Category: Announcements

Announcements

Red and Green: New Mexico’s Food Scene is On Fire – June, 2026

Gil Garduno1:01 AM

NEW MEXICO SENATOR HONORED BY JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION:  Although the Land of Enchantment’s chefs and restaurants were shut out in the James Beard Foundation’s 2026 honor roll, Senator Ben Ray Lujan was named a James Beard Impact Award honoree. Impact Awards recognize people who work to push for standards that create a more equitable, sustainable and economically viable restaurant industry and food system for producers, workers and consumers. Luján was honored for his work leading Senate Democrats in introducing bipartisan legislation to prevent funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) from being withheld during the government shutdown in 2025. Late in the year, Luján also led the caucus in introducing the Restoring Food Security for American Farmers and Families Act, which was designed to repeal cuts to the SNAP program passed into law as part of a Republican spending bill last summer. JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION (JBF) HONORS SANTA FE CHEF:  Although Chef Marc Quiñones,  executive chef at La Fonda on the Plaza in Santa Fe, was not among honorees celebrated in Chicago during the Foundation’s 2026 awards presentation, the talented and acclained chef earned a significant honor. …

AnnouncementsRed or Green - New Mexico Food Scene is on Fire

Red and Green: New Mexico’s Culinary Scene Was on Fire in 2025

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

T’was the year that was, a banner year for Gil’s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog with more milestones having been achieved. Most significantly to your friendly neighborhood restaurant review blogger was the continued dialogue–your sharing of comments noting contentment, humor, news or displeasure with me or some other food topic. There are now 14,838 comments on 1,507 reviews. My edacious publicist Bob of the Village of Los Ranchos (BOTVOLR) retains the lifetime commenter achievement award with well over 1200 comments over the life of the blog. In 2024, however, he was supplanted by the always clever and witty Lynn Garner as the year’s most prolific commenter. 2025 saw the launch of several new restaurants, several of which appear to have long-term appeal. The year also saw the closure of several stalwarts, some of whom served the Duke City for decades. Among those are  Zinc Wine & Bistro, Budai Gourmet Chinese and Scalo. Here is a list of the most popular reviews on Gil’s Thrilling… MOST POPULAR REVIEWS: 2025 Papa Felipe’s Mexican Restaurant (Albuquerque) Gimani: A Slice Bar (Albuquerque) Perea’s Tijuana Bar & Restaurant (Corrales) Ramona’s Mexican Cafe (Albuquerque) The Burrito Lady (Albuquerque) Il Localetto Rossi (Albuquerque The Sandwich Company (Albuquerque) My…

AnnouncementsGil's Best of the Best

Gil’s “Best of the Best” for 2025

Gil Garduno12:02 AM

Welcome to Gil’s list of my favorite dishes in 2025.   These dishes were selected not for complex culinary preparations and exorbitant price points, but for the simple preparation of dishes that taste as if they were prepared by a chorus of angels in a celestial kitchen. These are the dishes most indelibly imprinted on my memory engrams…the first dishes that come to mind when I close my eyes and reflect on the past year in eating. As with previous yearly compilations, every item on this list was heretofore unknown to my palate before 2025. Every dish was a delicious discovery from within New Mexico’s sacred borders. In chronological order, my “best of the best” are: February, 2025 Mena’s Burger From Ramona’s Mexican Cafe in Albuquerque: By any other name Mena’s burger (tortilla burger with American cheese, green chile, lettuce, pickles, tomato and a special secret sauce) is a green chile cheeseburger, albeit not constructed within traditional burger buns.  Somehow Ramona’s kitchen staff manages to create a tortilla pocket that limits spillage (otherwise the special sauce would have been all over my shirt).  To say this is one of the best green chile cheeseburgers in New Mexico would not be an understatement. Green…

AnnouncementsRed or Green - New Mexico Food Scene is on Fire

Red and Green: New Mexico’s Culinary Scene Was on Fire in 2024

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

T’was the year that was, a banner year for Gil’s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog with more milestones having been achieved. Most significantly to your friendly neighborhood restaurant review blogger was the continued dialogue–your sharing of comments noting contentment, humor, news or displeasure with me or some other food topic. There are now 14,455 comments on 1,442 reviews. My edacious publicist Bob of the Village of Los Ranchos (BOTVOLR) retains the lifetime commenter achievement award with well over 1200 comments over the life of the blog.  In 2024, however, he was supplanted by the always clever and witty Lynn Garner as the year’s most prolific commenter. 2024 saw the launch of several new restaurants, several of which appear to have long-term appeal.  The year also saw the closure of several stalwarts, some of whom served the Duke City for decades.  Among those are Monica’s El Portal and Caruso’s Italian Restaurant in Albuquerque and Mucho Gusto in Santa Fe. Here is a list of the most popular reviews on Gil’s Thrilling… MOST POPULAR REVIEWS: 2024 MOST POPULAR REVIEWS: ALL-TIME Gimani: A Slice Bar – Albuquerque Mary & Tito’s (Albuquerque) East Ocean Chinese & Seafood – Albuquerque Buckhorn Tavern (San Antonio) Mulas – Corrales The…

