Albuquerque Archives - Page 11 of 82 - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog

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

Island Vibes Cuisine – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoNovember 30, 2024April 6, 202612:02 AM

“Come on JamaicaIn Jamaica all dayDancing with your darlingDo Jamaica jerk-off that way Come on JamaicaEverybody sayWe’re all happy in JamaicaDo Jamaica jerk-off that way.” ~Jamaica Jerk Off by Elton John On the surface, Elton John’s 1973 hit Jamaica Jerk Off seems to be about “enjoying yourself by yourself” while in Jamaica. That’s the way many of us interpret it. It can also be interpreted as an ode to the joys of goofing off in a tropical island location. Lyrics seem to indicate the flamboyant troubadour was indeed expressing his appreciation for the island’s pulsating energy. As a culinary…

Albuquerque Breakfast Burritos Closed in 2026 Gone But Not Forgotten New Mexican New Mexico Rating: Very Good

Lavender Cocinita – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoNovember 23, 2024June 28, 202612:01 AM

According to Simply Beyond Herbs, “many people find lavender’s gentle fragrance helps center their thoughts and enhance cognitive abilities. It can provide a sense of mental freshness, enabling one to think and make decisions more clearly; this is particularly beneficial during intense work, studying, or when facing challenging tasks requiring heightened concentration. Whether used as an essential oil, dried flowers, or as part of a relaxing environment, lavender’s influence on mental clarity is valued by many who seek improved focus and a clearer mind.” Hmm, sounds like something we all can use. If you’ve ever attended Los Ranchos De Albuquerque’s…

2025 James Beard Foundation "Best Chef - Southwest" Semifinalist Albuquerque Dog Friendly Fine Dining James Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & Winners New Mexico

Level 5 Rooftop Restaurant at Hotel Chaco – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoNovember 19, 2024November 15, 202512:01 AM

The Hotel 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…

Albuquerque American Bar & Grill New Mexico Rating: N/R (Not Rated)

Craft Republic – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoNovember 18, 2024April 6, 202612:01 AM

For several months every four years, Americans are subjected to a seemingly interminable number of television commercials, radio ads and social media postings advocating for candidates running for political office. Opposing idealogies would have you believe the “other guy or gal” was of dubious character with “extreme” points of view. One-minute snippets pandering primarily to “undecided” voters may have unintentionally created even more cynics and malcontents among eligible voters. Some of us wished the sadistic “mean season” was as simple and decisive as selecting the winner of the annual New Mexico State Fair Green Chile Cheeseburger Challenge. While the New…

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

Herencia – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoNovember 16, 2024April 6, 202612:01 AM

When he founded Los Equipales in 1996, restaurant impresario Henrique Valdovinos admitted “I wouldn’t have tried this ten years ago, but I think people are ready for it.” As recently as a quarter-century ago, two types of Mexican restaurants existed across the fruited plain. Most common were those sharing reciprocal expectations with diners who expected and received such stereotyped “Mexican” food as fajitas; hard-shelled tacos filled with ground beef, cheese, lettuce and sour cream; chiles rellenos made with bell peppers and enough yellow cheese to clog a dinosaur’s arteries. Denizens under the spacious skies didn’t know any better and enjoyed…

Albuquerque Chinese Dog Friendly New Mexico Rating: Very Good

Noodle Works – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoNovember 9, 2024April 5, 20267:11 PM

“To witness the birth of a noodle is a glorious thing. I have listened, spellbound, as an 85-year-old noodle chef in Beijing told me why the act of making noodles helped him make sense of the world.” -~Terry Durack, Noodle In the movie Mr. Nice Guy, martial artist cum actor Jackie Chan portrays a chef with a successful television show. In the movie’s opening scene, Chef Jackie is presiding over a flour-dusted table, stretching, twisting, and pulling a piece of dough into fine strands of noodles, a process the TV host can only describe as “alchemy.” For the culinary…

Albuquerque American Dog Friendly Greek New Mexico Rating: Very Good

Tula’s Kitchen – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoNovember 8, 2024April 5, 202612:01 AM

Tula: “My mom was always cooking foods filled with warmth and wisdom… and never forgetting that side dish of steaming-hot guilt.” As it celebrates its twenty year anniversary the 2002 Rom-Com “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” remains as timeless and funny as it was when it debuted. Moreover, it’s still a heart-warming movie with which some of us can relate. In my estimation, it could easily have been called “My Big Fat Northern New Mexican Wedding” and it could have been set in Peñasco. The similarities between Greek families and Northern New Mexican families around which I grew up were startling.…

Albuquerque Brunch Coffee New Mexico Rating: Outstanding Sandwich

Sammys Cafe & Deli – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoOctober 31, 2024April 3, 202612:02 AM

Most foodies have pondered the expession “Never trust a skinny chef.” Maybe you’ve even mused if there’s any truth to it. Your line of thinking probably goes something like this: “If a chef’s cooking is any good at all, how can that chef possibly resist stuffing himself (or herself)?” With this train of thought, every chef should look like Paul Prudhomme, the brilliant Creole-Louisiana Cajun chef who once weighed more than 500 pounds. Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, who’s not shy about expressing his opinion, called the notion that you shouldn’t trust a skinny chef “BS.” To the contrary, the volatile…

Albuquerque Bar & Grill Irish Rating: Good

Two Fools Tavern – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoOctober 15, 2024April 3, 202612:32 AM

Read the table tent placards at the Two Fools Tavern and you’ll learn that this is where the craic is mighty. An old Gaelic term pronounced “crack,”craic refers to the lively essence of the pub experience, a unique and sometimes loud combination of good friends, good times and of course, good pints. Craic is a word for which there is no exact English translation even though there are some 9,000 pubs in the Emerald Isle. In Ireland, pubs, or public houses, are a focal point of the community–as much as the local church. It’s where friends gather for camaraderie and…

Albuquerque Chinese Closed in 2025 Gone But Not Forgotten Rating: Outstanding

BUDAI GOURMET CHINESE – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoOctober 2, 2024March 31, 202611:07 AM

“The true gourmet, like the true artist, is one of the unhappiest creatures existent. His trouble comes from so seldom finding what he constantly seeks: perfection.” –Ludwig Bemelmans By definition, gourmets are connoisseurs, taking food more seriously than most and embodying the axiom “live to eat rather than eat to live.” True gourmets, as Ludwig Bemelmans would define them, appreciate food of the highest quality, exalting only in the rarefied experiences–those which require the most discerning palates and noses to cognize subtle nuances in complex and sophisticated flavors and aromas. Bemelmans, himself an internationally known gourmet, posited that the true…

Albuquerque American Coffee Dog Friendly New Mexico Specialty

Villa Myriam Coffee Roastery – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoSeptember 26, 2024April 2, 202612:01 AM

Because of coffee’s olfactory-arousing properties and nuanced depth of flavors, it has the unique ability to evoke personal memories that transport java junkies to better times. Every satisfying and stimulating sip of coffee relocates me to my Grandma Andreita’s kitchen table where I learned to love coffee brewed on her old wood stove. For brothers David and Juan Certain, the aromas return them to Colombia where their grandfather founded Villa Myriam in 1961. The brothers spent much of their childhood on the fields of their grandfather’s coffee plantation where they learned which coffee beans were the best. In 1999, Juan…