Bama’s 1865 – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

When we tell people we lived in Mississippi for eight years their typical reaction is something akin to “OMG, that must have been terrible.”  Lumping Alabama and Louisiana into their diatribes, they typically perceive we lived in a poorly educated, mostly rural and unabashedly racist region.  It surprises them to learn that New Mexico ranks below those three states among the least educated states in the country (only West Virgina ranked lower).  We lived in Ocean Springs on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, an almost contiguous metropolitan area from New Orleans to Mobile.  It’s as modern as you can get.   In terms of racism, the Deep South has made significant strides and isn’t as racist as the Boston area was when I lived there. Tragically, racism has always been a way of life in the Deep South.  It made me wonder if Bama’s 1865, Albuquerque’s newest Creole-Southern restaurant, was named for the turmoil that ravaged Alabama that fateful year.  Not only was Alabama left virtually destroyed by Union Forces, poor decisions during “Reconstruction” brought consequences that plagued the state for more than a century.  In 1865, Alabama  signed the Thirteenth Amendment (Amendment XIII) to the United States Constitution abolishing slavery…

La Sirenita – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Our friends, John Martin and Lynn Garner and I couldn’t help but laugh. There before our very eyes was the depiction of a meme come to life. In the dining room of la Sirenita was a papier Mâché reproduction of the bottom half of a mermaid. It reminded us of a meme we recently shared.  That meme depicted a grizzled sailor marooned on a desert island.  On the first panel of the meme the sailor smiled lasciviously as a beautiful and buxom mermaid approached the island.  The second panel shows the sailor cooking the bottom half of the mermaid on a rotisserie.  Yeah, it’s gruesome, but come on, it’s funny, too. The bottom half of a mermaid wasn’t the only unique art on La Sirenita’s walls.  One framed painting depicted a rather disfigured Marilyn Monroe.  Another portrayed a black woman in the throes of a foodgasm.  More conspicuous than the artwork was the absence of other diners.  While the bar was packed, the only other diners in the capacious dining room were two eight-year old brothers, one of whom innocently asked if The Dude was a poodle.  Though our debonair dachshund was insulted (rightfully so), he has too much class…

Poké Serrano Asian-Latin Fusion – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Ask most people what comes to mind when they think about Hawaiian food and the likely answer is Spam®.  No matter how much the Aloha State’s tourism department does to showcase the state’s diverse and exciting culinary culture, the stereotype that Hawaiians eat Spam® for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in between meals is engrained in many of us.  Because Hawaiians do consume seven-million cans of  Spam® per year (with a population of 1.42 million residents in the Islands), it begs the question “Is it really a stereotype if facts bear out the fact that Spam® is so immensely popular in Hawaii.” Not everyone who spends time on the sandy beaches is as svelte as portrayed by media.  Widespread obesity plagues the Islands.  Some of that may be attributable to the quintessential canned ham product proudly made in Minnesota, a processed food  replete with salt and other “bad for you” things. Spam® became a vital part of the Hawaiian diet during World War II when rationing was a fat of life for its citizenry.  Hawiians figured out how to incorporate Spam® into their diet and figured out it’s a pretty versatile product.  Note: If you’re from Northern New Mexico and…

Habibi House – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Before Al Gore invented the internet, it wasn’t easy for logophiles (lovers of words) like me to figure out what some words meant.  “Lover of words,” in my case was an understatement.  I was obsessed about learning every new word–its etymology (origin, definition and context, even what it used to mean) I came across.  It’s a wonder my parents (both educators) didn’t put this precocious, pedantic child up for adoption. Dictionaries were of little help as their content was mostly limited to English words.  The Velazquez dictionary was helpful when I wanted to learn a new Spanish word, but that, too, was limiting.  Alas, no comprehensive resource seemed to exist to sate my curiosity. Here’s an example of my dilemma.  The popular 60’s television show I Dream of Jeanie was replete with Arabic words.  For most people being entertained was enough, but not for me.  When a new word was used, I wanted to know what it meant–even if it was a proper name.  Jeanie’s master (played by the altitudinous Ted Cassidy) was named Habib.  No source or person of my acquaintance had any idea what “Habib” meant.  Surely, when Jeanie’s master’s parents named their son Habib, it was because the…

