Category: Gone But Not Forgotten

AlbuquerqueAmericanBreakfastBrunchClosed in 2023Gone But Not ForgottenNew Mexico

Modern General – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:47 AM

“I went to a general store but they wouldn’t let me buy anything specific.” ~Steven Wright While nay-sayers may regard New Mexico as an anachronism–stuck in a time warp somewhere between Victorian times and the Happy Days of the Fonz and Richie Cunningham–there are artifacts of the “good old days” for which I wax nostalgic.  Among those artifacts is a real general store, a concept largely relegated to history in this age of instant gratification through internet shopping.  In small villages, general stores were not only stocked with such necessities as groceries, dry goods and hardware, they were quite literally the social center of the community.  Some of my happiest memories as a gangling teen in Peñasco emanate from my…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2019Dog FriendlyGone But Not ForgottenMexicanNew MexicanNew MexicoRating: Outstanding

Sophia’s – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno10:01 AM

Exterior signage for Dennis Apodaca’s new restaurant venture sports the name of the previous tenant, a short-lived eatery named MIXX. In a February blurb announcing Dennis’s return, the Albuquerque Journal called his new venture “REMIXX.” A handwritten note scrawled on the front door, however, informs you that you’ve arrived at “Sophia’s – that you knew & loved on 4th St. NW.” Not taking any chances, Yelp lists entries for both “REMIXX by Sophia’s Place” and “Sophia’s.” So which is it? Ask Dennis and he’ll tell you that despite what the sign says, his restaurant is a relaunch of Sophia’s, the celebrated restaurant that made him one of Albuquerque’s most talked-about and respected chefs. “I’d rather spend money on serving great…

AlbuquerqueBurgersClosed in 2020Gone But Not ForgottenHot DogsNew Mexico

Burque’s Burgers & Dawgs – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:40 PM

A 2016 quality of life survey conducted by the city of Albuquerque revealed that denizens of the Duke City are split pretty much down the middle when it comes to the nickname “Burque” (which, by the way, is NOT pronounced “burr-key” though you’ll be forgiven if you can’t roll your r’s).  28-percent of respondents viewed the sobriquet favorably while 28-percent had an unfavorable impression and 35% were neutral.  Residents of the Northeast Heights viewed the nickname less favorably than did dwellers of North Valley, downtown, west side and UNM areas. The survey did not address former Mayor Marty Chavez’s 2007 branding efforts to replace Burque with a more generic city nickname, “The Q.” In response to Mayor Chavez’s perceived folly,…

BreakfastClosed in 2019Dog FriendlyGone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoSteak

Ponderosa Family Restaurant & Grill- Tijeras, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno2:20 AM

The teeth, tail and eye of the tiger caused quite an uproar in the Sandia National Forest near Tijeras, New Mexico back in 2015 and it made the national news. A mountain biker took a blurry photo of what appeared to be a tiger and posted it online. The photo went viral, prompting Bernalillo county officials to issue a warning urging hikers to take caution and call 911 if they saw it. A subsequent investigation by the New Mexico Game and Fish Department uncovered a life-sized plastic statue of a tiger. Because of the uproar it had caused, the plastic tiger was destroyed. New Mexicans found the presence of the jungle cat in Tijeras wilderness quite ironic. There’s been a…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2025Gone But Not ForgottenMexicanNew Mexico

Rusty Taco – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno8:18 PM

In 2015, food critic Mike Sutter embarked on a quest Don Quixote would envy when he ate at a different taco joint in Austin, Texas every day for an entire year. During his 365-day adventure, he consumed a whopping 1,600 tacos. When he moved from Austin to San Antonio, he embarked on a similar venture and not even life-altering thyroid cancer and its associated treatments and surgery could stay this critic from his appointed quest. He had surgery on a Tuesday and was back on the taco trail on Friday. Asked what his favorite taco was, he singled out a simple carnitas taco with a balance of lean, fatty and crispy bits and salsa–not some elegant or complicated creation of…

AlbuquerqueBreakfastClosed in 2024Diners Drive-Ins and DivesFood Network Eats New MexicoGone But Not ForgottenNew MexicanRating: ExcellentTravel Channel Eats New Mexico

