New Mexico Archives - Page 101 of 117 - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog

Albuquerque Closed in 2015 Gone But Not Forgotten New Mexican

Albuquerque Tortilla Company Family Restaurant and Carry Out – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoSeptember 10, 2009July 21, 20188:15 PM

Fearful that her dim-witted and loose-lipped husband would tell everyone in the village his good fortune in having found three bags of gold, the woodcutter’s wife concocted a plan. She had her husband buy her a one-hundred pound bag of flour and when he returned with the flour, she told him to lay down and rest for a while. While her weary husband slept, the woman made tortillas from the entire one-hundred pound bag of flour, so many tortillas the stacks climbed to the ceiling. She then carried the tortillas outside and threw them all over the ground. When the…

Albuquerque American Closed in 2009

Hurley’s Coffee, Tea and Bistro – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoSeptember 9, 2009July 21, 20182:01 PM

“May you have food and raiment, a soft pillow for your head. May you be forty years in heaven before the devil knows you’re dead.” — An Irish Blessing Cynics who used to deride Irish food as the worst in the planet would have cautioned you to say a prayer before you ate it, but not necessarily in Thanksgiving for what you were about to receive. For years the Emerald Isle has captured the imagination with its numberless shades of lush greens, smooth as silk whiskey, stout Guinness beer and poetry that can bring you to the depths of desolation…

Albuquerque Closed in 2013 Gone But Not Forgotten Mariscos Mexican

Mariscos La Playa – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoSeptember 6, 2009July 21, 20182:54 PM

While New Mexico has always had restaurants featuring the cuisine of the country of Mexitli of Tenochtitlan (Mexico), the distinction between Mexican and New Mexican cuisine has always been somewhat obfuscated. There are a number of reasons for this. For as long as I remember, restaurants which serve cuisine we now recognize as uniquely New Mexican (characterized among other things by the use of piquant red and green chiles instead of jalapeno) have billed themselves as Mexican restaurants. The term “New Mexican food,” is, in fact, relatively new as the Land of Enchantment has more recently taken an active stance in promoting its cuisine as something…

Barbecue Breakfast Closed in 2010 New Mexico Rating: Excellent Rio Rancho

Mad Max’s BBQ – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoAugust 27, 2009March 31, 20264:44 PM

NOTE: In March, 2010, Max and Fran Montano entered into a lease to buy agreement with an enthusiastic owner who continued to use the recipes which made Mad Max’s the very best barbecue in the Albuquerque area. By September, 2010 the restaurant was closed. Max and Fran will continue competing in competitions throughout the region and will also cater events. They will be missed as much for their warmth and great humor as for their outstanding barbecue. Since the discovery of fire, man has viewed his domain as the great outdoors. The outdoors is from where man brought home the…

Burgers Closed in 2009 Gone But Not Forgotten New Mexico

Village Grill – Moriarty, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoAugust 15, 2009July 21, 20185:53 PM

Since the mid 1920s, New Yorker magazine has been providing insightful commentary on popular American culture in all its star-spangled idiosyncrasies. One of its most popular features in the 1970s was the “American Journal” written by the inimitable Calvin Trillin who traversed the continent in search of where real people ate. The “Walt Whitman of American eats” chronicled his dining experiences with the same enthusiasm with which he ate the native cuisines most appreciated by locals. Peppering his reviews with humor, he culled a reputation as one of America’s best food writers. Trillin was adamant that America’s most glorious food…

Albuquerque Closed in 2009 New Mexican

Quesada’s New Mexican Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoAugust 14, 2009July 21, 20189:52 AM

When we get together, native New Mexicans of my generation who grew up in the state’s mountainous regions sometimes reminisce about trudging a mile or more in feet-deep snow to get to school. We wonder how we survived the furious snowstorms which killed reception for weeks to all four (yeah, four) Albuquerque television stations in the dark, pre-historic days before color television (not to mention, cable), the Internet and iPhones. Mostly, we trumpet the fact that we were weaned on chile–and not just any chile. We grew up eating the most gastronomic distress-inducing, tongue-searing, sweat-arousing chile possible–the type of chile which embodies the axiom…

