Category: Rating: Excellent

Excellent – High quality dining experience; very good to excellent food, attentive service, and a well-maintained atmosphere; worth a detour.

BreakfastBreakfast BurritosFarmingtonNative AmericanNew MexicoRating: Excellent

Juniper Coffee & Eatery – Farmington, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Before heading off for an overnight stay in Farmington back in February, 2023, I scoured the internet for suggestions on where to have breakfast.  My criteria was simple:  preferably a Navajo owned-and-operated eatery.  Restaurants who spell New Mexico’s official state vegetable “chili” wouldn’t be considered.  Yelp came through on its listing of the ten best restaurants for breakfast in Farmington.  At the very top of that list was Juniper Coffee and Eatery on College Blvd.  Little did I know how enthusiastically and overwhelmingly that choice would be endorsed later by people with whom I shared a dinner table and many laughs.  Serendipity certainly played a role in my breakfast venue of choice. Serendipity also played a role in that the address for the LorAmy’s Valentine’s Dining Experience presented by James Beard Award Finalist Justin Pioche and the address of Juniper Coffee and Eatery were one and the same.  Justin had borrowed the venue from his friends at Juniper for the exclusive one night Valentine’s Day extravaganza.  As the only unaccompanied diner at the event, I had the great privilege and blessing of being seated next to the great chef’s three aunts and one uncle.  When I asked them what Farmington restaurant…

AlbuquerqueAsianFilipinoNew MexicoRating: Excellent

Barkada’s ABQ – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

As a self-confessed mama’s boy away from home for the first time, my transition to being on my own could have been much tougher.  Thankfully I was “adopted” by Air Force veterans and the spouses they had married during tours of Vietnam, Korea and The Philippines.  Those spouses were largely responsible for my introduction to Asian cuisine, none of which I had ever had as a sheltered bumpkin  growing up in secluded Peñasco.  I wanted to try it all.  In some cases, I would try foods (such as rancid kimchi and stomach-turning balut) my friends (some of whom had seen combat) were afraid to try.  My willingness to try virtually everything endeared me to my friends’ spouses though my friends complained I was making them look wimpy. Although all Asian food seemed exotic in comparison with the beans, tortillas, and chile diet of my youth, I did experience one cuisine which was more relatable because it had the qualities of home cooking, the type of which my mom’s prepared for her family. That cuisine was Filipino.  Norma would greet me to the family home with a traditional Filipino greeting of “Kain tayo!”.  That greeting doesn’t translate to “welcome to our…

AlbuquerqueAsianNew MexicoRating: ExcellentThai

Eat My Thai – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In his inimitable style Anthony Bourdain described the first time he tasted Thai food: “It was like discovering a color I never knew existed before. A whole new crayon box full of colors.”  His words resonate true for those of us who don’t live in a monochromatic world of homogeneous meals lacking diversity, personality and flavor.  Similarly resonant is his characterization of Thailand’s spicy food: “That perfect balance of pain, and pleasure, and more pain. Brain flooding with endorphins and all is well with the world. Until tomorrow morning.”  Would that my words would flow with the profundity, veracity and ease with which Bourdain laced his every utterance. When my Kim and I find a Thai restaurant with a menu so diverse and complete that it practically begs for a poetic waxing is when I curse the lack of fluency, grace, and rhetorical eloquence in my speech.  Such was the case when we visited the almost sardonically named Eat My Thai restaurant on Gibson.  Perusing the menu filled me with joy and with hope.  Far too many Thai restaurants across the Duke City have a boring “sameness” as if they subscribe to a templated format.  Eat My Thai’s menu offers…

AlbuquerqueNative AmericanNew MexicanNew MexicoRating: Excellent

Isleta Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

When the Spanish arrived in the late 1500s they named the village south of Albuquerque Isleta, a diminutive of “isla” which means “island.”  Fast forward 600 years, and may as well have been christened “desert island” as in short for “deserted island.”  Despite being one of the largest of New Mexico’s nineteen Pueblos, drivers may not have even known that Exit 215 off Interstate 25 will transport them to the home of some 3,000 inhabitants.   That is until the Isleta Resort & Casino began operating in 1986.  Calling itself “New Mexico’s Grandest Casino Resort,” the Isleta Casino Resort boasts of the best of headline entertainment, capacious meeting rooms, gaming, dining and more.  It’s located just minutes South of Albuquerque’s Sunport and in fact, it has an Albuquerque address. So does the Isleta Grill which itself might have remained a hidden treasure had it not been for the New Mexico State Fair’s green chile cheeseburger challenge.  While the New Mexico State Fair hosts a number of food related competitions, none garner as much attention as the green chile cheeseburger challenge.  Unlike political elections, the public is not subjected to a months-long bombardment of torturous and borderline slanderous messages.  Instead, an online call goes…

