Category: Albuquerque

AlbuquerqueBurgersClosed in 2017Gone But Not ForgottenNew Mexico

Pete’s Frites – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:15 PM

You might view my friend Schuyler’s insistence that his favorite vegetables are French fries, salsa and pizza as a fallacious premise, a non-sequitur fraught with absurdity. French fries are made from potatoes (botanically classified as a vegetable) so categorizing fries as a vegetable might not be a stretch, but pizza? How, you might ask, could any reasoning adult possibly consider pizza a vegetable? Schuyler’s argument is inspired from the beloved 1947 holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street. When ordered by the court to submit authoritative proof that Mr. Kringle is the one-and-only Santa Claus, Kringle’s lawyer Fred Gailey produced dozens…

AlbuquerquePizzaRating: Very Good

Pizza Castle – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:59 PM

There’s nothing like a topic about which opinions are wide and varied to stir up a good old-fashioned, highly spirited debate–an exercise in the Constitutional right of free speech. One topic which has been known to elicit energized dialogue is pizza. Whether the debate is New York style versus Chicago style, thin crust versus thick crust, brick wood-fired oven versus gas oven, mom-and-pop pizzeria versus the corporate chains or even slices versus whole pie, Americans sound off like England’s Houses of Parliament on CSPAN, only with more class, dignity and intelligence. Such was the case in 2008 when the forum…

AlbuquerqueNew MexicoRating: GoodSeafood

Crackin’ Crab Seafood Boil – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno9:13 PM

There are certain notions people find too implausible or preposterous to believe. Case in point: during a recent lunch with my friend Bill Resnik, our waitress asked what we did for a living. Bill told her I was an actor, a premise our waitress found entirely credible—even to the point of recalling she may have seen me in an episode of Breaking Bad. When, however, I told her Bill was a porn star, she couldn’t contain her laughter. She practically fell over in hysteria at the image of my towering (6’5″) friend performing in a porno as if it was…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2018Gone But Not ForgottenMiddle EasternNew Mexico

Aura European and Middle Eastern Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Countries and states may recognize borders but food doesn’t, especially today in an increasingly connected world where it’s possible to enjoy the cuisine of many of the world’s diverse and distant cultures without crossing a single border. Attribute the modern world’s dietary diversity to improved agricultural, transportation and preservation methods as well as rampant imperialism throughout the history of humankind. Consider the culinary influence of invading forces on the ancient nation of Armenia. During the course of its storied history, Armenia was invaded and occupied in succession by Persians, Byzantines, Mongols and Turks, all of whom left their mark on…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBreakfastBrunchClosed in 2017Diners Drive-Ins and DivesDog FriendlyFood Network Eats New MexicoGone But Not ForgottenRating: Outstanding

Eli’s Place (formerly Sophia’s Place) – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno3:49 AM

NOTE: In March, 2018, Sophia’s Place reopened.  Please click here for the updated review. Picture yourself as a first-year marketing student assigned by your professor to perform a marketing analysis of Eli’s Place and its enigmatic chef-owner Dennis Apodaca. Essentially you’ve got to figure out the rhyme and reason behind the restaurant’s success. “Easy assignment,” you think to yourself, “Eli’s Place is successful because it serves some of the best, most delicious food in Albuquerque.” Your research quickly reveals, however, that Eli’s Place actually violates many of the time-honored, trusted and fundamental marketing tenets of growing and successful businesses. From…

AlbuquerqueBarbecueNew MexicoRating: Very Good

The County Line Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno2:59 PM

If you believe alcohol Prohibition, America’s federally mandated fourteen year social experiment with sobriety, ended with the passing of the 21st amendment in 1933, you would be wrong. As of January, 2016, there were still about 200 “dry” counties (particularly in the Bible Belt) across the fruited plain with what most would consider excessively stringent liquor laws. Residents of dry counties who want to indulge in their favorite adult beverage have but to drive to the county line of the nearest “wet” county where package stores and bars do a thriving business in alcohol sales. It might be a stretch…

AlbuquerqueNew MexicoPizzaRating: N/R (Not Rated)

Slice Parlor – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:03 AM

British soul superstar Adele recently revealed to fans in Los Angeles “I can’t eat pizza anymore guys, how bad is that?” She then proceeded to answer her own question about how bad it is: “It’s worse than Romeo And Juliet! If only Shakespeare was alive, he could write about it!” So what would cause an admitted pizza fanatic give up pizza? After having vocal surgery in 2011, she’s been advised to protect her voice and as Adele explained “because it’s got cooked tomatoes on it which are bad for your throat and give you acid reflux. How bad is that,…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2018Gone But Not ForgottenSandwich

Petra Restaurant & Times Square Deli Mart – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno10:58 PM

As the clock approaches midnight every year on December 31st, the eyes of the world are focused on a single geodesic sphere some twelve-feet in diameter and weighing nearly six tons. Covered with nearly 3,000 Waterford Crystal triangles, that sphere descends slowly down a flagpole at precisely twelve o’clock, signaling the transition to a new year. The event is witnessed by more than a billion people across the world, including more than one million who crowd the area to bid a collective adieu to the year just completed and to express hope and joy for the upcoming year. This event…

AlbuquerqueBakeryNew MexicoRating: Very Good

Rude Boy Cookies – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:45 PM

Sometimes me thinks ‘what is a friend.’ And then me say “Friend is someone to share the last cookie with.” ~The Cookie Monster NOTE:  In November, 2024 Rude Boy Cookies closed its doors at its central location across from the University of New Mexico after dealing with a series of problems including break-ins, vandalism, and even armed robbery.  Owners indicate they are looking for a new location to open up their bakery.  In the meantime, cookie aficionados can visit the Rude Boy Cookie location at 2500 12th St NW, Unit E, Ste 3. With whom would you share your last…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2017Gone But Not ForgottenItalianPizzaSandwich

Bricklight Dive – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

If we really are what we eat, I’m fast, cheap and easy. Fast, cheap and easy. That would certainly describe the stereotypical college diet, especially for freshmen. On their own for the first time, freshmen eat what they want when they want it. They load up their trays with junk food in heaping helpings so mountainous it would make Dagwood Bumstead envious. They fuel marathon study sessions with sugary snacks. Exercise consists of sixteen-ounce curls, clicking the remote and fork lifts. It’s no wonder the “freshman fifteen” myth–the belief that many college students pack on 15 pounds during their first…

AlbuquerqueDog FriendlyItalianNew MexicoPizzaRating: Excellent

Piatanzi – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:40 AM

“Italy is an illusion, indeed, a mirage, the stuff of wishes.” ~Mario Luzi In the 1996 motion picture Big Night, two Italian restaurants across the street from one another operate in diametric opposition to one another both philosophically and in practice. One is enormously successful because it gives customers what they want and expect (even though savvy diners would consider the culinary fare mediocre and uninspired). In the other restaurant, the chef is a perfectionist who will labor all day to create a perfect dish and becomes exasperated when diners don’t recognize the authentic culinary art he creates, preferring “Americanized”…