Category: Breakfast

AmericanArizonaBreakfastRating: N/R (Not Rated)United States

Harold’s Cave Creek Corral – Cave Creek, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Football fans can be unforgiving…and some of us have elephantine memories.  Dallas Cowboys fans, for example, will never forget nor forgive the Pittsburgh Steelers for having bested (obviously the referees cheated) the Cowboys twice in the Super Bowl.  Never mind that our beloved Cowboys finally did beat Pittsburgh in a later Super Bowl.  We’ll never get over losing two.  Our only consolation is that at least we didn’t lose to those neanderthal New York Giants.  Someday you’ll have to ask me how I feel about the Steelers and Giants.  With such antipathy toward those miserable Steelers, the one place you’d think…

ArizonaBreakfastJewishRating: N/R (Not Rated)United States

Scott’s Generations – Phoenix, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Until 2025, the only generations of Scotts I’ve known are Dan (God rest his beautiful soul) and Latayne, their son Ryan and daughter-in-law Kimber and their children Canaan and Judah.  Everyone calls them “the great Scotts,” largely because they live their Christian faith.  Latayne is, in fact, a very prolific author of several Christian books.  My friend Ryan and I have broken bread on many occasions.  He’s a fellow trencherman who delights in finding great restaurants with generous portions.  Ryan would have loved Scott’s Generations in Phoenix…and I would have loved seeing his baby blues feast on a robust sandwich…

AlbuquerqueBreakfastBreakfast BurritosNew MexicanNew MexicoRating: Excellent

Mick’s Chile Fix – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno2:55 AM

Addicts are all too familiar with the symptoms, especially the insatiable cravings that can only be quelled by a fix. There’s nothing like the high you get from the addictive mistress that is New Mexican chile. That’s why we willingly singe our tongues and scald our taste buds to get that fix. What gives chile its intense fire and creates the need for a fix is a chemical called capsaicin, a natural ingredient that stimulates the mouth’s nerve endings, causing a burning sensation. In response to this burning sensation, the brain releases endorphins, natural painkillers that may produce a temporary…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBreakfastBreakfast BurritosBrunchDog FriendlyNew MexicoRating: Very Good

Cinnamon Sugar and Spice Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:20 PM

Back in the dark ages when I grew up–long before America became the kinder, gentler Utopia it is today (seething with cynicism)–it would have been inconceivable that boys and girls would receive trophies just for “participating.” Back then, we were expected to be competitive about everything. The battle of the genders was waged at home every night with my brothers and I pitting our brawn and bulk against the brains and gumption of our sisters, two of whom would go on to graduate as valedictorians and all of them much smarter than the recalcitrant Garduño boys. It rankled us to…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBreakfastBreakfast BurritosDog FriendlyNew MexicanNew MexicoRating: Excellent

Hello Deli – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

HELLO DELI (to the tune of Hello Dolly) “Hello Deli, this is Joe, Deli would you please send up a nice corned beef on rye. A box of RITZ, Deli and some Schlitz, Deli Some chopped liver and a sliver of your, apple pie. Turkey Legs, Deli hard boiled eggs, Deli and a plate of those potatoes you french fry, oh Don’t be late, Deli I just can’t wait Deli, Deli without breakfast, I’d just die.” ~ Frank Jacobs (Writer for MAD Magazine) In 2016, BBC Travel lamented the imminent demise of the New York City deli.  “Not the corner markets…

AmericanBreakfastBreakfast BurritosDog FriendlyNew MexicoPizzaRating: N/R (Not Rated)

Trail Rider – Cedar Crest, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

During the prehistoric and dark ages when I went to school, we were taught a song called “The Bear Went Over The Mountain.”  When that wandering ursus got to the other side of the mountain, all he could see was the other side of the mountain.  Ostensibly, this song recalls a bear’s fruitless journey to see what lies beyond.  It symbolizes the endless nature of life’s constant undertakings, the continuous, sometimes futile, effort in life to find something beyond the current experience.  Now, that’s the allegorical meaning of the song.  In literal terms, a bear (or anyone of us) going…

BreakfastBreakfast BurritosFarmingtonNative AmericanNew MexicoRating: Excellent

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…

AlbuquerqueBreakfastBreakfast BurritosBurgersNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2009New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011Rating: Very Good

Blake’s Lotaburger – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Blake’s Lotaburger is a premier New Mexico institution founded in 1952 by long-time proprietor Blake Chanslor who owned it for half a century before selling it in 2003. While the marquee may still carry Blake’s name, the 76 store franchise with a presence in most of New Mexico’s larger cities and towns (23 in all) is now owned by Brian Rule, an Albuquerque resident.  On April 10, 2009, Chanslor passed away, having left a legacy based not only on having founded a New Mexico institution, but for his philanthropic endeavors. Thankfully, Lotaburger has, for the most part, retained the high…

AmericanBreakfastBreakfast BurritosBurgersCoffeeNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)

Aly’s @ Sugar’s – Embudo, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:22 PM

The winding highway meandering along the murky Rio Grande through Embudo is among the most scenic in the Land of Enchantment, particularly in mid-autumn when leaves turn a vibrant shade of gold. For  nearly two decades, motorists drove slowly not only to take in the foliage, but to imbibe the hazy applewood smoke plumes emanating from Sugar’s BBQ & Burgers .  Enchanting aromas wafted into motorized conveyances like a sweet Texas smoke signal beckoning passers-by to try a combo platter or a brisket burrito.  In 2023, the drive alongside the Rio Grande became somewhat less captivating with the discernible absence…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBreakfastNational ChainRating: Good

The Cracker Barrel Old Country Store – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:12 PM

Your eyes aren’t deceiving you. This really is Gil’s Thrilling (and Filling) Blog and you really are reading a review of  a (gasp) chain restaurant. It would be easy (a cop-out) to say my visit to the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store was the result of brow-beating, cajoling, bribery or even torture, but the truth is my Kim loves the Cracker Barrel.  She’s well aware of my chain-averse attitude, but was hoping the Cracker Barrel would win me over. With my every reference to the “Chancre Barrel” on the drive to the restaurant, she quickly realized it was a hopeless…

AlbuquerqueBreakfastBreakfast BurritosCoffeeNew MexicoRating: Excellent

Blackbird Coffee House – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“Sing a song of sixpence A pocketful of rye Four and twenty blackbirds Baked in a pie.” One interpretation of this English child’s 16th Century nursery rhyme posits that it was written about entremet, an Old French term referring to dishes served between courses of a meal.  “Dishes” had a very figurative meaning and could represent anything from edible scenic displays to foods designed to amuse or surprise.  One of the more popular amusements was to place live birds in a pie.  An Italian cookbook from 1549 (translated into English in 1598) actually contained such a recipe: “To make pies…