Category: Burgers

BurgersNew MexicoNew Mexico Culinary Treasures TrailNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2009New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011Rating: ExcellentSan AntonioTravel Channel Eats New Mexico

The Owl Cafe & Bar – San Antonio, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

25 February 2023: Over the past twelve years, the Owl Cafe in San Antonio, New Mexico has been one of the three most frequently launched reviews on Gil’s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog, ranking behind only Mary & Tito’s and the Buckhorn Tavern as the third most frequently launched review of all time. What accounts for the Owl’s popularity? It truly is a timeless institution beloved for its consistently excellent burgers. San Antonio may be but a blip on the map, but its storied and pioneering history make this sparsely populated agricultural community arguably one of New Mexico’s most important towns.In 1629, San Antonio was the site on which Franciscan friars planted the first vineyard (for sacramental wine) in New Mexico (in defiance of Spanish law prohibiting the growing of grapes for wine in the new world.) San Antonio was the birthplace of Conrad Hilton, founder of the ubiquitous Hilton Hotels and more importantly, one of New Mexico’s original legislators after statehood was granted in 1912. San Antonio was also the gateway to the Trinity Site in which the first atomic bomb was detonated in 1945. While these events are historically significant, they are also inextricably bound by one common element–the uncommonly ordinary facade…

ArizonaBurgersDog FriendlyRating: N/R (Not Rated)United States

Matty G’s – Chandler, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In the inspirational 1989 movie, Field of Dreams, Kevin Costner stars as an Iowa farmer named Ray Kinsella. As a farmer, Ray has fallen on hard times.  While standing in his corn field one day, he has a vision of a baseball field where part of his cornfield is.  A disembodied voice (credited by IMDB to “The Voice”) tells him, “If you build it, he will come.” Ray then sets out to make the baseball field of his vision a reality.  All the while, he is spurred onward by the voice urging him that if he builds it, “he” or “they” will come. To the initial consternation of his wife and friends, Ray builds the baseball field. Ray’s friends and family were eventually won over to Ray’s vision when they began to see Shoeless Joe Jackson taking to the field along with the other seven Chicago White Sox players banned from the game for throwing the 1919 World Series.  The scene culminates with James Earl Jones’ character, Terence Mann, uttering the oft-paraphrased words: “Ray, people will come, Ray.  They’ll come to Iowa for reasons they can’t even fathom.  They’ll turn up in your driveway not knowing for sure why they’re…

2020 James Beard Foundation - "Best Chef - Southwest" SemifinalistBarbecueBurgersDog FriendlyJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersNew MexicoNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2009New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011Rating: Outstanding

Sparky’s Burgers, Barbecue & Espresso – Hatch, New Mexico

Gil Garduno2:08 PM

New Mexico’s Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail not only celebrates one of the Land of Enchantment’s most iconic foods, it showcases the restaurants, drive-ins, diners, dives, joints, cafes, roadside stands and bowling alleys which prepare our ubiquitous, incomparable green chile cheeseburger.  To New Mexicans, there is nothing as thoroughly soul-satisfying and utterly delicious! What elevates a burger from the ordinary to the extraordinary is taste bud awakening, tongue tingling, olfactory arousing green chile, New Mexico’s official state vegetable (even though it’s technically a fruit).  In the continually evolving mosaic that describes New Mexico’s cultural intermingling, one constant is green chile, an essential ingredient in many of our recipes and THE centerpiece of any outstanding green chile cheeseburger.  Even such corporate megaliths as McDonald’s and Sonic try their hand at the green chile cheeseburger. It stands to reason that one of, if not THE very best green chile cheeseburger in the Land of Enchantment would be served in Hatch, the undisputed epicenter of New Mexico’s chile production.  Widely regarded as the “chile capital of the world,” the village’s population of around 1,200 citizens increases by twenty times as people from all over the world converge for its annual chile festival.  It’s a…

BurgersNew MexicoNew Mexico Culinary Treasures TrailNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2009New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011Rating: ExcellentSan Antonio

Buckhorn Tavern – San Antonio, New Mexico

Gil Garduno5:25 PM

Dusk is falling on the western town at the very edge of the parched plains.  Fewer than a dozen buildings line the dusty main street.  Howling winds impel tumbleweeds forward with no regard for obstacles in their path.  Even though neither of the protagonists has uttered the old western cliché “this town ain’t big enough for the two of us,” the scene is always ripe for a confrontation between the two long-time rivals.  You can cut the tension with a knife and fork and it would be utterly delicious. This confrontation isn’t between the black-hearted, black hat wearing villain of western lore and his rival, the clean-cut, white chapeaued cowboy. It’s a rivalry between the Owl Cafe and the Buckhorn Tavern, two heralded hamburger havens separated by less than a block yet inextricably bound by national publications which champion them as among the best of their genre (in westerns, this would be the fastest guns in the west). The Owl Cafe is among the most celebrated restaurants in New Mexico, touted for its incomparable green chile cheeseburger.  In 2003, Jane and Michael Stern, rated the Owl’s green chile cheeseburger on Epicurious.Com as one of the top ten burgers in America. …

AlbuquerqueBurgersDog FriendlyNew MexicoNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2009New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011Rating: Very Good

Laguna Burger (12th Street) – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno5:10 PM

