Category: American

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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…

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Loro Asian Smokehouse & Bar – Austin, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

An average person spends 52 days of their life standing in line (queueing) and that not just at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The most notorious offenders are, of course, supermarket lines, public transportation, the post office, airports and barbecue joints in the great state of Texas.  Okay, that last one may not be true though it certainly feels that way.  Franklin BBQ in Austin has nothing short of a cult following–and probably the longest lines of any barbecue joint in Texas.  Standing in line is part of the Franklin BBQ experience.  Online sites advise that “wait times during the week at Franklin Barbecue are typically 2-3 hours and on weekends closer to 4 or 5 hours.”  Smoked meat…

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La Barbecue – Austin, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Every summer, a predictable ritual takes place. After hibernating comfortably since the previous autumn, men attired in aprons emblazoned with the slogan “kiss the cook” will selflessly volunteer to “cook” a meal. This, of course, means grilling, a decidedly masculine affectation and the only type of cooking most men can be entrusted to do. When this ritual is completed and guests are sated, lavish praise and thanks are heaped upon the “chef.” In truth, the only aspects of this ritual for which men are typically responsible is getting the grill lit, placing the meats on the grill and turning them (after our female better halves warn us that the meats are burning). Normally all the preparatory work—buying the food; preparing…

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JewBoy Burgers – Austin, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

With hordes of eager eaters forming lines around select restaurants–if not the block–you’d think those diners were gum-snapping Swifties clamoring to enter the venue of a Taylor Swift concert  That’s the case not only in barbecue joints anointed with Michelin star and James Beard Foundation honors, not to mention restaurants featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  Queues for ‘cue, lines for lasagna, cavalcades for calamari…that’s pretty much the way it is at all the time in Austin.  It is a foodie city after my own heart.  I loathe lines so much, I’d rather arrive half an hour early than to stand in a line for more than ten minutes. Alas, on a day in which drizzle spritzed city streets, I…

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LeRoy And Lewis Barbecue – Austin, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

What can you say about a wife who practically pushes her husband out the door so he can gallavant through the Lone Star State in pursuit of barbecue?  That’s precisely what my Kim did.  She didn’t do so out of malice or because she’s tired of me.  Far from it.  We’ve been together for four decades.  There’s no one whose company I enjoy more and it’s mutual.  Throughout my Air Force career, we were stationed far away from family and had only ourselves to rely on.  We’ve grown together both figuratively and literally (mostly me).  While I would love for my Kim to be by my side every moment of every day, she knows I sometimes need to explore culinary…

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InterStellar BBQ – Austin, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

With more than 2,500 purveyors of bodacious barbecue in the Lone Star State, Texas Monthly Magazine has increased the likelihood of smoked meat aficionados locating and enjoying the very best.  That’s largely because of Daniel Vaughn, the magazine’s “Barbecue Editor.”  Vaughn has traveled the world sampling smoked meats at over 1,800 barbecue joints, most of which are in Texas.  Texans making pilgrimages in pursuit of barbecue carry with them Vaughn’s tome The Prophets of Smoked Meat: A Journey Through Texas Barbecue.  They also take along Texas Monthly’s “The 50 Best Texas Barbecue Joints.” Vaughn’s Texas Monthly compilation, last published in 2021, will be updated in 2025.  These are the barbecue bibles to which believers are called. There’s only two jobs I’ve…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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Ironwood Kitchen – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno10:29 AM

I’m not sure Matt Moody could sell milk to the lactose intolerant or ice to an eskimo, but it would be hard to bet against him. The genial owner of the Ironwood Kitchen on Albuquerque’s sprawling far northwest, Matt has a rare enthusiasm for both his restaurant and his recipes.  He won’t just describe a dish on the menu, he’ll tell you how it’s prepared and may even give you the genesis of its ingredients. That type of enthusiasm and confidence is infectious. Matt is also wise and experienced enough to understand the customer is always right…even if he doesn’t agree with them.  When my friend Bill Resnik and I practically accused him of being a “Cuminista” for using cumin…

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Culver’s – Payson, Arizona

Gil Garduno7:08 PM

In the summer of 2022, two of my sisters spent a nearly three weeks in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. They visited the breathtaking snow-capped mountains of the Alps and took Europe’s highest cable car to the top of the Matterhorn.  They walked in picturesque villages reminiscent of your favorite fairy-tale as well as medieval towns resplendent with covered bridges, waterfront promenades, historic buildings replete with frescoes painted by the masters, and sun-drenched plazas with bubbling fountains.  Naturally, my questions about their vacation were centered on cuisine.  Dolores, one of my sisters, recalled most fondly the bread and butter served with every meal on their excursion.  She’s a Garduño after my own heart. During our years in Europe, my Kim and I were…