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December 15, 2019

Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog

Follow the Culinary Ruminations of New Mexico's Sesquipedalian Sybarite. 1139 Restaurant Reviews, More Than 10,700 Visitor Comments…And Counting!

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Vietnamese

New Mexico / Rated 23 / Rio Rancho / Vietnamese

Saigon 2 Restaurant – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

September 27, 2019September 30, 2019 - 4 Comments.

In Chinese and Vietnamese cultures, numerology is very important. If you’ve traveled extensively, you may have wondered why the term “Pho” followed by a number is so commonplace. Often these numbers are considered lucky–and not …

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Albuquerque / Asian / New Mexico / Vietnamese

Viet’s Pho – Albuquerque, New Mexico

September 10, 2019September 11, 2019 - 3 Comments.

“”Vietnam. It grabs you and doesn’t let you go. Once you love it, you love it forever.” ~ Anthony Bourdain Most of us have never been to Vietnam. It’s possible, maybe likely, that most of …

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Albuquerque / Rated 23 / Vietnamese

Saigon Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico

May 23, 2019June 1, 2019 - 18 Comments.

According to some stereotypes, when you eat Chinese food, you’ll be hungry an hour later.    That stereotype is known as the “Chinese food paradox.”   One of the culprits behind that stereotype is rice, a …

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Albuquerque / Closed in 2019 / Gone But Not Forgotten / New Mexico / Vietnamese

Pho 505 – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

April 19, 2019July 8, 2019 - 5 Comments.

“Eating slowly is good for the stomach; plowing deeply is good for the fields.” ~Vietnamese Proverb Imagine if the village of Hatch was granted a trademark that awarded it exclusive rights to the name “chile.”  …

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Albuquerque / Asian / Dog Friendly / Fusion / New Mexico / Vietnamese

Spring Rollin’ – Albuquerque, New Mexico

March 23, 2019March 25, 2019 - 4 Comments.

Reclusive American poet Emily Dickinson insisted a light exists in spring that’s not present at any other time of year. If you’ve ever spent a winter in the Northern Hemisphere at a latitude of 42° …

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Albuquerque / Rated 25 / Vietnamese

CAFE DALAT – Albuquerque, New Mexico

January 24, 2019January 26, 2019 - 14 Comments.

While the term “Vietnamese cuisine” is broad and overarching, any attempt to pigeonhole this very diverse and eclectic culinary culture is a failure to consider its complexities and nuances.  Even when culinary taxonomists compartmentalize Vietnamese …

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Albuquerque / New Mexico / Vietnamese

Pho Kobe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

January 5, 2019January 8, 2019 - 4 Comments.

Jim Millington, a long-time friend of this blog, contends that “there must be a bad Vietnamese restaurant somewhere on this wide earth but I have never found it.”  If the Albuquerque metropolitan area is a …

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Albuquerque / New Mexico / Vietnamese

Le Bistro Bakery & Vietnamese Cuisine – Albuquerque, New Mexico

December 19, 2018December 20, 2018 - 3 Comments.

Several years ago and much to the surprise of the proprietor, I ordered a durian shake at a Vietnamese restaurant. She proceeded to caution me that durian has a very powerful aroma and flavor many …

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Dog Friendly / New Mexico / Rio Rancho / Vietnamese

Pho Garden – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

November 10, 2018November 15, 2018 - 1 Comment

It should have been a point-counterpoint debate for the ages. My ideologically opposed and perpetually squabbling friends Carlos and Hien were arguing about the concept of American exceptionalism. Carlos took the Reaganesque position that America …

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Albuquerque / Closed in 2019 / Dog Friendly / Fusion / Gone But Not Forgotten / New Mexico / Vietnamese

Cafe Nom Nom – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

July 28, 2018July 8, 2019 - Leave a Comment

“Nom nom.” It sounds innocent enough. Parents–yes, including parents of four-legged fur babies–utter it in baby talk intonations to get our children to eat something, especially when that something is “good for them” but doesn’t …

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Albuquerque / Rated 23 / Vietnamese

Pho Linh Vietnamese Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico

July 13, 2018October 11, 2018 - 7 Comments.

You always remember your first time…and if it’s good, it may set the standard by which you’ll forever measure every other time. I was a lanky lad of nineteen, away from home for the first …

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Albuquerque / Bakery / Sandwich / Vietnamese

Coda Bakery – Albuquerque, New Mexico

April 3, 2018August 31, 2018 - 13 Comments.

