New Mexico Archives - Page 67 of 117 - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog

Albuquerque Breakfast New Mexican Rating: Very Good

Burritos Alinstante – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoDecember 21, 2016April 3, 20263:53 AM

A couple of days before my Kim and I were to be married (some three decades plus ago), my mom flew to Chicago to teach her how to prepare some of my favorite dishes (is it any wonder my sisters call me “consentido” (spoiled)?). A quick study, Kim learned how to make tortillas, lasagna, fried chicken, red chile and other favorites just the way mom makes them. Among the wedding presents my mom gave Kim were a cast-iron comal (griddle) and a rodillo (rolling pin) of her own. In short order Kim began making tortillas as if she’d been making…

Albuquerque American Breakfast Closed in 2020 Dog Friendly Gone But Not Forgotten New Mexico

Mannie’s Family Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoDecember 15, 2016February 23, 20208:32 AM

“The other night I ate at a real nice family restaurant. Every table had an argument going.” ~ George Carlin In December, 2016 when I introduced my friend Bruce “Sr. Plata” Silver to Mannie’s Family Restaurant, the visit evoked pleasant memories of plentiful visits to similar restaurants in Los Angeles where he grew up. Flashbacks of humongous portions of delicious comfort food favorites were secondary to nostalgic recollections of happy times spent with his family. His father, who passed away recently, loved the type of food and prodigious portions served at Mannie’s. So does his loving son who, as loyal…

Albuquerque Food Truck New Mexico Rating: Good Southern

The Supper Truck – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoNovember 26, 2016April 6, 20261:20 PM

On December 20th, 2014, a part-paean, part elegy graced this blog. The opening stanza read: “Supper Truck, I hardly knew you! Inexplicably and to the detriment of my taste buds, I didn’t partake of your delightfully creative interpretation of Southern cuisine until your very last day of serving Albuquerque. So, why do I miss you so much already? Most likely it’s the lost opportunities to partake of Southern cuisine inspired by the dynamic food truck scene of Charleston, South Carolina, one of my very favorite culinary destinations in America. It begs a paraphrase of a time-honored question is it better…

Albuquerque Closed in 2021 Gone But Not Forgotten New Mexico Vegetarian/Vegan Vietnamese

An Hy Quan Vegetarian Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoNovember 21, 2016November 23, 202111:18 PM

Celebrity chef and professional cynic Anthony Bourdain, one of the more vocal detractors of the vegetarian lifestyle, contends “Vegetarians are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit, an affront to all I stand for, the pure enjoyment of food.” He’s not alone in his opinion. Vegetarians are perhaps the most maligned and misunderstood group in the culinary community. Consider the stereotypes. Nay-sayers with their preconceived and oversimplified notions founded on ignorance would have you believe all vegetarians are emaciated and pallid tree-huggers who worship at the altar of PETA. They attack vegetarian fare as bland and…

Burgers Closed in 2018 Gone But Not Forgotten New Mexico Rating: Excellent Rio Rancho

Toro Burger – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoNovember 19, 2016March 31, 20265:36 PM

While watching a “sanitized for television” version of the audacious satirical comedy Blazing Saddles, my precocious six-year-old niece asked several questions with deep sociological implications: “Why is everyone in the town of Rock Ridge named Johnson? Why were all the town’s citizens white?” From her silence, you’d think my Kim was a “perp lawyering up” at a police inquiry. Rather than responding herself, she enjoyed seeing my brother and I hem and haw in trying to give accurate and age-appropriate answers. Far easier to answer were Blazing Saddles questions which inspired nostalgic reflection: “Is there a Howard Johnson’s Ice Cream…

Albuquerque American Bar & Grill Dog Friendly Rating: Very Good Tapas

Gecko’s Bar & Tapas – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoNovember 11, 2016April 5, 20265:39 PM

