New Mexico Archives - Page 102 of 117 - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog

Closed in 2021 Gone But Not Forgotten Italian New Mexico Santa Fe

Mangiamo Pronto! – Santa Fe, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoJune 13, 2009July 27, 20249:27 AM

At first browse of a directory listing Santa Fe restaurants, the entree “Mangiamo Pronto!” (an Italian term which translates to “Let’s eat now!) might elicit the impression that the City Different has an eatery offering Italian fast-food: post-haste pasta, accelerated antipasto, insalata al instante. You get the picture. At Mangiamo Pronto! you certainly won’t find desiccated pizza slices seared to a leathery sheen under heat lamp infernos just waiting for the next drive- or walk-up victim, er…customer, nor will you see a nattily uniformed wait staff running amok trying to fill orders even as new ones come in at a breakneck…

Albuquerque Closed in 2010 Gone But Not Forgotten Mediterranean

Charcoal Mediterranean Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoJune 7, 2009July 22, 20186:33 PM

If comedian Jeff Foxworthy was Armenian, his repertoire of one-liners might include such gems as, “You know you’re Armenian if you have philo dough, string cheese or See’s candy in your freezer.” Or perhaps, “You know you’re Armenian if you serve hummus and tabbouleh with your taco chips.” Then there’s the classic, “You know you’re Armenian if you shovel food on other people’s plates when they aren’t looking.” Who can forget the oft-told “You know you’re Armenian if you think pilaf is one of the four food groups.” A quick Google of Armenian food will return results that reveal Armenian’s…

Albuquerque Closed in 2011 Gone But Not Forgotten

Cafe Choroni – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoJune 6, 2009August 24, 20199:53 PM

In the late 1970s before political correctness taught us how racist we all are, it seems every man born to the last name Gonzalez, whether or not they liked it, sported the nickname “Speedy.” Speedy was, of course, the “fastest mouse in all of Mexico” in the popular Looney Tunes animated series. The premise of the cartoon was that Sylvester, a tuxedo cat with an exaggerated lisp, terrorized a horde of mice trying to abscond with cheese from the cheese factory under his charge. Only the intrepid Speedy, a sombrero wearing machismo mouse on perpetual hyper-drive could deter the “gringo pussy gato.”…

Closed in 2010 Gone But Not Forgotten Japanese New Mexico Rating: Outstanding Rio Rancho Sushi

Noda’s Japanese Cuisine – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoJune 4, 2009March 31, 20266:47 PM

Note: On December 16, 2010, Noda’s Japanese Cuisine, a Rio Rancho institution for a dozen years, closed its doors. Owners Masayasu and Setsuko Noda have retired and will be relocating back to Japan. It was initially announced that their son, an accomplished chef, would be looking for a new home for the restaurant many consider the very best Japanese restaurant in the state. Nearly five years later, we’re still waiting. Noda’s may very well be the very best Japanese restaurant in New Mexico, an off-the-beaten-path treasure whose unassuming facade belies sophisticated and wonderful cuisine. Tucked away in Trinity Plaza, a…

Closed in 2015 Gone But Not Forgotten New Mexican New Mexico Rio Rancho

Seferino’s – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoMay 20, 2009July 22, 20183:32 AM

One of the first things you notice when you step into Seferino’s New Mexican Restaurant is the large portrait hanging just above the hostess station of an avuncular bearded gentleman with an air of dignity and class. Though he’s been gone for about a decade and a half and the restaurant which bears his name is in a new location, you can almost feel the comforting presence of Seferino Perea looming like a charming host bidding you welcome to his restaurant. Seferino’s daughter Cathy sports the same snowy white halo as her father, dignified argentine locks everyone should be fortunate enough…

Closed in 2022 Gone But Not Forgotten New Mexican New Mexico Rating: Excellent Santa Fe

Roque’s Carnitas – Santa Fe, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoMay 18, 2009March 31, 202611:04 PM

