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Albuquerque New Mexico Sandwich Vietnamese

Leona Banh Mi – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoJuly 5, 2023July 6, 20237:57 AM

“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 up and describe their favorite childhood Christmas gift. For the most part, favorite gifts conformed to gender stereotypes. Male colleagues waxed fondly about GI Joe action figures (don’t ever call them dolls), Star Wars Lego sets and their first bike. Females in our group described Barbie dolls, playhouses and cabbage patch kids. Then it was my turn. “My favorite Christmas gift as a child,” I explained “was a dictionary.” Copious groaning ensued though for some reason no one was surprised. As a child for whom…

Albuquerque Asian Dog Friendly Fusion New Mexico Vietnamese

Spring Rollin’ – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoApril 21, 2023May 1, 202312:01 AM

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° or more, you know what it’s like to long for that light. You can relate to the irritability and restlessness of having fewer than eight hours of sunlight during winter months. You know what it’s like to head to work in the dark and return home in the dark. You know the confinement of cabin fever when persistent rain or snow keep you indoors for prolonged periods of time. If you’ve experienced long, dark winters, you celebrate the return of spring. In northern climates, the…

Albuquerque Asian Closed in 2025 Gone But Not Forgotten New Mexico Vietnamese

Viet Cốm – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoApril 15, 2023April 19, 202512:01 AM

The name on the signage is Viet Cốm, not Viet dot com. The difference is more than semantic. In Vietnamese the term “Cốm” (with an accent denoting a high rising pitch when vocalized) translates from Vietnamese to a green sticky rice or green rice flakes. Cốm is a delicacy made only in autumn and cherished by all Vietnamese. You learn a lot when you visit a Vietnamese restaurant and are interested enough to ask a lot of questions. If Misty Do is your server, ask her about the family restaurant and you’ll learn quite a bit. We learned, for example, that the family owned and operated eatery opened in June, 2020, just a couple of months after the Cabrona Virus…

New Mexico Rated 23 Rio Rancho Vietnamese

Saigon 2 Restaurant – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil GardunoApril 2, 2023April 5, 20239:21 PM

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 necessarily across an entire culture. A number may be lucky on a personal level, perhaps marking a date that’s special to the restaurant owner. Espy a restaurant named Pho 66and the number 66 may well represent the year the owner fled Vietnam during the war. Restaurants named Pho 75 may well be honoring 1975, the year Saigon fell. Numerical repetition is also considered fortuitous. The City of Vision certainly counts the number eleven as a lucky number. November 11th, 2011 at precisely 11 o’clock AM…

Arizona Asian Fusion Rated 23 United States Vietnamese

Cyclo Vietnamese Cuisine

Gil GardunoDecember 28, 2022July 24, 202412:01 AM

Justina Duong’s effusive personality, easy elegance and chic fashion sense could fill a room–and they often did. From the moment Justina launched Cycle on Chandler Avenue, the captivating chef and hostess extraordinaire didn’t just have guests. She had an audience, a throng of admirers (mostly men). She had peeps. Charming, gracious and attractive, the belle femme made guests feel at home, becoming as much a draw as the wonderful cuisine on her menu. I had expected to once again enjoy banter with Justina when visiting Cyclo for the first time in a few years only to learn Justina sold the restaurant four years ago. With Justina no longer there to capture the rapt attention of her guests, I noticed…

Albuquerque Asian Closed in 2024 Gone But Not Forgotten New Mexico Vietnamese

Pho 79 – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoNovember 11, 2022July 8, 202412:40 AM

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 of aromatically alluring pho. Few things in life are as comfortable as snuggling up with a simple and no frills bowl showcasing a rich, spicy, nuanced broth with tangles of rice noodles, fresh herbs and vegetables and a veritable meat fest (rare steak, tendon, brisket, meatball). It’s the single best way to warm up from the inside-out on a bitterly cold day. With nearly forty Vietnamese restaurants gracing the Duke City, diners have no shortage of purveyors to frequent for this preternaturally pleasurable elixir. The…

Albuquerque Rated 23 Vietnamese

Saigon Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoApril 10, 2022April 10, 20221:54 AM

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 very starchy food which metabolizes quickly. Others blame monosodium glutamate (MSG) when hunger creeps in shortly after finishing a meal. Italian food is also shrouded in stereotype. “The trouble with eating Italian food,” according to British writer George Miller, “is that five or six days later you’ll be hungry again.” With Italian food–at least Americanized Italian food served in some of the ubiquitous chains–portions are often enough to feed a village in a developing country. A plethora of pasta, tons of tomato sauce, mountains of…

Albuquerque Asian New Mexico Vietnamese

Bamboo by Kulantro – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoApril 9, 2022September 11, 202410:32 AM

Hawaiian pizza, black licorice, blue cheese, anchovies, candy corn, cilantro…these are among the pantheon of foods Readers Digest says everyone either loves or hates. And by “everyone,” Readers Digest includes such culinary glitterati as Julia Child who expressed her loathing for for cilantro in a 2002 interview with Larry King. The towering chef proclaimed she detested cilantro, saying it has a “dead taste” to her. Food Network personality Ina Gartner is even more blatant: “I just hate it,” she related in a Munchie’s podcast. “To me, it’s so strong and it actually tastes like soap to me, but it’s so strong it overpowers every other flavor.” Why then do some people have such a profound cattiness toward cilantro? According…

Albuquerque Asian Closed in 2023 Dog Friendly Food Truck Fusion Gone But Not Forgotten New Mexico Vietnamese

Cafe Nom Nom – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoMarch 4, 2022September 9, 202512:01 AM

NOTE: Cafe Nom Nom no longer operates out of the Boxing Bear Brewery. The Nom Nom Facebook page seems to indicate it now operates out of a food truck, but no information is provided as to days in which it is available to diners. “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 actually look or taste good. Nom nom was, of course, the favorite expression of Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster as he ravenously devoured a plate or six of cookies, a fusillade of crumbs flying from his chewing mouth. Grade school teachers use…

Rio Rancho Vietnamese

Pho Bar – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil GardunoDecember 8, 2021December 13, 20218:28 PM

“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 is culinarily acceptable–even considered delicious–in other cultures. Some of us would recoil in disgust at the notion of eating grilled dog, roasted cat, grain-fed mice, beating cobra heart, soft-boiled fetal duck or silk caterpillars, but these are dishes an official Vietnam culture site considers “something special” when skilfully cooked. What the watered down American palate often considers disgusting may, in fact, have deep cultural underpinnings, some of the aforementioned “delicacies” even gracing the tables of royalty. Oftentimes things Americans consider inedible creepy crawlies are eaten…

Albuquerque New Mexico Vietnamese

Lime Vietnamese Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoNovember 25, 2021December 2, 202112:00 PM

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: It’s chicken. You love chicken. Kevin: Do they make this outside? What is this? <pulls up a single basil leaf> Donna: Seasoning. Just try it. Kevin: <slurps up spoonful and contemplates flavor> Donna: Is it good? Kevin: <holds up finger and slurps up another spoonful; slaps palm on table> Kevin: Hold the pho-one. This is insane! This existed this whole time and you don’t tell me about it? Donna: Yeah and wait til you try the beef. Kevin: <look of utter surprise> This comes in…