Category: New Mexico

AlbuquerqueAmericanDog FriendlyNew MexicoRating: Very Good

High Point Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno5:27 PM

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 and rarefactions in the air. A philosopher might posit the plausible premise that when there is nobody around, the falling tree makes no sound at all–a premise achieved by interpreting the word “sound” to mean a human experience rather than a physical phenomenon. With well-practiced prattle and deft circumlocution, a politician would probably attribute culpability for the tree having fallen to “the other side of…

New MexicanNew MexicoRating: ExcellentRio Rancho

Hot Tamales – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:45 PM

While the word tamale is most certainly Spanish, its derivation is from the Nahuatl word tamalli.  Tamallis were developed as a portable ration carried by war parties in pre-Columbian North America and were as common and varied as the sandwich is today.  One commonality among tamalli then and tamales today, is the corn meal dough (masa) which is made through a process called “nixtamalization.”  In pre-Colombian times, the process involved using wood ashes to soften field corn for easier grinding.  Today this is done by slaking lime.  Interestingly, nixtamalization not only softens field corn, it aids in digestibility and increases…

AlbuquerqueBakeryBreakfastDog FriendlyJewishNew MexicoRating: Excellent

Kaufman’s Coffee & Bagels – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:59 PM

Seinfeld: “What is that smell?” Kramer “That’s East River.” Seinfeld: You’re swimming in the East River? The most heavily trafficked, overly contaminated waterway on the eastern seaboard?” Kramer: Technically Norfolk has more gross tonnage.” When I lived in the Boston area for two years immediately following high school, those of us in the Bay State (even temporary residents) refused to acknowledge New York City was better than Boston at anything.  We were devastated when the hated Yankees bested our beloved Red Sox in the 1978 American League East tie-breaker.  For that we’ll never forgive Bucky Dent.  Before my first visit…

AmericanBar & GrillBurgersDog FriendlyNew MexicoRating: Very GoodRio RanchoSandwich

Slate Street Billiards Bar & Grille – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Discovering a bubbling crude…Texas tea, black gold, oil that is, transformed Jed Clampett from poor mountaineer who barely kept his family fed to a millionaire residing in a Beverly (Hills that is, swimming pools, movie stars) mansion.  Moving from a tiny ramshackle hovel to a luxurious and palatial dwelling brought with it one surprise after another for Jed and his family.  Among them was “a good strong eatin’ table” upon which “you could serve up a whole barbecued steer.”  Jed’s nephew Jethro who graduated at the top of his glass…”by a good foot” found out from a friend that the…

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Restoration Pizza – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:02 AM

My dad taught me very early on that all people have inherent worth and dignity and are deserving of respect and kindness. A lifelong educator, he had a knack for reaching students deemed incorrigible or unteachable–students the “system” would just as soon discard. During his funeral nearly forty-five years ago, these were the students who cried hardest. They had just lost their biggest advocate, a teacher who believed in them, at times more than they believed in themselves. What set my dad apart from other teachers is that he demanded–and consequently received– no less than the best effort a student…

AlbuquerqueRating: Very GoodVietnamese

Viet Taste – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno4:32 AM

In the “gobble and go” pace of contemporary American life, it’s sometimes difficult to remember what you ate during your last meal, much less recall the sensory experience of that meal.  When that happens to true gourmands, they will actively seek a memorable dining experience in which all five senses are invoked. One of the best restaurants in Albuquerque in which to have such a sensory experience is almost any Vietnamese restaurant. One such example is Viet Taste which opened on April 4, 2007.  Even more than most Vietnamese restaurants, Viet Taste exemplifies comprehensive eating, the most sublime form of…

2024 James Beard Foundation "Outstanding Bakery" Finalist2024 James Beard Foundation "Outstanding Bakery" SemifinalistAlbuquerqueBakeryJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)

Burque Bakehouse – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In 2023 Psychology Today profiled an Albuquerque baker who knows the mind-body connection very well.  Pratt Morales, long-time co-owner (with his son Chris) of the Golden Crown Panaderia believes he’ll live to be 130 years young.  You’ll believe it, too, after reading the profile.  Mr. Morales is an 85-year-old going on 22 who’s as spry and fit mentally as he is physically.  At an age when our couch potato lifestyles will mean an early grave for many of us, he can perform one or two hand cartwheels.  The secret of his longevity, he says is a focus on flexibility exercises and watching…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBetter Call SaulBreakfastDog FriendlyRating: Excellent

The Grove Cafe & Market – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno1:57 PM

Voracious readers*, avid aficionados of art and those aflame with a musical ardor know that great books, art and music are imbued with the power to transport them to another time and place. A recent influx of contemporary restaurants in Albuquerque also has that power. If you think about it, having a meal at most Duke City restaurants–transcendent though some may be–is just so…Albuquerque. There’s an almost boring consistency and sameness about many local restaurants. Their sole distinctiveness comes from the foods they serve. It’s very difficult, for example, to picture yourself on the beaches at Cabo San Lucas while…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBurgersRating: Very Good

Spinn’s Burger & Beer – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno4:04 AM

Like him or not, few would disagree that former New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici was one of the most effective legislators on either side of the aisle. Since his election to the United States Senate in 1972, “Saint Pete” as he is known by admirers and critics alike effectively directed the appropriation of significant federal largesse upon the Land of Enchantment. For many native New Mexicans, one of his shining moments came in 1983. During a debate about the spelling of the word (chili or chile), Domenici clarified for the Congressional record that “chili” is “that inedible mixture of watery…

AlbuquerqueAsianChineseNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)Seafood

ABC Cajun Seafood & Noodle House – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Although popular myth attributes the introduction of pasta in Italy to Marco Polo, pasta’s origins in Lo Stivale can be traced back as far as the 4th century B.C.  That’s when the Etruscan civilization-which existed in the Tuscany region from the 8th to the 3rd century BCE–began the centuries old love affair between Italians and pasta.  Culinary historians agree that pasta’s earliest roots begin in China, during the Shang Dynasty (1700-1100 BC), where some form of pasta was made with either wheat or rice flour. Pasta also appears to have been part of the ancient Greek diet in the first…

2024 James Beard Foundation "Best Chef - Southwest" SemifinalistBakeryJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)Santa FeSlovak

Dolina – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:02 AM

For my dad, a professional educator for thirty years, it wasn’t enough that his children learned how to spell cat, dog and all the other traditional first words kids learn to spell in school.  He taught us how to spell Czechoslovakia, rhinoceros, aesthetic and other multisyllabic words.  He also taught us what those words meant.  Being kids, we giggled when he taught us about Lake Titicaca in the Andes of Bolivia, but marveled at its size and altitude.  Because of his teaching, one of my sisters could (at age seven) recite the alphabet backwards as quickly as most people can…