Category: New Mexico

BrunchNew MexicoRating: ExcellentSanta FeSteak

Rio Chama Steakhouse – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno2:56 PM

The murky Rio Chama meanders through the high plateaus of northwestern New Mexico surrounded by multi-colored sandstone cliffs reminiscent of Georgia O’Keefe’s landscape paintings in which colors seem to defy nature. The ambiance at the Rio Chama Steakhouse is of muted earth tones and subdued Southwestern patinas. Exquisite elegance is in evidence throughout the restaurant as this truly fine dining establishment exudes class and wealth. Serving prime and choice dry aged steaks, chops and seafood, this high-end and classy establishment has garnered accolades since its inception–Cocinita Magazine’s Critics’ Choice Award in 2001 and the Santa Fe Reporter Readers’ Choice award for best new restaurant in 2001 and 2002. It is the sister restaurant to Santa Fe restaurants La Casa Sena and the Blue Corn Cafe as well as Albuquerque’s Chama River Brewing Company, all properties of Santa Fe Dining, the restaurant company owned by Santa Fe art dealer and developer Gerald Peters. We don’t always concur with pundits and their salivating effusion, but after our inaugural visit to the Rio Chama Steakhouse, we began to evangelize on its behalf with the passion of a fiery preacher. Subsequent visits have proven this isn’t a “one hit wonder.” An excellent lunch, brunch…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2008Gone But Not ForgottenMexican

El Bandido Hideaway Del Valle – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno3:03 PM

Armed with Andrea Lin’s terrific Duke City Fix review of the El Bandido restaurant on Central, we set off on a Friday night to visit a branch of a restaurant at which we hadn’t dined since 1999. El Bandido Hideaway del Valle, we figured was affiliated with the Central Avenue restaurant renown for its creative advertising (stationing a sign carrying man wearing a Mexican wrestling mask on the busy median). Alas, while the affiliation no longer exists, the North Valley restaurant’s name remains unchanged. That, as it turns out, was perfectly okay because we uncovered a real find. Some people have a passion for their culinary craft. Not all of them have the opportunity or desire to ply their craft to quasi-celebrity status at restaurants anointed by reviewers as the places to dine. In Javier Rocha we uncovered just such an artist. A chef for more than 15 years, Javier attended to us personally while simultaneously feeding a room full of boisterous barflies. Thankfully the dining room was segregated from the combination dance hall and bar area in which a mostly Latino crowd grew increasingly louder as the evening wore on and the alcohol exerted its influence. Chef Rocha is…

AlbuquerqueCajunClosed in 2007Gone But Not Forgotten

The Blue Dragon – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:04 PM

In truth, the Blue Dragon is a coffee house in the style of New Orleans or San Francisco more so than it is a Cajun restaurant, but since it serves better Cajun food than anyone else in Albuquerque, Cajun is as good a category as any in which to place it. This Dragon serves up the best muffalatta in town, by far–just the right amount of Italian olive salad on four slices of bread (two slices if you wimp out and have only a half muffalatta) with Genoa salami, ham, baby Swiss cheese and provolone. The Dragon doesn’t use the traditional muffalatta round bread, substituting instead with Po’ Boy French bread made by the Paris Bakery just minutes away. During two visits the restaurant was out of Po’ Boy bread but the substitutes–chile cheese bread and sourdough bread–were fabulous. Want an interesting pizza? Try the muffalatta pizza, replete with olive salad just dripping with flavor (literally). The Mediterranean pizza with Kalamata olives and feta cheese is also quite savory. Pizza can be ordered with a traditional red sauce (marinara with fresh basil, Italian herbs), a Cajun pesto sauce (pesto glaze sun dried tomato, red chile) or the white glaze sauce…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2017Gone But Not ForgottenNational ChainSandwich

