Category: Gone But Not Forgotten

AmericanClosed in 2025Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011

Greenside Cafe – Cedar Crest, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno2:52 AM

In order to provide quality services, municipalities everywhere, but especially in growing urban areas, rely heavily on gross receipts taxes from sources such as hotels and restaurants.  Cedar Crest, New Mexico, is no different from other cities in that it would like not only for its citizenry to spend as much disposable income as possible within the village, it courts an external revenue stream from visitors. From 1961 through 1999–one of Cedar Crest’s most reliable sources of gross receipts revenue was the legendary Bella Vista Restaurant, a sprawling wooden edifice which during its halcyon days accommodated 1,200 dining patrons and served an unlimited number of all-you-can-eat platters of fried chicken and fish.  When the Bella Vista launched during the onset of the Kennedy administration, Cedar Crest had very few amenities. The Bella Vista helped changed that.  For nearly four decades, cavalcades of motorists made their way to the backside of the Sandias to fill their bellies without emptying their wallets.  Many would stay. The Bella Vista was a landmark, a true dining destination, which on weekends courted so many visitors that two-hour waits for tables on weekends were the norm.  In 1999, the Bernalillo County Fire Department shuttered the restaurant’s doors…

BurgersClosed in 2017Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011

Blue Ribbon Bar & Grill – Estancia, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno4:24 PM

Unlike diners throughout New Mexico, bears in the Sandias and Manzanos  have found food in their mountain habitats very scarce, forcing them to forage populated areas for their fill.  As of August 25th, 2011, the New Mexico Game and Fish Department had received 141 reports of bear sightings from Placitas to Belen, communities west of the mountains.  In 2010, food shortages resulted in 467 reports of bear sightings in the Sandias and Manzanos, 251 of them west of the mountains. Visit Estancia, New Mexico and you’re likely to encounter more Bears in one hour than residents along the Sandias and Manzanos will see in an entire year. So many, in fact, that you’d think they own the town.  Bears walk around brazenly, proudly sporting seasonal reddish hues.  They stride into restaurants and shops where they’re welcomed like the old friends and neighbors they are.  That’s what life in a small community is like. The Estancia Bears varsity sports teams are the only game in town and every resident of this close-knit community about half an hour east of Albuquerque’s Big I interchange is a fan.  Local businesses carry Estancia Bears merchandise–shirts, baseball caps, beverage cups, coasters and more.  Bears schedules…

AmericanClosed in 2016Diners Drive-Ins and DivesFood Network Eats New MexicoGone But Not ForgottenSanta Fe

Zia Diner – Santa Fe, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno7:54 AM

In the year 1880, La Villa Real de la Santa Fé de San Francisco de Asís” (“The Royal Town of the Holy Faith of St. Francis of Assisi”) bore little semblance to the popular vacation destination and tourist town it is today.  In fact, it was still pretty much a dusty frontier town of the old west with statehood more than a quarter century away.  Despite a population growth of nearly forty percent over the previous decade, Santa Fe was hardly considered a burgeoning center for commerce, much less tourism.  That would all change with the arrival of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company, an event which heralded a new period of prosperity and growth. The railroad facilitated trade between the New Mexico territory and the United States.  In addition to trade in dry goods, foodstuffs, clothing and books, the railroad ferried materials such as bricks and galvanized tin which paved the way for architectural diversity.  The facade of the Santa Fe Plaza, for example, would be transformed from a Spanish-Pueblo architectural style to a hybrid Spanish-Pueblo-Territorial style that persists today.  Victorian style brick buildings became very much in vogue throughout the town.  The arrival of the railroad …

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2018Gone But Not ForgottenIndian

Saffron Tiger Indian Cuisine Express – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno8:13 AM

Is there anything that screams monotonous, tedious homogeneity louder than the typical food court at any mall in cosmopolitan America?   “But,” you might argue, “the food court is a paragon of diversity where you can get your fill of pizza, sushi, burgers, cinnamon rolls, sweet and sour mystery meat and a veritable United Nations line-up of ethnic foods all in one place.”  While that might be true, my argument is that the same boring sameness you find in Albuquerque’s mall food courts can be found at any food court in any mall.  Only airports have a similarly comparable array of uninspiring food-court-type selections. Despite the “culinary diversity” in food courts, there is an almost general scarcity of local culinary representation.  At least that’s the case in the contiguous area shared by multiple food vendors; small private vendors are usually relegated to outlying areas of the mall.  Food courts are, by and large, the haven of fast food chains which can afford the steep rent commanded in the premium heavily-trafficked area. Typical food court tenants may include McDonalds or Burger King, Edo Japan, Sbarro, China Wok, Cinnabon and others of that ilk. An argument could be made that food courts make…

