Category: Sandwich

AlbuquerqueNew MexicoRating: ExcellentSandwich

Cheese & Coffee (Uptown) – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Imagine canoodling in a hot tub with your sweetheart while enjoying a brilliant symphony of light courtesy of the aurora borealis as you both sip on hot coffee in which reindeer cheese bobs luxuriously.  It’s likely you find that romantic scenario very appealing save perhaps for seeing reindeer cheese floating atop your hot coffee.  While that scenario may sound unreal…maybe even surreal to most of us, it’s a reality in Finland where cheese is a favorite addition to a type of coffee called kaffeost.  Not just any cheese can make the cut, however. Finnish folks only use a particular type of cheese called leipäjuusto which translates loosely to “bread cheese.”  Despite that translation, “bread cheese” is one-hundred percent cheese.  There’s…

BakeryNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)Sandwich

Diane’s Bakery & Deli – Silver City, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In 2011, New Mexico Magazine recruited several local food writers and asked us to introduce readers to ten of “New Mexico’s Best Eats” in several categories:  Best Green Chile Cheeseburger, Best New Mexican Soul Food, Best Fine Dining, Best Enchiladas, Bet Vegetarian New Mexican Food, Best Road Food, Beste Local Seasonal Ingredients, Best Contemporary Native American Food, Best Chocolate and Best Carne Adovada.   For the most part, writers waxed eloquent about “the usual suspects” in Santa Fe and Albuquerque. The most noteable exception was Lesley S. King, a distinguished writer who graced New Mexico Magazine’s as the “King of the Road” for years.  Lesley declared The Land of Enchantment’s “Best Road Food” to be the Hatch Benedict from Diane’s…

AlbuquerqueBakeryItalianRating: ExcellentSandwich

Tully’s Italian Deli & Meats – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:19 AM

The sense of smell, more than any of our other senses, influences our ability to recall past events and experience. From among the five senses, fragrance is considered the most potent medium for conjuring up memories. True enough, some of the most enduring sensory memories of my years in the Boston area are reawakened thanks to the amazing aromas that greet me each time I visit Tully’s Italian Deli & Meats on San Mateo. It is with increased rarity that you find an authentic Italian deli which greets you at the door with the incomparable aroma of pastas, meatballs or sausages simmering in a perfect marriage of tomato sauce, garlic, basil and oregano. It’s also rare to find an Italian…

AmericanBar & GrillBurgersDog FriendlyNew MexicoRating: Very GoodRio RanchoSandwich

Slate Street Billiards Bar & Grille – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Discovering a bubbling crude…Texas tea, black gold, oil that is, transformed Jed Clampett from poor mountaineer who barely kept his family fed to a millionaire residing in a Beverly (Hills that is, swimming pools, movie stars) mansion.  Moving from a tiny ramshackle hovel to a luxurious and palatial dwelling brought with it one surprise after another for Jed and his family.  Among them was “a good strong eatin’ table” upon which “you could serve up a whole barbecued steer.”  Jed’s nephew Jethro who graduated at the top of his glass…”by a good foot” found out from a friend that the room in which the fancy eatin’ table was centered was called a “billy-yard room.”  Ergo, the table was a “billy-yard…

BakeryDog FriendlyNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)SandwichSanta Fe

Sage Bakehouse – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:24 AM

Bread.  We’ve been told it’s bad for our health, that it’s loaded with carbs and gluten.  Western doctors admonish caloric-overachievers to reduce our consumption of bread.  These dispensers of dietary information are at a loss to explain Emma Tillman.  When she passed away in 2007, the daughter of former slaves was an American supercentenarian and, for a few days, the world’s oldest living person.  She passed away at the young age of  114 years and 67 days.  Emma Tillman ran her own baking and catering service for about sixty years.  She prepared the staff of life for dignitaries in the state of North Carolina which proclaimed an “Emma Tillman Day” to commemorate her 110th birthday. Eleven years after Emma Tillman…

