New Mexico Archives - Page 73 of 117 - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog

Albuquerque American Closed in 2015 Gone But Not Forgotten New Mexico

Cafe Bien – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoNovember 14, 2015July 15, 20189:15 PM

My friend Hannah, a brilliant linguist who’s become rather expert in the etymology and evolution of languages, speech patterns and morphology would find it dismaying should she hear someone attribute the term “Romance language” to the seductive sweet nothings spoken by such onscreen Lotharios as Ricardo Montalban. With the mere utterance of “Corinthian leather,” Montalban could make women (and some men) swoon, but while his smooth intonations and thick, sophisticated accent may sound “romantic,” “Romance languages have nothing to do with love and romance. Romance languages (the R is always capitalized) are languages that developed out of the Latin used…

Albuquerque Closed in 2020 Dog Friendly French Gone But Not Forgotten

La Crêpe Michel – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoNovember 12, 2015December 5, 20201:53 AM

FROM THE LA CREPE MICHEL WEBSITE: We have decided to permanently close La Crepe Michel. I want to thank everyone for making more than 30 years possible. We will miss you all and we have wonderful memories that will last forever. Again, thank you. – Claudie and all the staff at crepe michel The crêpe is, at its essence, not much more than a very thin cooked pancake, but ask even the most accomplished chefs to relate their initial attempts at baking crêpes and you’ll be regaled with tales of exasperation, woe, despair and misery. Use too much water or…

Albuquerque Asian Closed in 2015 Gone But Not Forgotten Japanese New Mexico Sushi Thai Vegetarian/Vegan

Loving Vegan – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoNovember 11, 2015July 15, 20189:22 PM

My adovada adoring amigo Ruben likened the irony to an episode of Seinfeld. Two weeks into his experiment with an ostensibly healthier vegan diet, he was craving sushi and needed his sushi-specific pangs of hunger sated. No sooner had we finished a very satisfying sushi soiree at Albuquerque’s only vegan sushi restaurant than our waitress apprised us the restaurant would be closing for good two days later. “Serenity now,” we cried, mimicking Frank Costanza when faced with a stressful situation. It just didn’t seem fair that we would make such a delicious discovery only to have plans for future meals…

Albuquerque Closed in 2018 Gone But Not Forgotten Mexican New Mexico

Leilani’s Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoNovember 10, 2015July 15, 201811:42 PM

Restaurants come and restaurant’s go. It’s not hard to tell when a bad restaurant is nearing its demise. The telltale signs practically scream at you. Service is indifferent in spite of (or maybe because of) only a handful of guests to look after. The food is uninspired, seemingly just something thrown together haphazardly. A pall of gloom and malaise seems to pervade the ambiance, hastening your meal so you can get out of there quickly. Such was the case when in August, 2015 I first visited the burger and fast food restaurant which formerly occupied a red, white and blue…

New Mexican New Mexico Rating: N/R (Not Rated)Santa Fe

Posa’s El Merendero – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil GardunoOctober 24, 2015April 5, 202611:43 PM

When we phoned our friend Carlos to ask where the best tamales in Santa Fe were to be found, he waxed enthusiastic about a tamale factory and restaurant on Rodeo Road just west of Saint Francis. He told us the restaurant was once owned by a professional wrestler and is Santa Fe’s equivalent of Albuquerque’s legendary El Modelo. After we hung up with Carlos, neither my Kim nor I could remember the restaurant’s name or exact address. We’d both assumed the other one would remember. I seemed to recall the restaurant’s name being “El Mero Mero,” a name which made…

Albuquerque American Brunch Closed in 2020 Diners Drive-Ins and Dives Dog Friendly Food Network Eats New Mexico Gone But Not Forgotten

Standard Diner – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoOctober 19, 2015March 13, 202212:15 AM

