Category: Gone But Not Forgotten

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2012Gone But Not ForgottenJapaneseVietnamese

Hakata Asian Cuisine & Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno5:37 PM

“Grrr!  What’s wrong with those Vietnamese?”  That’s not a bad bowl of  pho prompting a xenophobic rant on my part.  Those were the words of my friend Huu Vu when I told him a new Vietnamese restaurant by the name Hakata Asian Grill had opened up on Albuquerque’s west side.  A proud native of Vietnam, Huu wasn’t upset at the launch of  another restaurant showcasing the cuisine of his homeland.  He was unhappy about the name. Hakata Asian Cuisine & Grill is the third restaurant featuring Vietnamese food to open in  the seven month period  which ended in  April, 2011.  That’s  great news for all adventurous Duke City Diners, and you would  certainly think my pho fanatic friend would be…

AlbuquerqueBurgersClosed in 2016Gone But Not ForgottenNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011Pizza

Doc & Eddy’s – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno11:50 AM

Making your way in the world today takes everything you’ve got. Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot. Wouldn’t you like to get away? Sometimes you want to go Where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came. You wanna be where you can see, our troubles are all the same You wanna be where everybody knows Your name. –Cheers Lyrics America has become increasingly homogenized as corporate chains have used catchy jingles, universal name recognition and multi-million dollar media budgets to spread their tentacles across the fruited plain and entice gullible  customers into their  copycat restaurants.  Despite the boring sameness perpetuated by corporate chains, Americans still crave a familiar, comfortable and welcoming…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2012Gone But Not ForgottenItalianPizza

Amici – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno10:10 PM

“There are two laws of the universe — gravity, and everyone likes Italian food.” Neil Simon, American playwright and screenwriter A 2007 Harris Poll declared Italian food the most popular ethnic food in America, revealing that when Americans eat out, the cuisine of choice for nearly a quarter of them is Italian food.  Among the youngest group of respondents, those aged 18-30, the percentage is even higher.  Famous oenophile and food writer Dino Romano believes Italian food is so popular because humans are genetically predisposed to eat as many things that are good for us as possible.  Romano believes Italian cuisine lends itself to an anthropological need to eat a large variety of foods in many ways. Perhaps the operative…

Closed in 2011Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoPizzaRio Rancho

Rocco’s Pizzeria – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno6:16 AM

In an age of sensory bombardment, we all occasionally experience a phenomenon known as an “earworm.” Earworm is a literal translation of a German term for a song (particularly an annoying one) stuck in someone’s head. For some it’s the Gilligan’s Island theme song. For others, it might be “It’s a Small World” or the Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine.” In the 1960s, one television commercial was responsible for an earworm that afflicted many of us in the Albuquerque viewing area. It was a commercial for Peppino’s Pizza Joint and the words to its annoyingly catchy jingle were “The p-pizza’s p-perfect at Peppino’s, the p-pizza’s p-perfect at Peppino’s p-pizza joint.” I’ll bet some of the more “seasoned” (geriatrically advanced like me) members…

AmericanBreakfastBrunchClosed in 2013Gone But Not ForgottenTaos County

Graham’s Grille by Lesley B. Fay – Taos, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno9:25 PM

While it may be true that you only have one chance to make a good first impression, history has shown that bad first impressions can be overcome.  Further,  given a second chance, someone making a bad first impression may go on to  make a lasting positive impression.   In 1988, a charismatic  young governor was widely jeered during the Democratic National Convention, his first national stage.  After an uninspiring 32-minute-long opening night address, political pundits predicted the demise of the man heretofore considered a rising star in the party.  Four years later Bill Clinton was elected the 42nd President of the United States. Feedback to a surprising number of my reviews has a palpable tone of negativity–sometimes even anger–based on a…