AlbuquerqueNew MexicoSandwichVietnamese

Leona Banh Mi – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno7:57 AM

“I’m not allowed in the Vietnamese sandwich shop anymore. They decided to banh mi for life.” During an ice-breaker at what promised to be a stressful project planning meeting, all participants were asked to stand up and describe their favorite childhood Christmas gift. For the most part, favorite gifts conformed to gender stereotypes. Male colleagues waxed fondly about GI Joe action figures (don’t ever call them dolls), Star Wars Lego sets and their first bike. Females in our group described Barbie dolls, playhouses and cabbage patch kids. Then it was my turn. “My favorite Christmas gift as a child,” I explained “was a dictionary.” Copious groaning ensued though for some reason no one was surprised. As a child for whom…

Dog FriendlyItalianRating: OutstandingSandwichUnited StatesUtah

TONY CAPUTO’S MARKET & DELI – Salt Lake City, Utah

Gil Garduno12:02 AM

Most of us know someone like Lucy Van Pelt, the irascible, bossy, highly opinionated diva in the syndicated Peanuts comic strip.   Since her debut in 1952, Lucy has been the perpetrator of two long-running gags.  One involves her holding the football (ostensibly so that Charlie Brown can kick a field goal or extra point) and pulling the ball away because she doesn’t want Charlie Brown to get it dirty.  The second gag parodies the lemonade stand operated by many young children under spacious skies.  Instead of a lemonade stand, she operates a psychiatric booth where she offers advice and psychoanalysis for a nickel.  The “advice” is often worthless though on occasion, she actually dispenses a pearl of wisdom.  Lucy…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBreakfastBrunchClosed in 2025Dog FriendlyGone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoSandwich

The Farmacy – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In this age of “fake news,” biased media slants and unabashed tell-alls, the one recent headline which has pleased me most comes from Bloomberg. Splashed in bold typeface was the eye-catching lead “Mom-and-Pop Joints Are Trouncing America’s Big Restaurant Chains.” Elaborating on this contention, the first paragraph reads: “Americans are rejecting the consistency of national restaurant chains after decades of dominance in favor of the authenticity of locally owned eateries, with their daily specials and Mom’s watercolors decorating the walls.” The numbers bear this out–“annual revenue for independents will grow about 5 percent through 2020, while the growth for chains will be about 3 percent.” Fittingly, I read this article during my inaugural visit to The Farmacy, a Lilliputian lair…

AlbuquerqueBetter Call SaulBreakfastItalianRating: Very GoodSandwich

Limonata Nob Hill Crepe Escape – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:31 PM

While contemplating a name for their second Duke City restaurant venture, Maxime and Daniela Bouneou wanted to convey the feeling of a refreshing and invigorating venue in which their patrons could relax and enjoy themselves. After deliberating several options, they ultimately decided on Limonata, the Italian word for lemonade. When Daniela proudly told her friends in Italy what the new restaurant would be named, they laughed, reminding her that Limonata is an Italian slang term for “French kiss.” Though Maxime and Daniela may have become a bit more “Americanized” by having lived in the United States for more than a decade, Limonata had the look, feel and most importantly, tastes of a true Italian trattoria. Limonata was launched as the…

BakeryRating: Very GoodSandwich

Roma Bakery & Deli – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:02 AM

Galdamez and Albertine. If you saw those names on a building, you might expect to see them appended with “Attorneys at Law.” That’s especially true if the building is in the area immediately north of Albuquerque’s burgeoning downtown district, an area teeming with lawyers’ offices and bail bondsmen (is bondspeople the politically correct term?). Instead, the building in which Oscar Galdamez and Bruce Albertine ply their own noble trade houses a diminutive and charming dining establishment, Roma Bakery and Deli. You won’t see their named displayed in any officious self-aggrandizement manner, but it’s a good bet you’ll get to know their names soon enough. That’s because frequent return visits are imminent, especially for hungry patrons lucky enough to live or…

AlbuquerqueMexicanNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)Sandwich

Don Tortas – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

A survey of 2,000 Americans conducted by French’s Mustard in celebration of National Sandwich Day (November 3, 2021) revealed that 66-percent of Americans put between three and six condiments on their sandwiches, 44-percent of respondents believe condiments belong on both buns while 57-percent believe the most important part of a sandwich is the meat.  French’s poll revealed the cheesesteak is the most popular sandwich in America followed by the hamburger (which many people would argue is not a sandwich), barbecue pulled-pork sandwich, Italian and Reuben.  Had the survey polled Americans as to what sandwiches were on the ascent–those growing quickest in popularity–two sandwiches would have risen to the top. Both of those sandwiches owe their genesis to French colonial rule. …