Category: Rating: Outstanding

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

Closed in 2012Fine DiningGone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoRating: Outstanding

Three Forks at Rancho De San Juan – Ojo Caliente, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno2:37 AM

Expansive views of the Jemez Mountains and of Georgia O’Keeffe country–whether bathed in pink, coral and gold sunset hues or under New Mexico’s incomparable cerulean skies–combine with the surreal topography of unnaturally contorted rock formations and juniper laden foothills to form the unique vistas which await guests at Rancho de San Juan, New Mexico’s premier country inn and restaurant.  At night those views are obfuscated by a canopy of stars spilling from  an ebony sky so clear and unencumbered that you might swear you can see forever. Secluded in an idyllic setting just off US Highway 285 between Española and…

Food Network Eats New MexicoJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersNew MexicoRating: OutstandingSanta FeTapas

La Boca – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:49 AM

In a 1997 episode of Seinfeld, the “show about nothing,” George Costanza declared food and sex to be his two passions, reasoning that “it’s only natural to combine them.”  Jerry’s retort, “Natural?  Sex is about love between a man and a woman, not a man and a sandwich.” George Costanza may actually have gotten it right!  The mouth is actually considered an erogenous zone, an area of the body with heightened sensitivity, the stimulation of which may result in a sexual response. While most people don’t get sexually stimulated by eating, the mouth does host very sensitive taste receptors, including…

BreakfastBrunchFood Network Eats New MexicoJames Beard Foundation Americas Classic Award WinnerNew MexicoRating: OutstandingSanta FeSouthwesternThe Best Thing I Ever Ate

Cafe Pasqual’s – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno6:36 PM

Pasqual Baylon’s devotion to the Mass and the Holy Eucharist was so fervent that when assigned kitchen duty, angels had to stir the pots to keep them from burning.  It’s ironic therefore that San Pasqual is the recognized patron saint of Mexican and New Mexican kitchens, a beloved saint whose smiling countenance in the form of various art forms graces many a kitchen, including Katharine Kagel’s kitchen in the world famous Cafe Pasqual, one of Santa Fe’s most popular restaurants. Cafe Pasqual is a very small cafe with seating for only 50 patrons sitting in very close quarters. Prospective diners…

BakeryMassachusettsRating: Outstanding

Mike’s Pastry – Boston, Massachusetts

Gil Garduno7:39 PM

Ralph Waldo Emerson, the founder of the Transcendentalist movement of the 19th century, called America the “Utopian product of a culturally and racially mixed “smelting pot.”  Melting pot rapidly became one of the most frequently used metaphors for describing America.  The term describes the fusion of different nationalities, ethnicities, religions and cultures to form a new, ostensibly better community, a heterogeneous whole. Implicit in the term melting pot is the way ingredients in the pot combine so as to subord (but not lose entirely) their discrete identities, yielding a final product with a more uniform flavor and consistency, but which…

Closed in 2010Gone But Not ForgottenJapaneseNew MexicoRating: OutstandingRio RanchoSushi

Noda’s Japanese Cuisine – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno6:47 PM

Note: On December 16, 2010, Noda’s Japanese Cuisine, a Rio Rancho institution for a dozen years, closed its doors.  Owners Masayasu and Setsuko Noda have retired and will be relocating back to Japan.  It was initially announced that their son, an accomplished chef, would be looking for a new home for the restaurant many consider the very best Japanese restaurant in the state. Nearly five years later, we’re still waiting. Noda’s may very well be the very best Japanese restaurant in New Mexico, an off-the-beaten-path treasure whose unassuming facade belies sophisticated and wonderful cuisine.  Tucked away in Trinity Plaza, a…

Food Network Eats New MexicoJames Beard Foundation Americas Classic Award WinnerNew MexicanNew MexicoNew Mexico Culinary Treasures TrailRating: OutstandingSanta Fe

