Category: Announcements

We’ll always remember 2020 as the year we mostly stayed home, the year of cancelled vacations, of working remotely and as the ignominious year of politics and pandemics, a “year of nonstop awfulness,” according to Dave Berry. It was the year so many our favorite restaurants and small businesses had to shutter their doors and those who didn’t close, struggled mightily to remain viable.    Despite restrictions and resets, we continued to support restaurant through take-out and delivery options enabled by locally-based technology solutions such as Selflane.  Some of us discovered inspired innovation in the form of mobile kitchens (that’s food truck to you, Bob) offering dining concepts not often found in brick-and-mortar establishments. 2020 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.  On 9 April 2020, the blog achieved its 11,000th comment.  There are now 11,661 comments on 11,998 reviews, an increase of 886 comments and 57 new reviews over 2019.  Bob of the Village of Los Ranchos (BOTVOLR) retains the…

In 2017, legendary Los Angeles Times restaurant critic Jonathan Gold declared “food blogs are dead. There are still some people doing them, and there are still a bunch of cookery blogs where people are wrestling with cupcakes, but Instagram has so totally and thoroughly usurped whatever blogs used to do.” Much as I respect and admire the only restaurant critic to ever earn a Pulitzer Prize, there’s at least one blog that’s not quite dead. It’s not even on life support. In 2019, Gil’s Thrilling… actually experienced an upsurge in visits. For that I thank you. 2019 was another banner year for Gil’s Thrilling (and Filling) Blog as several milestones were achieved. Most significant to your roving gastronome was evidence of a continued dialogue among readers. On April 7th, the blog achieved its 10,000th comment when Tom Molitor shared online ordering secrets with Becky Mercuri. Tom and Becky were among the most prolific commenters in 2019, but for sheer volume, my publicist Bob of the Village of Los Ranchos (BOTVR) continues to reign supreme. On December 8th, Bob submitted his 1,000th comment to Gil’s Thrilling. There are now 10,775 reader comments on 1140 reviews, an increase of 1004 comments and…

Over the years perhaps no restaurant across the Land of Enchantment has garnered as much acclaim as Santa Fe’s Geronimo. It’s been long and widely acknowledged that Geronimo is one of the very best fine-dining restaurants not only in New Mexico, but under the spacious skies. In TripAdvisor’s compilation of the 25 top fine dining restaurants in the country for 2018, Geronimo was rated the tenth best. That’s only fitting because many of its devotees consider a meal at Geronimo a perfect ten, a flawless experience with magnificent food, service and ambiance. Also fitting, the restaurants were selected by TripAdvisor readers. “If you thought seafood was just for the coasts, you’ve got another thing coming.” That’s how Redbook Magazine began its feature on the best seafood restaurants in each state. To compile its list, Redbook used Yelp data on each state’s highest-rated seafood restaurant, discovering that even landlocked locations hundreds of miles from an ocean serve up sumptuous delicacies from the seas. The Land of Enchantment’s very best purveyor of magnificent marine life is Albuquerque’s Poki Poki Cevicheria, the first restaurant in the state to feature Poke (sometimes spelled “poki” and always pronounced poh-kay.) Since its launch in 2016, Poki…

Tis the season…for year-end retrospectives in which the good, the bad and the ugly; the triumphs and tragedies; the highs and lows and the ups and downs are revisited ad-infinitum by seemingly every print and cyberspace medium in existence. It’s the time of year in which the “in-your-face” media practically forces a reminiscence–either fondly or with disgust–about the year that was. It’s a time for introspection, resolutions and for looking forward with hope to the year to come. The New Mexico culinary landscape had more highs than it did lows in 2017. Here’s my thrilling (and filling) recap. 2017 saw the closure of several beloved restaurants–28 by my count. Some closures, such as Eclectic Urban Pizzeria came as a surprise, if not a shock. Included among our losses were two restaurants which garnered recognition from the Food Network: Eli’s Place (formerly Sophia’s) showcased on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and Pasion Latin Fusion which was featured on Restaurant Impossible. Others, such as Murphy’s Mule Barn had stood the test of time. One saving grace was the launch of several new independent restaurants which are quickly becoming favorites. 2015 was another banner year for Gil’s Thrilling (and Filling) Blog. There are now…

Tis the season…for year-end retrospectives in which the good, the bad and the ugly; the triumphs and tragedies; the highs and lows and the ups and downs are revisited ad-infinitum by seemingly every print and cyberspace medium in existence. It’s the time of year in which the “in-your-face” media practically forces a reminiscence–either fondly or with disgust–about the year that was. It’s a time for introspection, resolutions and for looking forward with hope to the year to come. The New Mexico culinary landscape had more highs than it did lows in 2015. Here’s my thrilling (and filling) recap. Hardly a week passed during 2016 in which the world didn’t lose one or more of the biggest names in music, acting, literature and politics. We celebrate their lives and mourn their passing. While perhaps not as tragic, 2016 also saw the closure of several beloved restaurants. Some flashed early potential only to fade quickly. Others stood the test of time. Still others closed only to reinvent themselves with new concepts and menus. One saving grace was the launch of several new independent restaurants which are quickly becoming favorites. 2015 was another banner year for Gil’s Thrilling (and Filling) Blog. There are…