Quizno’s – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno3:30 AM

Just as owning a BMW might diminish your appreciation of any other car you’ll ever have (unless it’s another BMW), eating sub sandwiches in New England will devalue your estimation of any sub sandwich you’ll ever have anywhere else. From Maine to Delaware, sub sandwiches in all their sobriquets (grinders, torpedoes, heroes, etc.) are so far superior to sandwiches served anywhere else in the country that you’ll invariably find yourself making unfair comparisons. Nothing else quite fills the bill. After moving to Denver, New York native James Lambatos wanted Mile High City residents to experience an Italian sub similar to what he experienced growing up in the Big Apple. He founded Quizno’s in 1981 as an upscale version of Subway but with the intention of duplicating the New York sub sandwich experience. At its worse, Quizno’s does provide a better product than the ubiquitous industry leader, but it still pales in comparison to the sandwiches you’ll find throughout the East Coast. Quizno’s motto is “Deliziosa e rinfrescante–delicious and refreshingly good! Quizno’s oven toasted sandwiches do taste better–a fact that wasn’t lost on franchise leader Subway who in 2005 began its own toasted sub campaign. A burgeoning franchise, Quizno’s appeared poised…

AlbuquerqueAsianClosed in 2007FusionGone But Not Forgotten

Asia Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno9:58 PM

Proprietor Nan Nguyen and his wife launched Asia Restaurant in April, 2002 and have experienced steady, if not spectacular customer traffic.  Repeat business from faithful patrons in a small, intimate setting with only 12 tables give the Nguyens the opportunity to get to know their clients. Although both from a small village in South Vietnam, Nan worked for years in a Chinese restaurant, hence a menu offering both Vietnamese and Chinese food.  Our inaugural visit was shortly after the restaurant’s grand opening and typical of Albuquerque, the restaurant was packed with curiosity seekers. We were the only diners during our second visit and had a splendid time discussing the nuances of Vietnamese cuisine.  After learning of my affection for durian, the Nguyens concluded I must have been Vietnamese in a previous life and told me that durian rinds were placed under beds in poor households to keep roaches and bugs away.  They contend that 99.9% of Americans won’t even try durian.  So much for convincing Kim that durian is delicious once you get past its malodorous emanations. The menu has changed considerably since our first visit.  For example, the Asian golden crispy dragon bone featuring chicken enveloped by a crispy…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2008Gone But Not ForgottenMediterranean

Mediterranean Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno2:50 AM

In ancient times, the Mediterranean Sea was a “superhighway” of transportation, facilitating cultural exchange and trade between the region that fashioned Western civilization as we recognize it today. As the sapphire heart that gives life to the countries surrounding her, the Mediterranean was the seat of empires for millennia. The countries bordering the Mediterranean share more than history. They also share culinary traditions which are celebrated in the Mediterranean Cafe, a diminutive restaurant specializing in the foods of North Africa and the Middle East with popular foods of Greece added because of popular demand. Proprietor Ridha Bouajila, a Tunisian by birth, previously owned the now defunct Marrakech restaurant near the University of New Mexico and after a three-year hiatus launched his second restaurant venture, aptly named the Mediterranean Cafe. Tunisian style accoutrements and soothing sitar music in the background lend to the charm of the small restaurant with limited seating. On Fridays and Saturdays at dinner a belly dancer performs tableside. While prudish Americans hold belly dancers in the same regard as ecdysiasts writhing around a pole, we found it strangely mesmerizing–although I must admit it was a challenge to keep my eyes focused solely on the dancer’s undulating movements…

AlbuquerqueSteak

Gruet Steakhouse – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno2:34 AM

Is there anything finer than a sizzling, flame kissed slab of prime beef overfilling your plate at a fine high-end chop house? Steak used to define fine dining and wealth provided the delineation between the type of steak each patron could afford–select, choice or prime, a classification based on marbling (the more the marbling, the more tender the steak). The proliferation of inexpensive steak restaurants in the 1960s made steak readily available to the common man while the advent of technology has made it available over the Internet and even in mall stores throughout America. The tragic reality is that while ordinary steaks have become ubiquitous, truly memorable steaks are a rarity. March, 2005 saw the launch of the Gruet Steakhouse in the downstairs portion of the Monte Vista Fire Station, a national historic registry property. Expectations were high that its steaks would be comparable in quality to the highly regarded wines proffered at the local Gruet winery, an award-winning winery with worldwide acclaim. Understandably Gruet wines are indeed prominent on the restaurant’s wine menu with some by-the-glass selections costing what it might cost for a steak at mediocre chain steak restaurants such as the Outback Steakhouse. Sophisticated (albeit very…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2008Gone But Not ForgottenNew Mexican

