Siam Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico
It’s oft been said that “you taste first with your eyes.” Certainly sight figures in to the enjoyment of food and sets expectations, but the first sensory receptors to engage in taste is the sense …
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The Grove Cafe & Market – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Voracious readers*, avid aficionados of art and those aflame with a musical ardor know that great books, art and music are imbued with the power to transport them to another time and place. A recent …
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Ms. Gennie’s House of Chicken – Albuquerque, New Mexico
My Air Force friend and colleague Al Garcia once shared one of those amusing anecdotes that will leave your head shaking in disbelief even as you’re practically rolling on the floor with laughter. According to …
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Richardson’s Cuisine of New Mexico – Phoenix, Arizona
My friend and former Intel colleague Steve Caine will forever rue the day he asked me to help him with an expense report for a business trip he made to Portland, Oregon. His itemized expense …
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Portillo’s Hot Dogs – Tempe, Arizona
Portillo’s story is the story of the American dream, a rags to riches saga that began with a single hot dog stand opening in 1963. That single investment has blossomed into a multi-million per year …
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Poki Poki Cevicheria – Albuquerque, New. Mexico
Having settled comfortably into middle age (perpetually 39-years old), my favorite participatory sports of basketball and tennis have been replaced by more sedentary, safe and slothful pursuits. Instead of getting my shot rejected (almost as …
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Flamez Bistro – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)
Hold the pickles Hold the lettuce Special orders don’t upset us All we ask is that you let us serve it your way In 1974, Burger King introduced its most successful and long-standing advertising campaign, …
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Tia Betty Blue’s – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Tia Betty. If the name conjures images of a dowdy old woman, a face etched with wrinkles and thinning grey hair pulled back neatly into a bun, you’re probably not alone. Not even the youthfully …
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El Patio de Albuquerque – Albuquerque, New Mexico
For more than a quarter century, award-winning journalist Charles Kuralt had the type of job any aspiring sojourner would envy. He hit the road on a motor home, crisscrossing the fruited plains where waving fields …
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Philly Steaks – Albuquerque, New Mexico
“I love the dignity in the name Philadelphia, but at heart, we’re Philly.” ~Lisa Scottoline New York Times Best-Selling Author “There are a couple of things you should know about Philadelphia,” my friend Vladimir “Speedy” …
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Perea’s Tijuana Bar & Restaurant – Corrales, New Mexico
The curious appellation “Tijuana Bar” dates back to the 1920s when the 18th amendment to the Constitution established Prohibition in the United States during the period 1920 to 1933. Because Prohibition forbade the sale of …
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African / Albuquerque / Burgers / Closed in 2021 / Dog Friendly / Gone But Not Forgotten / Indian / New Mexico / Rated 23
The Safari Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)
“The wild dogs cry out in the night As they grow restless longing for some solitary company I know that I must do what’s right Sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti I …
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Saigon 2 Restaurant – Rio Rancho, New Mexico
In Chinese and Vietnamese cultures, numerology is very important. If you’ve traveled extensively, you may have wondered why the term “Pho” followed by a number is so commonplace. Often these numbers are considered lucky–and not …
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Red Rock Deli – Albuquerque, New Mexico
America may be a multicultural melting pot, but thriving within its most populous metropolises are ethnic neighborhoods–pockets of diversity residing in two worlds, retaining many of the cultural and culinary traditions of their motherland while …
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P’Tit Louis Bistro – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)
“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.” –Ernest …
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Bocadillos Slow Roasted: A Sandwich Shop – Albuquerque, New Mexico
The Food Network’s television cameras just love Chef Marie Yniguez who’s been showcased on not one, not two, not even three, but four of its prime-time programs. Aficionados of her cooking will tell you that …
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Indigo Crow Cafe – Corrales, New Mexico
Now I lay myself down to sleep I pray oh lord my soul to keep Cause if I should die before I wake I hope up in Heaven they’ve got lobster and steak It’s a …
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Albuquerque / Breakfast / Food Network Eats New Mexico / New Mexican / Rated 23 / Travel Channel Eats New Mexico
Cecilia’s Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Pasqual Baylon’s devotion to the Mass and the Holy Eucharist was so fervent that even when assigned kitchen duty, he remained so enraptured in adoration of the Eucharist that angels had to stir the pots …
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Saigon Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico
According to some stereotypes, when you eat Chinese food, you’ll be hungry an hour later. That stereotype is known as the “Chinese food paradox.” One of the culprits behind that stereotype is rice, a …
