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April 14, 2021

Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog

Follow the Culinary Ruminations of New Mexico's Sesquipedalian Sybarite. 1215 Restaurant Reviews, More Than 11,900 Visitor Comments…And Counting!

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Rio Rancho

Dog Friendly / Italian / New Mexico / Pizza / Rated 24 / Rio Rancho

M’Tucci’s Moderno – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

March 11, 2021March 19, 2021 - 15 Comments.

“If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere It’s up to you, New York, New York.” ~Frank Sinatra Jeff Spiegel, managing partner of the insanely popular M’Tucci’s family of restaurants has described flagship …

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Rio Rancho / Sandwich

Alicea’s NY Bagels & Subs – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

February 19, 2021March 4, 2021 - 14 Comments.

Imagine a world without sandwiches! That daunting premise would make a pretty fatalistic post-apocalyptic movie in which Dystopian societies exist in a nightmare of deprivation, hopelessness, terror and processed food rations (Soylent Green anyone?). No …

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Burgers / Ghost Kitchen / New Mexico / Rio Rancho

Upscale Burgers & Shakes – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

January 27, 2021February 10, 2021 - 3 Comments.

My friend Schuyler used to joke that every meal we enjoyed together was “upscale” because “up” was the direction his scale climbed when we finished our marathon meals.  We were quite the trenchermen in our …

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Albuquerque / Ghost Kitchen / Italian / New Mexico / Rio Rancho

Urbano Pasta Kitchen – Albuquerque, New Mexico

January 18, 2021January 22, 2021 - 8 Comments.

“To break bread together,” a phrase as old as the Bible, captures the power of a meal to forge relationships, bury anger, provoke laughter.” ~The Joy of Food From National Geographic Sharing a meal creates …

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Bakery / German / New Mexico / Rio Rancho

Dagmar’s Delectables Bakery & German Specialties – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

December 17, 2020December 22, 2020 - 12 Comments.

Until Dagmar Mondragon launched her first German restaurant in Albuquerque back in 1996, many of us knew very little about German cuisine in general and baking in particular.  The only German baker with which some …

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Chinese / New Mexico / Rio Rancho

Heaven Dragon – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

November 22, 2020November 29, 2020 - 14 Comments.

From Norbert, the Norwegian Ridgeback of Harry Potter lore to Smaug, the greatest and most powerful of all dragons in The Hobbit, dragons are a familiar icon in modern literature, movies, music and pop culture.  …

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Italian / Rated 25 / Rio Rancho

JOE’S PASTA HOUSE – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

November 13, 2020November 14, 2020 - 73 Comments.

Once a year, despite my protestations and whining, I agree to take my Kim to the Olive Garden. It’s a deal we have, albeit one that makes me feel like Faust in the Christopher Marlowe …

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Dog Friendly / Mexican / New Mexico / Rio Rancho

Elotes Del Rancho – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

September 25, 2020January 23, 2021 - 12 Comments.

“Now you’re just being uppity.”  That’s my Kim putting me in my place the second I begin to crow haughtily about some highbrow or nouveau way to prepare something ordinary.  Tandoori salmon pizza…that’s so me.  …

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Breakfast / Mexican / New Mexico / Rio Rancho

Federico’s Mexican Food – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

September 16, 2020September 29, 2020 - 7 Comments.

in February, 2020, Chef’s Pencil crunched the numbers of Google searches  for ethnic cuisines to determine the most popular ethnic cuisines in America. The two most popular ethnic cuisines were deemed to be Mexican and …

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Dog Friendly / Mexican / New Mexico / Rio Rancho

Cazuela’s Mexican Grill – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

September 4, 2020October 9, 2020 - 15 Comments.

Here’s an interesting bit of Jeopardy level trivia which you might contemplate the next time you dine at this Rio Rancho spot: In the Spanish golden age, a “cazuela” was the gallery located above the …

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Bar & Grill / New Mexico / Rio Rancho

O’Hare’s Grille & Pub – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

August 6, 2020August 8, 2020 - 3 Comments.

Céad míle fáilte, an Irish greeting meaning “a hundred thousand welcomes” preempts any menu listings at O’Hare’s Grille & Pub. At times, especially during happy hour and before Covid, it seemed a hundred thousand patrons …

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Bar & Grill / Dog Friendly / New Mexico / New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2009 / Pizza / Rio Rancho

Turtle Mountain Brewing Company – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

July 14, 2020July 16, 2020 - 14 Comments.

