Category: Rating: Excellent

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

AlbuquerqueKoreanNew MexicoRating: Excellent

K Style Kitchen – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

If you’re susceptible to the power of suggestion–especially as it pertains to ear worms (recurring tunes that involuntarily pop up and stick in your mind)–you’re probably going to hate me (or you can skip this paragraph and continue to love me).  That’s because if you do read this paragraph you’re going to be humming to yourself one of the most annoying songs of all time–Gangnam Style.  Arguably, Gangnam Style is not as annoying as La Macarena or My Humps (which Rolling Stone declared “the most annoying song ever”). The more you try to suppress Gangnam Style, the more your impetus to hum it increases, a mental process known as ironic process theory.  By the way, those most at risk for “stuck song syndrome” are females, youth, patients with OCD and anyone reading this paragraph. Unless you can speak Korean you’re going to have to hum Gangnam Style and not sing it.  The only lyrics in English are “Eh, sexy lady.”  Korean rap singer Psy who took Gangnam Style all the way to number one describes the song as “a tribute to the ladies of the wealthy district.”  He’s talking about the affluent Gangnam district in Seoul Korea which Psy describes…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBreakfastNew MexicoRating: Excellent

Vick’s Vittles Country Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno1:17 PM

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 to recite a litany of excuses as to why they couldn’t stay for dinner when Granny announced the mess of vittles she’d fixed up. Not even the opportunity to dine at the fancy eatin’ table (billiards table) and use the fancy pot passers (pool cues) under the visage of the mounted billy-yard (rhinoceros) was enough to entice the sophisticated city slickers to stay for dinner with America’s favorite hillbillies. For the generation who grew up watching The Beverly Hillbillies, the notion of eating vittles elicits a broad smile and a warm heart. Those sentiments were rekindled when we drove east on Central Avenue just past Wyoming and espied a new restaurant named Vick’s Vittles Country Kitchen. Not only did it conjure memories of “heaping helpings of hospitality” from Jed and all his kin, the name “Vick’s Vittles” seemed so familiar and comfortable. That’s because several years ago a restaurant named “‘Country Vittles” plied its chicken-fried specialties for about an year on Central Avenue where Middle…

AlbuquerqueNew MexicoPizzaRating: ExcellentSandwich

Slice & Dice – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno5:37 PM

You might remember a 2004 documentary called Supersize Me in which writer-producer Morgan Spurlock explored the consequences on his health of a diet consisting solely of McDonald’s food for one month.  Spurlock has nothing on Dan Janssen who as of 2019 had eaten almost nothing but pizza for nearly thirty years.  That’s pizza for lunch and dinner every day of the year for just about three decades.  Janssen is certainly no believer in the old adage that variety is the spice of life because the only spice with which he tops his pizza is oregano.  Nor does variety extend to the type of pizza he enjoys.  Every day he usually consumes one fourteen-inch cheese pizza for lunch and another for dinner. Any dietary diversity he enjoys is through eating at different pizza restaurants–even chains, about which he declares “they’re all pretty bad, but I do frequent them. Pizza is like sex—even when it’s bad, it’s good.”  Ironically, as a teenager Janssen became a vegetarian for “ethical reasons” but determined rather quickly that he didn’t like vegetables.  A pizza diet seemed to make sense.  Just as a diet of nothing but McDonald’s food for a month wreaked havoc on Morgan Spurlock’s health,…

AlbuquerqueBreakfastBreakfast BurritosMexicanNew MexicoRating: ExcellentTacos

Rio Tacos – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In May, Mexico City’s Tacos El Califa de León, in the downtrodden San Rafael neighborhood became the first Mexican taco stand to win a Michelin star.  One of the things that makes its selection remarkable is that the taqueria is the antithesis of most Michelin starred restaurants.  It’s not elegant and its tables aren’t set with immaculately pressed white linens.  There are no sterling place-settings or fine china.   Instead, the taqueria has no tables or seats.  It’s standing room only with space for only a handful of guests and a metal counter on which they can balance their plates. Fittingly, the taqueria is all about tacos.  There’s nothing else on the menu, only four options: bistec (seared steak), chuleta (thinly sliced pork chop), costilla (fork-tender beef) and the taqueria’s signature creation, the gaonera (whole steak).  These four proteins are sliced thinly, prepared with lard on a plancha (grill) and seasoned with coarse salt and a squeeze of lime.  While the chef is preparing each taco, handmade corn tortillas are being made alongside the grill.  It’s all prepared to order.  Tacos are served with your choice of two salsas. Michelin stars are a badge of honor, an honor coveted by…