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Barbecue / Burgers / Dog Friendly / New Mexico / New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2009 / New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011 / Rated 23
Sugar’s BBQ & Burgers – Embudo, New Mexico
The winding highway meandering along the murky Rio Grande through Embudo is among the most scenic in the state, particularly in mid-autumn when leaves turn a vibrant shade of gold. You’ll want to drive slowly …
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Pho Linh Vietnamese Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico
You always remember your first time…and if it’s good, it may set the standard by which you’ll forever measure every other time. I was a lanky lad of nineteen, away from home for the first …
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Big D’s Downtown Dive – Roswell, New Mexico
During a March, 2012 trip to Roswell, New Mexico President Barack Obama made the following opening remarks to his speech. “We had landed in Roswell. I announced to people when I landed that I had …
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Stack House BBQ – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)
One of my Psychology professors cautioned students about the danger of “amateur diagnosis,” the practice of assigning specific psychoses and neuroses to people we meet solely on the basis of our cursory familiarity with the …
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Philly’s N Fries – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED: May 18, 2018)
Over the years, my Kim and I have had the privilege and honor of getting to know and love many wonderful restaurateurs who put their hearts and souls into feeding their guests and giving them …
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Seared – Albuquerque, New Mexico
While you might not be able to judge a book by its cover, sometimes a book title will resonate deeply and you know you’re going to enjoy reading it very much. That’s especially true when …
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Counter Culture Cafe – Santa Fe, New Mexico
Counterculture. Growing up in rural Taos County four decades ago, I don’t know how many of us understood that the cultural and political upheaval of the big cities had moved into our isolated corner of …
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Oak Tree Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico
This isn’t Burger King! You can’t have it your way. You get it our way or you don’t get it at all. For some reason, human beings seem inclined to level criticism by the shovelful …
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May Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico
There are perhaps thousands of examples throughout the Duke City of immigrants whose path to the American dream involved rising above humble origins and surmounting extraordinary circumstances to achieve success. Those challenges are exacerbated by …
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IKrave Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Please say it isn’t so! According to Nations Restaurant News, a highly respected trade publication “a new crop of restaurant chain entrepreneurs” believes “American diners will soon embrace the Vietnamese bánh mì sandwich as the …
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Pana’s Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)
The term “red or green” has connotations beyond New Mexico’s sacrosanct chile. For restaurateurs across the Duke City, red or green can spell the difference between a good or bad reputation and even success or …
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Latitude 33 – Truth or Consequences, New Mexico
“Of all places in the country where you could have opened a restaurant, why Truth or Consequences, New Mexico?” You can bet Joseph Schmitt has been asked that question many times, especially when people find …
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Burgers / New Mexico / New Mexico Culinary Treasures Trail / New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2009 / New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011 / Rated 23 / San Antonio / Travel Channel Eats New Mexico
The Owl Cafe & Bar – San Antonio, New Mexico
7 March 2017: Over the past five years, the Owl Cafe in San Antonio, New Mexico has been the most frequently launched review on Gil’s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog. From January 1st through April 7th, …
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Papa Felipe’s Mexican Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico
In 2009, James Beard Award-winning food journalists Jane and Michael Stern published a terrific tome entitled 500 Things to Eat Before It’s Too Late. Despite the ominous (some might say fatalistic) name, the book is …
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Vick’s Vittles Country Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Possum shanks; pickled hog jowls; goat tripe; stewed squirrel; ham hocks and turnip greens; gizzards smothered in gristle; smoked crawdads. “Ewwww Doggies!,” now that’s eatin’. ~The Beverly Hillbillies Guests at the Clampett residence always seemed …
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Chumlys Southwestern – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)
The old Jewish proverb “worries go down better with soup than without” may just be the most understated aphorism about soup ever uttered. When soup is discussed, it’s usually with a sense of warm nostalgia, …
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Toro Burger – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)
While watching a “sanitized for television” version of the audacious satirical comedy Blazing Saddles, my precocious six-year-old niece asked several questions with deep sociological implications: “Why is everyone in the town of Rock Ridge named …
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