Category: Closed in 2009

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2009New Mexican

Mis Amigos – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno2:09 AM

For years Los Cuates has been one of the Duke City’s most revered New Mexican restaurants. One of the most popular New Mexican restaurants in the city, diners line up before its opening and late-comers wait as long as it takes for a table to come open. In February, 2003 after the death of its founder and proprietor Frank Barela, four Cuates employees struck out on their own and launched Dos Amigos at the site of a former Village Inn dining establishment just off the I40 freeway. Four years later they moved clear across town to Juan Tabo and changed the restaurant’s name to Mis Amigos. A framed photograph of Barela (pictured at left) attired in an Air Force flight suit hangs prominently in the restaurant’s wait area. Fittingly, the photograph’s caption refers to Barela as “our friend and guardian angel.” Barela isn’t the only hero honored on the Mis Amigos wall of honor. Framed photographs pay loving tribute to several Bernalillo County deputies and Albuquerque city police officers who, in recent years, have lost their lives in the selfless performance of their duties. Letters of commendation to owners of Dos Amigos speak to the county’s and city’s grateful appreciation…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2009Vietnamese

Kim’s Vietnamese Gourmet Cuisine – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno1:43 AM

During a memorable 1974 episode of MASH, it was Hawkeye Pierce’s turn at being physician of the day. Throughout the day he treated local indigenous personnel, all of whom identified themselves as “Kim Luck” when they reported in. Eventually Hawkeye turns to Radar O’Reilly and says “Kim Luck? This is the fifth one today.” He then asks the local, “Can you identify yourself?” Patting his chest and smiling broadly, the local responds “This is me!”. Hawkeye’s retort: “This must be my Kim Lucky day.” Albuquerque’s Kim Lucky day came on September 22nd, 2006 with the launch of Kim’s Vietnamese Gourmet Cuisine, named for sisters both named Kim. In this case, Kim is a diminutive of Kimhang and Kimha. The sisters emigrated to Albuquerque from the commune of Nancy, France in 1998 and brought their mother over in 2003. The family triumvirate’s restaurant has a decidedly more French influence than other Vietnamese restaurants in the city while retaining the unique charms and delicious specialties of their ancestral homeland. Kim’s Vietnamese Gourmet Cuisine is situated on the same strip mall in which the outstanding sandwich shop Relish is ensconced. Though one of the smallest Vietnamese restaurants in Albuquerque, it is quickly establishing…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2009Mexican

La Norteñita – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:27 AM

The only disappointment (and it was a minor one) we experienced during our inaugural visit to La Norteñita was in not hearing the lively Mexican polka “Mi Nortenita” crackling over the restaurant’s tinny speaker system. That would have made our visit to “Old Mexico” complete. More than most Mexican restaurants in Albuquerque, La Norteñita (the little northern girl) has the look and feel of a restaurant in one of Mexico’s northern states. That means a kitchen and wait staff (and most customers) barely conversant in English, a lustrous color palate on the stark walls, mañana paced service and flavorsome food not adulterated for American tastes. The original La Norteñita has been around for several years, situated on Central Avenue in an edifice most Americans might consider a “dive.” Business was so good that its owner (ironically from Puerto Vallarta which is in central Mexico) launched a second La Norteñita restaurant about three miles from the original. A second La Norteñita was launched at the site which once housed Cha Cha’s, DeLillo’s All American Cafe and Christina’s restaurant, all very good restaurants in a heavily trafficked yet seemingly doomed to failure location. If you had wagered that La Norteñita would succeed…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2009Gone But Not ForgottenNew Mexican

505 Southwestern – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno4:32 PM

Area code 505 was one of the original area codes established in 1947 and for nearly 60 years, that sole area code sufficed to serve all of New Mexico.  With the state’s surging population, however, numbers available with the 505 prefix were eventually exhausted.  The Federal Communication Commission provided area code relief in the form of a second area code (575).     A new area code for the Albuquerque area wasn’t in the makings, but it would not have had implications for 505 Southwestern which would not have changed its name even had the area code changed.  575 Southwestern Chile Factory & Cool Stuff To Eat just wouldn’t have the same poetic lilt. In the mid 1990s, 505 Southwestern was one of our favorite dining destinations in the Albuquerque uptown area where the festive atmosphere and imaginative menu shouted “fun” while the frequently changing menu seemed to get better with each iteration.  One of the first things your eyes trained on when you entered the restaurant was an ominous looking iguana in a large tank.  Since iguanas are renown salmonella carriers, we were relived iguana wasn’t featured fare on the menu.  The 505 featured an excellent Sunday brunch and one of the best desserts in town–the…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2009Gone But Not ForgottenMariscosMexican

