Category: Rating: Outstanding

Outstanding–A stand-out; delivers a memorable dining experience through a harmonious blend of exceptional food, attentive service, and consistent quality

BreakfastBreakfast BurritosMexicanNew MexicanNew MexicoRating: Outstanding

Ramona’s Mexican Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at her most solitary, a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past, the advice and menus of cooks present, the wisdom of cookbook writers.” ~Laurie Colwin, Novelist Watch virtually any episode of Kitchen Nightmares and you might just be convinced that families can’t possibly work together in a restaurant.  Kitchen Nightmares, one of Gordon Ramsay’s eight-hundred or so television shows, is rather formulaic–Ramsay spends a week with a failing restaurant in an attempt to revive the business.  Almost invariably, the failing restaurant is owned and operated by a family.  Almost invariably, the drama falls just short of Homer strangling Bart.  Arguments on Kitchen Nightmares are loud and intense.  Copious tears are shed.  Predictably, the sagacity and sangfroid of Saint Ramsay brings sanity to the family fray and the family joins him in a rendering of kumbaya. Contrast a visit to a Kitchen Nightmares restaurant with a visit to Ramona’s Mexican Cafe and the only drama you might experience is the internal conflict of trying to figure out what to order from a terrific menu.  Ramona, the matriarch of the Chavira Y Valles family, runs the kitchen with her sons.…

AlbuquerqueBuffetIndianNew MexicoRating: Outstanding

Taste of India – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno9:16 AM

“Don’t go and cook Indian food if you never cooked Indian food, you know?” ~Wolfgang Puck Those who can’t do, write.  The pan is mightier than the pen. Pick your aphorism.  When it comes to cooking Indian food, both certainly apply in my case.  Every effort to prepare even the most basic of Indian dishes is a painful reminiscence of the Chemistry courses which confounded, confused and frustrated me in equal measure.  Sure, covalent bonds made sense (because they were easy), but the math-based system of writing complex chemical equations may as well have been Klingonese.  So, too, are most recipes for Indian dishes. Yes, a passable phalanx of premixed “instant” Indian food exists, but what’s the fun in preparing that?  Aspiring Indian food cooks (and masochists like me) prefer to prepare everything from scratch.  That includes grinding and roasting ingredients for our own garam masala, an essential Indian spice mix which Epicurious considers “the Indian equivalent of French herbes de Provence or Chinese five-spice powder.”  Somehow, my mix always has the taste appeal of a lethal bleach and ammonia combination.  After years of trial and failure, I’ve arrived at  the painful realization that I may never be able to…

BreakfastCoffeeNew MexicoRating: OutstandingRio Rancho

Cafe Bella – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno1:08 PM

Caffeine is my shepherd; I shall not doze. It maketh me to wake in green pastures: It leadeth me beyond the sleeping masses. It restoreth my buzz: It leadeth me in the paths of consciousness for its name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of addiction, I will fear no Equal: For thou art with me; thy cream and thy sugar they comfort me. Thou preparest a carafe before me in the presence of The Starbucks: Thou anointest my day with pep; my mug runneth over. Surely richness and taste shall follow me all the days of my life: And I will dwell in the House of Mochas forever. ~Author Unknown Among the many unflattering stereotypes about Information Technology (IT) professionals is that we’re all propeller-headed Poindexters hopped up on Mountain Dew, Red Bull and strong coffee. As if to lend credence to that stereotype, the Intel cafeteria where I worked for eighteen years provided free coffee to its employees from the ubiquitous (and unnamed here) industry leader–as much of it as employees can drink. All day long programmers and systems analysts turn down the volume on Metallica, doff their headsets and leave the sanctity…

2003 James Beard Foundation (JBF) "Best Chef - Southwest" Winner2022 James Beard Foundation (JBF) Outstanding RestaurateurArizonaJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersPizzaRating: OutstandingUnited States

