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February 28, 2021

Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog

Follow the Culinary Ruminations of New Mexico's Sesquipedalian Sybarite. 1208 Restaurant Reviews, More Than 11,700 Visitor Comments…And Counting!

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Fine Dining

Albuquerque / Brunch / Dog Friendly / Fine Dining

Vintage 423 – Albuquerque, New Mexico

July 12, 2020July 18, 2020 - 15 Comments.

My friend Bill Resnik, a professional stand-up comedian for more than two decades, performs a bit in which he “translates” Spanish terms for linguistically challenged audiences.  “Paseo del Norte,” for example, translates to “Paseo of …

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Albuquerque / Fine Dining / Rated 24

Seasons Rotisserie & Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico

March 11, 2020March 14, 2020 - 6 Comments.

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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Dog Friendly / Fine Dining / Italian / New Mexico / Santa Fe

Sassella – Santa Fe, New Mexico

September 7, 2019September 28, 2019 - 9 Comments.

In Cold Tuscan Stone, the first in a series of spellbinding mysteries set in Italy, author David P. Wagner did such a magnificent job in developing relatable characters and creating a sense of place that …

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Albuquerque / Bar & Grill / Fine Dining

Nick & Jimmy’s Bar & Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico

April 10, 2019December 21, 2019 - 27 Comments.

Legendary American chef, author and television personality Julia Child was often exasperated with what she perceived as American’s propensity for culinary laziness, once commenting that “the trend in the U.S.A. was toward speed and the …

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California / Dog Friendly / Fine Dining / United States

AC3 – Palm Desert, California

December 28, 2018January 8, 2019 - 2 Comments.

Hollywood’s movie studio system of the 1920s and 30s contractually required its greatest glitterati  to remain within 100 miles of Tinseltown’s studio during production. Because of this “two-hour rule,” such stars as Cary Grant, Debbie Reynolds, …

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Albuquerque / Breakfast / Fine Dining / New Mexico / Rated 24

Campo at Los Poblanos – Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, New Mexico

September 9, 2018November 2, 2018 - 12 Comments.

A simple day laborer at a wealthy estate, Ysidro began his days by rising early and attending Mass. His fellow laborers complained that they had to do some of his share of the work because …

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Dog Friendly / Fine Dining / New Mexico / Santa Fe

Terra – Tesuque, New Mexico

July 29, 2018October 11, 2018 - 4 Comments.

Several years ago, I asked my grandmother if she might consider aromatherapy as a treatment for the nagging aches and pains she suffered daily.  Aromatherapy, I explained was being hailed by New Age devotees in …

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American / California / Dog Friendly / Fine Dining / United States

Spencer’s Restaurant – Palm Springs, California

December 31, 2017July 7, 2018 - 1 Comment

Dean Beck: What do you have against preachers? Clay Spencer: It’s what they preach against I’m against. Dean Beck: I’m afraid I don’t understand? Clay Spencer: They’re against everything I’m for. They don’t allow drinkin’ …

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Albuquerque / Brunch / Closed in 2019 / Dog Friendly / Fine Dining / Gone But Not Forgotten / Italian

Scalo Northern Italian Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

July 29, 2017May 22, 2019 - 25 Comments.

When we moved back to New Mexico on May 15, 1995, our first priority wasn’t where to live, but where to eat. Having been away for the better part of 18 years, there were so …

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Albuquerque / Fine Dining / Rated 24

The Artichoke Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

December 26, 2016July 8, 2018 - 8 Comments.

“These things are just plain annoying. After all the trouble you go to, you get about as much actual “food” out of eating an artichoke as you would from licking 30 or 40 postage stamps. …

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Fine Dining / New Mexico / Rated 25

BLADES’ BISTRO – Placitas, New Mexico

August 21, 2016July 12, 2018 - 57 Comments.

“Ask three Placitans what they like best about living in Placitas and… one will say it is being so far from everything, another, being so close to everything–and both will be right.” – The Placitas …

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Breakfast / Brunch / Buffet / Closed in 2016 / Fine Dining / Gone But Not Forgotten

Jhett’s Restaurant – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

September 13, 2015July 15, 2018 - 2 Comments.

In its halcyon days, the Chamisa Hills golf course and country club in Rio Rancho was considered one of the city’s crown jewels. Its undulating 18-hole championship course with strategically placed deciduous trees and challenging …

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Fine Dining / New Mexico / Santa Fe

Santacafe – Santa Fe, New Mexico

June 20, 2015July 15, 2018 - 3 Comments.

Is there anything as pure and simple as the innocence of a child, especially during the most magical time of the year? When my then six-year-old niece penned a heartfelt letter to Santa Claus, there …

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Albuquerque / Closed in 2018 / Fine Dining / Gone But Not Forgotten / New Mexico / Rated 23

Elaine’s – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

May 31, 2015December 2, 2018 - 9 Comments.