“The best stories are like the best burgers: big, juicy, and messy.” ~A.D. Posey, American Author For men of my generation, a Big Mac was a rite of passage, a graduation from Happy Meal cheeseburgers to a real adult burger…an event akin to transitioning from training wheels to a ten speed bike.  We had grown up singing the jingle “two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun” and finally got to experience one for ourselves.   I had assumed all parents would, when their sons had proven worthy, introduce them to the Big Mac.  You can imagine my surprise upon reading a 2016 Wall Street Journal report that only one in five adults between the ages of 18 and 34 has ever even tasted McDonald’s signature burger. That’s right!   Eighty percent of all millennials have never experienced a Big Mac!  Even more surprising, many of my generation–those of us who grew up on Big Macs– haven’t had one in decades (and I had thought it was only me). Millennials not only make better, more healthy food choices than youth of my generation, they’ve had the advantage of more and better alternatives.  Obviously they’re much…

AmericanArizonaBurgersDog FriendlyUnited States

Red Onion Lounge – Heber, Arizona

Gil Garduno4:09 PM

On 5 November 1975, a seven-man logging crew working in the Sitgreaves National Forest near Heber, Arizona experienced what has become the most documented UFO (UAP or unidentified aerial phenomena, if you prefer) sighting and abduction in history. As the crew was wrapping up for the day, they saw a bright light off to their right. When they approached, they espied a bright saucer-shaped UFO  (UAP) hovering about 20 feet over a clearing.  Travis Walton was the only one who got out of the truck to investigate.  He was quickly knocked to the ground by a bright, blue-green beam of light.  Five days and six hours later, Walton awoke on the outskirts of Heber. Not surprisingly, the veracity of the crew’s account has been called to question.  Initially skeptics outnumbered believers by a significant margin, despite multiple polygraph lie-detector tests the crew passed.  Theories abounded as to what “really” happened.  Among the most prevalent was a contention that the logging crew  was about to miss a November 10th deadline to finish the logging job, after which they would be docked 10 percent of the contract.  With no physical evidence available, we may never know exactly what happened on that November…

AmericanBrewery-PubBurgersClosed in 2025Dog FriendlyGone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoRio Rancho

The Local Brewhouse – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Before reading any further, the biggest take-away from this review is that the Local Brewhouse serves the best burger in Rio Rancho.  That’s not only what the marquee says.  It’s what City of Vision diners know.  My Kim and I, too.   “Service is horrible”  “The management has to train there employees.”  “Worst service ever! I can’t stress on how bad the service was.”  “Nice views. Lousy service and rude staff.”  “Service sucks. Waited 20mins between beers.”   Those are one-star reviews on Yelp for The Local Brewhouse in Rio Rancho.  At the extreme opposite are five star reviews extolling the service some Yelp reviewers found unacceptable: “Shout out to Rhiannon, our server for friendly, prompt, and efficient service.”  “Had a big gathering and they could not have been more accommodating! Super friendly.”  “The service is the best in the state.”  “5 stars all the way. Great service. Great food. Great beer.” For better or worse, many of us–90% according to Infographics read online reviews before visiting a business and 88% of us trust  those online reviews.  Our quandary as consumers is learning to filter the outliers–the reviewers who accord one-star ratings on Yelp and TripAdvisor for the very same things…

AmericanBurgersDog FriendlyNew MexicanNew MexicoRating: Very GoodTruth or Consequences

A & B Drive In – Truth or Consequences, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:55 PM

For five very memorable seasons, Michael Newman, the charismatic and ebullient host of New Mexico True Television and Melinda Frame, the show’s brilliant producer-director had the very best jobs in the world. Though not expressly stated, their true job titles should have been “Ambassadors for the Great State of New Mexico” because that’s what they really were. Every Sunday (8:30AM on KOB-TV Channel 4), they showcased the Land of Enchantment in all its magnificent splendor and incomparable beauty. With the flair of gifted raconteurs, they knew just when narration was necessary and when it was best to let spectacular backdrops tell the story. New Mexico True’s thematic episodes truly fed the soul and capture the imagination.  Note:  You can still see all five seasons of New Mexico True in the comfort of your home, albeit from your browser of choice by clicking on the link above. In Season 3 (Episode 4: El Camino Real Part I), the New Mexico True cast (really just Michael) and crew spent time in Truth or Consequences, but saved any time they may have spent indulging in the city’s salubrious thermal waters (reputed to cure “anything that ails you”) for another episode. Because New Mexico…

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 culture during a 1997 episode of Seinfeld when Yankees owner George Steinbrenner gave George Costanza a key chain with Rizzuto’s likeness in honor of his induction into the Hall of Fame. When Rizzuto’s head was squeezed, it uttered (that’s uttered, not uddered) “Holy Cow.” Predictably Costanza lost the key chain while jumping over a pothole which was later paved over by construction workers. Every time a vehicle ran over the patched street, the key chain exclaimed “Holy Cow!” When I…

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. Kennedy, Jr. lived in trendy uptown. When they finally came into money, the Jefferson’s moved on up, too. Until just a few years ago, the Albuquerque neighborhoods around which conversations typically centered were Old Town, downtown, Nob Hill and even EDo (East Downtown). Uptown was solely where the Coronado and Winrock Malls were. With the closure of the Winrock Mall and subsequent launch of ABQ Uptown, a pedestrian-friendly, open-air lifestyle center, Albuquerque’s uptown area seemingly became “the heart of the…

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 to dinner at their type of restaurant, a posh and exclusive French establishment.  As Frasier put it, to “expose him to some of the finer things so that he’d stop lumbering through life like some great polyester dinosaur.”  When their plan doesn’t work out because of a booking problem, Martin takes his sons to a pedestrian steak house called the Timber Mill where “you can get a steak this thick for eight ninety-five” (indicating a steak as thick as a…