JP, my former boss at Intel prides himself on consistently working “half days.” If you’re thinking you’d like a job where you work only four hours a day, you’ve misinterpreted his definition of “half days.” …

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Albuquerque / New Mexico / Sandwich / Vietnamese

Leona Banh Mi – Albuquerque, New Mexico

February 1, 2018July 7, 2018 - 3 Comments.

“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 …

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Albuquerque / New Mexico / Vietnamese

Basil Leaf – Albuquerque, New Mexico

October 5, 2017July 7, 2018 - 5 Comments.

“Do we really want to travel in hermetically sealed Popemobiles through the rural provinces of France, Mexico and the Far East, eating only in Hard Rock Cafes and McDonalds? Or do we want to eat …

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Albuquerque / Bakery / Closed in 2018 / Gone But Not Forgotten / New Mexico / Sandwich / Vietnamese

Rolls & Bowls – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

July 2, 2017September 10, 2018 - 3 Comments.

“The banh mi sandwich is really the only good argument for colonialism.” ~Calvin Trillin By most historical standards, the banh mi is a rather new entrant in the world culinary stage. Its evolution into the …

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Albuquerque / Asian / New Mexico / Rated 23 / Vietnamese

May Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

June 14, 2017July 8, 2018 - 2 Comments.

There are perhaps thousands of examples throughout the Duke City of immigrants whose path to the American dream involved rising above humble origins and surmounting extraordinary circumstances to achieve success. Those challenges are exacerbated by …

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Albuquerque / New Mexico / Rated 23 / Sandwich / Vietnamese

IKrave Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

May 24, 2017July 8, 2018 - 9 Comments.

Please say it isn’t so! According to Nations Restaurant News, a highly respected trade publication “a new crop of restaurant chain entrepreneurs” believes “American diners will soon embrace the Vietnamese bánh mì sandwich as the …

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Albuquerque / Vietnamese

Huong Thao – Albuquerque, New Mexico

March 24, 2017July 8, 2018 - 1 Comment

In the year 2000 (ancient history by restaurant standards) when the Duke City had only a handful of Vietnamese restaurants, only one was listed on Zagat Survey’s Millennium Edition of the top restaurants in the …

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Asian / Closed in 2018 / Gone But Not Forgotten / Japanese / Korean / Ramen / Vietnamese

Nanami Noodle House – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

February 11, 2017August 1, 2018 - Leave a Comment

If Chinese superstitions have any credence, some of us may not be long for this world. Chinese superstitions posit that long noodles symbolize a long life. Ostensibly, if you cut your noodles, you’re cutting your …

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Albuquerque / New Mexico / Vietnamese

Lime Vietnamese Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico

January 7, 2017July 8, 2018 - 7 Comments.

Kevin: What am I looking at here? Donna: It’s pho. Kevin: It’s what? Donna: Pho. Kevin: Well pho looks like a clogged sink. What are those chunks floating around in there? What is that? Donna: …

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Albuquerque / Bakery / Closed in 2018 / Gone But Not Forgotten / New Mexico / Rated 24 / Vietnamese

SweeTea Bakery Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

December 24, 2016July 9, 2018 - 6 Comments.

In some metropolitan areas, legions of restaurant bloggers dissect and report on every facet of the area’s dining scene. These bloggers have a significant impact on the restaurant choices diners make. That fact isn’t lost …

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Albuquerque / New Mexico / Vegetarian/Vegan / Vietnamese

An Hy Quan Vegetarian Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico

November 21, 2016July 9, 2018 - 11 Comments.

Celebrity chef and professional cynic Anthony Bourdain, one of the more vocal detractors of the vegetarian lifestyle, contends “Vegetarians are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit, an affront to all …

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Albuquerque / Closed in 2019 / Gone But Not Forgotten / New Mexico / Vietnamese

Que Huong – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

April 18, 2016October 9, 2019 - 5 Comments.

“Wisdom oft comes from the mouth of babes.” ~George R.R. Martin After far too many meals at restaurants in which children are either screaming at the top of their lungs, throwing hysterical tantrums or wandering …

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Albuquerque / Asian / Vietnamese

Pho 79 – Albuquerque, New Mexico

November 4, 2015July 15, 2018 - 7 Comments.

