Category: New Mexican

New MexicanNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)Rio Rancho

Burrito Express – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno8:32 PM

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 plating a burrito for a sit-down meal was unheard of, laughable even.  That’s because the humble tortilla-as-envelope filled with protein and starch was tailor-made for eating in the fields and long the companion of the farm worker.” Google “burrito” and the results returned will almost invariably ascribe the same adjective used by Alicia Inez Guzman to describe the burrito–humble.  That’s fitting considering burrito translates from Spanish to “little donkey,” also a companion of the farm worker and perhaps the most humble and hard-working of all pack animals.  Etymologists believe the burrito is so named not because tortillas were ever stuffed with donkey meat or because a well-constructed burrito resembles a donkey, but because a rolled, tightly packed burrito looks like a bedroll or the packs on either side of a burrito’s haunches. Catch my friend Carlos on a day in which he’s waxing philosophical and you’ll get an earful about how a savvy dining public staved off the cultural appropriation of the humble burrito by…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2022Dog FriendlyGone But Not ForgottenMexicanNew MexicanNew Mexico

The Jealous Fork – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno4:02 PM

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 she now lives, Deborah would visit New Mexico quite regularly.  As with most New Mexicans returning home–whether from vacation or relocating permanently–the incomparable cuisine of our enchanted state was a priority even before she crossed into our sacred borders.  She always looked forward to that first plate of flat enchiladas smothered with red chili sauce. One bite and I knew I was in New Mexico. It tasted like home cooking, It tastes like home.  That’s a sentiment to which many of us can relate.  No matter where my Kim and I vacation or where I may be sent on a business trip, within three days I start to crave New Mexican food–the incomparable flavors of home.  Despite those cravings, I won’t succumb to the spangled wiles of restaurants purporting to serve similar food.  My friend and former Intel colleague Steve Caine once fell prey to a pretender and will forever rue the day.  Upon returning from a business trip to Portland, he asked me to…

AlbuquerqueBetter Call SaulBreakfastNew MexicanRating: Very Good

Loyola’s Family Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:56 AM

You might think that the etymology of the name Loyola has always been tied to the quality of being loyal and faithful. Instead, the name has its genesis in a Basque term meaning “mud” and only over time did the name come to represent the honorable qualities of loyalty and faithfulness. When it comes to Loyola’s Family Restaurant on Central Avenue in Albuquerque, an association with those qualities just makes sense. Not only are Duke City diners loyal to this expansive restaurant on the eastern fringes of Nob Hill, that loyalty is reciprocated by the restaurant’s staff and ownership. A framed placard on one wall proclaims “Mi restaurante es su casa” (my restaurant is your home) and the staff will do its darnedest to make you feel that way. Loyola’s Family Restaurant is an anachronism, a throw-back to the days when Route 66 (now Central Avenue) bisected Albuquerque, then a more intimate, close-knit city. In some ways Loyola’s is a relic because its genuinely friendly service and wholesome food truly elicits return visits and the type of patron loyalty that has all but evaporated with the onslaught of corporate chains. Loyola’s is the type of restaurant where your coffee (Farmer…

AlbuquerqueNew MexicanNew MexicoRating: Excellent

New Mexico Beef Jerky Company – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno1:28 AM

The internet is replete with compilations abounding in truth and humor entitled “You Know You’re From New Mexico When…” Perhaps most resonating in factuality are the items which depict just how much New Mexicans value their culinary traditions. For example, you know you’re from New Mexico when: your favorite breakfast meat is sliced fried bologna; you buy green chile by the bushel and red chile by the gallon; most restaurants you go to begin with ‘El’ or ‘Los’; you have an extra freezer just for green chile; you think Sadie’s was better when it was in a bowling alley; and you can order your Big Mac with green chile. Even if you’ve lived in the Land of Enchantment for only a short time, several items on that short list will ring with veracity for you. If you’re a lifelong resident, however, the list may get your dander up a bit because, conspicuous by their absence, are sacrosanct New Mexican foods and culinary traditions we treasure. We would add to the list, you know you’re from New Mexico when: your trail mix consists of pinon and carne seca and instead of popcorn, your home movie nights consist of eating chicharrones in…

AlbuquerqueNew MexicanNew MexicoRating: Very Good

Santiago’s New Mexican Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:49 PM

