Category: New Mexico

AlbuquerqueBuffetChineseClosed in 2011Gone But Not Forgotten

Yen Ching – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno5:54 AM

Have a yen for Chinese or Korean cuisine? Can your appetite be sated only by the nasal-clearing, smoldering heat of Szechwan style cooking? Are the cravings that consume you affixed on succulent sushi and eye-watering wasabi. If all four of these options sound good but you can’t make up your mind, there’s only one dining destination that–under one roof–can satisfy your appetite for all these palate-pleasing Asian cuisines. Yen Ching, a popular Northeast Heights restaurant named for a city in Northern China, specializes in Chinese, Korean and Szechwan cuisine and has an all-you-can-eat (AYCE) Japanese sushi bar to boot. Yen Ching is a veteran in Albuquerque’s cramped competition for Chinese food customers, launching nearly 20 years ago in the venerable Trade Winds hotel on Central Avenue. Years later, Kathy Chao and her husband Joe moved their restaurant to the Montgomery Crossing shopping center on the southeast corner of the Montgomery and Wyoming intersection, a location in which business has thrived. Long-timers might remember a second Yen Ching on Fourth Street. That restaurant didn’t last long after the Chaos sold it. Like many Chinese restaurants in the city, Yen Ching features an AYCE Chinese buffet for lunch and like most, this…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2007Gone But Not ForgottenJapaneseSushi

Eurasia Bistro & Sushi Bar – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:59 PM

In an ideal world, the culinary connotation of the term “Eurasia” would be a fusion of the distinct cuisines of both continents available all under one roof under which culinary adventurers would be like Venetian explorer Marco Polo tasting all the Silk Road has to offer. We should have realized that while the continents of Europe and Asia may be connected as a land mass (certainly not geopolitically), an Albuquerque restaurant featuring the cuisine of both continents is still far too novel a concept. While Eurasia turned out to be a misnomer, this contemporary Japanese restaurant may turn out to be one of the better, albeit more expensive restaurants launched in 2005. Situated on the site of the now defunct Minato restaurant (closed in October, 2004), Eurasia is, in almost every way, a radical departure its predecessor. Where Minato facilitated dining intimacy (including tatami rooms for private dining), Eurasia features an open dining room painted in a serene pallet. Two ceiling panels on either side of the industrial ductwork showcase the twinkling of the night sky on an ebony canvas (although nothing can compare to the night skies in Northern New Mexico.) While Eurasia’s menu may be considered traditional, it…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBreakfastClosed in 2010

Perennials Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno2:23 AM

What most people seem to know about Perennials Restaurant is that it’s owned by the parents of Albuquerque’s own Neil Patrick Harris, a 1991 graduate of La Cueva High School, who at age sixteen, landed the lead role in Doogie Howser, M.D. The television series about a teen prodigy doctor propelled him into teen heartthrob status. After two visits to Perennials, I’m somewhat surprised that this bright, east-facing restaurant isn’t even better known for the terrific quality of its food. It seems to be especially popular for breakfast among the geriatric set, a demographic my stand-up comedian friend swears have two criteria for selecting a restaurant: tasteless or cheap. He also observes that among the “blue-hairs” as he calls them, women dining with their friends will figure out each person’s share to the penny while elderly gentlemen breaking bread with their friends practically come to blows over who will pay the bill of fare. I didn’t notice any bill settlement issues at Perennials and contrary to my friend’s theory regarding restaurants heavily patronized by retirees, the food is definitely not tasteless or cheap. Reasonably priced food of high quality and generous portions would be more like it. It’s easy to…

BurgersNational ChainNew MexicoRating: GoodRio Rancho

A&W All American Food – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno5:28 PM

Family trips bore out the fact that my parents had saintly patience as their six kids sat in the back seat of the station wagon and belted out, “Let’s all go to A&W. The food’s just great at A&W.” As kids, we pestered our parents with Madison Avenue jingles for every fast food restaurant we knew. A&W was our favorite–and for good reason. In the 60s, before McDonalds began to dominate the fast food genre, A&W was THE drive-up restaurant in which to dine with more than 2000 locations across the country. Today, A&W has been relegated in some places to sharing space with gas stations and convenience stores. It also received a reprieve of sorts when purchased by the Pepsi restaurant subsidiary which also owns KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. A&W and Long John Silvers were recent acquisitions and in Rio Rancho as in other locations across the fruited plain, they share space. In the 60s, A&W’s family concept included burgers named for every family demographic–the papa burger, mama burger, teen burger, baby burger and even a grandpa burger. The Rio Rancho location serves several “deluxe” burgers with the deluxe bacon double cheeseburger and deluxe cheeseburger being my…