When the temperature dips and the Land of Enchantment’s ubiquitous winds howl with a vengeance, savvy diners revel in the knowledge that they can luxuriate in the familiar warmth of a steaming, swimming pool-sized bowl …

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Asian / Closed in 2016 / Gone But Not Forgotten / Lao / Thai / Vietnamese

Mekong Ramen House – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

March 9, 2015July 15, 2018 - 18 Comments.

In a 2009 movie entitled Ramen Girl, Abby, a wayward American girl unacculturated to life in Tokyo witnesses the radiant smiles on the faces of diners as they eat ramen and receives an epiphany that …

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Albuquerque / Closed in 2015 / Gone But Not Forgotten / Vietnamese

Viet Q – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

December 7, 2014July 15, 2018 - 4 Comments.

“When helicopters were snatching people from the grounds of the American embassy compound during the panic of the final Vietcong push into Saigon, I was sitting in front of the television set shouting, ‘Get the …

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Albuquerque / New Mexico / Vietnamese

Viet Noodle – Albuquerque, New Mexico

November 8, 2014January 6, 2019 - 4 Comments.

On April 3, 2013, University of New Mexico (UNM) Vice President for Athletics Paul Krebs sent out a very simple and succinct tweet confirming the hire of head men’s basketball coach Craig Neal. The one-word …

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Albuquerque / Closed in 2014 / Gone But Not Forgotten / New Mexico / Vietnamese

Pho Hoa – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

May 3, 2013July 17, 2018 - 10 Comments.

Though it ended in 1975, the Vietnam war was still very fresh in the minds of Americans when I enlisted in the Air Force two years later.  Many of my senior colleagues had served in …

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Albuquerque / Sandwich / Vietnamese

Sai Gon Sandwich – Albuquerque, New Mexico

March 16, 2013July 17, 2018 - 6 Comments.

If ever there was a culinary Kobayashi Maru (for the non-Trekkies among you, that’s a no-win scenario), it might well be naming the best sandwich (or best food of any kind) in the world. Imagine …

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Albuquerque / Vietnamese

2000 Vietnam Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico

March 2, 2013July 17, 2018 - 1 Comment

JERRY: By the way Newman, I’m just curious. When you booked the hotel, did you book it for the millennium New Year? NEWMAN: (smug) As a matter of fact, I did. JERRY: Oh, that’s interesting, …

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Rio Rancho / Vietnamese

Pho Bar – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

February 14, 2013September 1, 2018 - 5 Comments.

“In food, as in death, we feel the essential brotherhood of man” – Vietnamese Proverb Western sensitivities cause even those among us who consider ourselves gustatorily open-minded to utter an “ick” or two at what …

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Albuquerque / Closed in 2015 / Gone But Not Forgotten / Rated 23 / Vietnamese

Kim Long Asian Cuisine – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED 1 JULY 2015)

November 24, 2012July 17, 2018 - 15 Comments.

Growing up on a relatively unsophisticated Northern New Mexican diet featuring such staples as beans, tortillas and chile could hardly be considered a training ground for gastronomic appreciation. Though I thoroughly enjoyed my mom’s cooking …

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Albuquerque / Closed in 2016 / Gone But Not Forgotten / New Mexico / Rated 24 / Vietnamese

May Hong – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

September 1, 2012November 14, 2018 - 12 Comments.

In late 2002, long-time proprietor and friend James Nguyen sold May Hong.  Fortunately he kept this wonderful jewel in the family, selling it to his lovely and talented sister-in-law. Best of all, he didn’t relinquish ownership …

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Albuquerque / Closed in 2012 / Gone But Not Forgotten / Vietnamese

Miss Saigon Bar & Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

July 7, 2012July 17, 2018 - 2 Comments.

When it closed on Broadway in 2001, the three-time Tony Award-winning musical Miss Saigon had been seen by some six million people during a running of 4,092 performances, making it the sixth longest running show …

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New Mexico / Rio Rancho / Vietnamese

Viet Rice – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

July 29, 2011July 18, 2018 - 11 Comments.

In Vietnamese, “an com”‘ translates as “eating rice,” but it’s a phrase that more accurately implies the act of partaking of food. At Viet Rice, they know rice and they make the act of partaking …

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Albuquerque / Closed in 2012 / Gone But Not Forgotten / Japanese / Vietnamese

Hakata Asian Cuisine & Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

April 28, 2011July 19, 2018 - 9 Comments.

“Grrr!  What’s wrong with those Vietnamese?”  That’s not a bad bowl of  pho prompting a xenophobic rant on my part.  Those were the words of my friend Huu Vu when I told him a new …

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