Category: United States

ColoradoDiners Drive-Ins and DivesItalianRating: N/R (Not Rated)United States

Paravicini’s Italian Bistro – Colorado Springs, Colorado

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Para vicini translates roughly from Italian to “for the neighborhood.”  Paravicini’s Italian Bistro isn’t located in just any Colorado Springs neighborhood.  It’s located in the heart of Old Colorado City, the historic west side of Colorado Springs. Founded in 1859 during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush, Old Colorado City was the first permanent settlement in the region and briefly served as the first capital of the Colorado Territory. In 1917, it was annexed and incorporated into Colorado Springs. Today, the former wild-west town is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and functions as a pedestrian-friendly arts and dining…

AmericanColoradoDog FriendlyRating: N/R (Not Rated)SandwichUnited States

Shuga’s – Colorado Springs, Colorado

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Gastronomes shall not live on great restaurants alone.  Sometimes, our souls need to be fed, too.  Few cities can accomplish both feeding our bodies and nurturing our souls as well as Colorado Springs, a city of incomparable beauty and endless outdoors opportunities.  As a “foodie” destination, WalletHub ranked the city 70th overall from among 180 major U.S. cities (Albuquerque ranked 49th).  In terms of diversity, accessibility and quality, the Springs ranked 63rd nationally.  For affordability, it ranked 79th, indicating dining out and food-related costs are slightly higher than average.  Colorado Springs has a rapidly expanding independent culinary scene, food trucks…

ColoradoDeliRating: N/R (Not Rated)SandwichUnited States

East Coast Restaurant & Delicatessen – Colorado Springs, Colorado

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“I’ll have what she’s having.”  Can it really be 35 years since Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal created their famous fake la petite mort scene from When Harry Met Sally?  The scene was filmed at New York City’s Katz’s Delicatessen where sumptuous sandwiches are skyscraper tall and absolutely delicious (my sole visit was in 1978).  Unlike Meg’s character, most of us wouldn’t have to fake our “excitement” with one gander of the sheer size of Katz’s pastrami sandwich.  A Katz’s, the world-famous pastrami sandwich is enormous, featuring about one pound (12–16 ounces) of hand-carved meat stacked between rye bread. The sandwich…

AmericanColoradoSouthernUnited States

Juniper Valley Ranch – Colorado Springs, Colorado

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“Fried chicken just tend to make you feel better about life.” ~Minny Jackson (The Help) One of the most heart-warming scenes in the 2011 period drama The Help involved the character Minny Jackson (brilliantly portrayed by Octavia Spencer) teaching her employer, a lonely housewife named Celia Foote (played by Jessica Chastain), the art of Southern cooking through what has probably become the famous fried chicken lesson ever depicted on cinema.  Minny begins the lesson by delivering a sermon on Crisco, the “most important invention since they put mayonnaise in a jar.”   The naive and privileged Celia, who likely wouldn’t know…

ColoradoGuy's Grocery GamesItalianPizzaUnited States

Red Gravy – Colorado Springs, Colorado

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

There wasn’t much ethnic or cultural diversity in Peñasco where I grew up. Our little village was overwhelmingly (probably 98% if not more) Hispanic. One of the only other ethnic groups in the area were non-Hispanic white residents, most of whom worked either as teachers or for the forest services. Other whites were “left overs” from the years in which a hippie commune set up camp nearby. We also had a couple of families (Sahds and Owens) of Lebanese descent. Everyone referred to them as “Los Arabes” because Arabic is the principle language in Lebanon. Los Arabes were (and still…