The Tewa name “Oku Pin” which translates in English to “Turtle Mountain” has three meanings of significance to the people of Okay Owingeh, one of New Mexico’s great Tewa speaking Northern New Mexico Pueblos. “Oku …

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Albuquerque / Bernalillo / New Mexico / Paletas / Rio Rancho

The Paleta Bar – Bernalillo, New Mexico

May 7, 2020May 8, 2020 - 4 Comments.

A few decades ago, Mad Magazine (or was it Cracked) published a two-panel cartoon depicting a couple of gringo turistas visiting Mexico on a stifling summer day.  On the first panel, one turista tells the …

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New Mexican / New Mexico / Rio Rancho

Burrito Express – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

April 18, 2020April 20, 2020 - 3 Comments.

In an article entitled “Ode to the Handheld” in the April, 2020 edition of New Mexico Magazine, writer Alicia Inez Guzman noted that when her dad was growing up in the sixties, “the idea of …

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American / Breakfast / New Mexican / New Mexico / Rio Rancho

Lily & Liam Bistro – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

April 5, 2020April 8, 2020 - 5 Comments.

Family owned restaurants have been called the heartbeat of a community, its pulse and its roots.  Beyond the tintinnabulation of silver spoons on ceramic coffee mugs and over the hum of conversation, restaurants become living …

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Barbecue / Burgers / New Mexico / Rio Rancho

Triple B’s Bar-B-Que Burgers & Burritos – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

April 1, 2020July 3, 2020 - 11 Comments.

Archaeologists in Spain claim to have unearthed the original man cave. What is most remarkable about this finding is how very similar Neanderthal man and contemporary man are. Men, it could be said, have not …

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Middle Eastern / New Mexico / Rio Rancho

Jerusalem – Taste of the Holy Land – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

March 29, 2020March 29, 2020 - 2 Comments.

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are inextricably tied to the ancient city of Jerusalem, the epicenter of sacred sites both unique and common to all three religions.  One of the oldest cities in the world as …

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New Mexico / Pizza / Rio Rancho

Davido’s Pizza & More – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

March 21, 2020April 2, 2020 - 6 Comments.

Some might call the American Realty and Petroleum Company (AMREP for short) a pioneering visionary for its early 1960s purchase of over 50,000 acres on the dusty Sandoval County plains that are now Rio Rancho. …

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Buffet / Indian / Rated 24 / Rio Rancho

Namaste Restaurant – Rio Rancho & Albuquerque, New Mexico

November 8, 2019February 21, 2021 - 27 Comments.

Several years ago while leading my organization’s e-business marketing and communication effort at Intel, I had the great fortune of hiring a phenomenal Web developer recently arrived from India. In the process of filling out …

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New Mexico / Rated 23 / Rio Rancho / Vietnamese

Saigon 2 Restaurant – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

September 27, 2019September 30, 2019 - 4 Comments.

In Chinese and Vietnamese cultures, numerology is very important. If you’ve traveled extensively, you may have wondered why the term “Pho” followed by a number is so commonplace. Often these numbers are considered lucky–and not …

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Cajun / Dog Friendly / New Mexico / Rio Rancho / Soul Food / Southern

K’Lynn’s Cuisine – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

May 4, 2019May 6, 2019 - 26 Comments.

Before permanent signage was mounted, a tethered banner in front of K’Lynn’s Southern & Cajun Fusion in Rio Rancho listed a few of the delicious treasures available in the tiny restaurant: “catfish, BBQ, gumbo, po …

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New Mexico / Rated 24 / Rio Rancho

Cafe Bella – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

April 9, 2019December 11, 2020 - 15 Comments.

Caffeine is my shepherd; I shall not doze. It maketh me to wake in green pastures: It leadeth me beyond the sleeping masses. It restoreth my buzz: It leadeth me in the paths of consciousness …

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Dog Friendly / New Mexico / Rio Rancho / Vietnamese

Pho Garden – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

November 10, 2018November 15, 2018 - 1 Comment

It should have been a point-counterpoint debate for the ages. My ideologically opposed and perpetually squabbling friends Carlos and Hien were arguing about the concept of American exceptionalism. Carlos took the Reaganesque position that America …

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American / Bar & Grill / Brunch / Closed in 2018 / Gone But Not Forgotten / New Mexico / Rio Rancho

The Point Grill – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

August 5, 2018September 24, 2018 - 20 Comments.

“Get to the point!” Archie Bunker, the irascible curmudgeon on the 70’s sitcom All in the Family frequently chided his doting wife Edith with the epithet “Get to the Point, Edith!” One of the series …

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Barbecue / Closed in 2019 / Gone But Not Forgotten / New Mexico / Rated 23 / Rio Rancho

Stack House BBQ – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

February 18, 2018July 15, 2019 - 10 Comments.