AlbuquerqueBarbecueClosed in 2022Gone But Not Forgotten

Quarters – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno3:23 AM

Some of my friends accuse me of making my Web site a bully pulpit against chain restaurants and being a shameless “homer” when it comes to promoting locally owned and operated restaurants. I make no secret of my overwhelming preference for local restaurants, but never at the expense of a personal integrity which won’t allow me to pander to local restaurants which, in my honest opinion, don’t quite measure up. One such restaurant is the venerated Quarters–at least in terms of its barbecue. One of Duke City’s oldest and most revered barbecue joints, the Quarters is generally teeming with loyal patrons who will tell you that Quarters puts the ‘cue in Albuquerque. Now with three locations, including a sprawling edifice…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2025Gone But Not ForgottenPizza

Straight Up Pizza – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno11:07 AM

Hall of Fame New York Yankee Yogi Berra is renown for his malapropisms, notorious flubs that made him one of the most quoted personalities in the sports world.   “You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I’m not hungry enough to eat six” is one of his classic examples of misspeak.  In a more serious vein, Pulitzer Prize award-winning writer Anna Quindlen, used pizza in an analogy  “Ideas are like pizza dough, made to be tossed around.” Profound quotes all, but perhaps the one which best expresses the sentiment most Americans feel about pizza–which we consume at the rate of approximately 100 acres of pizza each day, or 350 slices per second–comes from “every man” comedian and actor Kevin James who…

BarbecueClosed in 2012Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoSanta Fe

Josh’s Barbecue – Santa Fe, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno11:35 AM

Perhaps indicative of the world becoming more broad-minded and accepting, “peasant food” (which usually includes traditional foods of specific regions) is now looked upon as a culinary art form in which skillful cooks are celebrated for employing the wisdom of the ages to prepare wonderful meals using inexpensive, generally home-grown, ingredients. In France, the term peasant food is actually translated as “food of the country” because it is usually associated with poor rural farmers.  In Laos, Vietnam and Thailand, peasant food is regarded as a visible tribute to the inherited knowledge culled by generations of peasant food producers honing the ideal cuisine of their regions. In the United States, three of the most obvious examples of down-home, regional peasant food are…

AlbuquerqueCajunClosed in 2011Gone But Not Forgotten

The Cajun Kitchen – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:04 AM

Note:  After 24 years of serving Albuquerque in two locations, the Cajun Kitchen closed its doors on Friday, March 11, 2011.  On a notice in the menu, the Hebert family wrote, “It has been a privilege serving the Albuquerque community and have been equally blessed by the support of those who have graced our tables making the restaurant the institution it has become.” When we moved back to Albuquerque in 1995 after eight years of living in the Mississippi Gulf Coast, we begrudgingly accepted the fact that in New Mexico, we would never experience the type and quality of  Cajun and Creole cuisine with which we had fallen head-over-heels in love.  Our taste buds, we thought, would be deprived of  the…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBar & GrillClosed in 2017Dog FriendlyGone But Not Forgotten

Chama River Brewing Co. – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno10:31 AM

We were mellowing out to the haunting three-part harmony of the Bee Gees as they crooned “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” when we drove into the Chama River Brewing Company’s parking lot during one unseasonably warm January day. How appropriate. At that moment my answer to the Bee Gee’s poignant question would have been “with an order of mango chutney chicken egg rolls served with a pickled ginger and an orange-chile dipping sauce followed by seared Ahi tuna and seaweed Timbale.” These were two of the wonderful appetizers masterfully crafted by Robert Griego, erstwhile chef and proprietor of the tragically now defunct Nouveau Noodles. While Nouveau Noodles no longer exists (a March 31, 2005 casualty of unadventurous diners…

BurgersClosed in 2014Gone But Not ForgottenMexicanSanta Fe

Bumble Bee’s Baja Grill & Burgers – Santa Fe, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno9:38 PM

The economic malaise of recent years has prompted Americans to become more judicious on how they spend their disposable income (the little that’s left after all the usual bills, expenses and taxes are paid off).  Instead of splurging on gourmet meals at high-end restaurants, Americans are going to those same high-end restaurants for a reliable old favorite that in years past would not have graced their menus.  More than ever, Americans are turning to an American original,  our ultimate comfort food and favorite sandwich–the hamburger–and not the “gobble and go” burgers proffered by the bastions of fast food. American consumers have made it known through their wallets and purses that despite the current economic environment, the one luxury they are…