AlbuquerqueBreakfastBrunchClosed in 2013Fine DiningGone But Not Forgotten

Lucia – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:58 PM

There was a time the name “Hilton” didn’t conjure up images of a ditzy blonde airhead whose celebrity is based largely on promiscuity. On second thought, maybe not. More than 50 years ago, another ditzy blonde temptress, Zsa Zsa Gabor honeymooned at Albuquerque’s Hilton Hotel with her then husband Conrad Hilton, a New Mexico native and founder of the historic downtown hotel.  It was Hilton’s fourth hotel and the very first modern high-rise hotel in the Land of Enchantment. The ten-story hotel, launched in 1939, was an example of New Mexico Territorial style architecture, showcasing earth tone stucco and southwest woodwork, furnishings and artwork.  Its imposing two-story lobby, stately arches, hand-carved beams and balconies overlooking the lobby made it one of the finest hotels in the Duke City.  Being within easy walking distance of the city’s transportation hubs–the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad Depot and America’s mother road, historic Route 66, made it convenient for weary sojourners and well-heeled travelers. Though the hotel’s guest registry was signed by a veritable who’s who in celebrity and politics–many of whom came for the hotel’s Spanish colonial charm, opulent ambience and impeccable service–the Hilton Hotel chain eventually outgrew its classic downtown hotel,…

Closed in 2014Gone But Not ForgottenLos Ranchos de AlbuquerqueSandwich

Village Subs – Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno4:57 AM

To paraphrase John 15:13, “No greater love a man has than this, that a man give up his life for a….sandwich?” In an uproariously funny episode of the television show Friends, Joey, Chandler and Ross go on a ride-along with Phoebe’s policeman boyfriend. Believing a back-firing muffler was actually a gunshot, Joey (sitting in between his two friends) dives, seemingly to protect Ross from harm.  Naturally Chandler was upset that Joey would choose to protect Ross instead of him…until he learns that Joey was actually trying to protect his sandwich.  In the finest tradition of Dagwood Bumstead, Joey Tribbiani loved sandwiches; they were his favorite food. I don’t know how many Americans would “take a bullet” for their sandwich, but America is most definitely a nation of sandwich lovers. According to one of my favorite books, American Sandwich by the fabulous Becky Mercuri, Americans consume more than 45 billion sandwiches per year, with the average American consuming 193 sandwiches per year. That’s a lot of sandwiches! One restaurant that has serving a lot of sandwiches is Village Subs, appropriately situated in the village of Los Ranchos De Albuquerque.  Allow me another paraphrase, this time of an African proverb: “it takes…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2012Gone But Not ForgottenHot DogsSandwich

Señor Dog – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno4:39 AM

H. K. Duff VIII:  Why not break your fast with our brand-new Isotope Dog Supreme? [Homer sniffs the hot dog.] Homer Simpson:  Oh, so hard to resist. Mesquite-grilled onions. Jalapeño relish. … Wait a minute, those are Southwestern ingredients. … Mango-lime salsa? That’s the kind of bold flavor they enjoy in … Albuquerque! Lenny: He’s right. Moe:  Yeah … and the wrapper says “Albuquerque Isotopes”! Within three months after the Duke City’s Triple-A baseball team, the Albuquerque Isotopes, co-opted its team name from The Simpsons animated television series, it sold more merchandise than the city’s previous Triple-A team, the Albuquerque Dukes, had sold in any entire season.  That was even before a single game had even been played. In that magical, inaugural year of 2003, the team led all of minor league baseball in merchandising revenue. Unfortunately, the Isotopes moniker wasn’t accompanied by the fictional Isotope Dog Supreme.  Who wouldn’t love a hot dog with mesquite-grilled onions, jalapeño relish and mango-lime salsa?  It certainly would be oh, so Albuquerque.  Alas, the  Isotopes Park concession menu doesn’t include a hot dog nearly as imaginative or, ostensibly, as delicious as the Isotope Dog Supreme.  A case could easily be made that there…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2012Gone But Not ForgottenMexican

