Category: Albuquerque

AlbuquerqueChineseNew MexicoRating: Excellent

Nio Szechuan – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Several years ago Mike Muller, my friend and former colleague at Intel was sent to Chengdu, the capital of the providence of Szechuan in Southwest China.  It was an assignment I would have loved.  Unfortunately I could barely spell the name of the enterprise asset management application Mike would be training our Chinese counterparts how to use.  From an application and business knowledge perspective, Mike was the perfect man for the job.  From the perspective of culinary culture, Intel should have sent me.  Our counterparts may not have learned much about the asset management tool, but we would have had a great time feasting on the incendiary delights for which the Szechuan region is famous. Mike is “bizarro Gil,” my…

AlbuquerqueBreakfastMariscosMexicanNew MexicoRating: ExcellentTacos

¡Ay Mi Mexico! – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno9:42 AM

One syllable, one word, one simple expression…yet there probably is no more expressive interjection,  heart-rending cry or honest exclamation in the Spanish language than the simple word “Ay.” This–one of the most  diminutive among all words–can say and mean so much.  Depending on the context, “Ay” is used to express such emotions as: <happiness: think “¡Ay, Chihuahua” when Despicable Me patriarch Gru espies a black villain suit he covets; surprise: ¡Ay, Cabron! what are you doing home in the middle of the day?; exasperation: ¡Ay, Que Lastima! <pain or dismay: Bart Simpson’s ¡Ay, caramba!” when he saw his parents having sex. The versatility of “ay” is virtually unparalleled (though you can usually tell what meaning or mood a speaker is…

AlbuquerqueCubanDog FriendlyMexicanNew MexicoTacos

CubaMex – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Because Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492 and a succession of Spanish explorers followed suit, you might expect that Spanish cuisine would have proliferated across the new world.  Instead, Spanish discoveries included indigenous cooking techniques and ingredients that forever altered the way scions of Spain ate. At the time of conquest, the European diet was principally comprised of bread, olive oil, olives, “meat,” and wine.   The “new world”–Mexico in particular–was rich, fecund, and replete with such crops such as beans, pumpkins, chilies, avocados, tomatoes, cocoa, cotton, tobacco, corn, and cassava, foods that could not be found in Mother Spain. All the territories explored and conquered by the Spaniards had their own bounty of unique and delicious culinary offerings.…

AlbuquerqueDog FriendlyMariscosMexicanNew MexicoRating: Very GoodTacos

El Molcajeton – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Molcajetes have become so commonplace on many a Mexican restaurant’s decor that we sometimes forget molcajetes are the traditional Mexican version of the mortar and pestle…that they have both form and function.  As we gawk in admiration at the symmetry and fine craftsmanship of a well-made molcajete, we don’t always reflect on the fact that throughout Mexico and some parts of the Estados Unidos molcajetes are still used to crush and grind spices and to prepare guacamole, moles and salsas.  In restaurants and homes in which molcajetes are used for their intended functional purpose, the guacamole, moles and salsas created within them are said to taste better, much better. As James Beard Award-Winning Writer and Chef Patti Jinich says “A…

AlbuquerqueBreakfastDog FriendlyMexicanNew MexicoRating: Very GoodTacos

Foodtopia – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

When a restaurant with the curious name “Foodtopia” surfaced in 2022, long-suffering readers of Gil’s Thrilling… probably realized an etymology lesson would soon be in order.   If the suffix “topia” intrigued you as much as it did your grandiloquent blogger, hang on.  First, a review of what we all know.  Utopia is “a seemingly perfect society, one without flaws, where everyone is content and conflict and strife are unknown.”  One example of a Utopian society is the movie Zootopia in which animals live in harmony and lions sing kumbaya with antelope.  More common than movies about Utopian societies are movies and literature about dystopia, “societies that are either extremely chaotic or extremely authoritative, a hellish place where most people…

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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…

