguez, the affable owner and face of Bocadillos, a slow-roasted sandwich …
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Gobble This – Albuquerque, New Mexico
“Is there a sound on Earth as joyous as the pat-pat-pat from a Salvadoran kitchen, the gentle rhythm of a …
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CAFE DALAT – Albuquerque, New Mexico
While the term “Vietnamese cuisine” is broad and overarching, any attempt to pigeonhole this very diverse and eclectic culinary culture …
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High Point Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico
If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” …
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Mac’s La Sierra – Albuquerque, New Mexico
But the Lights of Albuquerque, will soon be shining bright, Like a diamond in the desert, like a beacon in …
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Punchy’s Wood-Fired Pizza – Albuquerque, New Mexico
In the parlance of the pugilist, “punchy” is synonymous with punch-drunk, the result of having been battered violently by an …
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The Kosmos – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Even though New Mexico’s license plates have been graced with the sobriquet “Land of Enchantment” since 1941, it didn’t become …
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Pho Kobe – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Jim Millington, a long-time friend of this blog, contends that “there must be a bad Vietnamese restaurant somewhere on this …
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Gil’s Thrilling (And Filling) Year in Food: December, 2018
Over the years perhaps no restaurant across the Land of Enchantment has garnered as much acclaim as Santa Fe’s Geronimo. …
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Gil’s Best of the Best for 2018
“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens.” Sound of Music fans will recognize …
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AC3 – Palm Desert, California
Hollywood’s movie studio system of the 1920s and 30s contractually required its greatest glitterati to remain within 100 miles of Tinseltown’s …
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Sherman’s Deli & Bakery – Palm Springs & Palm Desert, California
Not everyone appreciated my friend Bob’s stark honesty as much as I did. For nearly twelve years, Bob was my …
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Grill A-Burger – Palm Desert, California
California may not have invented the hamburger, but a strong case could be made that no state has and continues …
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LULU CALIFORNIA BISTRO – Palm Springs, California
How many times have you heard a transplant to the Land of Enchantment say it just doesn’t feel like Christmas …
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JAKE’S – Palm Springs, California
“Now i lay me down to sleep And pray the Lord my soul to keep If i die before i …
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Workshop Kitchen + Bar – Palm Springs, California
“Good restaurant design is about achieving equilibrium between the food, service and design – in effect telling a complete story.” …
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Shanghai Reds at the Fisherman’s Market & Grill – La Quinta, California
For years, fish tacos have been one of those popular, almost faddish obsessions which have garnered more attention and affection …
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Sammy C’s Rock ‘n’ Sports Pub & Grille – Gallup, New Mexico
Gallup, New Mexico is a city of dichotomies, contrasts and contradictions. As recently as the 1990s, Gallup was known as …
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Le Bistro Bakery & Vietnamese Cuisine – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Several years ago and much to the surprise of the proprietor, I ordered a durian shake at a Vietnamese restaurant. …
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The Acre – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Toula: Actually, um Ian’s a vegetarian. Uh, he doesn’t eat meat. Aunt Voula: He don’t eat no meat? HE DON’T …
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Burger 21 – Albuquerque, New Mexico
“When people pile seven things onto one burger, it drives me nuts!” ~Bobby Flay Burger meals at the Garduño home …
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M’TUCCI’S MARKET & PIZZERIA – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Greek mythology recounts the story of Tantalus, progeny of a divine parent (Zeus himself) and a mortal one. Uniquely favored …
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The Last Call – Albuquerque, New Mexico
“Ah, but after the sunset, the dusk and the twilight, when shadows of night start to fall. They roll back …
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Caveman Burgers – Albuquerque, New Mexico
“It’s so easy, even a caveman can…find it.” The Geico commercial depicting metrosexualized troglodytes living in contemporary America came to …
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El Agave – Rio Rancho, New Mexico
“Why, this here sauce is made in New York City!” “New York City? Git a rope!” No matter how broad-minded …
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GUS’S WORLD-FAMOUS FRIED CHICKEN – Austin, Texas
When I told my friend Carlos my Kim and I would be enjoying Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken during our …
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Via 313 – Austin, Texas
It’s oft been said that among males (we’re such children), insults are a form of intimacy. Perhaps because of societal …
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Black’s Barbecue – Lockhart, Texas
Yabba-dabba-doo! After finishing another day of toiling at the quarry, Fred Flintsone rushes home to pick up his modern stone-age …
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Gourdough’s Public House – Austin, Texas
Donuts could have gone their entire existences fat, dumb and happy with a following–mostly cops, adult men my age (39) …
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Lucy’s Fried Chicken – Austin, Texas
“I‘m only eating the skins, so the chicken’s up for grabs.” ~Joey Tribbiani Several of my earliest memories of growing …
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Contigo – Austin, Texas
There are a phalanx of “best of” lists online and in print publications that celebrate restaurants deemed true stand-outs worthy …
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