American Bakery Breakfast Closed in 2011 Gone But Not Forgotten Los Ranchos de Albuquerque

Calico Cantina & Cafe – Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoJuly 20, 2009July 21, 201812:22 AM

The first time my friends and I visited the Calico Cafe at its original Corrales location, we wondered if the restaurant suffered from an identity crisis. Exterior signage read “Calico Cafe” but the menus indicated we were dining at “Cowgirl’s.” Apparently the restaurant was initially christened Cowgirl’s, but a name change was court-ordered after a naming dispute with Santa Fe’s long-established Cowgirls BBQ restaurant. On December 2nd, 2004, the popular and intimate lunch and breakfast restaurant owned by Corrales residents Vernon and Angel Garcia, was consumed by fire. In 2006, the Calico Cantina & Cafe launched in a new and…

Albuquerque Barbecue Closed in 2012 Gone But Not Forgotten

Johndhi’s BBQ – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoJuly 10, 2009July 21, 20184:45 AM

With the wafting aroma of smoked meats, Johndhi’s, a charming smokehouse restaurant on picturesque Rio Grande Boulevard welcomes you to Bar-B-Querque, a well-earned and time-tested sobriquet. Known as Geezamboni’s since its inception in 1988 until a name change in 2005, Johndhi’s is a North Valley institution popular all year round. Owned and operated by John Nellos of Albuquerque’s first family of barbecue (the philanthropic Nellos clan owns three Quarters restaurants in the Duke City), Johndhi’s has an ultra hip, mega casual feel to it that belies the converted home structure in which it sits. The artsy ambience includes French posters, multi-hued Mexican ceramic masks…

Closed in 2016 Fine Dining Gone But Not Forgotten New Mexico

High Finance – Sandia Crest, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoJuly 7, 2009July 22, 20188:36 PM

“Getting high” on cannabis is known for increasing appetite. According to High Times, a New York based magazine which advocates the legalization of marijuana, scientists now know why. Those scientists have uncovered the part of the brain which makes cannabis users get the munchies for chocolate, pizza, peanuts and more. It’s hoped that this discovery will help in developing pharmaceuticals to prevent anorexia and obesity. In New Mexico, the term “getting high” sometimes has different connotations–without the psychoactive effects but with the unfailing effect of getting the munchies. That’s because getting high often means high altitude dining–at least that’s what…

Albuquerque Buffet Chinese Closed in 2011 Gone But Not Forgotten

Evergreen Buffet – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoJune 28, 2009July 22, 20184:18 PM

America held hostage! That was the aptly named title of an ABC late-night news program anchored by Ted Koppel from November, 1979 through January 20, 2001. For 444 days, the mighty United States of America was indeed paralyzed while 52 Americans were held hostage–tied and blindfolded–in the U.S. Embassy in Iran. The captors were student revolutionaries incensed at the United States decision to admit Iran’s deposed Shah for medical treatment. The moment Ronald Reagan took the oath of office, those hostages were released. An adoring nation welcomed the returning heroes, lavishing them with gifts and accolades. Among the gifts was…

Albuquerque Brunch Closed in 2013 French Gone But Not Forgotten

Brasserie La Provence – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoJune 14, 2009July 22, 20183:35 AM

The French have long cultivated the idea–some would say myth–that their cuisine is the very best in the world. This self-aggrandizing hype has been carefully and condescendingly orchestrated for centuries. Even Alice B. Toklas, the American writer far ahead of her time (in 1954, she published a literary memoir with a recipe for “hashish fudge”) was caught up in the myth. Toklas wrote “The French approach to food is characteristic; they bring to their consideration of the table the same appreciation, respect, intelligence and lively interest that they have for the other arts, for painting, for literature, and for the…