Pizzeria Bianco – Phoenix, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

To celebrate the 100 year anniversary of pizza in America, Ed Levine, the creator/founder of Serious Eats,  ate nothing but pizza for an entire twelve month period, taking a representative pulse of the best from among thousands of pizza purveyors. His terrific tome, Pizza A Slice of Heaven, published in 2005,  provides a definitive guide to a much-loved product that in its elemental form is simplicity itself–bread, cheese and whatever toppings a pizzaioli artisan might care to add. To the surprise of many, Levine declared the best pizza in America (and the world, for that matter) to be made in the unlikely town of Phoenix, Arizona where the intensely brilliant Chris Bianco plies his trade as no other. Before a business trip to Phoenix in 2002, I also learned that a writer for Travel & Leisure magazine definitively proclaimed Pizzeria Bianco as “the best place in America for pizza.” I also found that in its 1998 edition, Zagat’s respondents rated Pizzeria Bianco the top restaurant in Phoenix with a lofty rating of 29. Despite these proclamations, I couldn’t accept that a pizza could possibly be that good. The impunity of all these blasphemers to place on the loftiest pedestal, a pizza…

ArizonaDog FriendlyItalianPizzaRating: OutstandingUnited States

Guido’s Chicago Meat & Deli – Scottsdale, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

For years now, my Kim and I have largely eschewed American television, especially its sophomoric, lowbrow and “meant for voyeurs” reality shows.  We’ve been increasingly gravitating to an almost exclusive viewership of British television which we’ve found to be meant for grown-ups rather than children.  British television programs offer a sophistication direly absent in American programming.  British programs tend to be more substantive, refined and of much higher quality than their American counterparts.  That assessment applies to mysteries, comedies, dramas and even commercials. The final nail in the coffin for American television were two absolutely unwatchable reality shows:  The Kardashians and Jersey Shore.  Both showcase obnoxious, self-aggrandizing and vacuous characters with no redeeming characteristics.  The Jersey Show, for example, made celebrities of four loud, foul-mouthed, hypersexual Italian Americans who self-style as “guidos” and “guidettes.”  Never mind that “guido” (slang for a working-class urban Italian-American) is widely perceived by Italian-Americans as a pejorative word, like “spic” or “wop.” It’s a very unflattering stereotype. Lest you think we lowered ourselves to watch such detritus, we caught a promotion for the series which bragged about gathering the “hottest, tannest, craziest guidos” and assembling them at a beach resort where all would be laid…

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 last time I ever finished at least an entire pizza (about ten acres of pie) by myself.  That is, the last time until my Kim and I paid an inaugural visit to Fat Olives in Flagstaff, Arizona. No ordinary pizza will you find at Fat Olives.  The pizza for which I scaled the heights of gluttony placed third in the International Pizza Expo in 2014.  That event hosts the largest assembly of pizzaiolo in the world.  Its prestigious pizza-making competition in North America, if not the world.  Third place places Fat Olives in rarefied air.  Furthermore, Fat Olives is a…

NevadaRating: OutstandingSteakUnited States

Lawry’s The Prime Rib – Las Vegas, Nevada

Gil Garduno1:10 AM

“What keeps me motivated is not the food itself but all the bonds and memories the food represents.” ~Michael Chiarello Many of my most cherished memories involve the act of eating and quite often those memories don’t involve the food itself.  The memories which sweeten most over time invariably involve the people with whom those meals were shared.  The act of degustation is infinitely more satisfying and the meals so much more pleasing when shared with loved ones.  In part because of the memories it evokes, one restaurant which will always hold a special place in my heart is Lawry’s The Prime Rib.  Every visit rekindles memories of my first visit and creates new memories to be revisited and cherished thereafter. My inaugural visit to Lawry’s occurred on August 31st, 1985 in Chicago, Illinois.  I was five hours removed from landing at O’Hare Airport after an exhausting flight from London.  Jet lag had set in and neither my thoughts or speech were as coherent as one would want for meeting future in-laws for the first time.  The jet lag apparently trumped any nervousness I may have had because my in-laws found me perfectly charming, a worthy catch for their daughter. …

