Category: Rating: Excellent

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

New MexicoRating: ExcellentRio RanchoSandwich

That’s My Rez Sandwich – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Has life on the rez suddenly become mainstream? Increased exposure certainly seems to indicate that may be the case. In 2023, the novel Rez Ball received prestigious literary recognition, including the American Indian Youth Literature Award.  PowWows.com described the novel as “rooted in the reservations, Rez Ball is a fast-paced and fiercely competitive form of basketball that showcases the spirit of Indigenous identity. Its aggressive defense and quick transitions reflect the strength and pride of Native American players, making it a powerful expression of culture.” In 2024, the subsequent movie, also titled Rez Ball, also earned accolades. Centered in New…

BakeryBreakfastNew MexicoRating: ExcellentRio Rancho

Dulce River Bakery & Coffee – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 PM

“Siblings in an ancient tradition Who take time, temperature and love And bring them together To make something that brings people together. You make more than just food You make friendships. You make joy.” ~Thank You Bakers According to legend, the city of Vienna, Austria has bakers to thank for its existence.  Those legends have it that in 1683, Vienna was under siege by over a hundred thousand Ottoman Turks. After months of trying to starve the city into submission, the Turks attempted to tunnel underneath the walls of the city. Fortunately for the “City o Dreams,” some bakers hard…

AlbuquerqueBarbecueDog FriendlyNew MexicoRating: ExcellentRating: Very Good

Rudy’s Country Store & Barbecue – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:49 AM

In 1983, country crooner Ed Bruce released a song titled “My First Taste of Texas,” the first line of which was “My first taste of Texas was her blue eyes and golden hair.” Some ten years later, I experienced my first taste of great Texas barbecue when visiting Rudy’s Country Store & Barbecue in Leon Springs, Texas, a San Antonio suburb on the fringes of the magnificent Texas Hill Country. At the time Rudy’s was just beginning to make inroads toward becoming a significant barbecue presence in Texas where beef and brisket are king. Back then Leon Springs appeared to…

ArizonaDog FriendlyHot DogsMexicanRating: ExcellentSandwichUnited States

El Guero Canelo – Tucson, Arizona

Gil Garduno8:48 PM

If asked to participate in a word association exercise, any well-traveled foodie undergoing psychoanalysis would find it easy to name the first food that comes to mind when a city is mentioned: Philadelphia – the Philly cheesesteak sandwich; Boston – baked beans; Chicago – Italian beef sandwiches; San Francisco – sourdough bread; Milwaukee – butter burgers; San Antonio, New Mexico – green chile cheeseburgers.  You get the point.  Some foodies might not know that Philadelphia is the birthplace of liberty, but they know about Geno’s and Pat’s King of Steaks and their decades-long battle for Philly cheesesteak supremacy. You might…

AlbuquerqueBreakfastBreakfast BurritosNew MexicanNew MexicoRating: Excellent

Mick’s Chile Fix – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno2:55 AM

Addicts are all too familiar with the symptoms, especially the insatiable cravings that can only be quelled by a fix. There’s nothing like the high you get from the addictive mistress that is New Mexican chile. That’s why we willingly singe our tongues and scald our taste buds to get that fix. What gives chile its intense fire and creates the need for a fix is a chemical called capsaicin, a natural ingredient that stimulates the mouth’s nerve endings, causing a burning sensation. In response to this burning sensation, the brain releases endorphins, natural painkillers that may produce a temporary…

AlbuquerqueAsianNew MexicoRating: ExcellentVietnamese

Pho Nho – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Foodies are a passionate–some would say even snobbish–lot. The most passionate among them are sticklers for authenticity and provenance of ingredients and preparation methods.  The plebeian among us who don’t know quite as much had better not represent inaccuracies as truths (much as politicians do) or even use culinary terms incorrectly lest we be excoriated.  Tieghan Gerard, a well-intentioned blogger, learned just how passionate savvy foodies can be. Tieghan, the creator of the popular food blog Half Baked Harvest found herself in hot water when she had the audacity to misrepresent a quick noodle soup recipe. More specifically, she dubbed…

CandyNew MexicoRating: ExcellentSanta Fe

Señor Murphy Candymaker – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:41 PM

There’s an ancient New Mexican cuento one of the Land of Enchantment’s most sacred traditions.  The cuento recalls a Texan and his family driving through one of New Mexico’s piñon-studded forests.  Seeing New Mexican families kneeling under piñon trees, he  commented about how devout New Mexicans are.  What he perceived as New Mexicans kneeling in prayer was actually New Mexicans kneeling on the ground to pick piñon.   All across Northern New Mexico, piñon pickers can be seen on their hands and knees, taking part in a tradition spanning generations.  It’s a laborious activity that brings entire families together. In the…

AlbuquerqueChineseNew MexicoRating: Excellent

Chopstix – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno2:02 AM

And I find chopsticks frankly distressing. Am I alone in thinking it odd that a people ingenious enough to invent paper, gunpowder, kites and any number of other useful objects, and who have a noble history extending back 3,000 years haven’t yet worked out that a pair of knitting needles is no way to capture food? ~Bill Bryson The precise date in which chopsticks were first used has been lost in time. Archaeological evidence found in burial plots indicates they are at least 3,200 years old though some scholars believe they’ve been around even longer than that. Even the evolution…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBreakfastBreakfast BurritosDog FriendlyNew MexicanNew MexicoRating: Excellent

Hello Deli – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

HELLO DELI (to the tune of Hello Dolly) “Hello Deli, this is Joe, Deli would you please send up a nice corned beef on rye. A box of RITZ, Deli and some Schlitz, Deli Some chopped liver and a sliver of your, apple pie. Turkey Legs, Deli hard boiled eggs, Deli and a plate of those potatoes you french fry, oh Don’t be late, Deli I just can’t wait Deli, Deli without breakfast, I’d just die.” ~ Frank Jacobs (Writer for MAD Magazine) In 2016, BBC Travel lamented the imminent demise of the New York City deli.  “Not the corner markets…

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…

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…