Category: James Beard Foundation “Best Chef – Southwest” Semifinalist – 2024

AlbuquerqueFine DiningJames Beard Foundation "Best Chef - Southwest" Semifinalist - 2024New MexicanNew Mexico

Level 5 Rooftop Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

For a nearly four-hundred year period, the Anasazi civilization which preceded New Mexico’s Pueblo cultures achieved the pinnacle of its technological and cultural advancement at a magnificent,  deep gorge called Chaco Canyon. Within the walls of Chaco Canyon, construction of multi-level buildings sprung up, some structures accommodating as many as  800 rooms. Not surprisingly, lower walls had to be made massive in order to support heavy stone walls up to five floors high.  It took remarkable planning to locate doors, passageways, kivas and other architectural features.  At five stories high,  Pueblo Bonito was the largest structure and the inspiration for Hotel Chaco’s spectacular restaurant Level 5  in Albuquerque’s Sawmill District. In 2017, local developer Heritage Hotels launched Hotel Chaco on…

BakeryJames Beard Foundation "Best Chef - Southwest" Semifinalist - 2024James Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersNew MexicoSanta FeSlovak

Dolina – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

For my dad, a professional educator for thirty years, it wasn’t enough that his children learned how to spell cat, dog and all the other traditional first words kids learn to spell in school.  He taught us how to spell Czechoslovakia, rhinoceros, aesthetic and other multisyllabic words.  He also taught us what those words meant.  Being kids, we giggled when he taught us about Lake Titicaca in the Andes of Bolivia, but marveled at its size and altitude.  Because of his teaching, one of my sisters could (at age seven) recite the alphabet backwards as quickly as most people can recite it forward.  Two of my sisters were double-promoted and both finished high school as valedictorians. My dad didn’t teach…

ArizonaDog FriendlyJames Beard Foundation "Best Chef - Southwest" Semifinalist - 2024James Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersMexican

Cocina Chiwas – Tempe, Arizona

Gil Garduno

Chef Armando Hernandez is my new hero.  In an interview with the Phoenix New Times, he was asked about “authentic Mexican cuisine.”  His retort was scathingly brilliant: “It’s very difficult for me to have these conversations, especially among our own people, about what’s considered authentic.  “They’ll be like, ‘Well, my Grandma-’ and I’m like, yeah, I’m not your Grandma though.”  Those of us who grew up in the Land of Enchantment when our distinctive cuisine was widely labeled “Mexican” remain somewhat in the dark about differences between New Mexican cuisine and that of our Southern neighbor.   It was only rather recently that cognoscenti determined New Mexican cuisine is different enough from Mexico’s to warrant its own label–New Mexican. Perhaps…

ArizonaDog FriendlyJames Beard Foundation "Best Chef - Southwest" Semifinalist - 2024James Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersMediterraneanUnited States

Source – Gilbert, Arizona

Gil Garduno

When Chef Claudio Urciuoli posed for a photograph with Source’s baker Ryan and chef Trevor, he sported a smile.  I joked with him about his stern countenance and he assured me that he really does have a sense of humor.  Despite the dissolution of his partnership at Pa’La, the acclaimed chef has every reason to smile.  He’s once again doing what he wants to do, operating a restaurant whose approach and raison d’etre are encapsulated in this statement from the restaurant’s website:  We are an ingredient driven, community centered, counter service restaurant, wine bar, and retail shop. Chef Urciuoli does indeed have a sense of humor and a personal warmth that really came across during our conversation.  He shared his…

AlbuquerqueFarm to TableFine DiningJames Beard Foundation "Best Chef - Southwest" Semifinalist - 2024James Beard Foundation "Best Chef" - Southwest Finalist 2024James Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersNew Mexico

Mesa Provisions – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

When I started Gil’s Thrilling…way back in 1996, my goals were to celebrate New Mexico’s restaurant scene and to provide an escape from the mean-spirited dialogue so prevalent among petulant politicians who have long forgotten they work for us.  I’ve tried not to lash out against politics through this medium I’m privileged to steward, but sometimes my frustration leaks out.  For those occasions I apologize.  I promise to try harder to focus on the joy I experience every time I dine with good friends.   When I’m upset with the latest shenanigans in Washington, D.C. and Santa Fe, those friends buoy my spirits with convivial discourse over a great meal. Such was the case when I met Linda Johansen (my…