Category: New Mexican

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2012Gone But Not ForgottenNew Mexican

4 Aces Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno7:54 PM

As a proud native New Mexican, my chest still swells with pride whenever I travel outside the Land of Enchantment (even to Texas, Arizona and Colorado) and espy a vehicle displaying the license plate of the great state of New Mexico.  I’m not the only one.  While stopping for gas in Iowa a few years ago, a couple from Roswell noticed our license plate and excitedly came over to find out where in New Mexico we were from.  We wound up having lunch together, all the while discussing the great state in which we all live in. For citizens of the fruited plain not fortunate enough to live in New Mexico, seeing our state’s license plate within their borders evokes curiosity, especially if they’re attentive enough to notice that it reads “New Mexico U.S.A.”  As the “One of Our Fifty is Missing” column in New Mexico Magazine has demonstrated for more than a quarter of a century, many of our fellow American citizens and ill-informed bureaucrats don’t even realize that New Mexico is part of the United States.  When the unwashed and uninformed masses aren’t wondering if we’re carrying our passports as we cross their borders, they’re  curious about the…

New MexicanNew MexicoNew Mexico Culinary Treasures TrailNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2009New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011Rating: Very Good

El Farolito – El Rito, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:59 AM

The most contentious seasonal difference of opinion between Northern and Southern New Mexico residents isn’t whether Chimayo produces better chile than Hatch (though this will forever be in dispute). The great civil debate dividing the Land of Enchantment has all to do with semantics. More specifically, it has all to do with the appropriate name for the little paper bag lanterns which house a votive candle and light the way for the Holy Family on Christmas Eve. Misguided citizens of New Mexico’s lower half (just about anywhere south of and including Albuquerque) mistakenly call those lanterns luminarias while their more enlightened Northern brethren call them farolitos. Luminarias–stacked and crossed piñon boughs ignited on Christmas Eve to light the Holy Family’s path to shelter–were brought to the new world from Spain, first to Mexico then to the American Southwest.  When delicate paper lanterns made their way from China to the Southwest via Mexico, they were called farolitos, or little lanterns. No one seems to know for sure how farolitos came to be called luminarias and even a children’s book by Rudolfo Anaya, one of New Mexico’s most prolific novelists, didn’t illuminate the truth.  His book “The Farolitos of Christmas” is a…

New MexicanNew MexicoNew Mexico Culinary Treasures TrailRating: GoodSanta FeTravel Channel Eats New Mexico

Maria’s New Mexican Kitchen – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno1:00 PM

In 1712, the provincial governor for the kingdom of New Mexico decreed that henceforth, an annual reenactment of Diego De Vargas’ triumphant reentry into Santa Fe would be celebrated every year. Santa Feans have dutifully obeyed the proclamation ever since, making the Fiesta de Santa Fe the oldest civic celebration of its kind in North America.  Approaching its 400th year, the Fiesta is renown not only for its pageantry and pomp, but for its respectful reflection on a significant historical event. By 1951, however, the Fiesta as we know it today, had degenerated into a parody of its former self, a victim of crass commercialism which Santa Fe’s Pulitzer Prize winning writer Oliver La Farge called “a shabby commercial carnival.”  Incensed that the Fiesta was overrun by concessionaires who turned the Fiesta into “a hot dog and popcorn affair,” La Farge recruited a contingent of Santa Fe’s movers and shakers in the business, religious and arts communities to restore dignity to the Fiestas.  Both the Museum of New Mexico and the Catholic Church sided with La Farge’s group. It took the ouster of several Fiesta Council members who had fostered the circus-like atmosphere wrought by deep pocketed concessionaires before the…

BurgersClosed in 2014Gone But Not ForgottenNew Mexican

Willard Cantina & Cafe – Willard, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno9:30 PM

When it comes to staycations (stay at home vacations), New Mexicans rank near the bottom among America’s traveling public.  Citizens of the Land of Enchantment, it seems, prefer to spend their discretionary income elsewhere.  Monique Jacobson, Secretary of New Mexico’s Tourism Department, hopes to change that with a number of initiatives targeted at reminding New Mexico’s citizenry of all there is to do and see in our state. During the press conference in which she introduced the New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail for 2011, Secretary Jacobson stressed that in addition to New Mexico’s natural treasures and storied past, culinary tourism–traveling throughout the state to experience its unique cuisine–is one of the best reasons to travel in New Mexico.  It’s something about which she’s personally very passionate, admitting to having consumed five green chile cheeseburgers during her first week back in the state after a stint as a marketing executive for Pepsi. As a practitioner of frequent “daycations” (day-long trips near home) throughout the Land of Enchantment, I take Secretary Jacobson’s words to heart.  Inspired by her heartfelt testimony about culinary tourism and vacationing near home, my first daycation following her press conference would be in pursuit of yet another…

