Category: Albuquerque

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Firenze Pizzeria – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Name a pizza joint “Florence Pizzeria” and public reaction would likely be dubious:  “Who the heck is Florence?”  “Can someone named Florence possibly have a clue how to make pizza?”  Now translate “Florence” to Italian and all of a sudden, “Firenze Pizzeria” has instant credibility.  Never mind that most of the pizza in Florence (er, Firenze), Italy is of the Neapolitan variety.  The name Firenze is a perfect fit for a pizzeria.  Even the name inspires visions of a fire-breathing Italian oven preparing a waifishly thin pizza in just about a minute. Steven Meyer, owner-operator of Albuquerque’s Firenze Pizzeria knows…

AlbuquerqueMiddle EasternNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)

El Chamo Arabe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:01 PM

According to the New York Post, the beleaguered South American nation of Venezuela may be the easiest place on Planet Earth in which to become a millionaire.  Of course, a million Bolivars in the inflation-ridden nation is worth only about fifty-three cents.  In 2018, Venezuela’s Central Bank actually began printing $1,000,000 bills.  Years of hyperinflation devours the income of Venezuelans, leaving them hungry and struggling to buy food and medicine.  Many Venezuelans scour through garbage to find food while millions of others fled the country to build new lives across South America and beyond.   You wouldn’t know life in…

AlbuquerqueNew MexicoPopcornRating: ExcellentSpecialty

The Cornivore Popcorn Company – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno8:09 AM

“Popcorn for breakfast! Why not? It’s a grain. It’s like grits, but with high self-esteem.” ~James Patterson The planet’s very first known popcorn aficionados may have expressed the sentiment “to the batcave”  long before Batman, the Caped Crusader uttered the words to Robin, the Boy Wonder.  After long days of hunting and gathering, foraging and fishing, our primitive progenitors–nearly six-thousand years before the advent of Netflix–would adjourn to a cave to enjoy popcorn (which, ostensibly, was delicious even without butter, caramel and Cheddar). Contrary to popular opinion, the world’s oldest popcorn did not come from the same movie theater which…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBreakfastNew MexicanNew MexicoRating: Very Good

Milly’s Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:28 AM

Until rather recently, if there was a wide diversity of opinion about Albuquerque’s restaurant scene, it wasn’t widely shared. Albuquerque’s two daily periodicals, the Albuquerque Journal and the Albuquerque Tribune as well as a number of alternative publications published weekly restaurant reviews, but opinions and observations expressed therein were rather one-sided. It wasn’t until about 2008 that crowd-sourced restaurant reviews really took off in the Duke City. Published in such online mediums as TripAdvisor (founded in 2000), Yelp (launched in 2004) and Urbanspoon (debuted in 2006), crowd-sourced review venues gave everyone an opportunity to become a “critic.” More than ever…

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Quarter Celtic Brewpub – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In 1913, French mathematician Émile Borel introduced a thought experiment that has come to be known as the infinite monkey theorem. Essentially, the theorem posits that a single monkey hitting keys at random on a typewriter keyboard for an infinite amount of time will eventually type a given text, such as the complete works of William Shakespeare. Espying a sign bearing the name Llanfairpwll-gwyngyllgogerychwyrndrob-wllllantysiliogogogoch when we visited the island of Anglesey in Wales, we wondered if that monkey had been set loose on the sign bearing the village’s name. When Kim asked me to try pronouncing the 58-character name (which…

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Tortilla Kitchen – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

A sure sign Spring has arrived In rural New Mexico is the annual ritual of cleaning the acequias, the community operated ditches used to irrigate fields, gardens and lawns. Early in the morning, property owners or their designated paid representatives would convene at appointed spots to begin the effort. Work crews typically consisted of grizzled veterans, most of whom acted as “mayordomos” (bosses) and young bucks like me with strong backs. Not surprisingly, distribution of work was…shall we say, quite inequitable. The old-timers would order us around, shouting out instructions like elderly drill sergeants. Most of us youngsters didn’t mind.…

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Lindo Mexico Grill & Seafood – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:59 PM

In the entire world, there may not be a national anthem that inspires as much heart-felt pride among its citizenry as the Mexican ballad Mexico Lindo Y Querido. It is a hauntingly stirring proclamation of the balladeer’s profound love for his native land–a love so intense that even his guitar awakens in the morning inspired to sing with alacrity about that land he loves. The song speaks to the country’s volcanoes, prairies and flowers serving as talismans for the love of his loves, the country of Mexico itself. While the country of Mexico is indeed blessed with awe-inspiring wonders, its…

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The Last Call – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:05 AM

NOTE:  Shortly after the Last Call shuttered its doors, Cali Burrito Co. launched at the same familiar location. Its grand opening day was 1 December 2023. “Ah, but after the sunset, the dusk and the twilight, when shadows of night start to fall. They roll back the sidewalk precisely at ten and people who live there are not seen again.” ~John Denver: Saturday Night In Toledo Albuquerque has a reputation of being a town which “rolls up the sidewalk,” an expression used to describe towns where businesses close up early and night life is very limited (translation: bars close early). …

AlbuquerqueDog FriendlyItalianNew MexicoPizzaRating: Very Good

Scarpas Brick Oven Pizza – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:13 AM

As an essayist of the New Mexico culinary condition, it’s easy to be lured in by new restaurants, those bright and shiny beacons of promise.  Sadly, critics (and those of us who play them in movies and television) gravitate toward new restaurants with the expectation of newness, something heretofore different and amazing.  We often do this at the expense of tried-and-true, established and proven restaurants which haven’t ever let us down.  For every new restaurant I visit, there are hundreds of old favorites to which I don’t return often enough.  One such personal favorite is Scarpas, a long-time fixture on…

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Los Olivos – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

For many New Mexicans, Durango, Colorado is much more familiar than Durango, Mexico.  In truth, however, Mexico’s Durango may actually have more historical significance and ties to the Land of Enchantment than its like-named resort town in Colorado.  That’s especially true for the Catholic Churches of New Mexico. Episcopal jurisdiction for the Catholic church in New Mexico was placed in 1797 under the stewardship of the Bishop of Durango. New Mexico remained part of the Diocese of Durango until 1850 when Pope Pius IX created the Vicariate Apostolic of New Mexico and appointed Father Jean Baptiste Lamy as its first…

AlbuquerqueMariscosMexicanNew MexicoRating: Very Good

Mariscos La Playa – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno8:28 PM

There’s deliciousness and there’s delicious irony on the menu at Mariscos La Playa. The deliciousness is more readily apparent. It’s part and parcel of virtually every item on the menu. You have to understand a little Spanish to grasp the delicious irony which is outwardly manifested in the form of a soup called “Caldo Vuelve a la Vida,” literally ” Come-back-to-life-soup.” The soup is a metaphor for the restaurant itself, the irony being that the restaurant itself came back to life in Albuquerque after a hiatus of almost two years. Mariscos La Playa operated in the Duke City from November,…