Category: Albuquerque

AlbuquerqueChineseClosed in 2021Gone But Not Forgotten

Great Fortune Chinese Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno11:30 PM

According to the Chinese Restaurant News, a respected trade publication, there are now approximately 36,000 Chinese restaurants in America.  That’s nearly three times as many Chinese restaurants as there are McDonald’s franchises.  That’s more than the number of McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King franchises combined. No longer considered exotic, Chinese restaurants are part of the fabric of American culture. There is virtually no American city in which Chinese restaurants aren’t plentiful. A survey by a food product development company revealed that 39 percent of children between the ages of 10 and 13 prefer Chinese food over any other ethnic cuisine (interestingly only nine percent chose American). The online Yellow Pages indicate there are more than 50 different Chinese restaurants in Albuquerque, some of which have several stores throughout the city.  By sheer volume alone, you might think there would be more than the scant Chinese restaurants reviewed on Gil’s Thrilling Web site.  You might also wonder why Scott Sharot only listed two Chinese restaurants (Ming Dynasty and ABC Chinese) in his outstanding book New Mexico Chow. I can’t speak for Scott, but there’s a reason I haven’t published reviews of more Chinese restaurants.  At the risk of not being politically…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2007Gone But Not ForgottenSteak

The Falls – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno1:35 PM

New Mexico has been gilded with incomparable scenic beauty and an abundance of sunshine. Cerulean skies graduate in depth of color the higher above the horizon your eyes climb, interrupted only by velvety smooth red-rock outcrops and snow-capped mountains. Fiery sunsets and brilliant sunrises give the illusion that God just threw a bucket of paint into the sky while processions of wispy cloud formations provide the promise of much needed rain as they sweep past the parched escarpment. A vibrant and diverse topography provides striking contrasts in terrain. It’s easy to focus on the many reasons New Mexico truly earns the sobriquet “the Land of Enchantment.” “Glass is half empty” folks might argue that New Mexico has been “shortchanged” when it comes to water-based enchantment and would point out that “waterfall” in our blessed state means that the water falls only on occasion and in parsimonious amounts. The rest of us would retort that sometimes less is more and cite as evidence, the volcanically formed and preternaturally beautiful Soda falls in the Jemez River valley. Sometimes man creates what God didn’t provide. In November, 2006, the Falls Steakhouse launched in a new edifice just about as far northwest as you…

AlbuquerqueMariscosMexican

El Siete Mares – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno4:06 PM

Crossing the Rio Grande onto Bridge Boulevard isn’t quite as adventurous as crossing the Rio Grande into Cuidad Juarez, Mexico, but the flesh-rending razor wire fence atop the walls and roofs of some businesses will tell you this isn’t the kinder, gentler side of Albuquerque either. Fortunately the matador motorist mentality so commonplace in Mexico’s fourth largest city isn’t something you’ll encounter on Bridge. Instead of vehicles which look as if they’ve participated in one too many demolition derbies, you’re more likely to meet up with a procession of highly buffed pick-up trucks with gleaming chrome wheels and mega watt stereos. Some of the most attractive trucks in town are parked in front of restaurants other people might classify as “dives.” Their drivers, modern-day caballeros, are typically attired in exotic snake or animal print boots, equally exotic belt buckles, creased blue jeans and cowboy hats. These guys know where to find great food. If you’re an aficionado of authentic Mexican cuisine, follow (but not too closely) the cavalcade of these high-performance, macho machines at around lunch time. Their destinations are generally delicious. Several clusters of Mexican restaurants throughout Bridge Boulevard offer the type of dining experience you usually have to…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2009New Mexican

Mis Amigos – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno2:09 AM

For years Los Cuates has been one of the Duke City’s most revered New Mexican restaurants. One of the most popular New Mexican restaurants in the city, diners line up before its opening and late-comers wait as long as it takes for a table to come open. In February, 2003 after the death of its founder and proprietor Frank Barela, four Cuates employees struck out on their own and launched Dos Amigos at the site of a former Village Inn dining establishment just off the I40 freeway. Four years later they moved clear across town to Juan Tabo and changed the restaurant’s name to Mis Amigos. A framed photograph of Barela (pictured at left) attired in an Air Force flight suit hangs prominently in the restaurant’s wait area. Fittingly, the photograph’s caption refers to Barela as “our friend and guardian angel.” Barela isn’t the only hero honored on the Mis Amigos wall of honor. Framed photographs pay loving tribute to several Bernalillo County deputies and Albuquerque city police officers who, in recent years, have lost their lives in the selfless performance of their duties. Letters of commendation to owners of Dos Amigos speak to the county’s and city’s grateful appreciation…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2008Gone But Not ForgottenJapaneseNew MexicoSushi