“They were all impressed with your Halston dress and the people that you knew at Elaine’s”. ~Big Shot by Billy Joel For nearly five decades–from 1963 through 2011–“the place to be” in Manhattan’s trendy Upper …

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Albuquerque / Closed in 2016 / Fine Dining / Gone But Not Forgotten / New Mexico

Soul and Vine – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

May 2, 2015July 15, 2018 - 1 Comment

“A recipe has no soul. You, as the cook, must bring soul to the recipe.” ~Thomas Keller A recent tweet from Ortega (yes, that purveyor of “high quality Mexican products”) posed the existential question “What’s …

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Fine Dining / New Mexico / Santa Fe

Anasazi Restaurant – Santa Fe, New Mexico

October 18, 2014July 15, 2018 - 4 Comments.

As you gaze in awe and wonder at the luxurious trappings surrounding you everywhere you turn at the Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi, you can’t help but contemplate the irony. Inn of the Anasazi? Throughout …

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Albuquerque / American / Closed in 2014 / Fine Dining / Gone But Not Forgotten / New Mexico

Bouche – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

July 16, 2014July 15, 2018 - 8 Comments.

Career paths do not always unfold as stereotypes might dictate. Heavily recruited out of Mission, Texas, a high school football hotbed, Frans Dinklemann, a 6’6″ 241-pound defensive end, signed with the University of New Mexico …

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California / Fine Dining / Rated 24 / United States

Geoffrey’s Malibu – Malibu, California

June 20, 2014July 15, 2018 - 17 Comments.

The walls at Geoffrey’s Malibu are festooned with copies of whimsical framed “doodles” created by Hollywood celebrities and movie stars who have dined at the posh seaside restaurant. Most are tongue-in-cheek self-portraits which probably speak …

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Albuquerque / Closed in 2016 / Fine Dining / Gone But Not Forgotten / Rated 26

JENNIFER JAMES 101 – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

March 10, 2014July 16, 2018 - 5 Comments.

The number 101 has some very interesting connotations. If you grew up in the 60s, you might remember the Benson & Hedges cigarette jingle, “One, oh, one, one, oh, one, a silly little millimeter longer …

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Albuquerque / Fine Dining / Rated 23

Farm & Table – Albuquerque, New Mexico

February 2, 2014July 16, 2018 - 15 Comments.

For the past quarter century or so, American chefs and the dining public have increasingly embraced the concept of farm-to- table cooking. It makes great sense from an environmental and an economical standpoint and as …

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Fine Dining / New Mexico

The Corn Maiden – Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico

September 6, 2013July 16, 2018 - 3 Comments.

First cultivated in Mexico around 5000 BC, corn has since been a ubiquitous staple among American Indians throughout the fruited plain. A resilient, versatile and nourishing crop also known as maize, corn allowed Indians to …

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Albuquerque / Closed in 2014 / Fine Dining / Gone But Not Forgotten / Italian / Rated 23

Terra Bistro Italiano – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

July 25, 2013July 16, 2018 - 4 Comments.

To some extent, people watch Anthony Bourdain for the same reasons they tune in to infamous shock-jock Howard Stern–to see what he’ll say next. Though Bourdain, the best-selling author, world traveler, renown chef and “poet …

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California / Fine Dining / Rated 26

Nine-Ten Restaurant and Bar – La Jolla, California

July 4, 2013July 17, 2018 - 5 Comments.

My baby sister Anita paid me the ultimate compliment, not as a brother, but as a savvy restaurant essayist. When we ran into her at the Nine-Ten Restaurant and Bar in picturesque La Jolla, she …

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Albuquerque / Fine Dining

Savoy Bar & Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico

December 26, 2012July 17, 2018 - 7 Comments.

In 1881, the Savoy Theater in London’s trendy West End was built to showcase the brilliant Victorian era collaboration of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan who composed fourteen comic operas.  The Savoy was the first …

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Fine Dining / Missouri / Rated 24

Savoy Grill – Kansas City, Missouri

September 8, 2012July 17, 2018 - Leave a Comment

In a 2012 episode of the Travel Channel’s “No Reservations” television program, host Anthony Bourdain and his Russian pal Zamir Gotta visited Kansas City in search of the city’s best barbecue.  When not licking barbecue …

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Fine Dining / Illinois / Rated 27 / United States

The Purple Pig – Chicago, Illinois

September 5, 2012July 17, 2018 - 3 Comments.

Poet Carl Sandburg bestowed the nickname “hog butcher for the world” upon the great city of Chicago at a time when the city was the epicenter for meatpacking in the United States. Companies such as …

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California / Fine Dining

Sierra Mar at Post Ranch Inn – Big Sur, California

July 16, 2012July 17, 2018 - Leave a Comment

Famous French mime Marcel Marceau once remarked “do not the most moving moments of our lives find us all without words.”  Without words, a rare state for someone who uses so many of them, aptly …

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Fine Dining / Rated 25 / Santa Fe

Luminaria – Santa Fe, New Mexico

December 18, 2011July 18, 2018 - 8 Comments.