AlbuquerqueBreakfastBreakfast BurritosCoffeeNew MexicoRating: Excellent

Blackbird Coffee House – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“Sing a song of sixpence A pocketful of rye Four and twenty blackbirds Baked in a pie.” One interpretation of this English child’s 16th Century nursery rhyme posits that it was written about entremet, an Old French term referring to dishes served between courses of a meal.  “Dishes” had a very figurative meaning and could represent anything from edible scenic displays to foods designed to amuse or surprise.  One of the more popular amusements was to place live birds in a pie.  An Italian cookbook from 1549 (translated into English in 1598) actually contained such a recipe: “To make pies so that birds may be alive in them and fly out when it is cut up“. I didn’t actually ponder whether or not the pulchritudinous pastries at the Blackbird Coffee House were stuffed with blackbirds, but the notion of entremet did come to mind.  Sadly, when many of us contemplate amusement between or during courses of a meal, it’s the sophomoric practice of a food fight that comes to mind.  That, and maybe filling donuts with mayonnaise or substituting the cream filling in an Oreo with toothpaste.  Obviously when it comes to food pranks and amusement, Americans fall woefully short…

AlbuquerqueBakeryNew MexicoRating: ExcellentVietnamese

Le Bakery – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“What colonialism does is cause an identity crisis about one’s own culture.” ~Lupita Nyong’o Academy Award Winning Actress Much as we might believe geopolitics has no place in a food blog, food and geopolitics are undeniably intertwined.  Perhaps nowhere is that more evident than in the history of Vietnam.  In the 17th Century, France began a trade relationship with Vietnam.  Two centuries later, France began the colonization of Vietnam.  For six decades, France ruled over the Southeast Asian country, essentially relegating the indiginous population to second-class status, if not servitude. During this time, French influence spread across Vietnamese cuisine, architecture, culture, art and cuisine – an influence which continues to live on across the country today. The French influence on Vietnam’s culinary culture included the introduction of  new ingredients and cooking techniques that blended with local flavors. Perhaps the most famous fusion sprang from the iconic baguette. While mostly similar,  the Vietnamese style of baguette is made with rice flour instead of wheat flour, giving it a wholly distinct flavor and texture. Baguettes are the canvas on which one of one of the most famous Vietnamese dishes worldwide are constructed: banh mi. These magnificent sandwiches contain a combination of grilled…

AmericanBreakfastBreakfast BurritosBrunchDiners Drive-Ins and DivesFood Network Eats New MexicoNew MexicoRating: ExcellentSanta Fe

Harry’s Roadhouse – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:12 AM

Roadhouses–great inns and restaurants located near major highways traversing the country–once dotted America’s fruited plain, offering respite and sustenance to weary or hungry travelers. Renown for serving great comfort foods, they have been an important part of America’s heritage though with the advent of fast food restaurants and chains, fewer authentic roadhouses exist today.  Harry’s Roadhouse may be a bit more sophisticated and eclectic than its roadhouse brethren, offering several kinds of pizza, sandwiches, burgers, salads, pastas, Cajun and Asian cuisine as well as American comfort food standards that give it a feel and taste of home. To say it’s a popular dining destination is an understatement.  Perhaps the only Santa Fe event which exceeds the number of cars parked at Harry’s is Zozobra.  If you don’t get there early, you may have to wait to be seated despite the restaurant’s sprawling multi-room capacity. Even during peak hours, however, the efficient wait staff will likely have you seated within half an hour.  The light blue trimmed restaurant has several dining rooms, each with a different decor. There’s a room with an atrium-like ambience and windows to maximize light and one with an artsy Southwestern room replete with mismatched tables. Ask…