AnnouncementsRed or Green - New Mexico Food Scene is on Fire

Red or Green–New Mexico’s Food Scene Was on Fire in 2023

Gil Garduno12:03 AM

2023: The Year In Review T’was the year that was, a banner year for Gil’s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog with more milestones having been achieved. Most significantly to your friendly neighborhood restaurant review blogger was the continued dialogue–your sharing of comments noting contentment, humor, news or displeasure with me or some other food topic. There are now 13,869 comments on 1,370 reviews, an increase of 619 comments and 59 new reviews over 2022. My edacious publicist Bob of the Village of Los Ranchos (BOTVOLR) retains the lifetime commenter achievement award with well over 1200 comments over the life of the blog.  In 2023, however, he was supplanted by the always clever and witty Lynn Garner as the year’s most prolific commenter.   2023 saw the launch of several new restaurants, several of which appear to have long-term appeal.  The year also saw the closure of several stalwarts.  The closure which seemed to draw the most ire (particularly for Mayor Keller) was Griff’s, a presence on Central Avenue for more than 60 years.  In a press release, the Griff’s corporation noted “there have been too many incidents at the location making it “unsafe and undesirable” to continue operating there. Griff’s has…

AnnouncementsGil's Best of the Best

Gil’s Best of the Best for 2023

Gil Garduno12:02 AM

Welcome to Gil’s Taylor Swift-free list of my favorite dishes in 2023. These dishes were selected not for complex culinary preparations and exorbitant price points, but for the simple preparation of dishes that taste as if they were prepared by a chorus of angels in a celestial kitchen. These are the dishes most indelibly imprinted on my memory engrams…the first dishes that come to mind when I close my eyes and reflect on the past year in eating. As with previous yearly compilations, every item on this list was heretofore unknown to my palate before 2023. Every dish was a delicious discovery from within New Mexico’s sacred borders. In chronological order, my “best of the best” are: January 2023 You can’t get any more simple than a fried SPAM sandwich ((SPAM, Cheddar, lettuce, mustard on lightly toasted sourdough bread), a staple for those of us who grew up in rural New Mexico like Chef Marie Yniguez and I did.  Marie’s fabulous home-cooking–showcased at My Moms on 4th Street–isn’t pretentious.  It’s the type of cooking all the moms in her life have been doing for generations.  Eating fried baloney sandwiches and fried SPAM sandwiches will transport the ruralites among us to…

Announcements

Souper Bowl 2023 – Soups to Soothe The Soul

Gil Garduno12:42 PM

Genesis 25:34 recounts the story of Isaac’s two sons Esau and Jacob.  Talk about a sibling rivalry.  Coming home from an unsuccessful hunt one day, Esau was exhausted and famished.  The aroma of hot, steaming red lentil soup filled the air and he would do anything to have some.   His brother Jacob, a crafty schemer, agreed to give his brother some soup in exchange for the birthright to which the elder son was entitled.  Esau acquiesced. There are two things about this popular Old Testament story that have always perplexed me: (1)  Just how good can soup possibly be that someone would renounce a birthright to have some?  On Saturday, February 4th, 2023, I was privileged to serve as a judge for the eleventh time in the Roadrunner Food Bank’s annual Souper Bowl where I had my annual epiphany of just how good soup can be.  The 2023 Souper Bowl, Albuquerque’s foremost tasting competition, featured thirty-two of Albuquerque’s finest eateries showcasing their very best soups and desserts.  More importantly, it served as the Roadrunner Food Bank’s most attended fundraising event. On the warmest day of an unusually cold and dry winter,  throngs of Duke City diners arrived at the Roadrunner Food…

