Category: American

ArizonaBarbecueDog FriendlyUnited States

Little Miss BBQ – Phoenix, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

If you grew up in New Mexico, you’ve likely heard some variation of that tired old epigram “The reason New Mexico is so windy is because it’s bordered by Arizona which sucks and Texas which blows.”   If any truth whatsoever can be ascribed to that witticism, New Mexico should have fabulous barbecue because it’s bordered by Arizona which has great barbecue and Texas which has the best barbecue in the universe.  Alas, virtually every barbecue aficionado I know agrees that the Land of Enchantment’s barbecue has a lot to be desired.  It’s “good” most will agree, “better than it used to be,” others will tell you.  Still many of them will tell you the only barbecue restaurant in New…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2022Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoRated 23Southern

Ms. Gennie’s House of Chicken – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno5:04 PM

My Air Force friend and colleague Al Garcia once shared one of those amusing anecdotes that will leave your head shaking in disbelief even as you’re practically rolling on the floor with laughter.  According to Al who grew up in the Socorro area, his parents had to make a daylong trip to the big city (Albuquerque), leaving him and his sister at home to finish their chores.  At around lunchtime, he and his sister got hungry and decided to prepare some rice.  Never having cooked rice before, they poured an entire bag of rice into a pot, added water and turned the stove on high.   In a few minutes, rice began spilling out over the pot like lava flowing…

AlbuquerqueBurgersDog Friendly

Holy Burger- Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno9:10 PM

During his 40-year career as a radio and television broadcaster for the York Yankees, Phil Rizzuto made “Holy Cow” his trademark exclamation. Similar to Yogi Berra, another legendary Yankee personality, Rizzuto became beloved for his snafus and humor: “Uh-oh, deep to left-center. Nobody’s gonna get that one! Holy cow! Someone got it.” In 1985 when the Yankees retired his uniform number 10, they paraded a live cow with a halo propped on its head onto Yankee Stadium. During the ceremony the “holy cow” knocked Rizzuto to the ground, an encounter he described thusly: “that big thing stepped right on my shoe and pushed me backwards, like a karate move.” The comedic broadcaster’s “Holy Cow” catchphrase became further cemented in pop…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBreakfastDog FriendlyNew Mexico

Central Grill and Coffee House – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno9:26 AM

It’s been said that “when you feed those in need, you are feeding your soul.”  That is especially true when the giver is practicing selfless giving, a conscious, intentional approach to giving that not only benefits others, but comes during a time when the giver is in dire need of help as well.  When the New Mexico state government’s approach to the Cabrona Virus virtually closed down or limited restaurant operations across the state, it’s an understatement to say restaurateurs were really hurting.  Dozens of restaurants across the Land of Enchantment closed. Hundreds of employees were laid off.   It was during these trying times that several restaurateurs demonstrated truly heroic altruism, showing precisely what it means to be a…

AlbuquerqueBarbecueClosed in 2022Gone But Not ForgottenNew Mexico

Black Mesa BBQ – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“Barbecue may be our nation’s most democratic food. (Think small d-democratic, as in of the people, by the people, for the people.) That’s part of the problem: Egalitarian foods with elemental appeal oftentimes get short shrift.” ~John T. Edge for Gourmet Magazine When we first heard about a restaurant in Albuquerque’s South Valley offering “Texas style barbecue in the Land of Enchantment,” three questions came to mind.  First, of course, was “could this really be Texas style barbecue?”  “Texas is like a whole other country” in which there is no one style of barbecue.  Instead, barbecue varies from one region to another across the Lone Star State.  Pundits who refer to “Texas style barbecue” are usually talking about Central Texas…

AlbuquerqueBreakfastBrunchDog FriendlyNew MexicoSouthern

Biscuit Boy – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In Boris Pasternak’s Dr Zhivago, a sagacious old Russian czarist caught up in the communist revolution lamented “Scratch a Russian and you will find a peasant.”  To paraphrase that immortal line “Scratch a cook and you’ll find a chemist.”  Think I’ve been ingesting pharmaceuticals?  Maybe you should ask Deonte “Dee” Halsey, the affable owner of Biscuit Boy about the influence of chemistry in cooking.  He would know!  Dee was actually a research scientist working for the U.S. Department of Architecture before figuring out teaching science actually pays more than doing science.  Dee has been teaching science and math for more than two decades now, imparting knowledge and wisdom to high school, middle school and elementary school students.  For the past two…

