Category: New Mexico

AlbuquerqueAsianNew MexicoRating: ExcellentThai

Sa! Thai Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In 2023, TasteAtlas, an “encyclopedia of flavors, a world atlas of traditional dishes, local ingredients, and authentic restaurants” compiled a ranking of the 100 best cuisines in the world.  The highest rated cuisine in the world (to no surprise) was Italian followed by Japanese then Greek.  Thai cuisine was ranked 17th in the pantheon of great cuisines, just one slot ahead of American cuisine (whatever that is).  TasteAtlas also named Phat Kaphrao (also known as Pad Grapao or “holy basil stir-fry”), a dish made from meat, chili and basil, as the “best stir-fried dish in the world.”  Among the highest rated dishes, Phat Kaphrao ranked third overall.  Considering 395,205 dishes were rated, Phat Kaphrao’s place in the standings signifies it as one of the best dishes you can possibly order. Before even looking at a menu, linguaphiles (those of us who love languages and words) need to know what “Sa!” translates to.  Seeing “Sa! Thai”  on the marquee, you might think in its entirety “Sa! Thai” might be pronounced “satay,” the popular Thai appetizer of seasoned, skewered and grilled meat, served with a sauce.  Instead, “Sa!” is a shortened version of “sawatdee,” a phrase that means “Hello.”  This phrase is…

AlbuquerqueBakeryNew MexicoRating: Very Good

Great Harvest Bread Co – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

The sense of smell, more than any of our other senses, influences our ability to recall past events and experience. Fragrance is considered one of the most potent mediums for conjuring up a memory. True enough, one of the most enduring sensory memories of my youth is associated with the amazing aromas that greeted me each time my mom baked bread in her oven.  How I wish I could relive those experiences now.  Stupid kids that we were, my siblings and I preferred our sandwiches made on Rainbo or Wonder Bread (available for the staggering price of 25-cents per loaf back then).  We thought only the “poor kids” packed school lunch sandwiches (in the days before free school lunches were the norm) made on homemade bread…worse yet, sandwiches made on tortillas.  My how times have changed. Sadly, today the singular joy of incredible yeasty bouquets wafting through the air is one younger generations may never experience.  Though bread baking experienced a resurgence during the dark days of the Cabrona Virus, much of it was done on bread makers.  From the standpoint of aroma, it just isn’t the same as loaves of bread being made on an old-fashioned oven.  If my…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2025Dog FriendlyGone But Not ForgottenMexicanNew MexicoTacos

Taco Santo – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

NOTE:  In July, 2025, Taco Santo ceased operating as a taqueria, reverting back to Holy Burger, long one of the city’s most popular burger joints. Jay Rayner, one of my very favorite restaurant critics and authors, has an inimitable gift for luring readers with reviews that go far beyond describing food.  His review of Santo Remedio, a Mexican restaurant in London, is one such example, starting with his astute   observation about the debate between authenticity and verisimilitude in culinary culture: “All too often in the food world, the war of expertise becomes a lumbering battle between the Real Thing and the Good Stuff. The Real Thingers have knowledge and experience on their side. They’ve eaten dishes in their place of origin, when you have not. By contrast, all the Good Stuffers have is enthusiasm. They don’t care whether these Korean chicken wings are as they would be in downtown Seoul. All that matters is that they taste good.” Raynor’s “the real thing” is represented by purists and traditionalists who have not only eaten dishes in their place of origin, but in the manner in which those dishes were originally created.  The “good stuff” is represented by chefs seeking not to emulate…

AlbuquerqueBreakfast BurritosNew MexicanNew MexicoRating: Very Good

Papa Felipe’s Mexican Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno5:24 PM

In 2009, James Beard Award-winning food journalists Jane and Michael Stern published a terrific tome entitled 500 Things to Eat Before It’s Too Late. Despite the ominous (some might say fatalistic) name, the book is actually a celebration of the best dishes that are unique to this country. The Sterns, who have been focusing on quirky All-American food haunts since 1977, describe in delicious detail, the best dishes proffered at roadside stands, cafes, street carts throughout the fruited plain. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Michael Stern was asked if the inclusion of the words “too late” in the book’s title referred to the “death of the small eatery, or the reader’s impending doom from eating too much fried chicken, French fries and fried fish.” He indicated he was referring to “the impending onslaught of the nutrition police who will make all of this stuff illegal one of these days.” He also warned of the loss of “some variety and some local specialties that were once easy to find and are now hard or impossible to find due to chain restaurants.” Despite the onslaught of the ubiquitous national food chain, Stern was optimistic that “Americans have become more…

