Oso Grill – Capitan, New Mexico
When we pulled up to the order window at the Oso Grill’s drive-through lane, Misty, our sweet server handed us a menu and contritely explained that the restaurant had run out of shrimp. “Why,” I …
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Don Choche Tacos Y Cerveza – Albuquerque, New Mexico
“Well, there’s not a taco big enough for a man like me That’s why I order two or three Let me give you a tip, just try a nacho chip It’s really good with bean …
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AK Pizza – Albuquerque, New Mexico
“I hate it. I think it’s an abomination. There are so many awesome things here, I don’t know why that should be featured. It’s leading with your weakness. So much other great stuff.” ~Anthony Bourdain …
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The Cornivore Popcorn Company – Albuquerque, New Mexico
“Popcorn for breakfast! Why not? It’s a grain. It’s like grits, but with high self-esteem.” ~James Patterson The planet’s very first known popcorn aficionados may have expressed the sentiment “to the batcave” long before Batman, …
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Village Pizza – Corrales, New Mexico
Research has proven that taste buds are dulled by high altitude and cabin pressure, so as an aircraft climbs, our sense of taste diminishes by as much as 30 percent. That explains why many passengers …
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Dagmar’s Delectables Bakery & German Specialties
Until Dagmar Mondragon launched her first German restaurant in Albuquerque back in 1996, many of us knew very little about German cuisine in general and baking in particular. The only German baker with which some …
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Elotes Del Rancho – Rio Rancho, New Mexico
“Now you’re just being uppity.” That’s my Kim putting me in my place the second I begin to crow haughtily about some highbrow or nouveau way to prepare something ordinary. Tandoori salmon pizza…that’s so me. …
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Tia Betty Blue’s – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Tia Betty. If the name conjures images of a dowdy old woman, a face etched with wrinkles and thinning grey hair pulled back neatly into a bun, you’re probably not alone. Not even the youthfully …
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High Point Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico
If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” Ask a physicist and you’ll get an earful about quantum theory, wave function, subatomic particles …
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The Paleta Bar – Bernalillo, New Mexico
A few decades ago, Mad Magazine (or was it Cracked) published a two-panel cartoon depicting a couple of gringo turistas visiting Mexico on a stifling summer day. On the first panel, one turista tells the …
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Guava Tree Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico
A few years ago, my friend Bill Hanson, a gastronome of the first order, was hosting several of his Costa Rican employees at Intel’s Ocotillo (Arizona) plant. Like me, Bill delights in introducing his friends …
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Steam Q – Albuquerque, New Mexico
“I don’t know why men like to barbecue so much. Maybe its the only thing they can cook. Or maybe they’re just closet pyromaniacs.” ~Cecelia Ahern, P.S. I Love You Whether or not the dubious …
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Rudy’s Country Store & Barbecue – Albuquerque, New Mexico
I first sampled Rudy’s Country Store & Bar-B-Q’s products in 1993 in Leon Springs, Texas, a San Antonio suburb on the fringes of the magnificent Texas Hill Country. At the time Rudy’s was just beginning …
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Chile Chicken Nashville Hot Chicken – Albuquerque, New Mexico
My brother Mario–seven years younger, much better looking and quite a bit smarter–and I have shared many memorable firsts. There was the time I taught him how to drive on our dad’s 1965 standard transmission …
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Urban Hotdog Company – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Fat kids, skinny kids, kids who climb on rocks Tough kids, sissy kids, even kids with chicken pox love hot dogs. Armour Hot Dog Commercial, 1960s Advertising standards in the 1960s were quite a bit …
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Burrito Express – Rio Rancho, New Mexico
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 …
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Thai Kitchen – Albuquerque, New Mexico
“There is no good meat that their stupid cooks do not spoil with the sauce they make. They mix with all their stews a certain paste made of rotten prawns…which has such a pungent smell …
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Federico’s Mexican Food – Rio Rancho, New Mexico
in February, 2020, Chef’s Pencil crunched the numbers of Google searches for ethnic cuisines to determine the most popular ethnic cuisines in America. The two most popular ethnic cuisines were deemed to be Mexican and …
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Lily & Liam Bistro – Rio Rancho, New Mexico
