Category: New Mexican

AlbuquerqueAmericanNew MexicanNew MexicoRating: Excellent

Albuquerque City Limits – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:32 PM

“It’s when I reach the city limits that my sense of security ends and my sense of adventure begins.” ~Anthony T. Hincks Author: Verbs in Storyland Why is it the term “city limits” conjures the same type of trepidation today that very early (before the Third Century BC) explorers must have felt when they thought the Earth was flat and if they navigated too far west, they’d fall off the edge of the map?   Why is it Hollywood has consistently portrayed the area just beyond city limits as either a dystopian wasteland or a bastion of lawless libertinage?  For that matter, why do so many “inner city” Duke City dwellers believe the city limits is too far a distance to travel…

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…

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…

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…

AlbuquerqueNew MexicanRating: Good

Los Cuates – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:18 AM

Of the five variations of twins that occur commonly throughout the world, the most common fraternal (non-identical) occurrence is male-female twins which transpire in about 40% of all twins born. Fraternal twins may share up to 50% of their genes and generally are no more similar or dissimilar than any other two siblings.  Although technically not twins because they were “born” four years apart, the Duke City’s most famous twins are the Los Cuates restaurants (cuates being the Spanish word for twins), named for Antoinette and Marcus, the fraternal male-female twins of founder Frank R. Barela, an inspiration for all of us who started at the bottom and worked our way up.  Barela got his start in the restaurant business…

AlbuquerqueBreakfastClosed in 2022Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicanNew Mexico

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.”…

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…

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…

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,…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2024Dog FriendlyGone But Not ForgottenNew MexicanNew Mexico

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…

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…