AmericanBurgersNew MexicoRating: Very GoodSocorro

Yo Mama’s Grill – Socorro, New Mexico

Gil Garduno1:05 PM

Such was my bumpkinly naivete that my virgin ears weren’t subjected to a “yo mama” joke until shortly after my 19th birthday. The site was the Non-Commissioned Officer’s (NCO) club at Royal Air Force (RAF) Upper Heyford in England. The event was an irreverent ninety-minute show featuring brazen comedian Redd Foxx whose explicit brand of humor both shocked and thrilled the American-culture-starved audience. Foxx’s repertoire included lampooning nearly every ethnic group in the audience, invective-laden raunchiness that would make a stripper blush and a unique take on virtually every social taboo of the time. It was truly the antithesis of political correctness. Still, it was the “yo mama” jokes that shocked me most. As an unabashed mama’s boy, it rankled me that anyone would mock the sacred institution of motherhood. Subsequent research revealed that “yo mama” jokes have been fashionable almost since time immemorial. Several sources confirm that the oldest “yo mama” joke is approximately 3,500 years old. The progenitor to Redd Foxx was a student in ancient Babylon who inscribed six riddles on a tablet. Although the riddles lose much in translation, one of them certainly poked fun at the promiscuous proclivities of someone’s mother. After Stephen Colbert failed…

2024 James Beard Foundation "Best Chef - Southwest" SemifinalistBreakfast BurritosJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersNew MexicanNew MexicoNew Mexico Culinary Treasures TrailRating: Excellent

Chope’s – La Mesa, New Mexico

Gil Garduno4:00 PM

During my Kim’s inaugural visit shortly after we retired from the Air Force in 1995, we ran into a former Las Cruces resident now living in the nation’s capital. His near teary-eyed testimony about how much he missed Chope’s was more powerful than a Sunday sermon.   When he kissed the hallowed ground in front of Chope’s, we knew he meant it.  An elderly gentleman recounted the time Chope’s salsa was so hot it made him hiccup for three days.  A middle-aged woman from Las Cruces rhapsodized about Chope’s chile rellenos, her testimony practically eliciting involuntary salivation in the impromptu audience of queued patrons.  Chope’s has had a similar effect on most its guests for six generations. Perhaps the consummate mom-and-pop operation, Chope’s had the most humble of beginnings.  Nearly a century ago,–1915 to be precise–Longina Benavides began selling enchiladas to her neighbors in the farming community of La Mesa.  A   kerosene lantern hanging outside the front door of the circa 1850s family home signaled the availability of  enchiladas just off the stove.  When Longina’s son Jose inherited the home, he and his wife Lupe continued the family tradition of feeding their neighbors.  They named the family business “Chope’s,” the…

BurgersDog FriendlyNew MexicoRating: Very GoodRio Rancho

Laguna Burger – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno2:59 PM

For the second year in a row, Livability.com has named Rio Rancho as one of the “top 100 places to live in America.”  The City of Vision ranked 81st with a “LivScore” of 714.  That measure takes into consideration eight broad categories:  Economy, Housing  and Cost of Living, Amenities, Transportation, Environment, Safety, Education, and Health. Santa Fe was the only other city in New Mexico to make the top 100 list, ranking 98th with a LivScore of 694.  In 2023, the City of Vision earned a ranking as the 86th place to live based on the Livability’s quality of life score. Theories abound as to what accounts for the improvement–from 86th to 81st–in Rio Rancho’s ranking.  I’ve got my own theory.  In February, 2014, Laguna Burger announced its expansion to Rio Rancho where it will be housed within the sprawling Latitudes complex.   Latitudes,  the first store of its kind in the metropolitan area, combines the elements of a neighborhood market and a convenience store with competitive gas prices.  Until early in 2024, Latitudes housed Mac’s Steak In The Rough. Laguna Burger’s Rio Rancho space is the 3,000-square-foot restaurant previously occupied by Mac’s.  It’s situated on Rio Rancho Blvd. near Westside…