AlbuquerqueNew MexicoRating: ExcellentThai

Thai Boran – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:34 AM

Many of us with a puerile sense of humor can probably recall giggling like silly school kids the first time we visited a Thai restaurant and perused a menu. We went straight into the gutter the first time we came across such foods as phat prik and fuktong curry. Even after learning that “phat prik” is actually a stir-fried chili dish and “fuktong curry” is a pumpkin curry, the sophomoric among us couldn’t order these dishes with a straight face. It gets even worse when we actually learned how to pronounce the names of Thai dishes. Not even Bob Newhart could order “cow pod guy” (chicken fried rice) or “cow pod moo” (pork fried rice) with his usual deadpan delivery. That’s probably why so many of us will place our order by number instead of endeavoring to pronounce words we find a bit salacious or humorous. Let’s face it, denizens of the fruited plain tend to find the names of some Thai dishes humorous because the way they’re spelled or pronounced is similar to English sexual references or swear words. Perhaps that’s why Thai restaurateurs tend to use clever word play, typically puns, to name their eateries. Instead of christening…

AlbuquerqueAsianChineseNew MexicoRating: ExcellentSeafood

East Ocean Chinese & Seafood – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:01 PM

In 2022, Freddie Wong posted a TikTok video that went viral on several social media platforms. In the video, Wong, purports to find the most “authentic” Chinese food by utilizing restaurant review website Yelp in a unique way.  “The easiest way to find authentic Chinese food, assuming you’re living in a major metropolitan area, is to go on Yelp and to look for restaurants with three-and-a-half stars,” declared Wong in his TikTok video, which garnered an astonishing 7.2 million views in only two days. “Exactly three and a half, not three, not four. Three-and-a-half stars is a sweet spot for authentic Chinese food.” Again, the assumption is based on living in a major metropolitan area where there are a preponderance of “authentic” Chinese restaurants.  In cities such as Albuquerque, few restaurants even offer a traditional Chinese menu (if you ask for it).  Among those is East Ocean which coincidentally or not is rated  exactly three-and-a-half stars on Yelp.  A Duke City mainstay for more than thirty years, East Ocean has a huge following that includes  George Thorning, my friend and colleague at the University of New Mexico.   Though he did experience a bit of consternation when the restaurant changed…

AlbuquerqueBakeryCoffeeNew MexicoRating: ExcellentSandwichVietnamese

Banh Me & You – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno8:47 AM

According to The Tanner Food Group, a a food consultancy focused on international trade, industry preparedness and regulatory activities, there are now nearly 8,000 Vietnamese restaurants stateside.  Food Scientist Michael Murdy, founder of robustkitchen.com attributes the  popularity of Vietnamese food to the “wide range of flavors and textures associated,” specifying that “the combination of sour, sweet, savory, and spicy flavors, as well as the use of fresh herbs and vegetables, makes Vietnamese food particularly attractive to people.” From among the nearly 8,000 Vietnamese restaurants on this side of the pond, it’s a good bet many of their menus are graced with banh mi, the sandwich melding French and Vietnamese flavors and techniques.  I first encountered the banh mi during one of many trips to the Santa Clara-San Jose area courtesy of Intel.  With a significant Vietnamese population, the area was teeming with restaurants, most generally serving pho and other wondrous delights from Vietnam.  At the time (mid 1990s), the San Jose area was starting to see Vietnamese bakeries opening up mostly in areas frequented by Asian populations.  Among them was Lee’s Sandwiches, maybe the first to showcase the banh mi. Lee’s Sandwiches has suffixed its corporate name with “International” and…

AlbuquerqueItalianNew MexicoPizzaRating: Excellent

Luigi’s Ristorante & Pizzeria – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno7:40 AM

