Category: Albuquerque

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2008Gone But Not ForgottenNew Mexican

The Chili Stop – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno1:54 AM

NOTE:  On November 15th, 2008, Ron Chavez sold the Chili Stop a mere four months after making green chile a religious experience.  I have not visited the Chili Stop since it changed hands and have heard mixed opinions on the Chili Stop post Ron.  I will update this review after my next visit. Over the years it’s been my experience that almost invariably, New Mexican restaurants which violate traditional New Mexican grammar don’t prepare the object of their grammatical faux pas very well.  The grammatical transgression of which I speak is forgetting the “i” before “e” rule and committing the piquant peccadillo of spelling New Mexico’s official state vegetable with two “i’s” and no “e’s.” It’s entirely forgivable that chile is technically a fruit, albeit one which packs an incendiary capsaicin punch, but like many New Mexicans, I feel personally insulted when presented with a menu offering “chili.” That abhorrent spelling brings to mind something long-time New Mexico senator Pete Dominici supposedly once said on the Congressional record. Not one to mince words, “Saint Pete” is credited with saying “chili” is “that inedible mixture of watery tomato soup, dried gristle, half-cooked kidney beans, and a myriad of silly ingredients that…

AlbuquerqueItalianNational ChainRating: N/R (Not Rated)

Bravo! Cucina Italiana – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno8:21 PM

Perhaps the most memorable slogan to surface during the politics “dirtier than usual” Presidential campaign of 2008 was the frequently used American idiom “you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig.” That expression is intended to mean something akin to putting a fresh coat of paint on a piece of junk and selling it for full price. In other words, it aptly describes most political campaigns which tend to be exhaustingly negative repeats of previous campaigns. I promised myself not to ever let my blog slink and slither into the unappetizing muck and mire of politics and with the exception of the previous paragraph, I won’t. The expression “you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig” ties in nicely with my inaugural visit to Bravo! Cucina Italiana. “How so,” you ask. It’s been my experience that you can adorn Italian themed chain restaurants with a pristine veneer and over-the-top flamboyance, but they’re still chains in all their homogeneous fungibility. For the most part, that’s come to mean a stereotypically Italian (Tuscan is a current favorite) ambiance complete with faux artifacts and cheesy murals designed to appear priceless and genuine. So that the…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2009New Mexican

Marlene’s – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno7:32 AM

And when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God. And what is it to work with love? It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth. It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house. It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit. – Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet, 1923 For far too many people, work is a drudgery, a tedious, tiring and torturous routine done solely to earn a living. It is mentally draining and monotonous, physically exhausting even if not menial in the least. It makes getting up in the morning a prodigious challenge knowing you’re about fo face more of the same. It is a curse and a misfortune. It is a necessary evil. Conversely when you love your job and are able to work at something about which you are passionate, work is something to look forward to and relish. Kahlil Gibran described it best in saying “work is love…

AlbuquerqueBar & GrillClosed in 2017Gone But Not Forgotten

Fox and Hound Pub & Grille – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno4:53 PM

English Parliamentarian and writer Samuel Pepys described the pub as “the heart of England and the church as its soul.” As England has become a more sectarian nation, the pub has essentially supplanted the church as the focal point of the community. Today there are nearly 58,000 pubs in the United Kingdom with almost every village and city in England having at least one.  Unlike American bars, saloons, taverns and inns which tend to have very pedestrian and forgettable names, English pubs tend to be unique and memorable. The reason, according to one urban myth, is so pub patrons can know where to direct the taxi cab after throwing down too many a pint. Whatever the reason, no sojourn across the English countryside would be complete without the entertaining travel game of finding the most unique pub name. More often than not you’ll espy pubs named after common objects (such as “The Plough”) and animals (The Swan being very popular), but every once in a while you’ll see a pub whose name defies explanation.  Not even in English legend and fable have such creatures as the Red Stag, Green Dragon or Flying Hippopotamus existed, so you have to surmise that…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2012Gone But Not ForgottenNew Mexican

