Sandwich Archives - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog

Albuquerque New Mexico Pizza Rating: Excellent Sandwich

Slice & Dice – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoMay 22, 2026May 25, 20265:37 PM

You might remember a 2004 documentary called Supersize Me in which writer-producer Morgan Spurlock explored the consequences on his health of a diet consisting solely of McDonald’s food for one month. Spurlock has nothing on Dan Janssen who as of 2019 had eaten almost nothing but pizza for nearly thirty years. That’s pizza for lunch and dinner every day of the year for just about three decades. Janssen is certainly no believer in the old adage that variety is the spice of life because the only spice with which he tops his pizza is oregano. Nor does variety extend to the type of pizza he enjoys. Every day he usually consumes one fourteen-inch cheese pizza for lunch and another for…

Albuquerque Continental New Mexico Rating: N/R (Not Rated)Sandwich

Little Europe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoMay 19, 2026May 25, 202612:01 AM

Few natural wonders are as awe-inspiring and spectacular as the chalky White Cliffs of Dover on the English coast. Only for a short while are those bright white, natural geological formations visible at night as you’re sailing away toward France on a cross-channel ferry. Instead, as you depart from Dover’s busy port, you’re treated to an increasingly receding facade as the 350-foot chalk faces dim, their bright white geological features vividly reflecting moonlight. That’s the view I remember most from my first English crossing some 21 miles away from France. Along with a busful of eager passengers, we were bound for Calais, the closest point in France to Great Britain. For the Germans, that made it the most logical and…

Albuquerque Bakery Coffee New Mexico Rating: Excellent Sandwich Vietnamese

Banh Me & You – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoApril 29, 2026April 30, 20268:47 AM

According to The Tanner Food Group, a a food consultancy focused on international trade, industry preparedness and regulatory activities, there are now nearly 8,000 Vietnamese restaurants stateside. Food Scientist Michael Murdy, founder of robustkitchen.com attributes the popularity of Vietnamese food to the “wide range of flavors and textures associated,” specifying that “the combination of sour, sweet, savory, and spicy flavors, as well as the use of fresh herbs and vegetables, makes Vietnamese food particularly attractive to people.” From among the nearly 8,000 Vietnamese restaurants on this side of the pond, it’s a good bet many of their menus are graced with banh mi, the sandwich melding French and Vietnamese flavors and techniques. I first encountered the banh mi during one…

Albuquerque Pizza Rating: Very Good Salad Sandwich

Dion’s Pizza – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoApril 28, 2026April 30, 20263:35 PM

Toga! Toga! Toga! Ever since the misfit Delta Tau Chi fraternity threw the most debaucherous toga party ever in the 1978 “teensploitation” comedy Animal House, the toga party has been ingrained in the college party culture. The genesis of the toga party goes back much, much further than Animal House. Toga parties, in fact, precede collegiate life in the fruited plain by many hundred years. The first toga party was actually organized in ancient Greece in honor of the Greek god Dionysus, the deity of the grape harvest, wine-making and wine, of ritual madness, fertility, theater and religious ecstasy (that’s quite a job description, even for a god). Dionysus literally had a cult following of men and women who worshiped…

Albuquerque New Mexico Rating: N/R (Not Rated)Sandwich

Kaufman’s New York – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoFebruary 24, 2026April 6, 202612:01 AM

“I’ll have what she’s having.” Can it really be 35 years since Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal created their famous fake orgasm scene from When Harry Met Sally? The scene was filmed at New York City’s Katz’s Delicatessen where sumptuous sandwiches are skyscraper tall and absolutely delicious (my sole visit was in 1978). Unlike Meg’s character, most of us wouldn’t have to fake our “excitement” with one gander of the sheer size of Katz’s pastrami sandwich. A Katz’s, the world-famous pastrami sandwich is enormous, featuring about one pound (12–16 ounces) of hand-carved meat stacked between rye bread. The sandwich stands roughly five-inches tall and is often considered large enough for two people to share. Obviously that doesn’t include me; I wouldn’t…

New Mexico Rating: Excellent Rio Rancho Sandwich

That’s My Rez Sandwich – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil GardunoFebruary 10, 2026March 31, 202612:01 AM