AlbuquerqueDog FriendlyNew MexicoPizzaRating: Outstanding

Gold Street Pizza – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Get Smart, a comedy television series which aired from 1965 to 1970 showcased the exploits of Don Adams as Maxwell Smart, a secret agent for CONTROL, a secret government counter-espionage organization. CONTROL’s nemesis was KAOS an international organization of evil bent on world domination.  The head of the Asian arm of KAOS was a man called “The Claw,” who had a large mechanical claw in place of a left hand.  The claw was magnetic, allowing him to pull phones, guns, and other metal objects toward him. Stereotypically, he couldn’t pronounce the letter L , which made Maxwell Smart think his name was “The Craw” and not the “The Claw.”  Every time Max makes this mistake, The Claw corrects him saying, “Not the Craw, the Craw!” During the second episode of the series, Smart was kidnapped by The Claw. In an attempt to communicate his whereabouts to the chief of CONTROL, Smart engaged a communication device on his watch.  The ensuing exchange was hilarious: Smart: “I suppose you think you’ve got me buried in this backroom in this building on Commonwealth and 8th Streets.” The Claw: “Not 8th Street, Mr. Smart, F Street.” Smart: “Oh yes, F Street.” The Claw: “And…

AlbuquerqueDog FriendlyItalianPizzaRating: Outstanding

M’tucci’s Italian Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:27 PM

“Sometimes the spaghetti likes to be alone..” —Stanley Tucci as Segundo in Big Night With a name like M’Tucci’s Italian Restaurant, you might wonder if the Italian restaurant on the intersection of Coors and Montano is named for Academy Award nominated actor Stanley Tucci. After all, Tucci co-starred in Big Night and Julie & Julia, arguably two of the very best food movies in recent years. Initially christened M’tucci’s Kitchina, the “Kitchina” part of the restaurant’s name was obviously a whimsical play on “cucina,” the Italian term for kitchen, but was spelled more similarly to Kachina, the Hopi ancestral spirits. In any case, if the amusing name and fun, casual ambiance don’’t ensnare you, the food certainly will. Step into the expansive dining room and the playfulness hinted by the restaurant’s original name continues. Our immediate impression was “Laissez les bon temps roulette” (let the good times roll) as in New Orleans Mardi Gras. That impression was gleaned from the colorful Mardi Gras-like masks on several walls and a life-sized alligator on another. Then there’s the pergola–large enough to accommodate a table of four–with an ominous lizard crawling down the roof. There’s something to pique your interest everywhere you turn.…

BreakfastBreakfast BurritosBurgersOklahomaRating: OutstandingUnited States

Johnnie’s Hamburgers & Coneys – El Reno, Oklahoma

Gil Garduno3:00 PM

“In onion is strength; and a garden without it lacks flavour. The onion, in its satin wrappings, is among the most beautiful of vegetables; and it is the only one that represents the essence of things. It can almost be said to have a soul.” ~Charles Dudley Warner, American Novelist In the vividly hued threads that comprise a diverse tapestry of culinary preferences, onions stand as a polarizing ingredient. While some of us hail onions as the backbone of flavor, others recoil at their mere mention. In some cultures, onions are associated with bad breath and are avoided in social settings. This stigma can reinforce negative perceptions, making onions less appealing to those who prioritize etiquette. The fear of “onion breath” can deter people from enjoying dishes containing onions, especially in professional or romantic settings. This concern is not unfounded; the sulfer compounds in onions are released into the bloodstream and exhaled through the lungs, making their presence hard to mask. Much of that paragraph was excerpted or paraphrased from an article titled “Why Nobody Likes Onions.”   As an unabashed paramour of the edible, bulbous vegetable with a pungent odor, I love the alliaceous aromas emanating from a kitchen in…

ItalianNew MexicoRating: OutstandingRio Rancho

Joe’s Pasta House – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:02 AM

Much as they might wish for it to happen, no restaurateur can make their restaurant THE hometown favorite.  It happens organically and it happens only by the unanimous will and consent of the people.  Similarly, it takes the acclamation of the dining public for a restaurant to become THE heartbeat of a community–where residents go to interact with one another in a convivial spirit of sharing a great meal. A restaurant has to prove itself every single time with every single guest.  It must offer a combination of memorable food, a homey look and feel and mostly, personable, attentive service.  There can be no such thing as a “bad day.”  To find the template for how a restaurant becomes the heartbeat of a community and the undisputed favorite restaurant in a hometown you need look no further than Joe’s Pasta House, a paragon of service excellence and culinary deliciousness where all guests are treated like family. While dining out has always been an essential part of Rio Rancho’s cosmology, in its nascent days residents had to drive down the hill or across the river to enjoy restaurants that weren’t national chains. Then in 1999, Joe and Kassie Guzzardi assumed ownership…