One of my Psychology professors cautioned students about the danger of “amateur diagnosis,” the practice of assigning specific psychoses and neuroses to people we meet solely on the basis of our cursory familiarity with the …

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Japanese / New Mexico / Ramen / Rio Rancho / Sushi

Nori Ramen & Sushi Bar – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

November 25, 2017October 13, 2018 - 1 Comment

From our home in northeast Rio Rancho, it’s about thirteen miles to the Nori Ramen & Sushi Bar on Southern Boulevard. It would have been safer to run with the bulls at Pampalona than it …

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Closed in 2017 / Gone But Not Forgotten / Mexican / New Mexico / Rio Rancho

El Maguey – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

April 2, 2017July 8, 2018 - Leave a Comment

On a 2010 episode of The Travel Channel’s No Reservations series, host Anthony Bourdain described pulque as “the sap of the maguey cactus” as well as “man juice” and “Mexican Viagra.” That may explain why …

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Chinese / Closed in 2018 / Gone But Not Forgotten / Rio Rancho

Tao Chinese Bistro – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

February 24, 2017November 9, 2018 - 18 Comments.

It’s highly unlikely ancient Chinese philosophers ever intended the concept of Tao to be used as an approach for the serial seduction of women, but that was the premise of the 2000 movie The Tao …

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Burgers / Closed in 2018 / Gone But Not Forgotten / New Mexico / Rated 23 / Rio Rancho

Toro Burger – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

November 19, 2016September 5, 2018 - 15 Comments.

While watching a “sanitized for television” version of the audacious satirical comedy Blazing Saddles, my precocious six-year-old niece asked several questions with deep sociological implications: “Why is everyone in the town of Rock Ridge named …

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Closed in 2016 / Gone But Not Forgotten / Mariscos / Mexican / New Mexico / Rio Rancho

Mariscos Mazatlan – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

July 31, 2016July 12, 2018 - 7 Comments.

A rotund, ripening, red tomato is featured prominently on license plates issued in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. This is indicative of the state’s prominence in growing the “love apples” from which its rich salsas …

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Bar & Grill / Closed in 2018 / Gone But Not Forgotten / Rio Rancho

Fat Squirrel Pub & Grill – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

February 29, 2016September 5, 2018 - 39 Comments.

The quaint names given to English pubs are sometimes nearly as interesting as the reasons for which those names were bestowed. Take for example what is arguably England’s oldest pub, the Trip to Jerusalem. Built …

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Closed in 2016 / Gone But Not Forgotten / Hot Dogs / Ice Cream / Rio Rancho

Ice Cream Palace and Hot Dog World – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

October 3, 2015July 15, 2018 - Leave a Comment

Nay-sayers, those nattering nabobs of negativism, have always had it in for hot dogs. First they plied us with horror stories and urban myths about what hot dogs are made of. Essentially, they decried, hot …

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Closed in 2020 / Gone But Not Forgotten / New Mexico / Pizza / Rio Rancho

Blue Grasshopper Brew Pub – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

February 7, 2015November 23, 2020 - 3 Comments.

If you’ve ever wondered why the term “pink elephants” has long been recognized as a euphemism for a drunken hallucination, credit author Jack London. In his autobiographical tome, he described himself as “the man whom …

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Burgers / Closed in 2014 / Gone But Not Forgotten / Rio Rancho

NM Rodeo Burgers – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

September 5, 2014October 20, 2018 - 12 Comments.

“Traveling with the rodeo It’s the only life I’ll ever know I started in New Mexico Must have been a thousand years ago.” ~Lyrics to “Ride ‘Em Cowboy” by Paul Davis Although my friends and …

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Barbecue / Closed in 2016 / Gone But Not Forgotten / Rio Rancho

Rub-N-Wood BBQ – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

March 18, 2014July 16, 2018 - 22 Comments.

“Beam me up Scotty. There is no good barbecue on this planet.” ~James T. Kirk Captain James Tiberius Kirk of the United Starship Enterprise never actually uttered those words, but had he visited Rio Rancho …

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Buffet / Closed in 2015 / Gone But Not Forgotten / Japanese / New Mexico / Rio Rancho / Sushi

Ahh! Sushi – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED: 2015)

January 20, 2014July 16, 2018 - 4 Comments.

The year was 1997. Recently thawed from a thirty year cryogenic state, Dr. Evil addressed the United Nations about his diabolical scheme to hold the world ransom: “ In a little while you’ll notice that …

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Poppy’s Pizzeria & Italian Eatery – Albuquerque, New Mexico

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