Luigi’s is the eponymous brainchild of Luigi Napolitano whose very last name translates to citizen of Naples, the city from which his mother Tina emigrated more than four decades ago. Tina is the bread-baking, pasta-making dynamo in the kitchen and is also responsible for many of the restaurant’s homey touches.  Tina painstakingly hand-sewed the delicate lace covering over each lamp (below) as well as the curtains over each booth.  Other homey touches include viney plants hanging from pillars throughout the restaurant and a framed picture of the Mona Lisa hanging above the buffet. Tina, a spry octogenarian, is one of the sweetest, kindest restaurateurs you could ever hope to meet.  She’s cut down the hours she works and sometimes the volume of guests prevents her from leaving the kitchen to meet them, but if she makes her way to your table, you’re in for a treat.  Tina is not only the restaurant’s best ambassador, she’s a wonderful ambassador for her homeland,  She doesn’t return to Naples as often as she’d like, but her fondest wish is that everyone has the opportunity to visit Lo Stivale.  She escorted me to a map on the wall and pointed out Naples then regaled…

MexicanNew MexicoRating: ExcellentRio RanchoTacos

Las Villas Taqueria – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Upon learning that a new Mexican restaurant named “Las Villas Taqueria” would be launching in Rio Rancho, the bilingual lexicologist in me didn’t immediately ponder the menu.  Instead, my ruminations were of the translation of “Las Villas,” a Spanish term with several meanings depending on context.  I pondered whethr the restaurant was named for  small towns or settlements or for  luxurious country homes, both translations of the term “las villas.”  Then again, “Villas” is a common Spanish surname.  After a superb meal with my dear friend Bill Resnik, I came to the conclusion that “Las Villas” is actually a diminutive form of “las maravillas,” or “the wonders.”  That’s wonder as in “a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration caused by something beautiful or unexpected.”  I had not expected for Las Villas to be quite as good as it was. Las Villas had its grand opening on 11 October 2025. It occupies the very high turnover space which most recently housed Whiptail and before that Banana Leaf.   Visionaries (residents of Rio Rancho) have long surmised that one of the reasons tenants don’t last long at the space is because there is no direct entrance or egress.  in fact, if you didn’t…

AlbuquerqueAsianChineseJapaneseKoreanNew MexicoRating: ExcellentSushi

East Asian Kitchen – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Perhaps more than anyone I’ve ever met, my Singaporean friend Ming Lee (God rest his beautiful soul) regarded people by the content of their character, not by physical characteristics.  So, it surprised me to hear him joke “we all look alike.”  It was an unsolicited admission that even he couldn’t always discern the cultural genesis of Asian people he met.  He also joked “at least I can always tell where an Asian restaurant’s food comes from.”  Ming was a bona fide gastronome who introduced me to the cuisine of Singapore and Malaysia.  Like me, he disliked restaurants in which overt homogenization of Asian food was apparent.  Sure, different culinary cultures across Southeast Asia have borrowed from one another over the millenia, but most adapt to cultural tastes rather than copy exactly. Ming was wary of Asian restaurants that purported to serve the cuisine of more than one Southeast Asian nation.  To him, the concepts of global cuisine and multicultural restaurants “dumbed down” what is best about each culinary culture.  We disagreed on the concept of fusion cuisine, the blending of elements from different cultures, creating new dishes that offer several cultures on a plate.  I like the concept when executed…

AlbuquerqueAsianChineseNew MexicoRating: Excellent

Red Chilli House – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Red “Chilli” House…doesn’t “Chilli” read like a misspelled word that knocked a spelling bee contestant out of the competition?  Or like someone added one too many letter “l’s” to the already misspelled word “chili?”  Actually, that spelling (which some of us purists consider Texan) is by design.   The delightful Chinese restaurant sporting that appellation–which opened its doors in June, 2024–wouldn’t change it.  Among other things, it illustrates just how important Capsicum is in some provinces of China, particularly Sichuan and Hunan. Capsicum, as most New Mexicans know, is the genus to which all chili (chile in New Mexico) peppers and bell peppers belong. The fruit of the capsicum plant contains a chemical called capsaicin, the active ingredient that gives chile its piquancy.  Historians widely agree that capsicum was unknown outside the tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas before 1490s.  That’s when Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue and brought this red-fruited plant along with other food plants, such as maize, beans and squash, from the New World to the Old. When introduced to China in the 16th Century, chile peppers were called “barbarian peppers” on account of their foreign origin.  Eventually the province of Sichuan developed a profound…