Category: Announcements

AnnouncementsRed or Green - New Mexico Food Scene is on Fire

Red or Green–New Mexico’s Food Scene Was on Fire in 2018

Gil Garduno

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…

AnnouncementsGil's Best of the Best

Gil’s Best of the Best for 2018

Gil Garduno

“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens.” Sound of Music fans will recognize that these are a few of Julie Andrews favorite things. It’s with great fondness and more than a little (blush) salivation that I bid adieu and auld lang syne to my my favorite things–the dishes I enjoyed most across the Land of Enchantment in 2018. These are the baker’s dozen plus dishes which are 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 2018. Every dish…

AnnouncementsBurgersNew MexicoSanta Fe

Green Chile Cheeseburger Smackdown 2018 – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

New Mexico’s storied history will recall that 2009 was the year of the green chile cheeseburger.  It all started in May when Bobby Olguin, the gregarious owner of San Antonio’s Buckhorn Tavern bested Food Network celebrity chef Bobby Flay in a “green chile cheeseburger throwdown.”  Capitalizing on the momentum, Governor Bill Richardson called for a statewide green chile cheeseburger challenge to be held at the New Mexico State Fair in September.  Two months later, four-time James Beard award-winning author, the scintillating Cheryl Jamison spearheaded the development of the New Mexico  Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail, the first of the state Tourism Department’s Culinary Trails initiatives designed to further attract savvy visitors who make travel choices based on food. Not only did…

AnnouncementsRed or Green - New Mexico Food Scene is on Fire

Red or Green: New Mexico’s Dining Scene Was on Fire in 2017

Gil Garduno

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,…

AnnouncementsGil's Best of the Best

Gil’s Best of the Best for 2017

Gil Garduno

“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens.” Sound of Music fans will recognize that these are a few of Julie Andrews favorite things. It’s with great fondness and more than a little (blush) salivation that I bid adieu and auld lang syne to my my favorite things–the dishes I enjoyed most across the Land of Enchantment in 2017. These are the baker’s dozen plus dishes which are 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 2017. Every dish…

AnnouncementsRed or Green - New Mexico Food Scene is on Fire

Red or Green: New Mexico’s Food Scene Was on Fire in 2016

Gil Garduno

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,…

AnnouncementsGil's Best of the Best

Gil’s “Best of the Best” for 2016

Gil Garduno

It’s the season for making lists and checking them twice, finding out which restaurants were naughty or nice. The advent of 2017 is nigh. It’s with great fondness and more than a little (blush) salivation that I bid adieu and auld lang syne to my most memorable dishes of 2016. These are the baker’s dozen plus dishes which are 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 2016. Every dish was a delicious discovery. In the spirit of lagniappe, my “best of the best” list…

Announcements

A Taste of the World in Rio Rancho 

Gil Garduno

While the marquee may have welcomed guests to the sixth annual Taste of Rio Rancho, the mouth-watering event could easily have been called “A Taste of America in Rio Rancho.” In the six years which have elapsed since the inaugural Taste of Rio Rancho, the city’s culinary diversity has expanded significantly thanks to an influx of new restaurants cutting a wide swath across culinary cultures from throughout the country (and planet). Not only are Visionaries (my term for residents of the City of Vision) spending more of their disposable income on hometown restaurants, diners from across the metropolitan area are increasingly making their way to Rio Rancho restaurants where it’s not just about serving outstanding food; it’s about providing a…

Announcements

Friends of Gil (FOG) Dinner: World Peace One Meal at a Time

Gil Garduno

You’ve probably espied a bumper sticker encouraging everyone to “Visualize Whirled Peas,” an obvious homophone for “Visualize World Peace.” Some have posited that whirled peas might indeed be the way to world peace. Seriously! I’m speaking, of course, about hummus, a ubiquitous Middle Eastern food typically made of mashed (whirled) chickpeas. There’s a tiny café in Israel employing a unique way to promote reconciliation. The restaurant offers a 50-percent discount to any table in which Arabs and Jews elect to sit together. That’s promoting peace through hummus. Negotiating world peace over dinner isn’t exactly a novel concept. A New York group named World Peace, One Falafel at a Time aims to bring Jews, Muslims and people of other faiths together…

Announcements

Friends of Gil (FOG) IX: Where do YOU want to Eat? Cast Your Vote Now!

Gil Garduno

OK FOGEYS. It’s voting time. By Jim Millington We have prepared a list of widely disparate restaurants as worthy candidates for FOG IX in July. In an exercise of Democracy not controlled by special interest groups, you have the opportunity to vote for the restaurant in which you’d like to dine with the Friends of Gil. This being New Mexico, we ask that farm animals and dead relatives not vote. 1. Piatanzi on Juan Tabo has a back room for groups. The food is unique in Albuquerque and wonderful if you like it and not wonderful if you don’t. A disadvantage is that it can get expensive if you aren’t paying attention. 2. Nexus is a Brewpub which is probably…

Announcements

Friends of Gil (FOG) Dinner: A Gathering of Gastronomes

Gil Garduno

Next week the Pueblo Harvest Cafe within the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center will host a number of events during the world-renowned Gathering of Nations, but on Friday, April 22nd at 6:30, the venue belonged to the Friends of Gil (FOG) who convened for dinner at the spectacular cafe. This Gathering of Gastronomes included ten first-timers who joined us for an evening of fun, food and friendship. A good time was had by all. Though we were invited to enjoy music and dancing on the patio after our dinner, several of us lingered in the dining room where we continued to enjoy great conversation and even better people. This wasn’t the first FOG Dinner in which we closed the restaurant. So…