Rio Rancho Archives - Page 7 of 8 - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog

American Breakfast Brunch Closed in 2011 Gone But Not Forgotten Rio Rancho

Outlook Cafe – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoJanuary 13, 2011July 19, 20181:25 PM

Some would argue that the city of Rio Rancho was spawned as a dubious marketing ploy designed to bilk gullible New Yorkers out of their savings by enticing them to a vast wasteland under the pretext that their “lucrative investment” would ensure a comfortable retirement in “among the greenest, most fertile valleys in the world.” Others see those pioneers who sought to civilize the wilderness on the plateaus west of Albuquerque as visionaries possessing a clarity and prescience that escapes most of us. Frankly, on our inaugural trek to the Outlook Cafe, we began to question our own sanity as we traversed what seemed to be an endlessly empty enormity of sage and sand beyond any vestige of civilization save…

American Closed in 2011 Gone But Not Forgotten New Mexican Rio Rancho

Sevyn’s Cafe – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoNovember 4, 2010July 19, 20181:15 AM

During a 1996 episode of Seinfeld, George Costanza, a self-proclaimed “short, balding, unattractive man” made the mistake of telling his fiancee he wanted to name his child “Seven” after his idol Mickey Mantle. To George’s chagrin, his fiancee’s cousins liked the idea so much they decided to name their own child Seven. Even as the female cousin was being wheeled by an orderly into the delivery room, George tried in vain to convince them to name the child something else. Six, Thirteen, Fourteen, even…Soda. “it’s bubbly, it’s refreshing!,” he cried. Driving by the familiar yellow roofed building that previously housed the now defunct Mad Max’s BBQ, I couldn’t help but laugh while recalling that hilarious episode. There on that yellow…

Closed in 2011 Gone But Not Forgotten New Mexico Pizza Rio Rancho

Frattellis – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil GardunoFebruary 26, 2010July 7, 20184:24 AM

In New York City, pizza by the slice is as ubiquitous as towering skyscrapers. Many of the city’s nearly 3,000 pizzerias serve pizza by the slice. Most have been doing so since the end of WWII when recently returned American veterans who served in Italy craved the sliced pizza they had enjoyed during their service. Heck, in the Big Apple, you can even find pizza by the slice proffered by sidewalk vendors. At about two bucks a slice, it’s usually pretty decent thin-sliced pizza blanketed with cheese. A widespread presence doesn’t mean the practice is universally approved of. The other school of thought snubs its nose at the thought of serving by the slice, the triangle-shaped, tomato sauced pie Americans…

American Closed in 2010 Gone But Not Forgotten New Mexico Rio Rancho

The Black Olive Wine Bar & Grill – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoFebruary 9, 2010September 1, 20189:42 AM

Perhaps in time, the Albuquerque-Rio Rancho metropolitan statistical area will be thought of in much the same vein as America’s two most famous “twin city” metroplexes–Dallas-Fort Worth and Minneapolis-Saint Paul. Don’t be surprised if Rio Rancho winds up being the Dallas to Albuquerque’s Fort Worth, the Minneapolis to Albuquerque’s Saint Paul. People have been selling Rio Rancho short for a long time, but that’s starting to change. By 1980, the end of its first decade in existence, the fledgling city which in 1970 didn’t even have a measurable population by U.S. Census standards had more than 10,000 residents. Ten years later, census reports showed the “little city which could” had grown to more than 32,000 residents and had become the…

Barbecue Breakfast Closed in 2010 New Mexico Rating: Excellent Rio Rancho

Mad Max’s BBQ – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoAugust 27, 2009March 31, 20264:44 PM

NOTE: In March, 2010, Max and Fran Montano entered into a lease to buy agreement with an enthusiastic owner who continued to use the recipes which made Mad Max’s the very best barbecue in the Albuquerque area. By September, 2010 the restaurant was closed. Max and Fran will continue competing in competitions throughout the region and will also cater events. They will be missed as much for their warmth and great humor as for their outstanding barbecue. Since the discovery of fire, man has viewed his domain as the great outdoors. The outdoors is from where man brought home the day’s victuals for early woman to prepare. As the centuries progressed, descendents of troglodytic man (many of whom haven’t evolved…

Closed in 2010 Gone But Not Forgotten Japanese New Mexico Rating: Outstanding Rio Rancho Sushi

Noda’s Japanese Cuisine – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoJune 4, 2009March 31, 20266:47 PM