AlbuquerqueDog FriendlyIce CreamNew MexicoRating: Excellent

Heidi’s Jam Factory – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:01 PM

How many of us have dreamt about a churning chocolate waterfall; a meadow full of candy;  a candy (Everlasting Gobstopper) that not only changes colors and flavors when sucked on, but also never gets any smaller or disappears; or a carbonated beverage (Fizzy Lifters) that give you flight?  Such were the dreams of children of all ages after the 1971 release of Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory a movie that is more popular in syndication than it was after its release.  Albuquerque has its own version of a magical place where dreams are actually fulfilled.  It’s called Heidi’s Jam Factory. To New Mexicans, the terms “Heidi” and “jam” are inextricably tied.  Heidi’s Raspberry Farm in the village of Corrales has been producing incomparably fresh and wonderful jams since 2000.  The raspberries from which those jams are made are USDA Certified Organic, using a limited amount of sugar to let the berries speak for themselves.  Raspberry jams are ameliorated with such additional organic ingredients as crushed red chile, fresh ginger and dried culinary lavender.  In recent years, Heidi’s has also expanded beyond raspberries, adding strawberry jam, wild blueberry jam and apricot jam to a wonderful repertoire.  All of these jams…

AlbuquerqueMexicanNew MexicoRating: Excellent

Fiesta Azul Tequila House Mexican Kitchen – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

TIM WALZ: “I have white guy tacos.” VP KAMALA HARRIS: “What does that mean? Like, mayonnaise and tuna? What are you doing?” TIM WALZ: “Pretty much-ground meat and cheese.” VP KAMALA HARRIS:  “Do you put any flavor in it?” TIM WALZ:  “Uh, no.  Black pepper is the top of the spice level in Minnesota, ya know” A promotional  video featuring the Democratic Presidential nominee sharing a funny exchange with her Vice Presidential pick revealed the latter’s “Midwestern tastes” which include a “white guy taco.”   Analysis of America’s voting preferences has been done for virtually every demographic category save perhaps the “taco vote.”   Sadly, in the world of politics even a video elicits rancor and outrage when it depicts candidates behaving like normal people a having  normal conversation.  I hope you don’t take umbrage at this introduction to my post. If there’s one thing American idealogues–conservatives and liberals–should not be divided about, it’s our mutual love of tacos.  As a Hispanic white guy pretty much incapable of being offended, I myself used the term “white guy Mexican food” for years.   In fact, I used terms that were much more disparaging.  Imagine having been weaned on New Mexican food and being sent…

Rating: ExcellentSandwichSanta Fe

Mucho Gourmet Sandwich Shoppe – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno7:14 AM

The New Mexico State Legislature has long recognized the important of our state’s culinary traditions, enacting measures to officially recognize those foods that have historical, cultural and emotional significance to citizens of the Land of Enchantment. In 1965, the delicious duo of frijoles (pinto beans) and chile were designated New Mexico’s official state vegetables (never mind that chile is technically a fruit). Frijoles and chile are virtually inseparable in New Mexican cuisine and are considered staples. In 1989, House Bill 406 designated the bizcochito as New Mexico’s official state cookie. Lawmakers on the range floor couldn’t initially agree on its spelling, some pressing for the “s” and others for “z.” Ultimately the Senate returned the bill as “bizcochito.” On On April 8, 1999, Governor Gary Johnson signed the bill making the resolution a law which declared “red or green” the official state question. Less known is the fact that the New Mexico state legislature also passed a resolution approving an official state answer. It’s no surprise that “red and green” or “Christmas” has been adopted as the official answer of the great state of New Mexico. On March 28, 2023, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, signed Senate Bill 188 making the…

AsianNew MexicoRating: ExcellentRio RanchoThai

Thai Cuisine – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

New Mexican men can be so haughty.  (I don’t include New Mexican women in this categorization because they’re generally smarter.)  We laugh at what Californians, Arizonans and especially Texans call “chili.”  We pride ourselves on machismo, some of which is on display even when we eat out.  We never ask if the chile is hot.  We assume (and hope) it is so we can prove how tough we are.  We question the manhood of any New Mexican who prefers his chile “mild.”  Mild chile is for children and law enforcement officials in Uvalde, Texas.  Give us chile with the piquancy of napalm or volcanic lava.  Give us chile even Satan can’t eat. Yeah, right!  I’ve seen New Mexican men wheeze and sputter, their eyes watering with tears as they beg for sweet, merciful death as they try to eat Thai food…and that’s not even at the “Thai hot” level of heat.  Thai peppers provide another level of heat, one that makes New Mexican chile seem like bell peppers in comparison.  Consider that sacrilege if you will, but Thai peppers have kicked even my tail and I’m pretty heat tolerant.  I still order the “Thai heat” level at most restaurants.  Over…