 Her sunrise could bring light into a blind man. Her sunset could put tears there in his eyes. Her colors are laying there in brush strokes. Underneath those peote skies. –The Bellamy Brothers Santa Fe’s …

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Fine Dining / New Mexico / Rated 26 / Santa Fe

Geronimo – Santa Fe, New Mexico

October 7, 2011July 18, 2018 - 7 Comments.

Consistency over time, excellence every time–that’s what sets apart the one or two restaurants all the cognoscenti herald as the very best. These few truly extraordinary restaurants don’t so much raise the bar or reinvent …

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Albuquerque / Breakfast / Brunch / Closed in 2013 / Fine Dining / Gone But Not Forgotten / Rated 24

Lucia – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

August 21, 2011July 18, 2018 - 10 Comments.

There was a time the name “Hilton” didn’t conjure up images of a ditzy blonde airhead whose celebrity is based largely on promiscuity. On second thought, maybe not. More than 50 years ago, another ditzy …

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Closed in 2012 / Fine Dining / Gone But Not Forgotten / New Mexico / Rated 26

Three Forks at Rancho De San Juan – Ojo Caliente, New Mexico (CLOSED)

August 29, 2010July 19, 2018 - 4 Comments.

Expansive views of the Jemez Mountains and of Georgia O’Keeffe country–whether bathed in pink, coral and gold sunset hues or under New Mexico’s incomparable cerulean skies–combine with the surreal topography of unnaturally contorted rock formations …

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Arizona / Fine Dining / Mexican / United States

Cafe Poca Cosa – Tucson, Arizona

April 13, 2010July 19, 2018 - 1 Comment

Stereotypes would have you believe English food and Mexican food are at the opposite end of the spectrum from one another…as different as day and night.  Those stereotypes paint English food as bland and unimaginative …

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Brunch / Fine Dining / Food Network Eats New Mexico / Rated 23 / Santa Fe

La Casa Sena – Santa Fe, New Mexico

February 21, 2010July 7, 2018 - 5 Comments.

He was an academic prodigy, one of the first two persons admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of the Territory of New Mexico. He had a distinguished military career in the Union Army …

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Closed in 2016 / Fine Dining / Gone But Not Forgotten / New Mexico

High Finance – Sandia Crest, New Mexico (CLOSED)

July 7, 2009July 22, 2018 - 2 Comments.

“Getting high” on cannabis is known for increasing appetite.  According to High Times, a New York based magazine which advocates the legalization of marijuana, scientists now know why.  Those scientists have uncovered the part of …

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Closed in 2012 / Fine Dining / Food Network Eats New Mexico / Gone But Not Forgotten / New Mexico / Rated 25 / Santa Fe

Aqua Santa – Santa Fe, New Mexico (CLOSED)

September 20, 2008July 22, 2018 - 2 Comments.

“But the moment I saw the brilliant, proud morning shine high up over the deserts of Santa Fe, something stood still in my soul, and I started to attend. There was a certain magnificence in …

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Fine Dining / Las Vegas, Nevada / Rated 28

Bouchon – Las Vegas, Nevada

May 31, 2008July 22, 2018 - 1 Comment

Thomas Keller is the owner and chef of one of the world’s most highly acclaimed and famous restaurants, but despite all the accolades and honors the French Laundry has garnered over the years, he isn’t …

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Most Recent Visits

S-A Barbecue – Albuquerque, New Mexico

February 22, 2021February 28, 2021

Bamboo Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico

February 21, 2021February 28, 2021

Alicea’s NY Bagels & Subs – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

February 19, 2021February 25, 2021

Ms. Gennie’s House of Chicken – Albuquerque, New Mexico

February 13, 2021February 25, 2021

Ruthie’s Bagels – Albuquerque, New Mexico

February 10, 2021February 20, 2021

Kabab House – Albuquerque, New Mexico

February 9, 2021February 25, 2021

Salty Catch – Albuquerque, New Mexico

February 5, 2021February 12, 2021

Dion’s Pizza – Albuquerque, New Mexico

February 3, 2021February 10, 2021

M’Tucci’s Moderno – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

February 1, 2021February 10, 2021

Tako Ten – Albuquerque, New Mexico

January 30, 2021February 12, 2021

Upscale Burgers & Shakes – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

January 27, 2021February 10, 2021

M’Tucci’s Twenty-Five – Albuquerque, New Mexico

January 23, 2021January 29, 2021

Urbano Pasta Kitchen – Albuquerque, New Mexico

January 18, 2021January 22, 2021

Marigold Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

January 13, 2021January 16, 2021

Dragon House – Albuquerque, New Mexico

January 9, 2021January 13, 2021

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