In Act II, Scene II of Romeo and Juliet, the immortal soliloquy “what’s in a name” is uttered for the first time. In business, the power of a name in branding a company is everything. A name can either attract or repel customers. Ralph Liftshitz, for example, didn’t think his birth name had enough panache to succeed in business so he changed his name to Ralph Lauren. Today, the Ralph Lauren brand is synonymous with providing quality products and creating vibrant lifestyles. The power of a name in branding a restaurant can make all the difference in the world, especially in ascribing the quality of authenticity. A Middle Eastern restaurant named “Bob’s Kebabs” would certainly not fare as well as a similar restaurant named “Anatolia Doner Kebab House.” Similarly “Jim’s New Mexican Grill” would probably not be perceived as as authentic as “Santiago’s New Mexican Grill.” Perhaps understanding the perception that authenticity is ascribed to names, Jim Madrid chose to brand his restaurant “Santiago’s New Mexican Grill” instead of “Jim’s…” Santiago, by the way, is a Spanish name which translates in English to James or Jim, hence Jim Madrid is actually using his given name and not making one up…

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Rutilio’s New Mexican Foods – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno5:04 PM

Although its nickname may be “The Hub City,” Belen actually translates from Spanish to “Bethlehem,” which itself is a Hebrew word for “House of Bread.” Meander through the city and it’s not the aroma of freshly baked bread that will waft toward you. During  autumn, hazy smoke plumes drift upward from rotating steel-meshed drums, alerting your nostrils to the the smoky-sweet-pungent perfume of green chiles being roasted. Much of that chile is grown in nearby farms throughout Valencia County. At any other time of year, it’s the fragrant bouquet of red and green chiles being simmered on restaurant and home kitchen stoves that will enrapt your olfactory receptors. It seems almost unfair that Belen doesn’t translate to “House of Chile.” Belen is justifiably proud of its culinary culture, boasting on its Tourism website that “some of the best traditional New Mexican food in the Albuquerque area comes from Belen, where year-round you can walk into any restaurant and get your fix of green and red chile.” Annual “best of Valencia County” reader’s polls on Valencia County’s News-Bulletin,  celebrate the very best red and green in the county.  Venerable institutions such as Pete’s Cafe (circa 1949) and Teofilo’s (1986) compete with…

AlbuquerqueNew MexicanNew MexicoRating: Very Good

Duran’s Station – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno2:28 PM

Homer Simpson: “Five-alarm chili, eh? (Takes a bite) One…two…Hey, what’s the big idea?” Ned Flanders: “Oh, I admit it. It’s only two alarm, two and a half, tops! I just wanted to be a big man in front of the kids.” One-alarm, two-alarm, three-alarm…since the 1850s, American fire departments have relied on alarm systems to alert firefighters to the severity of a fire and the staff required to battle the conflagration. Typically the higher the number of alarms, the more severe the fire and the greater the complement of firefighters required to fight it though the precise meaning of an “alarm” varies, depending on the fire department. It stands to reason that a multi-alarm designation also be used to designate the “heat” generated by chile (or “chili” if you’re a foreigner; i.e., from Texas). In 1964, Wick Fowler, a journalist from Austin, Texas founded a company to sell his “two-alarm chili,” the cumin-laden recipe he followed in winning the international chili championship cook-off in Terlingua, Texas. Since then, chile (or chili) cooks have often used a one-alarm, two-alarm, three-alarm, etc., designation to denote piquancy. Duran’s Station, a popular New Mexican restaurant, is a rather unique convergence of the two entities…

AlbuquerqueBurgersNew MexicanNew MexicoRating: Good

Hurricane’s Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno8:02 PM

“What is it with you New Mexicans and your fascination for natural disasters?” my Maryland transplanted friend Jessie Miller once asked me. When I inquired as to what he was talking about, he elaborated that two of his favorite Duke City restaurants are named for natural disasters. “Natural disasters,” I asked. “I don’t know of any restaurants named “Forest Fire” or “Drought,” the only New Mexico occurring natural disasters that came immediately to mind. He laughed, “what’s ironic about the restaurants I have in mind is that they’re named for hurricanes and twisters, two natural disasters that don’t occur in Albuquerque.” I reminded him that our ubiquitous spring dust devils are, by definition, twisters. “Yeah, but you sure don’t have hurricanes in New Mexico.” I argued that the Land of Enchantment has proudly boasted of hurricanes for decades, adding that New Mexico’s hurricanes even had masculine names long before hurricanes on the Gulf and East Coasts did. “What names?” he asked? In as straight-face as I could muster, I recounted the names Al and Al, Jr., as in New Mexico music legend Al Hurricane and his son Al, Jr. Okay, that’s just me being a smart Alec, but Al and…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBreakfastClosed in 2022Dog FriendlyGone But Not ForgottenNew MexicanNew MexicoSandwich