AlbuquerqueAsianClosed in 2007FusionGone But Not Forgotten

Cafe O – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:10 PM

Within a few weeks after its launch in late 2003, it seems all the restaurant critics for Albuquerque’s periodicals had waxed poetically effusive about Cafe O, a novel counter eatery whose menu purports to offer a “taste of the world.” Considering those food critics are all women, I pictured genteel dainty sized portions of water cress embellished finger foods and flavored teas served on real china. Although tea was an integral part of the menu, it certainly wasn’t served on fine china and it definitely wasn’t your standard American tea. It’s boba tea which proved to be such a huge success that the proprietors Vi Luong and his wife Hoa launched a boba tea franchise that’s setting Albuquerque on fire. The biggest draw to Cafe O is in the promise of an exciting, fresh menu as crafted by Hoa and her sister. The first menu item catching my eye was a Saigon Sub, known in Vietnam as a Bahn Mi and in most circles, as one of the best sandwiches anywhere. Cafe O’s version was absolutely wonderful, a perfect marriage of roasted marinated pork and other ingredients on a French baguette. The menu also offers several freshly prepared hand-rolled spring…

AmericanBarbecueClosed in 2012Food Network Eats New MexicoGone But Not ForgottenNew Mexico

Embudo Station – Embudo, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno4:33 AM

Few things in life are as romantic as dining on the banks of the slowly trickling, mocha-colored Rio Grande on a crisp early autumn night with only a hint of moonlight to illuminate your partner’s visage–unless maybe it’s dining by that same river as it rages murkily, carrying off the Sangre De Cristo’s winter ablutions during its spring runoff. Located 25 miles south of Taos and 41 miles north of Santa Fe on Highway 68, the Embudo Station offers patio dining with unforgettable vistas and memorable meals. The Embudo Station is steeped in history, having served as a narrow gauge railroad station for the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad (affectionately called the “Chile Line”) from the 1887 until 1941 when it was abandoned. In 1983, the Embudo Station was purchased by Preston and Sandy Cox, tax accountants who left Santa Fe’s rat race for the peaceful village life of Embudo. After spending two years renovating the rundown property, the Coxes launched a sprawling complex that includes a restaurant, brewery, smokehouse, rafting company, a smoked goods mail-order catalogue company, an arts and crafts store, and an overnight cabin. The old station house was converted into a brewery in which more…

AmericanClosed in 2010Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoTaos County

Gypsy 360 Cafe & Espresso Bar – Arroyo Seco, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno7:16 PM

Whether bathed by the sunshine of a dazzling daytime sun or illuminated by the shimmering glow of a starry moonlit night, the 360 degree views from the village of Arroyo Seco are enticing enough to convince any weary sojourner, wandering vagabond or peripatetic gypsy to end their nomadic ways and settle down. Your vantage points to the immediate north and distant south include sacred snow capped Tiwa mountains reaching majestically for New Mexico’s incomparable cobalt skies. Verdant fields present a dramatic east facing panorama while prominent vast expanses of stark terrain seem to go on forever on your western perspective. It’s truly an idyllic setting for a gastronomic paradise in which creative ingredients play a mellifluous tune on your taste buds. The menu is worldly sophistication and eclectic with several Asiatic appetizers and entrees holding court. We tried several of them and came away impressed. Thai beef lettuce wraps featuring grilled and marinated beef sautéed with red onion nested in cool lettuce leafs are garnished with cilantro and peanuts then served with a Vietnamese sweet and sour dipping sauce. They are messy but magnificent. Nowadays it seems every restaurant serves sushi (usually of inferior quality) and Gypsy 360 is no…

AmericanClosed in 2007Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoSanta Fe

Señor Lucky’s – Santa Fe, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno3:40 PM