Juan’s Broken Taco – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno4:50 AM

Fusion–the inventive combination of diverse, sometimes disparate culinary traditions, elements and ingredients to form an entirely new genre–has yet to become commonplace in the Land of Enchantment Some restaurants in New Mexico have dabbled in their conception of fusion, primarily by offering dishes from several southeast Asian countries alongside one another as well as dishes that are “inspired” combinations of those countries’ cuisines. In large metropolitan areas, particularly in California, restaurants featuring the melding of French and Chinese cuisine are especially popular. Here’s one fusion I’ll bet you’ve never heard of, much less tried–New Mexican and Romanian. Albuquerque has one restaurant in which that rarest of fusion can be found. To be honest, it’s not the wholly disparate cuisines of New Mexico and Romania that are featured. The fusion is in the ambience at Juan’s Broken Taco. Juan’s Broken Taco is housed in the edifice which once served as the home of Baciu’s Bread and Wine, the popular European style restaurant operated for years by Romanian expats Nellu and Elena Baciu. When the Bacius abandoned their restaurant, they also left behind many of their unique decorating touches. The Bacius not only offered a more relaxed pace of dining and exceptional…

AlbuquerqueAsianClosed in 2017Gone But Not Forgotten

Chow’s Asian Bistro – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno1:27 PM

With but few exceptions, the Duke City’s Chinese restaurants have a boring sameness (perpetuating the stereotype that all Chinese food tastes the same) with an increasing emphasis on super-sized portions of Americanized Chinese food (fried, breaded and candied meats of poor quality).  One of the few Chinese restaurants which does not perpetuate that stereotype is Chow’s Chinese Bistro in Albuquerque’s Cottonwood Mall which launched in Albuquerque’s Cottonwood Mall in November, 2005. Chow’s motto is “gourmet, not buffet.” The Web site promises slight variations in the menu among its restaurants, claiming those variations are suited to the taste buds of the community. That must mean Chow’s patrons like it either very sweet or extremely salty (more on that below). Chow’s has been the most popular Chinese restaurant in the City Different (not that there’s much competition) practically since it launched in 1992. Accolades festoon the restaurant’s walls. 2005 was a banner year for the Chow’s restaurant family. Not only was the Cottonwood restaurant launched, but the Santa Fe restaurant was voted one of the top 100 Chinese restaurants in America by the Chinese Restaurant News, the only New Mexico based Chinese restaurant to earn that distinction. Chow’s Web site also indicates…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBreakfastClosed in 2009

Sunshine Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:36 AM

Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry Sunshine on the waters looks so lovely Sunshine almost always makes me high -John Denver A gloomy, gray winter day in Minnesota was the inspiration for John Denver’s number one song “Sunshine on My Shoulders.” During a visit to the Gopher State in 1974, he experienced the type of “cabin fever” with which many New Mexicans are familiar after one gloomy winter day after another (ask anyone from Chama).  Minnesota, as we know, is a far cry from New Mexico when it comes to winter warmth and sunshine. Still, after the winter of 2007-2008, many New Mexicans are able to empathize with Denver’s being ready for spring and wanting to go outdoors again where the sun itself can make you feel good. Albuquerque boasts of 310 days of sunshine, making it an ideal milieu for outdoor activities year-round. With a mile-high elevation, ours is a penetrating sun made warm and bright thanks to our rarified, thin air.  It’s a rare season in which Duke City residents are stranded indoors for too long without the life-giving, Vitamin-D imparting rays of our sun.  Even when the thermometer…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBreakfastClosed in 2012Gone But Not ForgottenRating: Excellent