In more cosmopolitan metropolises it isn’t uncommon to see sidewalk vendors plying their trade over chuck wagon stands and proffering high quality fast food such as hot dogs, tacos, gyros and sundry quick meal items. Some of the best food in cities such as Portland, Oregon can be found near city parks where enterprising street vendors concoct culinary magic on portable kitchens and what we typically deride as “roach coaches.” Roque Garcia has made such a business an art form–a very successful one. In fact, Roque claims carnitas paid for his home outside Puerto Vallarta in Mexico and for the…

Food Network Eats New Mexico James Beard Foundation Americas Classic Award Winner New Mexican New Mexico New Mexico Culinary Treasures Trail Rating: Outstanding Santa Fe

The Shed – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil GardunoMay 18, 2009March 31, 20263:50 PM

In the culinary world, the name James Beard is revered perhaps above all others. Considered the “Dean of American Cookery,” Beard established a legacy of culinary excellence and became a household name to generations of home cooks and professional chefs. The cookbooks he authored between 1940 and 1983 are considered “a slice of American history” because those tomes span America’s culinary regions and served as a premonition of the global epicurean expanse to come. Today, the James Beard Foundation, a national not-for-profit organization is dedicated to celebrating, preserving, and nurturing America’s culinary heritage and diversity in order to elevate the…

Albuquerque Chinese Closed in 2018 Gone But Not Forgotten

Best Lee’s – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoApril 13, 2009March 9, 20198:01 AM

When John Lucas, Elizabeth Eisner Reding and Mike Reding, three trusted gastronomes who frequent this blog, heartily recommended I try Best Lee’s, my initial reaction was, “they’ve got to be kidding.” Our sole visit to Best Lee’s in Rio Rancho exemplified the mediocrity and boring “sameness” that plagues many of New Mexico’s Chinese restaurants–a homogeneity my discerning friend Bill Resnik refers to as “copycat menus full of candied, fried and breaded mystery meats that all taste the same.” It’s a good thing Chinese Restaurant News (CRN) doesn’t read my blog. CRN, a highly respected monthly trade publication serving the more than 43,100 Chinese…

Bernalillo Mexican

La Bamba Grill – Bernalillo, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoApril 7, 2009July 22, 20185:42 PM

In its April, 2009 edition Saveur magazine feted “12 restaurants that matter,” profiling a dozen restaurants that “represent the best of dining in America today.” Although that title may at first browse sound a bit condescending, the premise of the article was that restaurants are special places. “Everybody has to eat, but going out to eat is a choice.” Americans certainly exercise that freedom of choice with their wallets and purses. According to the National Restaurant Association, forty-five percent of adults surveyed indicate restaurants are an integral part of their lifestyle and one in three say they’re not eating out…

Albuquerque Closed in 2009 New Mexican

Sabroso’s – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoApril 5, 2009July 22, 20189:37 AM

From the moment they first set foot in the Land of Enchantment, some people just “get it” or perhaps more precisely, New Mexico gets to them. It weaves its preternatural spell and stirs something deeply in those open enough to its calling. D. H. Lawrence said it best, “In the magnificent fierce morning of New Mexico one sprang awake, a new part of the soul woke up suddenly, and the old world gave way to a new.” Other people don’t get it–and maybe they never will. In the early 1980s while attending the University of New Mexico, I encountered several…

Albuquerque American Closed in 2013 Gone But Not Forgotten

Coyote Diner – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoApril 4, 2009July 25, 20183:04 PM

Restaurant critics, whether we write online reviews or are published in print somewhere, must think we’re so smart. We use polysyllabic (there’s one) words when a more prosaic (another one) word will do. We endeavor (yet another one, but you get the picture) to wax eloquent every time we describe something we obviously like or disdain. Here’s one critic who’s eating humble pie courtesy of Erica Ruth, an erudite (I can’t stop myself) Duke City diner who, in recommending a favorite restaurant, gave me one of the best reviews I’ve read in a long time. When Erica wrote to me…