Category: American

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…

AlbuquerqueAmericanDog FriendlyRating: Very Good

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.…

BurgersDiners Drive-Ins and DivesDog FriendlyRating: N/R (Not Rated)United 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.…

AmericanDog FriendlyRating: N/R (Not Rated)SouthernUnited StatesUtah

Sweet Lake Biscuits & Limeaid

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In 2008, Natchez, Mississippi, was officially named the Biscuit Capital of the World, a process which took three years of research by Chef Regina Charboneau.  Just our luck, the Natchez native and French-trained chef began serving her famous biscuits at her Twin Oaks Bed & Breakfast in Natchez a decade after our last visit to the “Antebellum Capital of the World.”  While we didn’t get to partake of Chef Charboneau’s celebrated biscuits (revered by the Rolling Stones), our breakfasts in Natchez were memorable because biscuits in the Mississippi River town are truly “biscuit capital” worthy. In the quarter-century plus since we…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBreakfastBrunchDog FriendlyNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)

Curious Toast Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“Toasting makes me uncomfortable, but toast I love. Never start the day without a good piece of toast. In fact, let’s toast to toast.” ~George Costanza You might think that only a short, stocky, slow witted bald man would live a life so mundane as to even consider making a toast to a good piece of toast.  That may have been the case even just a few years ago when many of us languished under the covers until the very last second then wolfed down a dry and uninspiring piece of toast while gulping a scalding cup of coffee.  With…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBrewery-PubDog FriendlyNew Mexico

Hollow Spirits Distillery – Albuquerque, New Mexico (REDESIGNATED)

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“The winner is the chef who takes the same ingredients as everyone else and produces the best results.” ~Edward De Bono NOTE:  This review is no longer accurate.   According to The Bite: In other distillery news, Hollow Spirits is moving into the building vacated by Bosque Brewing’s Heights Public House. The third-largest distillery in the state, Hollow Spirits has switched gears more than once with their original downtown Albuquerque location, which now operates strictly as a production facility and events space. Their new spot in the Heights will be open to the public, with a 5,000-foot patio in addition to indoor space,…

AmericanBreakfastCajunClosed in 2022CorralesDog FriendlyGone But Not ForgottenNew Mexico

Waffology – Corrales, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

FROM WAFFOLOGY’S FACEBOOK PAGE: We regret to announce our final closing. We fought hard and we appreciate all of you who came alongside us. February 5th will be our last day serving from 9am-6pm. In an article for New Mexico Magazine, scintillating four-time James Beard award-winning author Cheryl Alters Jamison proclaimed “Pity the folks who think breakfast is a bowl of cornflakes or some granola and yogurt—talk about starting the day with a yawn! I’m here to tell you that the best, most bodacious wake-up food, bar none, is New Mexico’s breakfast burrito. It doesn’t just break the fast, it…

AmericanBreakfastClosed in 2022CorralesDog FriendlyGone But Not ForgottenNew Mexico

Corrales Bistro Brewery – Corrales, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

What is it about French words that make them sound haughty and pompous to some people and elegant and refined to others? Think I’m kidding? In Massachusetts, I knew a guy who for two years sported the nickname “Le Cochon” like a badge of honor before someone had the heart to tell him it meant “the pig.” He had thought that sobriquet was a testament to his prowess with the ladies (on second thought, maybe it was). Still questioning my observations on French words? Take an informal poll of men (women are smarter) in the office and ask them what…

AlbuquerqueBarbecueNew Mexico

Nomad’s BBQ – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

As a spindly teenager who hadn’t yet metamorphosed into my (then) scrawny 6’1″ stature, I had grand delusions of someday playing basketball for the University of New Mexico (UNM) Lobos.  There could be no greater aspiration for a twelve-year old from the mountains than to wear the cherry, silver and turquoise and play for UNM Coach Norm Ellenberger.  Back then Coach Ellenberger could do no wrong in my eyes…or in the eyes of every Lobo fan.  A 1974 Sports Illustrated article described him as “the Newman-Redford among coaches, a man of such striking looks and charisma that his picture, hanging…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBrewery-PubDog FriendlyNew MexicoRating: Good

Two Cranes Bistro and Brew – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:17 AM

As we wended our way along meandering Rio Grande Boulevard, I commented to my Kim, “I sure miss Ichabod and Katrina.”  “Colleagues of yours at UNM?,” she asked.  “No, not colleagues,” I replied pointing to a large, verdant field, “Ichabod and Katrina were the two sandhill cranes who used to feed in those fields.”  “Oh, I get it,” she responded, “you’re talking about Ichabod and Katrina Crane from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”  She then asked why I’ve always had such a great admiration for Ichabod Crane, a fictional character who basically embodied all the seven deadly sins: greed, glutton,…

AlbuquerqueAmericanNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)

La Finca Bowls – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno10:28 AM

Some people just aren’t cut out for the military.  The most incompatible among them usually wash out during basic military training, what is often referred to as “boot camp.” Sometimes it’s the rigor of strenuous physical conditioning that gets to them.  More often than not what proves too much is the stress of being away from home, maybe for the first time, and being yelled at constantly.  Either of these circumstances may ultimately result in a military commander initiating discharge action against new recruits who are not adjusting to the rigors and demands of military life. The most unique case…