BreakfastNew MexicanNew MexicoNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011Rating: N/R (Not Rated)Santa Fe

Atrisco Cafe & Bar – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno9:10 PM

From the snow-capped mountains to the coral shores You’re the only one my heart adores You’ve only got three competitors Tacos, enchiladas and beans From the Mississippi to the Amazon There’s not much we don’t agree upon Wish we could get together on Tacos, enchiladas and beans Love ’em, dozens of ’em I consume them by the score And when I’m through, what do I do I stamp and holler for more You can have the fourth position on my list Must admit your kisses would be missed But how in the world could I exist Without tacos, enchiladas and beans Doris Day In the dark ages when I was growing up in the high mountain community of Peñasco, the world wasn’t nearly as connected as it is today.  My siblings and I thought we were deprived by being subjected to  such unsophisticated foods as tacos, enchiladas and beans. We didn’t know any better.   The three television stations (KOB, KOAT and KGGM) which piped  seventeen hours  of programming per day (7AM through 12AM) through our rooftop antenna into the  static-prone black-and-white television in our den depicted only families who ate such elegant food as pot roast, fried chicken and…

New MexicanNew MexicoNew Mexico Culinary Treasures TrailRating: Excellent

Pete’s Cafe – Belen, New Mexico

Gil Garduno2:09 AM

Located along the braided routes of the historic Camino Real (the Royal Road) which skirts the Rio Grande, Belen remains the hub for two major rail lines. To this day, an average of 70 trains travel through Belen every 24-hour period. In 1901, to capitalize on the railway traffic, the Fred Harvey Company built one of the sixteen Harvey Houses it would build in New Mexico. Belen’s Harvey House provided lunch and dining facilities in close proximity to the tracks. The Harvey House was bustling with railroad crews well into the twentieth century’s fourth decade and served as a social center for the community until its closure shortly after World War II ended. Four years after the war to end all wars, Pete and Eligia Torres launched Pete’s Cafe across the street and acequia from the old Harvey House. Though neither had any restaurant experience, they delighted travelers and railway employees with their cafe–even though the Torres family didn’t begin serving New Mexican cuisine for about twenty years when local traffic surpassed train traffic. With more than sixty years of serving the community of Belen, Pete’s continues to thrive because it operates under a simple philosophy: Not the best because…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2017Gone But Not ForgottenNew Mexican

Antonio’s Cafe & Cantina – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno8:19 PM

A veritable melting pot of cultures from throughout the world, the Duke City has a laid-back attitude toward diversity, a live and let live realization that our differences aren’t as important as all we have in common. Perhaps nowhere is that  acceptance better practiced than at Kirtland Air Force Base, appropriately bordered by Albuquerque’s International District.  Back in the early 1980s, I had the privilege of being stationed at the largest military installation in New Mexico where my closest friends and colleagues were from New York, Trinidad, Barbados, Georgia, California and Indiana.  Not only were our backgrounds vastly different, so were many of our opinions and ideologies. Aside from our common patriotic values, what most brought us together was our love of culinary diversity.  We not only broke bread together, we broke tortilla, pita, croissants, arepas, Challah, chapati, naan, lavosh, injera and every other variation of the staff of life we could find.  Ever the proud New Mexican, it pleased me to no end to see how quickly and how deeply a love for New Mexican food became ingrained in my colleagues, some of whom have retired in New Mexico where they continue to enjoy the Land of Enchantment’s  incomparable…

AmericanClosed in 2011Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicanRio Rancho