Jo’s Place – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno11:16 AM

By their fruits ye shall know them. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? -Matthew 7:16 As Americans are often prone to judge fruit by the pleasingness of its appearance, the fragrance of its bouquet and the sweetness of its flavor, huitlacoche may not stand a chance.  A fungus which forms on the ears of corns, huitlacoche resembles a malignant tumor with postulous  black secretions  Worse, its name translates from Nahuatl, the ancient language of the Aztecs, to raven shi…er, excrement. In more pleasant company it’s called corn smut.  As if that isn’t bad enough, it’s created from a disease formed by a pathogenic plant fungus.  Is it any wonder persnickety Americans have been slow to accept that huitlacoche could possibly be considered a delicacy? Perhaps Americans would be wise to remember that the ancient Aztecs were one of the world’s most advanced civilizations in medicine, math and science and they incorporated huitlacoche into their cooking as have generations of their descendants.  Perhaps if American farmers understood its potential as a culinary delight, they wouldn’t work so hard to eradicate it.   Perhaps if nutritionists recognized that huitlacoche is replete with unique proteins, minerals…

AlbuquerqueAmericanClosed in 2015Gone But Not Forgotten

Tim’s Place – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED: 2015)

Gil Garduno8:35 PM

“In my walks, every man I meet is my superior in some way, and in that I learn from him.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson WARNING:  The program you are about to see…seeks to throw a humorous spotlight on our frailties, prejudices and concerns.  By making them a source of laughter, we hope to show–in a mature fashion–just how absurd they are.”  With that stark warning, the landmark satire All in the Family debuted on January 12th, 1971.  No television program–before or since–has changed the face of television to the extent All in the Family did.  Some credit it for ushering in the era of political correctness. At its peak, All in the Family was the highest rated television show in America from 1971 through 1976, commanding as many as sixty percent of all television sets across the fruited plain.  Many tuned in to see what the show’s central character Archie Bunker would say or do.  A bigoted loading dock worker from Queens, Archie unabashedly expressed his every racial and political view, all of which were borne out of negative stereotypes, intolerance and ignorance.  Invariably his malapropisms and foibles made for very humorous television. In one especially memorable episode, the target…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2011Gone But Not ForgottenMexican

Guicho’s Authentic Mexican Food Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno7:04 AM

There have been Mexican restaurants in the Land of Enchantment for as long as there have been restaurants.  While the distinction between Mexican restaurants and New Mexican restaurants has become less obfuscated over time, there is still a tendency among many casual diners to think “a Mexican restaurant is a Mexican restaurant.”  That errant thinking is probably due to the preponderance on this side of the border of Mexican restaurants from the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua. The cuisine of Chihuahua is characterized by its simplicity, reflecting the resilience of its people, settlers of a land steeped with rugged terrain, craggy mountains and rough lands in which great temperature variations exist between scalding heat and almost freezing cold.  Dehydrated chile is a staple of Chihuahua.  When reconstituted, flour is added to thicken it for such popular favorites as enchiladas, tacos, chile rellenos, quesadillas, beans and tamales, all foods with which New Mexicans are intimate.  The cuisine of this region is also characterized by the use of melted or roasted cheese, much of it courtesy of the large Mennonite population in the area. In the past decade or so, New Mexico has seen a growing number of restaurants from states other than Chihuahua.…

AlbuquerqueAmericanClosed in 2015Gone But Not Forgotten

Cool Water Fusion Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno10:27 PM

All day I’ve faced a barren waste Without the taste of water, cool water Old Dan and I with throats burned dry And souls that cry for water Cool, clear, water. – The Sons of the Pioneers Cool Water!  For all of us who have experienced the energy-depleting sensation of being parched on a sweltering, sudorific day in the desiccated southwest, there is nothing which will quench that thirst better than cool water.  Country crooner Marty Robbins sang about it in 1959 when he released his version of the classic Sons of the Pioneers song, his velvety smooth voice conveying the anguish of a man (and his mule Dan) in dire need of cool water’s life-giving, energy-replenishing qualities. Cool Water!  From the sense that in the American vernacular, being cool is hot, being bad is good and being really great is wicked, “cool water” conveys something superlative, exciting or attractive as opposed to something merely acceptable, ordinary or satisfactory.  The word “cool” acquired that connotation in the jazz era, but the slang term reached its pinnacle in popularity in the 1950s when the beatniks of the age used it to differentiate themselves from the “straights.”  Cool could mean relaxed, laid-back,…