Knead Dough Bar & Eatery – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

“I don’t talk about politics, religion or sports, because all three will divide people. That’s why I talk about food, because food brings people together. That’s right! Unless you’re vegan!” ~Gabriel Iglesias Not even glass half full optimists can disagree that America has accelerated into a warp speed devolution from George H. W. Bush’s vision of a “kinder, gentler nation.”    Replace kinder and gentler with snarky and sniping and you’ve got a more accurate picture.  Not only are there widening schisms between political ideologies, there are deep fissures between values of all types (as comedian Gabriel Iglesias astutely pointed out).  It’s not enough to disagree any more.  In modern America, we don’t tolerate differences of opinion.   We take them personally and go on the offensive.  Take Chef Gordon Ramsay’s proclamation: “If the kids ever came up to me and said, ‘Dad, I’m a vegetarian,’ then I would sit them on the fence and electrocute them.”    There doesn’t seem to be a middle ground. Or so I pondered when my Kim and I made our way to Knead Dough Bar & Eatery, a plant-forward cafe on Gold Avenue.   From among my friends and my acquaintances, only my…

The Crack Shack – Salt Lake City, Utah (CLOSED)

NOTE: In November, 2023, it was announced that all Utah Locations of The Crack Shack would be closing and transitioning to a new concep. tOnly culinary historians would call 2020 the “year of the fried chicken sandwich.”  Most of the rest of us would call 2020 the “year of the Cabrona virus” or the “year the world shut down.”  During that annus horribilis, some 50 chains introduced either brand new premium chicken sandwiches or upgraded former versions.  The instigator of the “chicken sandwich wars” was Chick-fil-A whose slogan boasts “we didn’t invent the chicken, just the chicken sandwich.”  In response Popeyes Louisiana Chicken debuted its own crispy fried chicken sandwich and posted a mean tweet disparaging Chick-fil-A’s claim.   So why did comfort seeking consumers flock to chicken chains in 2020?  The answer to that question is in the question itself.  During the Cabrona virus, consumers turned to comfort food to feel safe and in control.  Lesley Rennis of the City University of New York’s Health Education Department declared “Comfort foods not only taste good, they actually lessen the impact of stress hormones. ”Eating sweet and starchy food helps our bodies make serotonin which makes us feel calmer, and decrease…

Scalo – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Contrary to popular belief, Scalo was not already a Nob Hill fixture in 1706 when Don Francisco Cuervo y Valdés, governor and captain general of New Mexico, named a new settlement for the Duke of Alburquerque, then viceroy of New Spain.  Scalo didn’t actually open until December, 1986, but during its lengthy tenure it has such a degree of permanence in our memories and taste buds that it’s hard to believe it wasn’t one of the fabled paradors (an establishment where travelers could seek lodging, and usually, food and drink) along the Camino Real.  It would make sense because the word “Scalo” itself translates from Italian to “stopover.”  Then there’s Scalo’s revered spot on the now defunct Albuquerque Monthly.  On its tenth anniversary, the magazine created a “Best Of” Hall of Fame, listing the ten establishments–restaurants, bars, card stores, clothing stores, computer stores, galleries and more–which had received more “best of” votes during the decade of the 90s than anyone else. The first establishment listed was Scalo Northern Italian Grill, which was also perennial selection on the magazine’s annual listing of the city’s top ten fine-dining restaurants (other mainstays still serving the city include the Artichoke Cafe, Prairie Star and…