AmericanColoradoRating: N/R (Not Rated)United States

Three Sisters Tavern – Colorado City, Colorado

Gil Garduno12:00 AM

“The Pueblo Chile represents Colorado’s history, heritage, and strong agricultural roots. The Pueblo Chile is simply the very best chile that exists and a key ingredient in delicious dishes across the state and country. The Pueblo Chile is part of Colorado’s past, present and future innovation and I look forward to the final selection for Colorado’s 2028 American Innovation Coin so that all Americans can see our Pueblo chile up close in pocket change and collector’s books.” ~Governor Jarod Polis. On 17 September 2026, Governor Jarod Polis of Colorado revealed that he has nominated Pueblo Chile to be displayed on…

ArizonaDiners Drive-Ins and DivesItalianPizzaRating: OutstandingUnited States

Fat Olives – Flagstaff, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Several years and a couple of tons ago, my friend “Macho” Mike Moretti and I were the type of trenchermen that all-you-can-eat Chinese restaurants feared so much they established strict time limits.  When a German restaurant on San Mateo offered a free dessert to any diner who could finish a gargantuan combination plate, we easily surmounted the challenge and asked for seconds.  Perhaps our most impressive culinary conquest transpired when Pizza Inn offered a “order one pizza, get the next size free” deal.  We ordered an extra large pizza and a large pizza then polished them off.  That was the…

ArizonaRating: N/R (Not Rated)Soul FoodSouthernUnited States

Lo-Lo’s Chicken & Waffles – Scottsdale, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Thousands of unique, undocumented family nicknames are born every day. However, dozens of the most common, traditional English first names used today exist entirely because of historical childhood speech limits or toddler mispronunciations. That’s because when children learn to talk, their mouths struggle with hard consonant clusters. This leads to a linguistic process called “reduplication” (repeating syllables) or consonant swapping to make words easier to say. Over centuries, these toddler-friendly versions became standard legal names. My sister Dolores acquired one such nickname. When my brother George couldn’t pronounce “Dolores,” he began calling her Lorlie–not “Lolo” as you might expect. Even…

ArizonaDonutsRating: N/R (Not Rated)United States

Voodoo Doughnut – Tempe, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

As peurile punks at Peñasco junior high, many of us acquired our first exposure to “VD,” (no, not the way you’re thinking) the corporeal corruptor of unprotected men and women of all ages.  Being immature teens, the boys guffawed at the dramatic instructional filmstrips that relied heavily on fear tactics, clinical diagrams, and stern warnings about morality and hygiene.  Plotlines (if you can call them that) tended to emphasize worst-case scenarios such as permanent physical disfigurement, blindness, or sterility to deter sexual activity.  Being young and indestructible, we didn’t think VD could ever happen to us. Valerie, the most gorgeous…

ArizonaBarbecueRating: Very GoodUnited States

Joe’s Real BBQ – Gilbert, Arizona

Gil Garduno3:05 PM

No ordinary Joe is this, critics would have you believe. Instead, they insist, this has been one of the best 59 restaurants in the Phoenix area (Phoenix magazine, 2002). Located in a 1929 brick building that saw its “hay day” in the golden age of agricultural Arizona, it retains the charm that helps make downtown Gilbert a popular destination.  Originally built in 1929, the building has had a long history. It was once home to a grocery store called Safeway Pay n’ Takit, storage building, movie theatre, lamp factory and finally a church before it was bought in 1997 and…

2022 James Beard Foundation - "Best Chef - Southwest" FinalistArizonaDiners Drive-Ins and DivesItalianRating: N/R (Not Rated)United States

Andreoli Italian Grocer – Scottsdale, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Mangia e stai zitto.” That’s what you’ll read on the back of staff shirts at Andreoli Italian Grocer along with the restaurant logo on the sleeve. From Italian it translates to “Eat and Shut Up!” One server told us that phrase is common in the Italian home where discussing the day’s happenings is secondary to enjoying the meal. We also heard that the saying matches the signature no-nonsense, authentic Italian attitude of Chef Giovanni Scorzo. Sure enough, Chef Scorzo’s debut book “Shut Up and Eat!: A Journey to a Symphonic Culinary Masterpiece” even features that phrase. When Food Network gliteratti…