Milton’s Family Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno3:03 AM

In a 2002 column Jason Sheehan, one of the best in a succession of outstanding Alibi restaurant critics assembled a dream menu of the best foods he had ever eaten, a “desert-island top ten” from which he’d choose if ever asked the question, “If you could eat only one thing every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?”  His top ten list included the phenomenal red chile breakfast burritos from Milton’s Family Restaurant in Albuquerque. As a restaurant critic I’d flatter myself disingenuously if I compared myself to Sheehan, but at least in terms of our mutually high opinion of Milton’s breakfast burritos, we’re completely simpatico. I first discovered those tortilla encased treasures when stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base in the late 1970s. Milton’s burritos are simplicity itself–grilled tortillas enwrapping eggs and potatoes then smothered in some of the best, most earthy red chile (or alternatively, a savory, fruity green chile that’s just as wonderful) as any served anywhere in New Mexico. Make sure to order these burritos “Christmas style” so you can have both red and green chile. These breakfast burritos (pictured at left) are a truly mellifluous marriage of great ingredients prepared uniquely…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2007Gone But Not ForgottenSandwich

Chicago Beef – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:36 PM

Ask any Chicago transplant in Albuquerque or anywhere else to list the five things they miss most about the Windy City and it’s a good bet the list will include Italian beef sandwiches, a staple in Chicago. Citizens of the Toddlin’ Town are almost as passionate about this sloppy sandwich as they are Da Bears. Chicagoans grow up worshipping at high counters on which they prop their elbows as they consume Italian beef sandwiches–sometimes because the restaurant has no tables, but more often than not, because no matter how careful they are, they’re bound to spill shards of beef, bits of giardiniera and drippings of spice-laden beef gravy onto their clothing. The authentic Italian beef sandwich is, according to Pasquale Bruno, the Chicago Sun-Times dining critic and contrary to the opinion of some purists, a spin-off of the French-dip sandwich. It is never (and I mean ever) made with marinara sauce. You won’t find one in all of Italy, in fact. It is as uniquely Chicago as deep-dish pizza (which you also won’t find in Italy) and hot dogs with sport peppers and green tomatoes. An Italian beef sandwich is made with roasted sirloin tip which is massaged with a…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2008ContinentalGone But Not ForgottenNew Mexico

The Cup – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno10:19 AM

Buxom silent screen siren Mae West was so renown for her use of double entendre that she once said, “If I asked for a cup of coffee, someone would ask for the double meaning.” When my wife suggested we have breakfast at The Cup, I wondered what she really had in mind. The Cup, after all, did not impress her in the least during our inaugural visit in January, 2007. It was even worse for me as The Cup’s emptiness triggered memories of a dark day in the late 70s when I was the recipient of bad news (the “Dear John” kind) at the only restaurant I can remember as empty as The Cup that night–a long defunct Burger Chef. Considering The Cup was sister restaurant to the popular Gold Street Caffe, the emptiness seemed like something out of the Twilight Zone. We’re talking the Gold Street Caffe here–one of downtown Duke City’s darling dining destinations, the restaurant with the very best bacon (the thick cut honey chile glazed marvel) in the world. We’re also talking the Pan American frontage road area within easy walking distance to the Century 24 theater. All the restaurants clustered in this area and their…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2010Gone But Not ForgottenNew Mexican

Barb’s Place – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:09 AM

To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. – Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 These lyrical words from the King James version of the Holy Bible have been attributed to the most sagacious of Jewish monarchs, King Solomon. They have been recited, sung and published in numerous prayers, songs and books. The words posit that there is a time and place for all things–even cumin. I’ve been accused of making my Web site a bully pulpit against cumin (more than once referred to on my site as “the accursed despoiler of New Mexican chile.”) Perhaps it’s true that I’ve been a bit tough on cumin, a pungent spice with a distinctive salty-sweet flavor, but my rail against that spice is solely where New Mexican food (red chile in particular) is concerned. Cumin is one of the most frequently used spices in Indian food, gracing many a wonderful Indian curry dish. In combination with other sublime Indian spices, its redolence is smoky, maybe even musky, and always evocative. Why then my contempt for cumin on chile? It’s simple! Red chile needs absolutely no amelioration. Unadulterated, it is absolute perfection just as nature intended. Cumin tends to give chile…