Ay Caramba – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno4:00 AM

Ay Caramba!  That tired old Spanish expression was part of American pop culture long before Bart Simpson popularized its usage on episodes of The Simpsons animated television series.  The expression translates to “confound it!” or maybe “Holy Cow” and is generally used to register surprise.  You can almost imagine the Mexican equivalent of Robin, the Boy Wonder of Batman fame exclaiming “Ay Caramba” as he and his crime-fighting partner stumble onto yet another perilous plight.   My hopes were that I’d be exclaiming “Ay Caramba” at how great the food is at this mom-and-pop restaurant which launched in 2005.  After all, my friend and colleague Steve Coleman has a relatively high opinion of the restaurant’s “sister” restaurant in Canutillo, Texas, a restaurant owned by the brother of Albuquerque’s Ay Caramba.  It appears good cooking runs in the family. Ay Caramba’s menu is replete with many traditional favorites of northern Mexico as well as the wonderful mariscos found along Mexico’s coastal seaways…but Ay Caramba!…the menu doesn’t include Ceviche, one of the items that defines Mexican seafood. Complementary salsa arrives at your table shortly after you do.  The jalapeno and roasted tomato salsa makes sparse use of cilantro and cumin, two overused spices which…

BarbecueClosed in 2009Gone But Not ForgottenIllinoisUnited States

Bobby Q’s – Arlington Heights, Illinois (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno11:48 PM

I first read about Bobby Q’s on Chowhound’s Chicago board in November, 2003. A newcomer to the Chicago area barbecue scene launched in July, 2003, it was immediately embraced by barbecue aficionados who tend to dismiss most interlopers as pretenders and frauds. Within months, the restaurant named for the owners’ toddler’s pronunciation of “barbecue” was earning accolades and honors in a specialized area which tends to be cynical and unwelcoming. The house sauces, a spicy Cajun sauce and a sweet Texas sauce have both been accorded with national recognition–20th best barbecue sauce in the entire country and a third place honor for the Cajun sauce in Kansas City’s American Royal competition. In 2004, AOL’s City Guide Chicago made Bobby Q’s their pick for barbecue in the Windy City. Even before you enter Bobby Q’s, you’re greeted in the parking lot by the wafting, seductive and smoky aroma of meats smoked slowly over hickory (cherry for poultry). Those aromas beckon with the alluring charm of a beautiful siren. Answer the aromatic siren’s call and you’re treated to some of the best barbecue in the Chicago area. The baby back ribs aren’t of the “falling off the bone” genre (in fact, they…

AmericanBreakfastClosed in 2009Gone But Not ForgottenNew Mexico

Kokopelli’s Restaurant & Cantina – Sandia Park, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:08 AM

Perhaps the most ubiquitous symbol of the ancient Anasazi culture is Kokopelli, a hump-backed, flute playing figure commonly found in petroglyphs and pottery throughout the Southwest and as far away as South America. Regarded as the universal symbol of fertility for all life–be it crops, hopes, dreams or love–Kokopelli might have been relegated to obscurity to all but cultural anthropologists, however, with the emergence of Santa Fe’s modern culture, he has become universally known. Today Kokopelli paraphernalia has come to symbolize the kitsch and excess of Santa Fe style. Sure enough, Kokopelli’s Restaurant and Cantina has several Kokopelli figures and images strewn about. It also has some of the best fajitas in the Albuquerque area. By and large the skirt steak served on most fajitas is as tough as a leather belt and the accompanying green and red peppers are drastically under-cooked. Not so at Kokopelli’s where the marinated beef was melt-in-your mouth and delicious. Not quite as good were the juevos rancheros which I ordered with both red and green chile. The green chile was wholly innocuous while the red chile had perhaps the kick of a legless mule. The best item on that traditional breakfast concoction were the…