Note: On December 16, 2010, Noda’s Japanese Cuisine, a Rio Rancho institution for a dozen years, closed its doors. Owners Masayasu and Setsuko Noda have retired and will be relocating back to Japan. It was initially announced that their son, an accomplished chef, would be looking for a new home for the restaurant many consider the very best Japanese restaurant in the state. Nearly five years later, we’re still waiting. Noda’s may very well be the very best Japanese restaurant in New Mexico, an off-the-beaten-path treasure whose unassuming facade belies sophisticated and wonderful cuisine. Tucked away in Trinity Plaza, a nondescript shopping center, that facade is quickly dispelled when you walk in to a dimly lit dining room whose subtle,…

Closed in 2015 Gone But Not Forgotten New Mexican New Mexico Rio Rancho

Seferino’s – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoMay 20, 2009July 22, 20183:32 AM

One of the first things you notice when you step into Seferino’s New Mexican Restaurant is the large portrait hanging just above the hostess station of an avuncular bearded gentleman with an air of dignity and class. Though he’s been gone for about a decade and a half and the restaurant which bears his name is in a new location, you can almost feel the comforting presence of Seferino Perea looming like a charming host bidding you welcome to his restaurant. Seferino’s daughter Cathy sports the same snowy white halo as her father, dignified argentine locks everyone should be fortunate enough to age into. Cathy, who along with her husband Joe Guitierrez own Seferino’s is a frequent presence at the Rio Rancho…

Closed in 2010 Mariscos Mexican New Mexico Rio Rancho

Dahlia’s Central Mexican Cuisine – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoFebruary 14, 2009July 22, 20188:34 PM

Because Mexico spans several climatic zones and a diverse topography, its cuisine varies from region to region. As such, it’s grossly unfair to stereotype Mexican food. It’s true that until recent years, most of the Mexican restaurants in the Albuquerque’s area featured the cuisine of the border state of Chihuahua, Mexico, typified by menus offering refried beans, enchiladas, chiles rellenos and the like. The past decade or so, however, has seen the influx of Mexican restaurants serving mariscos, the surprisingly fresh cuisine of the Mexican states bordering its coastal waters. The 2008 introduction of Dahlia’s Central Mexican Cuisine in Rio Rancho was therefore intriguing. My hopes were that Central Mexican cuisine might mean the cuisine of Oaxaca and Puebla, two…

Closed in 2008 Gone But Not Forgotten Mariscos Mexican New Mexico Rio Rancho

California Baja Grill – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoJuly 28, 2008July 22, 20182:54 AM

Several years ago, I introduced my good friend John Bennett to the exhilaration of verbal sparring with the shopkeepers at the mercados of Juarez, Mexico, a vibrant border city in which aggressive bartering is considered not only an honorable sport, but the only way to ensure any semblance of a fair exchange. The shopkeepers expect it and will respect your attempts to purchase their baubles, bangles and trinkets at the price you believe is fair. When John decided to bring back some Mexican coins for his son, a novice numismatist, I advised him to get no more than a quarter’s worth of coinage. As usual he didn’t heed my advice and asked one of the shopkeepers to exchange a five…

Asian Closed in 2018 Gone But Not Forgotten New Mexico Rio Rancho

Banana Leaf – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoJune 24, 2007August 31, 20184:54 AM

Banana leaves, although completely inedible, are used for slow, moist cooking of tough meats as well as for quicker steaming, baking or grilling of delicate ingredients such as chicken and fish. Used while still fresh and green, they lend a very moist quality to any food prepared in them and also imbue foods with a delicious herbal flavor. While Southeast Asian nations have used banana leaves in food preparation for generations, only recently have innovative American chefs begun to explore their infinite possibilities. It’s no wonder there are so many Asian restaurants named for this utilitarian, albeit inedible food ameliorant. Rio Rancho’s Banana Leaf restaurant opened in January, 2005 to some popular acclaim. Bringing you the culinary cuisine of Southeast…

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

Sal-E-Boy’s Pizzeria – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoOctober 13, 2006May 10, 20203:11 AM

For decades Rio Rancho has been called “Little New York” and indeed, for decades New Yorkers made up a large percentage of the population. It wasn’t the proverbial “swamp land in Florida” marketing scheme that brought sophisticated New Yorkers to the barren western wasteland that was Rio Rancho. It was the promise of sunshine and outdoor activities in a bustling, vibrant community that attracted them. It should stand to reason therefore that there would be at least one pizzeria in Rio Rancho that would serve real (or as real as you could possibly get in the Land of Enchantment) New York style pizza. Frankly, considering the differences in water quality (reputed to be the secret ingredient in authentic New York…