Sevyn’s Cafe – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno1:15 AM

During a 1996 episode of Seinfeld, George Costanza, a self-proclaimed “short, balding, unattractive man” made the mistake of telling his fiancee he wanted to name his child “Seven” after his idol Mickey Mantle.  To George’s chagrin, his fiancee’s cousins liked the idea so much they decided to name their own child Seven.  Even as the female cousin was being wheeled by an orderly into the delivery room, George tried in vain to convince them to name the child something else.  Six,  Thirteen, Fourteen, even…Soda.  “it’s bubbly, it’s refreshing!,” he cried. Driving by the familiar yellow roofed building that previously housed the now defunct Mad Max’s BBQ, I couldn’t help but laugh while recalling that hilarious episode.  There on that yellow roof was new signage for a cafe named Sevyn’s Cafe–George Costanza’s coveted baby name only spelled differently.  Sevyn’s Cafe opened for business on Wednesday, November 5th, 2010, the retirement dream of Pamela and Ralph Hartsock.  Pamela, a nurse, and Ralph, who’s in the construction clean-up business, haven’t retired yet, but it’s never too early to start planning. Pamela explained that the cafe is named for her granddaughter, jokingly adding that her son picked the name in recognition of the seven…

BreakfastEspañolaNew MexicanRating: Very Good

JoAnn’s Ranch O Casados Restaurant – Española, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:18 PM

Shortly after it was announced that Mary & Tito’s was selected as a 2010 recipient of the James Beard Foundation’s “Americas Classic” award, the brilliant Albuquerque Journal columnist Leslie Linthicum wrote a gilt-edged tribute to my very favorite New Mexican restaurant.  Indicating “the red chile at Mary & Tito’s Cafe brings grown men to poetic fevers,” she quoted something I wrote in my review which she must have found to be sufficiently rhapsodic to warrant mention. For anything I write to be considered even remotely “poetic” by the scintillating columnist is a great honor.  Compared to the spell-binding prose and incisive insight which typify Leslie’s columns, my writing is prosaic and dim-witted.  It’s akin to comparing Michelangelo’s work on the Cistene Chapel to the asymmetrical graffiti under an overpass…with me the tagger.  i don’t always  start off agreeing with Leslie’s viewpoints, but  so admire her sharp wit and sound-reasoned logic in forming her positions that she often sways my position.  She is simply a magnificent writer, my favorite columnist on any periodical anywhere (with apologies to the great Tom Cole)! In a 2008 column published on Thanksgiving Day, Leslie waxed eloquent in her inimitable manner about some of the things…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2014Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicanNew Mexico Culinary Treasures Trail

Charlie’s Front Door – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno1:36 AM

For almost four and a half decades, Charlie Elias, an avuncular septuagenarian with the energy of a teenager,  has greeted his customers and treated them like welcome guests at his eponymous Northeast Heights restaurant and bar. Charlie doesn’t always make it to work nowadays, but his son Jamie, who’s probably the same age today that Charlie was when I first discovered this long-time family favorite, is now the restaurant’s official ambassador, a smiling presence who meets and greets all patrons with the same homespun, genuine friendliness as his father. Charlie was thirty-something when he launched his Front and Back Door operation in 1966.  That type of longevity is rare today and speaks volumes about the loyalty generations of patrons have for Charlie and his restaurant.  An elder statesman among the Duke City’s New Mexican restaurants, Charlie’s Front and Back Doors haven’t changed much over the years, offering the same menu and same friendly service diners have come to expect over the decades.  Newcomers still experience confusion as to the “Front” and “Back” door names, believing them to be the same restaurant, but with front and back door entrances. Charlie’s Front Door’s windowless frontage faces Menaul in the Hoffmantown Shopping Center. …

Closed in 2020EspañolaGone But Not ForgottenNew MexicanNew Mexico

Angelina’s Restaurant – Espanola, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno7:40 PM

“I get no respect.”  Comedian Rodney Dangerfield parlayed that catch-phrase into a lengthy and lucrative career.  With his uniquely self-deprecating sense of humor, Rodney invariably made himself the butt of his own brilliant one-liners: “I could tell my parents hated me.  My bath toys were a toaster and a radio.”  Despite his schtick as a perpetual loser, Dangerfield was a beloved comedic icon about whom Jim Carrey once wrote, “Rodney is, without a doubt, as funny as a carbon-based life-form can be.”  True to the formula which made him a success in life, his tombstone is engraved, “there goes the neighborhood.” The citizenry of the beautiful Española valley can certainly empathize with Rodney Dangerfield.  Inexplicably, Española has, for decades, been the punch line of cruel jokes.  My friend Bill Resnik, a stand-up comedian for nearly three decades, says every  stand-up comedian performing in New Mexico has at least one Española joke in their repertoire, but admits that in the comedy circuit, the name of the town being made fun of changes from state to state.  Española jokes are, to some extent, just repackaged jokes.  Many of those jokes will work if you substitute “blond” or “Aggie” or “Redneck” for Española.…