From the Standard Diner Facebook Page: It is with great sadness that Standard Diner will be closing its doors for good after dinner service on Monday, September 7th. On Friday the 11th, our doors will reopen as The Range Cafe. While New Mexico is most assuredly the Land of Enchantment, most locals also accept that it’s also the “land of mañana” where things that can be put off until tomorrow usually are, where the pace of life is more relaxed and slower. George Adelo, Jr., an enterprising Pecos resident even coined (and copyrighted) a phrase to describe the New Mexican…

Albuquerque Burgers Closed in 2023 Gone But Not Forgotten

Griff’s – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoOctober 15, 2015April 2, 20263:45 AM

NOTE: On Wednesday, July 5, Griff’s announced that it will be closing its Albuquerque location on July 6th. According to the post, there have been too many incidents at the location making it “unsafe and undesirable” to continue operating there. Griff’s has other locations in Texas and Louisiana. The company said it hopes to return to Albuquerque someday. Adults of my generation lament that what separates McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s from the hamburger chains with which we grew up is certainly not a superior product. It doesn’t take much to figure out that the “big three” sit atop the…

Burgers Rating: N/R (Not Rated)Sandwich Santa Fe

Bang Bite Filling Station – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil GardunoOctober 10, 2015April 5, 20268:23 PM

“When people pile seven things onto one burger, it drives me nuts!” ~Bobby Flay Seven ingredients? That’s not a burger! It’s a hodgepodge, a medley, a potpourri! It’s everything including the kitchen sink. Perhaps other regions in America need the Iron Chef’s sage advice, but New Mexicans certainly don’t. For us, a burger with minimal ingredients is just common sense. That’s because we’ve got green chile and when you’ve got green chile, who needs anything else? In the Land of Enchantment, our green chile cheeseburger is sacrosanct, a celebrated cultural tradition and an iconic food. The very best green chile…

Closed in 2016 Gone But Not Forgotten Hot Dogs Ice Cream Rio Rancho

Ice Cream Palace and Hot Dog World – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoOctober 3, 2015July 15, 20183:07 PM

Nay-sayers, those nattering nabobs of negativism, have always had it in for hot dogs. First they plied us with horror stories and urban myths about what hot dogs are made of. Essentially, they decried, hot dogs are made of everything from pigs snouts and chicken feet to snips and snails, and puppy dogs tails. Then they ratcheted up our shock and awe by telling us how hot dogs are loaded with artery-clogging, cancer-causing saturated fats, not to mention those nasty nitrates and nefarious nitrites. They’ve even disparaged hot dogs as processed pink slime in a bun. Despite all the brouhaha…

Albuquerque New Mexican Rating: Very Good

Taco Shel – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoSeptember 25, 2015April 3, 20263:46 AM

Having left New Mexico in the mid 1980s, the pangs of pining for New Mexico’s incomparable, capsaicin-rich cuisine have left Brian Riordan sleepless in Seattle. I can certainly commiserate, having spent much of 18 years away from the “Land of Enchilement,” (an appropriate sobriquet courtesy of the erstwhile Albuquerque Journal restaurant critic Andrea Lin. After discovering this Web site, Brian e-Mailed me to share his musings on and memories of the Duke City dining scene, many of which we shared in common. We both recall fondly when Taco Sal served some of the best New Mexican cuisine in the city.…

Albuquerque Asian Closed in 2019 Gone But Not Forgotten

Asian Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoSeptember 21, 2015July 7, 20208:30 AM

In “My Fair Ernest T. Bass,” one of the most hilarious episodes ever of the 1960s television classic, The Andy Griffith Show, Sheriff Andy Taylor tried to pass off Ernest T. as a cultured gentleman. By teaching him manners, Andy hoped Ernest T., a bumpkinly, rock-throwing, havoc-wreaking hillbilly, would find a girl and learn to behave in polite society. The expectations Andy had for the slovenly Ernest T. were an example of the Pygmalion Effect, a phenomenon positing that the greater the expectations placed upon people, the better they will perform. It’s a form of self-fulfilling prophecy. Could this phenomenon…