Viet Cốm – Albuquerque, New Mexico

The name on the signage is Viet Cốm, not Viet dot com.  The difference is more than semantic.  In Vietnamese the term “Cốm” (with an accent denoting a high rising pitch when vocalized) translates from Vietnamese to a green sticky rice or green rice flakes. Cốm is a delicacy made only in autumn and cherished by all Vietnamese.  You learn a lot when you visit a Vietnamese restaurant and are interested enough to ask a lot of questions.  If Misty Do is your server, ask her about the family restaurant and you’ll learn quite a bit. We learned, for example, that the family owned and operated eatery opened in June, 2020, just a couple of months after the Cabrona Virus shut down the world.  Viet Cốm is indeed a family operation.  Misty’s dad is the cook.  Her stepmother, older sister and younger brother all help out, but it’s Misty who appears to be the face of the restaurant as you’ll learn should you peruse the restaurant’s Yelp review.  We learned also that we shouldn’t have assumed that because Misty’s last name is “Do,” the family name must also be Do.  Misty clarified that in accordance with Vietnamese traditions, women don’t…

The Farmacy – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

In this age of “fake news,” biased media slants and unabashed tell-alls, the one recent headline which has pleased me most comes from Bloomberg. Splashed in bold typeface was the eye-catching lead “Mom-and-Pop Joints Are Trouncing America’s Big Restaurant Chains.” Elaborating on this contention, the first paragraph reads: “Americans are rejecting the consistency of national restaurant chains after decades of dominance in favor of the authenticity of locally owned eateries, with their daily specials and Mom’s watercolors decorating the walls.” The numbers bear this out–“annual revenue for independents will grow about 5 percent through 2020, while the growth for chains will be about 3 percent.” Fittingly, I read this article during my inaugural visit to The Farmacy, a Lilliputian lair of luscious food then located on the southeast corner of the Mountain Road-Eighth Street intersection. If big restaurant chains and their well-heeled operations are the proverbial muscle-bound beach bullies who kick sand in the face of scrawny kids, The Farmacy embodies the small underdog who fights back with the only weapons at its disposal: great food and friendly service at an affordable price. The Farmacy is David to the Philistine’s Goliath, the plodding tortoise to the overly confident hare, unknown…

Firenze Pizzeria – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Name a pizza joint “Florence Pizzeria” and public reaction would likely be dubious:  “Who the heck is Florence?”  “Can someone named Florence possibly have a clue how to make pizza?”  Now translate “Florence” to Italian and all of a sudden, “Firenze Pizzeria” has instant credibility.  Never mind that most of the pizza in Florence (er, Firenze), Italy is of the Neapolitan variety.  The name Firenze is a perfect fit for a pizzeria.  Even the name inspires visions of a fire-breathing Italian oven preparing a waifishly thin pizza in just about a minute. Steven Meyer, owner-operator of Albuquerque’s Firenze Pizzeria knows a thing or two about fire-breathing ovens and waifishly thin pizzas.  In 2011, he pioneered portable pizza in the Duke City, toting an Italian-made oven throughout the city.  Being booked every weekend for nearly two years for special events, catering and a semi-permanent gig at the Downtown Growers’ Market at Robinson Park facilitated the decision to seek a permanent venue.  He found the perfect spot at 900 Park Avenue, S.W., just across Central Avenue to Robinson Park. The two-story edifice Firenze called home for nearly nine years had plenty of character and personality.  One of its neighbors was the lair…

El Charlatan – Socorro, Texas (CLOSED)

Everyone should have a friend like Steve Coleman, the erudite owner of Steve’s Food Page. Not only is he a great guy and a lot of fun to spend time with, he’s a superb host and tour guide.  During a two-day sojourn to “El Chuco,” Steve not only showed us the sights, he gave me a much-needed lesson about history New Mexico and Texas share.  He explained that during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, members of the Isleta Pueblo in New Mexico were displaced to El Paso along with Oñate and the Spaniards.  Today, descendants of those Native Americans reside in a Native American Pueblo in the Ysleta section of El Paso just about three miles from El Charlatan, our dining destination.  We were looking forward to Steve ferreting us through the historic El Paso Mission Trail, a nine-mile route representing a segment of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (Royal Road of the Interior), the historic trail that ran from Mexico City to Santa Fe.  Alas, unseasonably fierce winds (another commonality New Mexico and Texas share) obfuscated our view of the churches as we drove past (at least one of) them.  On the Fujita Scale, a measure of wind speed,…