Neko Sushi – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno11:45 AM

In 1968, Mexico City played witness to one of the most overt and controversial political statements ever issued during the modern Olympic Games when African American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos extended their right arms upward and clenched their gloved fists in a black power salute. During our inaugural visit to Neko Sushi in the Sun Country Plaza, we couldn’t help but remember the famous civil rights protest when we espied two ceramic Maneki Neko (beckoning cat) figurines on a shelf. The Maneki Neko, a common Japanese sculpture believed to give its owner good luck, depicts a cat beckoning with an upright raised paw (which supposedly attracts money). The pose is eerily and innocently similar to that of Tommie Smith and John Carlos during the medal ceremony. Obviously there’s absolutely no relationship between two infamous Olympic athletes and a symbolic cat, but there’s definitely a reason the popular Japanese cat figurine has a prominent place in a sushi restaurant–and it’s not just because the owner wants good luck. The owner’s name is Cathy (“Cat” for short) Punya and “Neko” is the Japanese word for cat. Cathy is a restaurant impresario with three other restaurants in the Duke City. Her…

AlbuquerqueChickenClosed in 2007Gone But Not Forgotten

Marco Pollo Charbroiled Chicken – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno2:47 PM

While eating a store-bought rotisserie chicken is somewhat more appealing than than consuming the very last one of Quickie Mart’s perpetually rotating, alutaceous (seared to a leathery sheen under a heat lamp inferno) hot dogs, the prospect of a desiccated rotisserie chicken carcass for dinner is hardly tempting. Experience has taught us that while slightly less leathery, restaurant rotisserie chicken would be a challenge for the most advanced desalination technologies. That’s what we expected during our inaugural visit to Marco Pollo Charbroiled Chicken. Were we ever in for a pleasant surprise! As it turns out, Marco Pollo serves some of the best char-broiled chicken we’ve had in a long time. Best of all, Marco Pollo is the first instantiation of a local restaurant chain with the gloss and grandiosity of a national franchise. It is not related to a similarly named chain enterprise out of Texas. Marco Pollo Charbroiled Chicken is the brainchild of Mark Harden, a plucky local entrepreneur who managed New Mexico’s Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises in the ’80s and later ran the now defunct (in New Mexico at least) Pollo Asado. Harden created the recipes, marinades and concept for a restaurant venture he hopes to expand further.…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2009Vietnamese

Kim’s Vietnamese Gourmet Cuisine – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno1:43 AM

During a memorable 1974 episode of MASH, it was Hawkeye Pierce’s turn at being physician of the day. Throughout the day he treated local indigenous personnel, all of whom identified themselves as “Kim Luck” when they reported in. Eventually Hawkeye turns to Radar O’Reilly and says “Kim Luck? This is the fifth one today.” He then asks the local, “Can you identify yourself?” Patting his chest and smiling broadly, the local responds “This is me!”. Hawkeye’s retort: “This must be my Kim Lucky day.” Albuquerque’s Kim Lucky day came on September 22nd, 2006 with the launch of Kim’s Vietnamese Gourmet Cuisine, named for sisters both named Kim. In this case, Kim is a diminutive of Kimhang and Kimha. The sisters emigrated to Albuquerque from the commune of Nancy, France in 1998 and brought their mother over in 2003. The family triumvirate’s restaurant has a decidedly more French influence than other Vietnamese restaurants in the city while retaining the unique charms and delicious specialties of their ancestral homeland. Kim’s Vietnamese Gourmet Cuisine is situated on the same strip mall in which the outstanding sandwich shop Relish is ensconced. Though one of the smallest Vietnamese restaurants in Albuquerque, it is quickly establishing…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2008Gone But Not ForgottenMariscosMexican