AlbuquerqueGreekMediterraneanNew MexicoRating: Very Good

The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

As a precocious stripling growing up long before Star Wars, Back to the Future and the Marvel Universe, my heroes were the gods of Mount Olympus.  In Greek mythology, the gods were incredibly powerful beings who controlled the forces of nature and human beings.  Their whims–often childish and unpredictable–dictated whether or not empires and human beings thrived or led lives replete with strife and woe.   These puerile gods possessed supernatural powers such as the ability to control the weather (Zeus), make others pregnant or get pregnant herself (Hera) and manipulate travel, paths, and sports (Hermes).  While Spiderman may have understood that with great power comes great responsibility, the gods were prone to fits of pique.  In such moments, they were predisposed to chaotic and violent outbursts.  You wouldn’t want to anger these childlike gods. Food  and drink in Greek mythology largely revolved around sweet, hallucinogenic, or healing substances, most frequently in the form of liquids, or fruit.  Ambrosia and nectar were allegedly the main substances consumed by the gods with ambrosia signifying immortality.  Figs are also commonly consumed.  Figs are most commonly associated with Dionysius, the god of wine and drunkenness and with Priapus, the Ron Jeremy of Greek gods. …

AlbuquerqueAmericanNew MexicoRating: Very GoodSandwich

The Sandwich Company – Albuquerque, NE

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In 1967, John Poppy introduced the term “generation gap” in Look magazine.  Still used widely, the term refers to the “the chasm that separates the beliefs and behaviors belonging to members of different generations. This gap often manifests in varying thoughts, actions, and preferences between younger and older generations.”  According to Investopedia, “Differences may exist in politics, values, pop culture, and other areas.”  Among the ways in which a generation gap exists is in culinary exploration. TouchBistro, “an all-in-one point of sale and restaurant management system that makes running a restaurant easier” conducted a survey of more than 2,600 diners which revealed a wide expanse between generations when it comes to dining out.  TouchBistro discovered that younger generations–“56% of Gen Zers and 47%–of millennials in the U.S. say they visit new restaurants once a month or more. When it comes to deciding which new restaurant to try, younger generations are also more likely to rely on online reviews, through sites like Yelp or Google or from social media. The TouchBistro survey found that 71% of Gen Zers and 72% of millennials have opted to try a new restaurant solely because of favorable reviews online.” Sadly, 35% of respondents from my…

AmericanBreakfast BurritosDog FriendlyNew MexicanNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)Santa Fe

The Pantry Dos – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

There’s no annual event I enjoy more than the Roadrunner Food Bank’s Souper Bowl which takes place one week before some ballyhooed football game.  That game is the National Football League’s Super Bowl, a star-studded event in which the celebrity with the best name (Taylor Swift) doesn’t even play football.  Celebrities abound at the Souper Bowl, too, but they’re real people, the type of which you would enjoy sharing a meal with.  During my twelvth year of serving as a judge at the Souper Bowl, I had the privilege and pleasure of spending time with several of those local celebrities.  I wouldn’t trade a minute with them for an hour with Kendrick Lamar (whoever he is) or Taylor Swift. For years, two of those celebrities–Steph Duran of  Magic 995 and the legendary TJ Trout of 96.3 KKOB–have made morning and afternoons much more enjoyable (particularly when driving the city’s mean streets) for denizens of the Duke City.  Their astute observations and facial expressions (particularly Steph’s “Sally” face) as they sipped some thirty soups helped make the 2025 Souper Bowl thoroughly enjoyable.  You probably wouldn’t call Glenn Walters a “celebrity” unless you’re intimate with state government where he’s revered among the…

AlbuquerqueBar & GrillCajunDiners Drive-Ins and DivesDog FriendlyFood Network Eats New MexicoRating: Very GoodSouthern

Nexus Brewery – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno2:47 AM

Set in Albuquerque, Breaking Bad, AMC’s critically acclaimed television series may have left viewers with the impression that the Duke City is a haven for meth cookery and fried chicken joints.  Had the fair city been more accurately typecast, it would have have been portrayed as a mecca for microbreweries.  The Albuquerque Beer Scene blog says it best: “It’s like Portland, but with sun,”  a comparison which shows just how much the city’s microbrewery and brewpub scene has grown–and not just in terms of sheer numbers.  Duke City breweries have accorded themselves so well at the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup that the city may soon be re-christened “Albeerquerque.” When the New Mexico Tourism Department launched the New Mexico True Ale Trail, the Duke City was its obvious epicenter both geographically and in terms of quantity.  The Land of Enchantment now boasts of nearly three dozen independent microbreweries, brewpubs, brew houses and taprooms with the largest concentration in its most populous city.  In fact, the Duke City is most certainly the hub of the Ale Trail with spokes traversing to just about ever corner of the state. High-quality craft beer can now be found throughout the Land…