Category: Albuquerque

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Sergio’s Bakery & Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In Italy, the oft-used idiom “Senza il pane tutto diventa orfano” translates to “without bread everyone is an orphan.” That’s how important bread  is in Italian culture.  Is it any wonder bread consumption in Italy is higher than in any other European country, even France. Many loaves are made by artisan bakers operating out of family-owned and operated bakeries.  Most work on a small scale and are heavily influenced by family recipes and regional traditions.  Those secrets and techniques have been handed down from baker-to-baker over the years. Family is essential to retaining the continuity of bread-making excellence in Italy. …

AlbuquerqueAmericanDog FriendlyNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)

Lescombes Winery & Bistro (Cottonwood) – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Years ago when my job at Intel required frequent travel to the Phoenix area, I marveled at the desert landscaping at Phooenix’s Sky Harbor Airport.  Its xeriscaping approach uses  native, drought-resistant flora arranged in ways that promote efficient water usage.  Towering saguaros and spindly, spine-covered ocotillos greeted sojourners as they vacated the airport.  Not only does this xeriscaping save the city $400,000 annually and reduce water usage by more than five-million gallons per year, it gives visitors a welcome respite from the sun-baked asphalt and cement jungle that is the Valley of the Sun. Driving away from Albuquerque’s Sunport provided…

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Los Altos Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

For almost four and a half decades, Charlie Elias, an avuncular septuagenarian with the energy of a teenager,  greeted his customers at Charlie’s Backdoor, his eponymous Northeast Heights restaurant.  On a hot sunny day, there was probably no more welcome respite from the sun’s blinding rays and scorching heat than Charlie’s. The minute you walked in, the temperature seemed to drop 20 degrees thanks to the restaurant’s subdued lighting and heat.  On cold winter days, there was no surcease of warmth courtesy of Charlie’s friendly and welcoming nature which made guests feel right at home   As Charlie began to wind down…

AlbuquerqueDog FriendlyIce CreamNew MexicoRating: Excellent

Heidi’s Jam Factory – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:01 PM

How many of us have dreamt about a churning chocolate waterfall; a meadow full of candy;  a candy (Everlasting Gobstopper) that not only changes colors and flavors when sucked on, but also never gets any smaller or disappears; or a carbonated beverage (Fizzy Lifters) that give you flight?  Such were the dreams of children of all ages after the 1971 release of Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory a movie that is more popular in syndication than it was after its release.  Albuquerque has its own version of a magical place where dreams are actually fulfilled.  It’s called Heidi’s Jam…

AlbuquerqueFrenchNew MexicoRating: Very Good

Chez Axel – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno7:59 AM

At an Italian restaurant in which he once worked,  one of Chef Daniel Little’s primary tasks was to construct charcuterie boards, a recognition of his artistic nature and deftness.  He would much preferred to be doing the cooking.  The Central New Mexico (CNM) Community College trained chef is doing all the cooking he wants to do now.  After more than twelve years of working for some of Albuquerque’s premier chefs at such enchanting eateries as M’Tucci’s Bar Roma, Savoy and Level 5, Chef Little is now calling the shots as the chef-owner of Chez Axel, one of Albuquerque’s most venerable…

AlbuquerqueMexicanNew MexicoRating: Excellent

Fiesta Azul Tequila House Mexican Kitchen – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

TIM WALZ: “I have white guy tacos.” VP KAMALA HARRIS: “What does that mean? Like, mayonnaise and tuna? What are you doing?” TIM WALZ: “Pretty much-ground meat and cheese.” VP KAMALA HARRIS:  “Do you put any flavor in it?” TIM WALZ:  “Uh, no.  Black pepper is the top of the spice level in Minnesota, ya know” A promotional  video featuring the Democratic Presidential nominee sharing a funny exchange with her Vice Presidential pick revealed the latter’s “Midwestern tastes” which include a “white guy taco.”   Analysis of America’s voting preferences has been done for virtually every demographic category save perhaps the…

AlbuquerqueNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)Sandwich

Los Toasties – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

To paraphrase John 15:13, “No greater love a man has than this, that a man give up his life for a….sandwich.” In an uproariously funny episode of the television show Friends, Joey, Chandler and Ross go on a ride-along with Phoebe’s policeman boyfriend. Believing a back-firing muffler was actually a gunshot, Joey (sitting in between his two friends) dives, seemingly to protect Ross from harm.  Naturally Chandler was upset that Joey would choose to protect Ross instead of him…until he learns that Joey was actually trying to protect his sandwich.  In the finest tradition of Dagwood Bumstead, Joey Tribbiani loved…

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Smothered – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Until she retired in November, 2024, I referred to my friend Linda Johansen as the “doyenne of UNM IT.”  Linda is such an absolutely brilliant technologist that you might believe her doctorate is in information systems but it’s actually in Psychology.  It didn’t dawn on me until after our meal what Linda must have thought about my sinister answer to her word association question regarding the term “Smothered.”  My association hearkened back to our previous shared meal when a high-pitched child’s ear-piercing screams made other diners cringe.  I joked “Smothered” is what one elderly woman looked like she wanted to…

AlbuquerqueAsianChineseFusionNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)

El Palacio Imperial – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“Tradition is everything.  It’s very important. But we need to remember that the traditions of today Were the modernity of the past. And that the things we think are very science fiction type of things Will be the traditions of tomorrow.” ~Chef Jose Andres Chef Jose Andres was the founder of the World Central Kitchen which provides large-scale relief to communities affected by natural disasters and conflicts around the world.  He’s one of Time Magazine’s  world’s 100 most influential people.  He earned a Presidential Medal of Freedom for his altruism as well as for being the Spanish-American culinary innovator who…

AlbuquerqueAsianNew MexicoRating: ExcellentThai

Sa Thai Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In 2023, TasteAtlas, an “encyclopedia of flavors, a world atlas of traditional dishes, local ingredients, and authentic restaurants” compiled a ranking of the 100 best cuisines in the world.  The highest rated cuisine in the world (to no surprise) was Italian followed by Japanese then Greek.  Thai cuisine was ranked 17th in the pantheon of great cuisines, just one slot ahead of American cuisine (whatever that is).  TasteAtlas also named Phat Kaphrao (also known as Pad Grapao or “holy basil stir-fry”), a dish made from meat, chili and basil, as the “best stir-fried dish in the world.”  Among the highest…

AlbuquerqueBakeryNew MexicoRating: Very Good

Great Harvest Bread Co – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

The sense of smell, more than any of our other senses, influences our ability to recall past events and experience. Fragrance is considered one of the most potent mediums for conjuring up a memory. True enough, one of the most enduring sensory memories of my youth is associated with the amazing aromas that greeted me each time my mom baked bread in her oven.  How I wish I could relive those experiences now.  Stupid kids that we were, my siblings and I preferred our sandwiches made on Rainbo or Wonder Bread (available for the staggering price of 25-cents per loaf…