Category: Native American

2012 James Beard Foundation Americas Classic AwardArizonaDiners Drive-Ins and DivesJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersNative AmericanUnited States

Fry Bread House – Phoenix, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

The James Beard America’s Classics Award honors locally owned restaurants with timeless appeal, beloved in their region for serving quality food that reflects the character and cultural traditions of their community, and must have been operating for at least 10 years, recognizing enduring, community-rooted establishments over flashy new trends. While the America’s Classic award is presented annually, only six of the twelve James Beard regions are eligible each year.  That means every other year, each region is represented.  This ensures broad coverage over time.  The most recent New Mexico recipient of the America’s classic award is the incomparable Mary & Tito’s. In 2012, the Fry Bread House, a beloved Phoenix institution since 1992, earned the America’s Classic award, becoming the…

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Earl’s Family Restaurant – Gallup, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Two years after the end of the “second war to end all wars,”  a hamburger joint in Gallup first opened its doors.  What started out as a small burger place with scant seating (four stools and a couple of booths) has grown over the years to accommodate legions of loyal guests, some of whom have been frequenting Earl’s Family Restaurant practically since its inception.  Today, the seating capacity at Earl’s approximates 300.   That’s just barely enough to accommodate crowds during peak hours  Earl’s is open seven days a week fror breakfast, lunch and dinner. At nearly eighty years of serving Gallup residents and travelers along historic Route 66, Earl’s shows no signs of surcease. As you amble through the canopied…

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Juniper Coffee & Eatery – Farmington, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Before heading off for an overnight stay in Farmington back in February, 2023, I scoured the internet for suggestions on where to have breakfast.  My criteria was simple:  preferably a Navajo owned-and-operated eatery.  Restaurants who spell New Mexico’s official state vegetable “chili” wouldn’t be considered.  Yelp came through on its listing of the ten best restaurants for breakfast in Farmington.  At the very top of that list was Juniper Coffee and Eatery on College Blvd.  Little did I know how enthusiastically and overwhelmingly that choice would be endorsed later by people with whom I shared a dinner table and many laughs.  Serendipity certainly played a role in my breakfast venue of choice. Serendipity also played a role in that the…

2023 James Beard Foundation - "Best Chef - Southwest" FinalistFarmingtonFine DiningJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersNative AmericanNew Mexico

PIOCHE FOOD GROUP – Fruitland, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

As my friend and retired restaurateur Tom Hamilton and I watched the Pioche family prepare a meal for some twelve guests, we both marveled at the quiet efficiency of the kitchen.  A veteran of decades leading highly-regarded kitchens, Tom related that most kitchens are a loud and frenetic hive of activity amped up to high volume.  Communication among kitchen staff is an absolute must to ensure synchronicity, especially when multiple courses are being prepared.  Instead of the characteristic chaotic din of most restaurant kitchens, the Pioche family worked in harmony, focusing on the quiet, efficient, and harmonious execution of the multitudinous tasks involved in the preparation of  a nine-course meal. It probably shouldn’t have surprised us so much that the…

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Isleta Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

When the Spanish arrived in the late 1500s they named the village south of Albuquerque Isleta, a diminutive of “isla” which means “island.”  Fast forward 600 years, and may as well have been christened “desert island” as in short for “deserted island.”  Despite being one of the largest of New Mexico’s nineteen Pueblos, drivers may not have even known that Exit 215 off Interstate 25 will transport them to the home of some 3,000 inhabitants.   That is until the Isleta Resort & Casino began operating in 1986.  Calling itself “New Mexico’s Grandest Casino Resort,” the Isleta Casino Resort boasts of the best of headline entertainment, capacious meeting rooms, gaming, dining and more.  It’s located just minutes South of Albuquerque’s Sunport…

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El Roi Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

You know you’ve been involved in project management for too long when the only thing that comes to mind when told about a restaurant named “El Roi” is “why would a restaurant be named for a Return on Investment (ROI).”  For those of us who have worked in Information Technology, ROI is a financial ratio used to calculate the benefit an investor will receive in relation to their investment cost.  Restaurants often have a poor return of investment–not just in financial capital, but in human capital.  Restaurants require a significant investment in time by owners as well as kitchen and “front of the house” staffs and the financial return isn’t exactly lucrative.  My Kim theorized that Roi is probably a…

AlbuquerqueBreakfastNative American

Indian Pueblo Kitchen – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

>Pedro de Castaneda, a Spanish explorer who chronicled Coronado’s expeditions through the southwest from 1540 to 1542 observed that corn, beans, and squash were the main staples of the pueblo diet. Of the three, which have come to be known as “Three Sisters,” corn was the most important. It was boiled whole, toasted on the cob, or dried and ground into a fine powder easily cooked as bread or gruel.  Every day female family members knelt before metates (grinding stones), grinding corn to feed their gods, fetishes and kin. One crushed the maize, the next ground it and the third ground it even finer. Castaneda observed that the women worked joyfully at this task.  The three sisters of corn, beans…