Cecilia’s Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno8:12 PM

FROM INSTAGRAM (December, 2024):  After 25 years on the corner of 6th & Silver, Cecilia’s Café has closed its doors. This New Mexican breakfast and lunch restaurant was once featured on the Food Network and was a beloved space for locals.  Owner Cecilia Baca cited persistent challenges with homeless people, issues finding employees, and the remote/hybrid work phenomenon as key reasons for closing. Since the pandemic, “customers aren’t working a full week,” she said. “Just a lot of little things that made me realize that Downtown will not come back to life the way it was before COVID.” Pasqual Baylon’s devotion to the Mass and the Holy Eucharist was so fervent that even when assigned kitchen duty, he remained so…

AlbuquerqueAmericanClosed in 2020Gone But Not ForgottenNew Mexico

Southwest Savories Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno9:18 AM

After years of toiling as a quality engineer in a pressure cooker environment in which the happiest time of day was usually 5PM,  Charlene McBain has truly found her happy place.  It’s a cozy little cafe named Southwest Savories which she founded in 2018.  She’s eager to share her happy place with guests.  Although most of us probably won’t even notice the placard on a wall which reads “Our Happy Place,” you’ll certainly feel the spirit of that aphorism. In fact, in a scant lunch hour, you just might find Southwest Savories is the temporary respite you’ve been looking for, a warm, welcoming place where you can–if only for just a brief time–forget the daily rigors of the rat race.…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2019Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoVietnamese

Pho 505 – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno3:58 PM

“Eating slowly is good for the stomach; plowing deeply is good for the fields.” ~Vietnamese Proverb Imagine if the village of Hatch was granted a trademark that awarded it exclusive rights to the name “chile.”  Imagine Hatch then taking legal recourse against Chimayo, Lemitar, Jarales, et al. to prevent them from using the term.  Civil war would surely ensue.  A similar situation actually occurred in England when in 2013, an owner-operator of a small Vietnamese restaurant chain  trademarked the term “Pho” (as well as “pho” and “PHO).”  In a letter, the audacious trademark owner sent the following cease and desist request to existing restaurants: “…we have to ask all restaurants, large and small, to refrain from using the trademark Pho…

AlbuquerqueBarbecueClosed in 2019Dog FriendlyGone But Not ForgottenNew Mexico

ABQ BBQ – Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno6:43 PM

“It was Kansas City but it was North Carolina I wanted; whole hog smoked low and slow over fruit woods and doused liberally with a vinegar-based sauce. It was North Carolina but it was Texas I wanted; king beef sliced into juicy brisket prepared over post oak and glistening with a sweet tomato-molasses based sauce. It was Texas but it was Memphis I wanted; unctuous pork slow smoked over hickory and served “wet” in a tomato and vinegar-based sauce. It was Memphis but it was Kansas City I wanted; a medley of magnificent meats smoked over a variety of woods and dusted generously with a dry rub. It was all of America’s four dominant barbecue regions, but it was New…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBreakfastBurgersClosed in 2022Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicanNew Mexico

Duke City Kitchen – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno1:18 PM

In the 1970s and 1980s,  Reese’s Peanut Butter cups commercials consisted of a series of vignettes.  Each vignette depicted the collision of two daydreamers–one eating peanut butter and the other eating chocolate.  The peanut butter eater would exclaim “you got chocolate on my peanut butter.”  The one eating chocolate would retort “you got peanut butter on my chocolate.”  The two would then sample the mix of chocolate and peanut butter and burst out in wide-eyed surprise with “Delicious!”  A godlike narrator would then proclaim “Two great tastes that taste great together.” Reese’s has nothing on restaurant impresario Doug Weckerly, chef and proprietor of the Duke City Kitchen on Lomas just west of San Mateo.  Peruse his menu and you might get…

BurgersClosed in 2021Dog FriendlyGone But Not ForgottenNew Mexico

Chef Toddzilla’s Gourmet Burgers – Roswell, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno7:41 PM

Roswell, New Mexico is a stodgy conservative town where sidewalks are rolled up early. Change comes to the state’s fifth largest city as slowly as the twangy, lazy cadence of a Texas drawl. So does embracing opportunity. Consider the so-called Roswell Incident of 1947. It took 55 years before Roswell opened its UFO museum and another three years before its first UFO Festival. Because Roswell is such an anachronism, you might think a tatted-up chef with a dystopian haircut would stick out like a sore thumb. Ask anyone who’s experienced that chef’s gourmet burgers and amiable manner and they’ll tell Chef Todd Alexander doesn’t stick out, he stands out. So does his effervescent partner in business and in life Kerry…