Category: Fine Dining

AlbuquerqueFine DiningRated 24

The Artichoke Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:29 AM

“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. Have the shrimp cocktail instead.” – Miss Piggy Miss Piggy, that shrill and garrulous walking side of bacon, may not appreciate the humble artichoke much, but among both health conscious and discerning diners, the artichoke has long been a healthful and delicious dining option. Considered a “super food” for its high antioxidant, fiber, potassium, phosphorous, iron, calcium and magnesium content, artichokes have long been used in the treatment of gall bladder and liver conditions because it improves liver functions and is recognized for its ability…

Fine DiningNew MexicoRated 25

BLADES’ BISTRO – Placitas, New Mexico

Gil Garduno10:26 PM

“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 Chamber of Commerce Chamber of Commerce not withstanding, the distance from Placitas to fabulous gourmet restaurants has spanned both great mileage and the healing passage of time for residents. When hungry, the mileage between Placitas and either Santa Fe or Albuquerque has seemed interminable. When fondly recalling a glorious meal within its doors, time has been the sole comforter for residents still missing their beloved Cafe De Las Placitas, a magnificent shooting star which faded away much too quickly but left an indelible afterglow. Most…

BreakfastBrunchBuffetClosed in 2016Fine DiningGone But Not Forgotten

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

Gil Garduno4:24 PM

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 water hazards once hosted the Charley Pride Golf Fiesta, one of the most prestigious tournaments in the state. Built in 1970, the 212-acre development was flanked by upscale gated communities and boasted of magnificent panoramic views showcasing the reddish hues of the Sandias at sunset and the twinkling city lights of Albuquerque at night. Alas, over time escalating water rates made operating the course economically onerous. Soon denuded fairways and eroded bunkers replaced the once verdant grounds. In 2013, the Chamisa Hills golf course and…

Fine DiningNew MexicoSanta Fe

Santacafe – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno8:30 PM

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 was no doubt in her mind that her letter would be delivered and her wish would be granted. After all, she had been extra good all year long and what she wanted for Christmas was so reasonable. My niece’s fondest Christmas wish was that her family dine at Santacafe—not because of its reputation for inspired cuisine, but because she was sure she would meet jolly old Saint Nick at his restaurant “Santa Café.” It’s entirely possible my niece may have been the only person ever…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2018Fine DiningGone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoRated 23

Elaine’s – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno11:54 PM

“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 East Side was Elaine’s, perhaps the city’s most celebrated and revered A-lister’s hangout. Everyone who was anyone frequented Elaine’s, an eponymous establishment in which luminaries came to see and be seen. Celebrity habitues included glitterati from stage, screen, television, literature and politics such as Woody Allen, Marlon Brando, Clint Eastwood, Mick Jagger, Jacqueline Kennedy, Jack Nicholson, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Andy Warhol and Raquel Welch. Elaine Kaufman was the peripatetic presence around whom the celebrities flocked, the geocentric personality whose gravitational pull drew them all in.…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2016Fine DiningGone But Not ForgottenNew Mexico

Soul and Vine – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno8:31 PM

“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 your cooking style: cooking from the soul, from your taste buds, from a book or from your gut?” While most cooks and almost all chefs would contend they cook with their souls, their assertions are belied by the absence of the qualities and experiences diners might associate with the term “cooking from the soul.” For many of us, that term kindles cherished memories of our precious mothers lovingly preparing our favorite dishes, every spoonful an expression of their boundless love. For others, “cooking from the…

Fine DiningNew MexicoSanta Fe

Anasazi Restaurant – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno4:00 PM

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 their existence the Anasazi never knew luxury or leisure, focusing solely and at all times on survival. Shelter, food and water were of paramount concern in the Four Corners area of the Southwest, a desolate environment which was often brutal and unforgiving. Amidst the ravages of climatic extremes, the Anasazi scratched out an existence and an lasting legacy. While the subsistence living of the Anasazi civilization and the opulence of the Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi are at polar extremes, even stodgy historians might appreciate…

AlbuquerqueAmericanClosed in 2014Fine DiningGone But Not ForgottenNew Mexico

Bouche – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno9:44 AM

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 where his Lobo teammates included perennial National Football League (NFL) All-Pro Brian Urlacher. By his senior year, Frans had grown to 6’7″ and 270 pounds and moved to the offensive line where he set the team weight room record for offensive linemen with a 33-inch vertical leap. The stereotype of the offensive lineman is of a brutish behemoth heavy on brawn and light on brain, a misanthrope with very little personality or charisma. In his inimitable manner, Hall of Fame NFL coach and longtime television…

CaliforniaFine DiningUnited States

Geoffrey’s Malibu – Malibu, California

Gil Garduno9:42 AM

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 volumes about the glitterati themselves–and not just whether they lack or are blessed with an artistic talent beyond their particular medium. Thematically, all the portraits include a heart. That’s because Harvey Baskin, the restaurant’s previous owner asked the artists to donate originals for publication and sale in support of a charity for children with heart disease. Jane Russell’s heart forms her shapely derriere at the terminus of legs which would otherwise go on forever. George Burns’ bespectacled heart puffs on one of his beloved cigars.…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2016Fine DiningGone But Not ForgottenRated 26

JENNIFER JAMES 101 – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno6:06 AM

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 one, oh, one, a silly millimeter longer.” Talk about ear wax. That jingle was like It’s A Small World and the Gilligan’s Island theme. Once you got it into your head, you couldn’t get rid of it. My brainiac mathematician friend Bill Resnik appreciates that 101 is the 26th prime number. He points out that it’s also a palindromic number (a sequence that reads the same forward and backwards) or rather a palindromic prime. Geekier friends like Craig Stegman and Kenny Sanchez, developers extraordinaire, know…

AlbuquerqueFine DiningRated 23

Farm & Table – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

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 the Smithsonian Magazine wrote, “the farm-to-table movement is at once hip and historic.” Its historical aspects are especially relevant in agrarian New Mexican villages where farm-to-table hasn’t always been a “movement,” “concept” or “trend.” It’s been a way of life, especially in the state’s frontier days when food wasn’t nearly as plentiful as it is today. Enchanting as it may be, New Mexico is a land which can be harsh and unforgiving as Native American pueblos and early settlers found out when, for centuries, they…