Senor Lucky’s closed in February 2006. A thriving gambling hall, bordello and saloon once occupied the space in which Señor Lucky’s is now situated. It was operated by 19th-century matriarch, Gertrudes Barcelo (better known as Doña Tules) who entertained guests with dances, drink and cards, amassing a fortune as one of Santa Fe’s most infamous and enterprising citizens. Historians believe she collaborated with the U.S. Army, loaning money to its officers money so they could pay the American soldiers occupying Santa Fe around the time of the American takeover. Local lore also indicates she not only got paid back by the government, but also got back most of her original loan via the gambling losses of soldiers who frequented her popular establishment. Doña Tules has long since passed away, but her establishment has continued to thrive, albeit not as a sala of questionable repute. It has served as a formal restaurant since 1961 when the Victorian stylings of The Palace began showcasing one of the city’s most leisurely and romantic ambiences, one that hearkened back to a San Francisco restaurant of 100 years ago. Replete with starched linen tablecloths, dim lighting, fresh flowers and a sophisticated menu, it was also…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2010Gone But Not ForgottenIce CreamNational Chain

Ben & Jerry’s – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:31 AM

Ben & Jerry’s is a different kind of restaurant–one with a social conscience–serving premium ice cream. Founded on and dedicated to a sustainable corporate concept of linked prosperity, its mission consists of three interrelated parts–a product mission, an economic mission and a social mission. Its product mission is to make, distribute and sell the finest quality all natural ice cream and euphoric concoctions with a continued commitment to incorporating wholesome, natural ingredients and promoting business practices that respect the Earth and the Environment. Irrespective of your political bent, you’ve got to respect that. In New Mexico, Ben & Jerry scoop shops support various nonprofit programs including the restoration of the Rio Grande Bosque. Founded in 1978 by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield in Burlington, Vermont, Ben & Jerry’s has since expanded to nearly 250 shops in the United States as well as in France, Israel, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. By year’s end (2004), there were three Ben & Jerry’s scoop shops in the Duke City where grocery stores have sold these wonderful ice cream concoctions for years. The restaurant features more than 50 ice cream, frozen yogurt and sorbet products and it’s a safe bet to assume they’re…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2014FrenchGone But Not ForgottenNew Mexico

Le Cafe Miche – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno11:37 AM

Cafe Miche has been regarded as one of Albuquerque’s best restaurants since its 1996 launch and according to the Zagat Survey, was the number one rated French restaurant in the state for three consecutive years. Honored with an Award of Excellence by Wine Spectator magazine and boasting of one of the city’s best wine lists, Cafe Miche has a passionate following of faithful followers. I suspect some of them visit almost as much for the wonderful cuisine as to enjoy the company of effusive chef Claus Hjortkjaer and his statuesque wife and partner Linda, both of whom seem to know most of their patrons (and if they don’t know you, they still make you feel quite at home). A great Dane who studied classic French cuisine in Denmark, Claus has an impressive pedigree that includes previous stints at several highly regarded restaurants in New Mexico. In 2005, he began hosting a Sunday morning radio show on a local FM station, adding to the “Miche Man’s” celebrity status. When we complimented him on that show, he remarked that anyone could do it if they’re “full of it.” Full of talent might be more like it. He can meld seemingly disparate and…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2021Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicanNew Mexico Culinary Treasures Trail

La Placita Dining Rooms – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:35 AM

For convenience, if not for fiery New Mexico authenticity, you can’t beat La Placita, a yawning restaurant housed in the historic Casa de Armijo hacienda on Old Town Plaza. The Casa de Armijo was built in 1706 and occupied for many generations by the prominent Armijo family. Over the course of its three hundred year existence, the three foot thick adobe walled structure also served as a fort and a refuge before housing Armijo’s mercantile store in which gentlemen’s linen underwear could be purchased for $1 and dainty ladies’ lace gloves sold for 10 cents a pair. The Casa de Armijo was restored to its present condition in 1930 when it was remodeled in conformity to its venerable character. Serving as the La Placita dining Rooms since 1931, it is one of the oldest continuous serving restaurants in New Mexico. Today, the sprawling edifice houses several dining rooms, each replete with excellent examples of Southwestern art. La Placita also plays host to interesting paranormal phenomena. In the foyer is a magnificent staircase imported from Spain by the family patriarch for his daughter’s wedding in 1872. The daughter’s wedding dress had a 30-foot train which must have draped from top to…