BrunchClosed in 2023Dog FriendlyGone But Not ForgottenMadridSouthern

The Hollar – Madrid, New Mexico (CLOSED: December 17, 2023)

Gil Garduno2:59 AM

It wasn’t that long ago that if you played “word association” with almost anyone outside the Mason-Dixon line, the first thing coming to mind if you used the term “Southern food” was probably something like “heapin’ helpins’ of hillbilly hospitality.”  During their nine-year run as one of the most popular comedies in the history of American television, the Clampetts, a hillbilly family who relocated to Beverly Hills after finding oil on their property, introduced “vittles” to the American vernacular.  Vittles, of course, meant such “delicacies” as possum shanks, pickled pig jowls, smoked crawdads, stewed squirrel, turnip greens, and owl cakes.  “Weeeee Doggies,” now that’s eatin‘.” To much of America, the aforementioned delicacies were culinary curiosities–bumpkinly and provincial food no one…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBurgersClosed in 2024Dog FriendlyGone But Not ForgottenSandwich

Fork & Fig – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno9:06 PM

FROM THE FORK & FIG FACEBOOK PAGE (November, 2024): Thank you Albuquerque for 10 wonderful years! Skyrocketing rent and food costs have really impacted us. We have loved serving you. We are moving to a private chef/catering model. Stay tuned for our next adventure. Listen to Billy Joel’s 1983 doo wop hit Uptown Girl and you’ll probably get the impression that uptown is synonymous with uppity or at least upscale. The lyrics describe a working-class downtown man (ostensibly Joel himself who’s originally from blue-collar Long Island) trying to win the heart of a wealthy, white bred uptown girl (Joel’s future wife Christie Brinkley). The perception of uptown’s haughtiness were reenforced in “The Contest” episode of Seinfeld in which John F.…

AmericanBrewery-PubBurgersDog FriendlyFood TruckNew MexicoRio Rancho

Big Boss Hot Links at Brew Lab 101 – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

The Oxford Dictionary defines an adage as “a proverb or short statement expressing a general truth.”  The adage “the apple does not fall far from the tree,” for example, means a child usually behaves in a similar way to his or her parents.  Sometimes, however, an adage fails to live up to the truism it purports to express.  One such example is the vast chasm that exists between patriarch Martin Crane (John Mahoney) and his sons Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) and Niles (David Hyde Pierce).  Where Martin was portrayed as an everyman with whom many of us can identify, Frasier and Niles were pretentious and condescending snobs. In one episode the Brothers Crane decide to broaden their father’s horizons by taking him…

AlbuquerqueAmericanDog Friendly

D. H. Lescombes Winery & Bistro (Old Town) – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:23 AM

There are varying accounts as to the genesis of wine-making in the United States. While it is widely acknowledged that as early as the 1500s Spanish and French Huguenot settlers in Florida began making wine with a native grape known as muscadine, efforts to plant the classic grapes used to create the great wines of Europe failed because of pests prevalent in wet climates. It wasn’t until Spanish Missionaries discovered the dry climate of New Mexico in 1629 with its sandy soils that the first European Mission grapes brought over from Spain were planted in what is now the United States.  The original grape stocks supposedly remain the source of many of New Mexico’s vinters to this day. Sources relates that…

BurgersDiners Drive-Ins and DivesDog FriendlyUnited StatesUtah

Proper Burger – Salt Lake City, Utah

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Television would have you believe Mars and Venus have different ideas as to what constitutes the proper way to eat a burger.  Representing Venus (women), as depicted in a Wendy’s commercial from the 1980s, is a geriatrically advanced woman who takes a small bite of her juicy burger then daintily wipes off the detritis with a napkin.  Representing Mars (men) is Food Network superstar Guy Fieri.  The platinum-coiffed restaurant impressario’s approach to properly eating a burger is mirrored by most of us Martians.  It’s not for the faint of heart or children and you shouldn’t attempt it without a net. If the burger is what some of us more seasoned folks might call a “Dagwood” (characterized by its skyscraper height…