Casa Grande Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno8:07 PM

Arizona’s Casa Grande Ruins National Monument is one of the largest and most mysterious prehistoric structures ever built in North America and serves as the most impressive remnant left by the Hohokam (those who are gone) culture. In many ways, Albuquerque’s Casa Grande restaurant may be a remnant, too–albeit, a remnant of restaurants which prepare unadulterated New Mexican food made to order with the realization that tourists really might want to try authentically piquant and seasoned food as the locals would prepare it. More than most restaurants in Albuquerque, particularly those in the Old Town area, Casa Grande does prepare meals that taste as if your own abuela might have made them. It doesn’t insult tourists by serving them the Anglciized concoctions proffered at the chains of pseudo Mexican restaurants in their own cities. A hearty bowl of green chile, for example, maintains the olfactory arousing aroma of chile roasted on a comal. Ameliorated with well seasoned hamburger, the green chile is among the city’s very best. It’s exceptional on its own or on enchiladas. You certainly want all your olfactory receptors working optimally when you bite into the beef burrito or beef enchiladas with red chile. It’s a chile…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2007Spanish

Conrad’s – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno1:56 PM

There was a time when the name “Hilton” didn’t conjure up images of a ditzy blonde airhead whose celebrity is based largely on promiscuity. Well, maybe not. More than 50 years ago, another ditzy blonde, Zsa Zsa Gabor honeymooned at La Posada in Albuquerque with her then husband Conrad Hilton, a New Mexico native and founder of the historic downtown hotel in which Conrad’s is housed. Since the hotel’s launch in 1939, the guest registry at La Posada de Albuquerque has been signed by a veritable who’s who in celebrity and politics. Most come for the hotel’s Spanish colonial charm, opulent ambience and impeccable service, but I’ll bet some return for the innovative Yucatan Peninsula Region cuisine at Conrad’s, the hotel’s signature restaurant. After imbibing the lobby’s lavish accouterments and proceeding to your table, you’ll be hard-pressed to select from among the menu’s platos pequenos (small plates or appetizers), enseladas (salads), sopas (soups) and platos grande (big plates or entrees), the descriptions of which might leave your mouth watering. Luckily the wait staff is on the spot to satiate your hunger slightly with a basket of warm bread and a small plate of Spanish olives. A good start, particularly on…

Closed in 2007Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicanNew Mexico

Chilepeños – Sandia Park, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:50 PM

How many of us are old enough to remember the amusement park test of strength in which testosterone laden men slam an oversized hammer on a target in an effort to propel an object up a pole to ring a bell at the top? Ringing the bell labeled you a powerhouse while propelling the object to a lesser level attached a label corresponding to your relative strength (such as wimp, wuss, milksop or worse). At Chilepeos, red and green chile scales label the heat of the day’s chile. The scale’s labels are wimpy, gringo, macho and muy hombre (much man). Far too many New Mexican restaurants serve chile deserving the wimpy or gringo label. As such we were very much looking forward to sampling the chile at Chilepeos, a chile two very reliable sources assured me would get our attention. As is often the case with restaurant recommendations, Murphy’s Law rears its ugly head and the restaurant recommended to us had an off night. Such was the case during our inaugural visit to Chilepeos. Not only was the chile not particularly piquant (gringo at best), it was drastically over-salted (a problem plaguing many New Mexican restaurants). Despite Murphy, we genuinely…

AlbuquerqueAsianClosed in 2007FusionGone But Not Forgotten

California Witches – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:21 PM

California Witches, “where you can taste California” is the brainchild of two Korean born California transplants who happen to like witches–not the Wiccans who practice ritual observances of seasonal and life cycles or the repulsive old women credited with usually malignant supernatural powers. They assured us they don’t practice the arcane arts, but like “white” magic as practiced by television characters such as Sabrina. Our hope was that they were practitioners of culinary magic. Chef Rachel Park owns three other California Witches restaurants in Los Angeles so she and her owner cousin must be doing something right. A great start to a meal at Witches is one of the 20 boba teas and slushes. The bottom of each glass is lined with tapioca globules you suck up through an oversized straw. Those globules have the consistency of gummy bears that have been soaking in liquid (which they have). Both the green apple and mango slushes were refreshing, delicious and will make for a great summer drink. Witches’ menu is unconventional–not quite Asian, not quite American, but as eclectic as the state of California. That menu includes salads, curries, cutlets, pastas, pesto, snow cones and parfait. A surprisingly good pasta dish…