Family owned restaurants have been called the heartbeat of a community, its pulse and its roots. Beyond the tintinnabulation of silver spoons on ceramic coffee mugs and over the hum of conversation, restaurants become living …
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Slice & Dice – Albuquerque, New Mexico
You might remember a 2004 documentary called Supersize Me in which writer-producer Morgan Spurlock explored the consequences on his health of a diet consisting solely of McDonald’s food for one month. Spurlock has nothing on …
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Triple B’s Bar-B-Que Burgers & Burritos – Rio Rancho, New Mexico
Archaeologists in Spain claim to have unearthed the original man cave. What is most remarkable about this finding is how very similar Neanderthal man and contemporary man are. Men, it could be said, have not …
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Jerusalem – Taste of the Holy Land – Rio Rancho, New Mexico
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are inextricably tied to the ancient city of Jerusalem, the epicenter of sacred sites both unique and common to all three religions. One of the oldest cities in the world as …
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Davido’s Pizza & More – Rio Rancho, New Mexico
Some might call the American Realty and Petroleum Company (AMREP for short) a pioneering visionary for its early 1960s purchase of over 50,000 acres on the dusty Sandoval County plains that are now Rio Rancho. …
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California Pastrami & More – Albuquerque, New Mexico
During a 1997 episode of Seinfeld, the “show about nothing,” George Costanza and his girlfriend du jour discussed the possibility of incorporating food into their lovemaking–not as a post-coital meal, but in flagrante delicto. George …
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Albuquerque / New Mexican / New Mexico Culinary Treasures Trail / Rated 27 / Travel Channel Eats New Mexico
MARY & TITO’S CAFE – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Old-timers whose opinions I respect consistently rate Mary & Tito’s as Albuquerque’s best restaurant for New Mexican food, a restaurant that has been pleasing the most savvy and indoctrinated palates alike since 1963. It takes …
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The Jealous Fork – Albuquerque, New Mexico
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 …
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The Shop Breakfast & Lunch – Albuquerque, New Mexico
In the 60s and early 70s, movies and television programs would have you believe all spies were hard-drinking, fast-driving, woman-chasing playboys as good with their fists as they were with a gun. They were worldly, …
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Seasons Rotisserie & Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico
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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Pop Fizz – Albuquerque, New Mexico
The geriatrically advanced among us who grew up during the golden age (1950s through the 1970s) of the “jingle” were constantly bombarded with earworm-inducing singing commercials, those catchy and memorable short tunes used to convey …
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El Patio de Albuquerque – Albuquerque, New Mexico
For more than a quarter century, award-winning journalist Charles Kuralt had the type of job any aspiring sojourner would envy. He hit the road on a motor home, crisscrossing the fruited plains where waving fields …
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Greg’s BBQ – Belen, New Mexico
On our journey to together forever, my Kim and I have shared meals at thousands of restaurants. Even when we haven’t enjoyed those meals, without exception we’ve enjoyed our times together. We share everything…almost. Maybe …
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Philly Steaks – Albuquerque, New Mexico
“I love the dignity in the name Philadelphia, but at heart, we’re Philly.” ~Lisa Scottoline New York Times Best-Selling Author “There are a couple of things you should know about Philadelphia,” my friend Vladimir “Speedy” …
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La Reforma Brewery – Albuquerque, New Mexico
When my friend Schuyler sees the name of the restaurant on this review, he’ll probably tease me that my life of dissipation, debasement and debauchery finally caught up with me. “39-year-old juvenile delinquents like you …
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VARA WINERY & DISTILLERY – Albuquerque, New Mexico
In 1620, King Philip III of Spain issued a royal decree mandating that each of the 19 recognized New Mexican Pueblos elect by popular vote, a governor, lieutenant governor and other officers as might be …
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Albuquerque City Limits – Albuquerque, New Mexico
“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 …
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El Rey Del Pollo – Albuquerque, New Mexico
My environmentally-conscious, Prius-driving friend Bruce “Sr. Plata” Silver has a much smaller carbon footprint than that carbon credit-trading hypocrite Al Gore. No environmental activist would ever condemn Sr. Plata for fouling the air and water …
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