AlbuquerqueDiners Drive-Ins and DivesDog FriendlyFood Network Eats New MexicoNew MexicoRating: ExcellentSoul Food

Frank’s Famous Chicken & Waffles – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno5:30 PM

If one measure of success is having the wherewithal to pursue those things you love most, Frank Willis has led a very successful life. A towering skyscraper of a man, Frank has had four great loves in his life: family, basketball, music and chicken and waffles. They’ve been his passions and his raisons d’être. Maybe that’s why he’s done them all well. You might remember Frank Willis as a heavily coveted recruit who played basketball for the University of New Mexico Lobos, then the only game in town. At 6’8” and 260 pounds, he was a physical presence down on the post, helping the Lobos win the Western Athletic Conference championship in 1994. Knee injuries kept him from achieving the…

AlbuquerqueCubanNew MexicoRating: Very Good

Havana Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“Cuba has bread and pork, but not enough vegetables. The food we were served was never warm enough. Cuba is not a place for vegetarians, picky eaters, or the gluten free.” ~Elinor Robin, PhD On 26 April 1954, CBS-TV aired the 93rd episode of I Love Lucy.  Watching the rerun decades later was essentially my introduction to Cuban food…sort of.  In the memorable episode Ricky decides to quit show business and open up a diner in which Cuban food would be the featured fare.  The Ricardos enter into a precarious partnership with their friends and neighbors Fred and Ethel Mertz.  Because Fred and Ethel have the diner savvy and Ricky has the name that brings in diners, unequal division of…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBreakfastRating: Very GoodTravel Channel Eats New Mexico

The Frontier Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno4:58 AM

Most college and university areas have at least one restaurant that transcends the “student hang-out” label to become a popular dining destination among all demographics, whether or not the diners matriculated at the nearby institution of higher learning. In Albuquerque that dining destination is the Frontier Restaurant. In its fifty plus years of serving the Duke City, the Frontier has gone beyond providing the quintessential college eatery experience. Some contend it may well be THE quintessential New Mexican restaurant. Serving Albuquerque since February, 1971, the commodious, barn-like Frontier Restaurant occupies half a city block (quite remarkable considering it started out as a small, one room eatery), seats more than 300 patrons and features an impressive gallery quality art collection which…

AlbuquerqueBurgersRating: Very GoodTravel Channel Eats New Mexico

Rex’s Hamburgers – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:52 AM

From 1988 through 2005, Rex’s Hamburgers stood practically alone in offering Duke City consumers an alternative to the homogeneous gobble-and-go offerings of deep-pocketed fast-food chains like McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s. Rex’s earned and retained the hearts of Albuquerque diners for nearly 20 years. During its halcyon days, it garnered the long defunct’s Abq magazine’s “Best of Albuquerque” honors for several consecutive years. The reason Duke City patrons were so loyal to Rex’s was because Rex’s was at the diametric extreme opposite of the chain restaurants. Whether ensconced in a strip mall or housed in a single tenant edifice, Rex’s offered real sit-down service at a relaxed and reasonable pace. Moreover, it served hamburgers the way they are intended to…

AlbuquerqueBrunchClosed in 2025Dog FriendlyGone But Not ForgottenItalianNew Mexico

Scalo – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Contrary to popular belief, Scalo was not already a Nob Hill fixture in 1706 when Don Francisco Cuervo y Valdés, governor and captain general of New Mexico, named a new settlement for the Duke of Alburquerque, then viceroy of New Spain.  Scalo didn’t actually open until December, 1986, but during its lengthy tenure it has such a degree of permanence in our memories and taste buds that it’s hard to believe it wasn’t one of the fabled paradors (an establishment where travelers could seek lodging, and usually, food and drink) along the Camino Real.  It would make sense because the word “Scalo” itself translates from Italian to “stopover.”  Then there’s Scalo’s revered spot on the now defunct Albuquerque Monthly.  On…