La Costa Azul – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno2:15 PM

Costa Azul…The Blue Coast…the name evokes images of brilliant sapphire blue waters, perilous promontories and pristine sandy beaches which seem to go on without end. With over 1,000 miles of coastline along the translucent Pacific, Mexico has spawned a thriving tourist trade, particularly in heavily developed resort locations. Increasingly, Mexico has also become known for high-quality seafood (mariscos) so fresh that even in land-locked locations like Albuquerque, the mariscos taste as fresh as if caught off the coast of Puerto Vallarta, not far from the famous Costa Azul resort. La Costa Azul launched in 2005 on the former site of Mariscos Altamar, one of Albuquerque’s very best and longest running mariscos dining establishments. While similarly named, it is not affiliated with Santa Fe’s fabulous Mariscos Costa Azul though the quality of its cuisine might invite favorable comparisons. La Costa Azul is awash in bright colors–three interior walls reflecting various tones and shades of the Pacific’s translucent waters. The back wall separating the dining room from the kitchen is a shimmering green, perhaps the color of some of Mexico’s most iridescent inland jungle foliage. The waitress stand sits under an overhanging interior roof replete with grass and reminiscent of the beachside…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2007Fine DiningGone But Not ForgottenNew Mexico

Ambrozia – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno11:56 AM

theophany: an encounter with a visible manifestation of a deity. Greek mythology chronicles the adventures of the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus whose primary sustenance was ambrosia, a magical repast which bestowed immortality upon those who consumed it, including humans. The word ambrosia literally means “sweet smelling or delicious,” an appropriate description of the wonderful meals proffered at Ambrozia, an Old Town fine-dining establishment launched in 2003. While dining at Ambrozia probably won’t confer immortality, diners might feel they’ve partaken of divine gastronomy. The gods certainly conferred many culinary talents on Ambrozia’s proprietor and chef savant Sam Ethridge, one of the most creative, talented and inspired restaurateurs in the Duke City. Etheridge has the rare ability to take any classic dish and transform it into a work of art. His cookbook “Indian Nation,” a celebration of traditional Native American dishes, earned a prestigious James Beard award. Our inaugural experience at Ambrozia was on a Sunday when a prix-fixe ($20 per person) brunch was featured fare. The four course brunch adventure begins with a selection of breads, croissants, pastries and sweet rolls, all of which are preternaturally wonderful (particularly the chocolate infused beignets). Since Ambrozia’s menu is seasonal, the items…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBreakfastBrunchClosed in 2010Gone But Not Forgotten

JB’s Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno4:37 AM

The first thing that comes to mind when someone invites me to a buffet is a paragraph from E. B. White’s 1952 classic Charlotte Web.  In that paragraph, an old sheep describes the county fair to Templeton the lovingly irascible rat: “A fair is a rat’s paradise. Everybody spills food at a fair. A rat can creep out late at night and have a feast. In the horse barn you will find oats that the trotters and pacers have spilled. In the trampled grass of the infield you will find old discarded lunch boxes containing the foul remains of peanut butter sandwiches, hard-boiled eggs, cracker crumbs, bits of doughnuts, and particles of cheese. In the hard-packed dirt of the midway, after the glaring lights are out and the people have gone home to bed, you will find a veritable treasure of popcorn fragments, frozen custard dribblings, candied apples abandoned by tired children, sugar fluff crystals, salted almonds, popsicles, partially gnawed ice cream cones, and the wooden sticks of lollypops. Everywhere is loot for a rat–in tents, in booths, in hay lofts–why, a fair has enough disgusting leftover food to satisfy a whole army of rats.” I don’t know of any…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2009Mexican

La Norteñita – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:27 AM

The only disappointment (and it was a minor one) we experienced during our inaugural visit to La Norteñita was in not hearing the lively Mexican polka “Mi Nortenita” crackling over the restaurant’s tinny speaker system. That would have made our visit to “Old Mexico” complete. More than most Mexican restaurants in Albuquerque, La Norteñita (the little northern girl) has the look and feel of a restaurant in one of Mexico’s northern states. That means a kitchen and wait staff (and most customers) barely conversant in English, a lustrous color palate on the stark walls, mañana paced service and flavorsome food not adulterated for American tastes. The original La Norteñita has been around for several years, situated on Central Avenue in an edifice most Americans might consider a “dive.” Business was so good that its owner (ironically from Puerto Vallarta which is in central Mexico) launched a second La Norteñita restaurant about three miles from the original. A second La Norteñita was launched at the site which once housed Cha Cha’s, DeLillo’s All American Cafe and Christina’s restaurant, all very good restaurants in a heavily trafficked yet seemingly doomed to failure location. If you had wagered that La Norteñita would succeed…