The Shed – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:50 PM

In the culinary world, the name James Beard is revered perhaps above all others. Considered the “Dean of American Cookery,” Beard established a legacy of culinary excellence and became a household name to generations of home cooks and professional chefs. The cookbooks he authored between 1940 and 1983 are considered “a slice of American history” because those tomes span America’s culinary regions and served as a premonition of the global epicurean expanse to come. Today, the James Beard Foundation, a national not-for-profit organization is dedicated to celebrating, preserving, and nurturing America’s culinary heritage and diversity in order to elevate the…

AmericanArizonaClosed in 2014Gone But Not ForgottenRating: OutstandingUnited States

Orange Table – Scottsdale, Arizona (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno2:22 AM

There are several scenes in the delightfully heartwarming animated Disney movie Ratatouille that resonate with all gastronomes who delight in the sensual pleasures of the dining experience–those for whom food is an enchanting adventure in the discernment and love of its subtle nuances and overt fragrances, tastes, textures and colors. France’s preeminent chef Anton Gasteau, a pivotal character in the movie, describes this sensual adventure best: “Good food is like music you can taste, color you can smell. There is excellence all around you. You need only be aware to stop and savor it.” The scene which may resonate best…

ChocolateRating: OutstandingSanta Fe

Kakawa Chocolate House – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:59 PM

In a 1995 episode of Seinfeld, Kramer attempted to deduce George’s ATM code: “You’re a portly fellow, a bit long in the waistband.  So what’s your pleasure?  Is it the salty snacks you crave?  No, no, no, yours is a sweet tooth.  Oh you may stray, but you’ll always return to your dark master, the cocoa bean.” America is, like George Costanza, a nation of chocolohics.  The Chocolate Manufacturers Association estimates that the per capita consumption of chocolate among Americans is about 11 pounds per person per year.  That translates to 27,000 calories, 1530 grams of fat, 1130 milligrams of…

Closed in 2012Fine DiningFood Network Eats New MexicoGone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoRating: OutstandingSanta Fe

Aqua Santa – Santa Fe, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno9:49 AM

“But the moment I saw the brilliant, proud morning shine high up over the deserts of Santa Fe, something stood still in my soul, and I started to attend. There was a certain magnificence in the high-up day, a certain eagle-like royalty, so different from the equally pure, equally pristine and lovely morning of Australia, which is so soft, so utterly pure in its softness, and betrayed by green parrot flying. But in the lovely morning of Australia one went into a dream. In the magnificent fierce morning of New Mexico one sprang awake, a new part of the soul…

AmericanClosed in 2011Gone But Not ForgottenNevadaRating: OutstandingUnited States

Rosemary’s Restaurant – Las Vegas, Nevada (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno3:58 AM

You might think that a chef and proprietor whose restaurant has garnered almost every conceivable accolade might be almost unapproachable, perhaps even haughty and aloof…that being among the gastronomic glitterati, he wouldn’t make time for admirers of his culinary craft. We learned during a June, 2006 visit that THE Michael Jordan (the other one was a pretty fair basketball player) is one of the nicest, most unassuming and genuinely endearing celebrity chefs we’ve ever met. We had the great fortune of running into Jordan at his restaurant and he wasn’t solely concerned with what we thought of our meal (we…

BarbecueMissouriRating: OutstandingUnited States

Super Smokers – Eureka, Missouri

Gil Garduno4:57 AM

Note: On January 6, 2006, The St. Louis Business Journal announced that Super Smokers closed unexpectedly. As it turns out, only one of the five St. Louis area restaurants remains open. This will add several miles to our trips to Chicago, but any detour that leads to outstanding barbecue is well worth it. St. Louis, Missouri isn’t widely recognized as one of America’s barbecue capitals as is cross-state barbecue bastion Kansas City, but perhaps it should be. St. Louis based Super Smokers may not just serve the best barbecue in the state, they have been certified as ‘cuing the very…