2G’s Bistro – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:31 AM

In May, 2018, Yelp published its listing of the 50 best restaurants in Albuquerque. Only three of them came from the not-yet-done-revitalizing East Downtown (EDo) district. The two that won’t surprise anyone are The Grove Cafe & Market at number eight and Standard Diner at number forty-seven. Sandwiched between them is a relative newcomer named 2G’s Bistro which ranked twenty-first. Geographically, 2G’s Bistro is also sandwiched somewhere between The Grove and the Standard Diner on Central Avenue. My very preliminary assessment (one visit) is that it may be better than its EDo neighbors on Yelp’s list (gasp, the sacrilege). Even though 2G’s only had 43 Yelp reviews as of my first visit, they averaged five stars.  Fourteen months later (August, 2019), 2G’s had 115 Yelp reviews while holding on to its lofty five star rating.  It was also named by Yelp as Albuquerque’s top kid friendly restaurant. Though respondent demographics weren’t reported, you’ve got to know it’s not just kids who esteem it so highly.  Parents appreciate that even though 2G’s doesn’t have a kids menu, it will custom make items kids love such as small sandwiches, grilled cheese and pancakes.  It’s likely if Yelp ever compiled a list of…

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Monica’s El Portal – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno2:33 PM

“It feels so true when I’m with you I’m free A place I go that feels like home to me It feels so true It’s time well spent when I’m with you.” ~Feels Like Home (New Mexico True) For years, as we luxuriated over steamy mugs of freshly ground coffee on lazy Sunday mornings before church, my Kim and I tuned in eagerly to New Mexico True Television, an invigorating half-hour of adventure and travel that fed the soul and captured the imagination. Hearts swelled with pride, we lived vicariously through host Michael Newman as he treked throughout our breathtaking home state. We didn’t even change the channel during commercials. Why would we? The commercials depicted even more of the Land of Enchantment. Besides providing even more intriguing staycation ideas, some of the commercials featured a catchy little ditty called “Feels Like Home,” an upbeat song originally performed by an Albuquerque band called Richmond. It’s a feel good, toe-tapping, sing-along-inspiring tune that pays tribute to New Mexico. If you’re going to have an earworm stuck in your head, it may as well be one that recounts the extraordinary beauty of the Land of Enchantment.  Sadly, the New Mexico Tourism Department…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2019Dog FriendlyGone But Not ForgottenMexicanNew MexicanNew MexicoRating: Outstanding

Sophia’s – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno10:01 AM

Exterior signage for Dennis Apodaca’s new restaurant venture sports the name of the previous tenant, a short-lived eatery named MIXX. In a February blurb announcing Dennis’s return, the Albuquerque Journal called his new venture “REMIXX.” A handwritten note scrawled on the front door, however, informs you that you’ve arrived at “Sophia’s – that you knew & loved on 4th St. NW.” Not taking any chances, Yelp lists entries for both “REMIXX by Sophia’s Place” and “Sophia’s.” So which is it? Ask Dennis and he’ll tell you that despite what the sign says, his restaurant is a relaunch of Sophia’s, the celebrated restaurant that made him one of Albuquerque’s most talked-about and respected chefs. “I’d rather spend money on serving great food than replacing a sign” he laughs. Dennis points out that the exterior signage for Trois Mec, one of the most revered fine-dining restaurants in Los Angeles, still bears the name of its predecessor, Raffalo’s Pizza. That’s entirely by design, the point being that despite a constantly changing five-course tasting menu approaching a C-note price point, the restaurant is unpretentious, its focus being on the food not peripherals such as signage. The term “unpretentious” probably fits Dennis more than it…