AnnouncementsGil's Best of the Best

Gil’s Best of the Best for 2022

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

You might think that my annual “best of the best” compilation would be replete with lavishly extravagant dishes proffered by swanky fine-dining establishments.  Instead, the list of dishes I enjoyed most across the Land of Enchantment in 2022 are almost exclusively of the “cheap eats” (if that term even applies under the current economy) variety, selected not for complex culinary preparations and exorbitant price points, but for the simple preparation of dishes that taste as if they were prepared by a chorus of angels in a celestial kitchen.  These are the dishes most indelibly imprinted on my memory engrams…the first dishes that come to mind when I close my eyes and reflect on the past year in eating. As with previous yearly compilations, every item on this list was heretofore unknown to my palate before 2022. Every dish was a delicious discovery from within New Mexico’s sacred borders. In chronological order, my “best of the best” are: New Mexicans tend to be blue-collar, meat-and-potatoes eaters (or in the case of breakfast, biscuits-and-gravy (with green chile, of course)).  At My Moms on 4th Street, Marie Yniguez’s green chile sausage biscuits n’ gravy is a breakfast offering you’ll want to get up early in the…

AnnouncementsRed or Green - New Mexico Food Scene is on Fire

Red or Green–New Mexico’s Food Scene Was on Fire in 2022

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

New Mexico’s restaurant owners ended 2022 with a sigh of relief after yet another tough year. While the number of guests has rebounded (to some extent), already slim profits were diminished even further.  Restaurateurs faced ongoing struggles from inflationary pressure on food costs, hiring and retaining staff, along with supply chain issues and availability of key items. Restaurateurs felt the pressure on the bottom line in actual earnings.  These challenges made staying in business a difficult proposition.  A significant number of restaurant closures transpired during the year.   On the flip side of the coin, it was a banner year for New Mexico restaurants with the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives crew featuring restaurants in Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Taos.  New Mexico also saw its first James Beard Foundation Best Chef-Southwest in years when Santa Fe’s Fernando Olea was recognized in June. 2022 was also a banner year for Gil’s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog with more milestones having been achieved. Most significantly to your friendly neighborhood restaurant review blogger was the continued dialogue–your sharing of comments noting contentment, humor, news or displeasure with me or some other food topic. There are now 1,3250 comments on 1,311 reviews, an increase…

AnnouncementsRed or Green - New Mexico Food Scene is on Fire

Red or Green–New Mexico’s Food Scene Was on Fire in 2021

Gil Garduno12:02 AM

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a cautious reemergence into a world where “normal” is constantly being redefined. New Mexico’s restaurants continue to push boundaries, shift paradigms, and invent new and better ways to serve their guests.  2021 saw the proliferation of the “ghost kitchen” concept.  Bold restaurateurs began pushing back against parasitic delivery companies that misrepresented alliances with the very restaurants whose profits they usurp.  Branded meals–ingredients, recipes and pre-cooking started by a restaurant and finished at home–became a part of the fabric that is dining out.  So is the ever-increasing shift to off-premises dining and the growing popularity of food trucks.  Menus were increasingly streamlined, in part to supply chain issues and staffing shortages.  Most diners agree 2021 was an improvement over 2020, but prefer the old, pre-COVID “normal.”   2021 was another banner year for Gil’s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog with more milestones having been achieved. Most significantly to your friendly neighborhood restaurant review blogger was the continued dialogue–your sharing of comments noting contentment, humor, news or displeasure with me or some other food topic. There are now 12,476 comments on 1,246 reviews, an increase of 815 comments and 48 new reviews over 2020. My edacious publicist Bob of the…

AnnouncementsGil's Best of the Best

Gil’s Best of the Best for 2021

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

You might think that my annual “best of the best” compilation would be replete with lavishly extravagant dishes proffered by swanky fine-dining establishments.  Instead, the list of dishes I enjoyed most across the Land of Enchantment in 2021 are almost exclusively of the “cheap eats” (or reasonably priced) variety, selected not for complex culinary preparations and exorbitant price points, but for the simple preparation of dishes that taste as if they were prepared by a chorus of angels in a celestial kitchen.  These are the dishes most indelibly imprinted on my memory engrams…the first dishes that come to mind when I close my eyes and reflect on the past year in eating. As with previous yearly compilations, every item on this list was heretofore unknown to my palate before 2021. Every dish was a delicious discovery from within New Mexico’s sacred borders. In chronological order, my “best of the best” are: If ever diners diners needed to turn to their favorite comfort foods for some sense of normalcy and solace, it was 2021. According to Nation’s Restaurant News, the classic American comfort dish most giving us that sense of normalcy and solace is fried chicken. No restaurant prepares fried chicken as well…