Rating: Outstanding Archives - Page 9 of 9 - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog

Closed in 2010 Gone But Not Forgotten Japanese New Mexico Rating: Outstanding Rio Rancho Sushi

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

Gil GardunoJune 4, 2009March 31, 20266:47 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 nondescript shopping center, that facade is quickly dispelled when you walk in to a dimly lit dining room whose subtle,…

Food Network Eats New Mexico James Beard Foundation Americas Classic Award Winner New Mexican New Mexico New Mexico Culinary Treasures Trail Rating: Outstanding Santa Fe

The Shed – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil GardunoMay 18, 2009March 31, 20263:50 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 appreciation of our culinary excellence. Earning a James Beard award signifies the pinnacle of achievement in the culinary world. It’s…

American Arizona Closed in 2014 Gone But Not Forgotten Rating: Outstanding United States

Orange Table – Scottsdale, Arizona (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoMay 16, 2009March 31, 20262:22 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 with this gastronome is when Remy (a provincial rat with a heightened sense of smell and with aspirations of becoming…

Chocolate Rating: Outstanding Santa Fe

Kakawa Chocolate House – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil GardunoFebruary 28, 2009March 31, 202611:59 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 cholesterol, 4400 milligrams of sodium, 3150 grams of carbohydrates and 350 grams of protein. In 2001 Americans consumed 3 billion…

Closed in 2012 Fine Dining Food Network Eats New Mexico Gone But Not Forgotten New Mexico Rating: Outstanding Santa Fe

Aqua Santa – Santa Fe, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoSeptember 20, 2008March 31, 20269:49 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 woke up suddenly, and the old world gave way to a new.” In a 1928 essay called “New Mexico,” prolific…

American Closed in 2011 Gone But Not Forgotten Nevada Rating: Outstanding United States

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

Gil GardunoMay 30, 2008March 31, 20263:58 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 loved it, of course). He engaged us in conversation about New Mexico, Chicago, restaurant critics and Chowhound, a Web site…

Barbecue Missouri Rating: Outstanding United States

Super Smokers – Eureka, Missouri

Gil GardunoNovember 25, 2005March 31, 20264:57 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 best pork in the world. The Super Smokers BBQ team has finished in the top ten in nine of twelve…

American Closed in 2005 Rating: Outstanding

Nouveau Noodles – Cedar Crest, New Mexico

Gil GardunoMarch 2, 2005March 31, 20268:31 PM

In the west, it’s generally accepted that the human tongue can discern only four different tastes and that all tastes in the dining experience are combinations of those four: sweet, bitter, sour, and salty. By contrast, the Chinese have long believed that the human tongue possesses a fifth taste sensation–one that can detect pungent foods. Chinese postulate that each of the five taste sensations corresponds to one of nature’s five elements: water, fire, wood, metal, and earth. Dine at Nouveau Noodles and you’ll be convinced that there are at least five taste sensations and that they’re all present in each and every savory morsel of the innovative Asian fusion dishes masterfully crafted by chef Robert Griego. Griego’s restaurant, a 2003…