One of the best examples of the dichotomy of human nature can be illustrated in the way we react to lizards. The mere sight of a lizard scurrying around can send shivers down the spine of otherwise reasonable and intrepid people. Many of us are repulsed or frightened in the presence of any slithering reptile. In Tripoli the sight of a lizard is held to cause women to bear speckled children. To others, however, lizards are a portend of good luck, a source of entertainment and a symbol of plenty. Biographies written by several former prisoners of war in Vietnam…

Albuquerque Burgers Closed in 2017 Gone But Not Forgotten New Mexico

Pete’s Frites – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoNovember 10, 2016February 5, 202612:15 PM

You might view my friend Schuyler’s insistence that his favorite vegetables are French fries, salsa and pizza as a fallacious premise, a non-sequitur fraught with absurdity. French fries are made from potatoes (botanically classified as a vegetable) so categorizing fries as a vegetable might not be a stretch, but pizza? How, you might ask, could any reasoning adult possibly consider pizza a vegetable? Schuyler’s argument is inspired from the beloved 1947 holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street. When ordered by the court to submit authoritative proof that Mr. Kringle is the one-and-only Santa Claus, Kringle’s lawyer Fred Gailey produced dozens…

Albuquerque Pizza Rating: Very Good

Pizza Castle – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoOctober 31, 2016April 3, 202611:59 PM

There’s nothing like a topic about which opinions are wide and varied to stir up a good old-fashioned, highly spirited debate–an exercise in the Constitutional right of free speech. One topic which has been known to elicit energized dialogue is pizza. Whether the debate is New York style versus Chicago style, thin crust versus thick crust, brick wood-fired oven versus gas oven, mom-and-pop pizzeria versus the corporate chains or even slices versus whole pie, Americans sound off like England’s Houses of Parliament on CSPAN, only with more class, dignity and intelligence. Such was the case in 2008 when the forum…

Albuquerque New Mexico Rating: Good Seafood

Crackin’ Crab Seafood Boil – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoOctober 30, 2016April 6, 20269:13 PM

There are certain notions people find too implausible or preposterous to believe. Case in point: during a recent lunch with my friend Bill Resnik, our waitress asked what we did for a living. Bill told her I was an actor, a premise our waitress found entirely credible—even to the point of recalling she may have seen me in an episode of Breaking Bad. When, however, I told her Bill was a porn star, she couldn’t contain her laughter. She practically fell over in hysteria at the image of my towering (6’5″) friend performing in a porno as if it was…

Bakery Breakfast Food Network Eats New Mexico New Mexico Rating: Excellent Santa Fe

Chocolate Maven Bakery & Cafe – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil GardunoOctober 22, 2016April 5, 20267:24 PM

In the polytheistic world of the Mesoamerican cultures (which include the Aztecs and Mayans), Quetzalcoatl was revered as the creator deity and patron of priests, merchants and rulers. Known as the “feathered serpent,” Quetzalcoatl was also associated with the cocoa bean and with chocolate. Great temples were erected in his honor and chocolate was offered to him. Montezuma, the 16th century Aztec ruler revered him. In Montezuma’s great city of Tenochtitlan (which the Spaniards later renamed Mexico City), chocolate was considered a luxury drink reserved exclusively for gods and the ruler class. It is believed that Montezuma’s daily constitution included…

Albuquerque Closed in 2018 Gone But Not Forgotten Middle Eastern New Mexico

Aura European and Middle Eastern Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoOctober 19, 2016January 4, 201912:01 AM

Countries and states may recognize borders but food doesn’t, especially today in an increasingly connected world where it’s possible to enjoy the cuisine of many of the world’s diverse and distant cultures without crossing a single border. Attribute the modern world’s dietary diversity to improved agricultural, transportation and preservation methods as well as rampant imperialism throughout the history of humankind. Consider the culinary influence of invading forces on the ancient nation of Armenia. During the course of its storied history, Armenia was invaded and occupied in succession by Persians, Byzantines, Mongols and Turks, all of whom left their mark on…