Has life on the rez suddenly become mainstream? Increased exposure certainly seems to indicate that may be the case. In 2023, the novel Rez Ball received prestigious literary recognition, including the American Indian Youth Literature Award. PowWows.com described the novel as “rooted in the reservations, Rez Ball is a fast-paced and fiercely competitive form of basketball that showcases the spirit of Indigenous identity. Its aggressive defense and quick transitions reflect the strength and pride of Native American players, making it a powerful expression of culture.” In 2024, the subsequent movie, also titled Rez Ball, also earned accolades. Centered in New Mexico, the movie follow the Chuska Warriors, a Navajo high school basketball team, as they overcome personal challenges in pursuit…

Albuquerque Rating: Very Good Sandwich

The Yeller Sub – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoFebruary 3, 2026May 17, 202610:20 AM

In the town where I was born… Lived a man who sailed to sea… And he told us of his life… In the land of submarines… – The Beatles: Yellow Submarine The phantasmagorical 1966 Beatles song Yellow Submarine may or may not have been the inspiration for Albuquerque’s venerable Yeller Sub, but one thing’s for certain. Since it launched in 1979, the Yeller Sub has been the Duke City’s land of oversized sub and torpedo sandwiches. Long-time residents will remember that the Yeller Sub was first located on Juan Tabo not too far from Manzano High School. Today it resides in the Louisiana Plaza Shopping Center off Montgomery. Its current corner storefront has remained a popular dining destination for more…

Arizona Dog Friendly Hot Dogs Mexican Rating: Excellent Sandwich United States

El Guero Canelo – Tucson, Arizona

Gil GardunoJanuary 9, 2026March 31, 20268:48 PM

If asked to participate in a word association exercise, any well-traveled foodie undergoing psychoanalysis would find it easy to name the first food that comes to mind when a city is mentioned: Philadelphia – the Philly cheesesteak sandwich; Boston – baked beans; Chicago – Italian beef sandwiches; San Francisco – sourdough bread; Milwaukee – butter burgers; San Antonio, New Mexico – green chile cheeseburgers. You get the point. Some foodies might not know that Philadelphia is the birthplace of liberty, but they know about Geno’s and Pat’s King of Steaks and their decades-long battle for Philly cheesesteak supremacy. You might find it strange that seemingly pedestrian foods would be the defining cuisine of burgeoning cosmopolitan cities, historically significant metropolises and…

Arizona Hot Dogs Rating: Very Good Sandwich United States

Ted’s Hot Dogs – Tempe, Arizona

Gil GardunoJanuary 8, 2026April 6, 202612:02 AM

Reading Becky Mercuri’s magnificent Great American Hot Dog Book had the same effect on me that Fifty Shades of Grey had on soccer moms throughout the country. How can someone so food obsessed not delight in such beautiful prose as “Western New York is definitely hot dog country and the preferred method of cooking is charcoal grilled.” Charcoal grilled! There goes another foodgasm. New Mexicans don’t have to travel all the way to Buffalo, New York to experience these magnificent charcoal grilled libido activators. We only have to go to Tempe, Arizona to sate our hunger…or lust, in some cases. Ted’s Hot Dogs was a precursor to the modern food truck. In 1927, Theodore “Ted” Spiro Liaros began operating…

Albuquerque New Mexico Pizza Rating: Very Good Sandwich

Richie B’s – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoDecember 17, 2025April 3, 20268:14 PM

If you’ve ever wondered why New Yorkers fold their pizza slices in half lengthwise (aka the “fold hold”) and if you’ve ever attributed that practice to Big Apple quirkiness, you owe it to yourself to visit Richie B’s, a New York-style pizzeria on Montgomery and Louisiana. Now, the Albuquerque metropolitan area has plenty of claimants to New York-style pizza, but can you name a single one in which you’ve actually HAD to utilize the fold hold to eat a slice? New Yorkers have mastered the fold hold because true New York-style pizza is thin-crusted and cut into wide slices (usually wider than your face) which taper down to a perfectly pointed (and invariably “floppy”) bottom. I’ve seen friends and colleagues…

Albuquerque American Burgers New Mexico Rating: Very Good Sandwich Steak

Dave’s Valley Grill – Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoDecember 1, 2025April 5, 202610:22 AM

Several years ago, Major Larry Abraham (God rest his soul) of the Village of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque called me out, reminding me that such restaurants as Sadie’s of New Mexico, Casa de Benavidez and Vernon’s Speakeasy were located not in Albuquerque as credited on Gil’s Thrilling…, but in the village he capably served for four terms. He politely asked me to correct my oversight. Ever since Mayor Abraham’s gentle prodding, your humble blogger has been much more diligent about ensuring the correct location of every restaurant reviewed–especially when at issue is whether the restaurant is in Albuquerque or in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque. In my defense, the Village of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque is much like what New Mexico’s…