Category: Rating: Good

Good – good food, decent service, and a clean environment; provides a satisfactory, dependable, and standard experience

AlbuquerqueJapaneseRating: GoodSushi

Ichiban – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:43 AM

In an episode of Friends, Joey Tribbiani starred in a commercial released only in Japan for Ichiban men’s lipstick. His friend Chandler’s response upon viewing the commercial: “he really is a chameleon.” In Japanese, the word “ichiban” means “number one” or “the best” and can be used either as a superlative (as in the highest of quality or the very best choice) or to denote precedence or numerical order. The fictional Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan, for example, called his eldest son “number one son.” Whether meaning to denote the highest quality or precedence (ranking) among other restaurants, any dining establishment calling itself “number one” is making a pretty audacious claim.  That may be especially true if that claim is made…

AlbuquerqueNew MexicoRating: GoodSouthwesternTruth or Consequences

Casa Taco – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:20 PM

Nowadays, hoy en día, with our world full of war and violence and lack of love, a world full of greed A world of domination, grasping power, venal stupidity, real evil. Don’t get me started. It’s good to know that a conversation about tacos will always engender a sense of comfort and happiness. If only we could sit down at a big round world table and eat tacos in a spirit of love we might begin to work on world peace!” ~Denise Chavez New Mexican Author Not even the beloved taco was excluded from the divisiveness of 2016’s contentious presidential campaign. Marco Gutierrez, founder of the group Latinos for Trump warned MSNBC that without tighter immigration policies…”you’re going to have…

AlbuquerqueBreakfastNew MexicanRating: Good

Twisters Burgers & Burritos – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:00 AM

One of the sure signs of spring and summer in New Mexico is the presence of dust devils, those haphazardly whirling, dirty, dusty dervishes which seem to whip up out of nowhere to vacuum up all surface detritus on their unpredictable paths. Tumbleweeds, trash and soil spin skyward to heights of up to 100 feet only to be deposited–torn, tattered and worse for wear– sometimes great distances from their points of origin.  Normally lasting no longer than a few seconds, dust devils are nature’s hot wind temper tantrum, capable of wreaking havoc quickly and with tremendous force. At their worse, they can rip siding off buildings, snap power lines, overturn lawn furniture, send trash cans careening down the street and…

ItalianNew MexicoPizzaRating: GoodRio Rancho

Aldo’s NY Pizzeria – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:35 PM

Being within walking distance of Intel, my place of employment for eighteen years, made this old fashioned pizzeria an easy choice. Excellent pizza and a surprisingly varied menu (especially for such a small storefront) made it the right choice!  During Fab 9’s halcyon days Aldo’s, then named “Venezia,” was (along with the legendary Smokehouse) a virtual second home to Intel employees.  Aldo’s has  long been the right choice for Rio Rancho residents, many of whom have their familial roots in New York City just like Aldo’s NY Pizzeria has. Moreover, Aldo’s has deeper roots in the mother country where pizza was invented.  When it first launched as Venezia, diners may have surmised that it was named for a family with…

AlbuquerqueItalianRating: Good

Mario’s Pizza & Ristorante – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno2:25 PM

In the 1978 movie Same Time Next Year, Ellen Burstyn’s character lamented that her husband considered his years in the Army the best years of his life. When Alan Alda’s character, her partner in a 26-year adulterous affair, commiserated that many men felt that way about their time in the military, Burstyn retorted, “but he spent two years as a prisoner of war.” Only a husband who wants to sleep on the couch would admit to any source of happiness outside of marriage… and only an honest answer to the loaded question “does this dress make me look fat“ is more deleterious to any amorous prospects. When I speak fondly to my lovely bride about how much I cherished my…

ChineseNew MexicoRating: GoodRio Rancho

Best Lee’s – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:14 AM

When does confidence become audacity? Is there a point at which a claim becomes braggadocio? To what extent can you trust a review on a hometown magazine? These were all questions we sought to answer during our inaugural meal at a Rio Rancho Chinese restaurant with the quaint name “Best Lee’s.”Best Lee’s is ensconced in the Southern Plaza Shopping Center in the same suite that held Peking House, a Chinese restaurant so mediocre I chose not to write anything about it during our one and only visit. In truth, we thought Peking House was still happily torturing taste buds until reading the December-January 2007 edition of Rio Rancho magazine (now defunct). A published review practically gushed with effusiveness over a…

AlbuquerqueDog FriendlyNew MexicanRating: Good

El Patron – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno8:13 PM

I was a strapping lad of fifteen when hired as a “box boy” at a country store in Peñasco. Now, being a box boy at a small village country store is to being a bagger at Smith’s or Albertson’s in Albuquerque what the red chile at Mary & Tito’s is to McCormick’s chili seasoning mix. The former is so much more than the latter. For one thing, my duties included bailing hay, rounding up cattle, stacking lumber, loading cement, operating a forklift and every once in a while actually bagging or boxing groceries. The job kept me in great physical condition for football season. “Eloy,” my fellow “box boy” was a crusty curmudgeon sixty-some years old who didn’t always take…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBreakfastNational ChainRating: Good

The Cracker Barrel Old Country Store – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:12 PM

Your eyes aren’t deceiving you. This really is Gil’s Thrilling (and Filling) Blog and you really are reading a review of  a (gasp) chain restaurant. It would be easy (a cop-out) to say my visit to the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store was the result of brow-beating, cajoling, bribery or even torture, but the truth is my Kim loves the Cracker Barrel.  She’s well aware of my chain-averse attitude, but was hoping the Cracker Barrel would win me over. With my every reference to the “Chancre Barrel” on the drive to the restaurant, she quickly realized it was a hopeless cause. After eight years of living in the Deep South, the Cracker Barrel didn’t stand a chance.  For the most…

AmericanNew MexicanNew MexicoNew Mexico Culinary Treasures TrailRating: Good

Los Ojos – Jemez Springs, New Mexico

Gil Garduno9:59 PM

Shortly after the Civil War, General William Tecumseh Sherman had the occasion to conduct an inspection trip of frontier outposts in the southwest.  He wasn’t impressed by what he saw in New Mexico, writing in a report that “We should have another war with Mexico and force them to take the Territory (New Mexico) back!”  As an unabashedly proud native New Mexican, it’s hard for me to comprehend that anyone couldn’t see the incomparable beauty of the Land of Enchantment which to me is obvious everywhere I turn. Were I able to go back to General Sherman’s time, there are so many sights I would like to show him that would certainly change his unflattering perception.  Near the top of…

BurgersEspañolaNew MexicoNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2009Rating: Good

Dandy Burger – Española, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:32 AM

Back in my halcyon youth as a multi-sport athlete at Peñasco High School (when I could consume half a million calories a meal at no detriment to my then svelte physique), Dandy Burger in beautiful downtown Española was a frequent dining destination–particularly after the then “not so mighty” Peñasco Panthers suffered a loss (and there were many of them).  On the rare occasion in which we actually won a game (usually over Escalante), our coaches would “treat us” to chicken fried steak at some “fancy” restaurant. We didn’t have the heart to tell them we preferred Dandy Burger.  Frankly, I still do.  It’s hard to resist stopping for a green chile cheeseburger and a bit of nostalgia every time we…

AlbuquerqueAmericanBreakfastBrunchNew MexicoRating: Good

Brekki Brekki – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Brekki Brekki–To those of us who were around in the mid 70s, those two words might dredge up recollections of the citizens band (CB) radio vernacular.  Maybe even the Chuck Norris movie “Breaker!  Breaker!” with its perfunctory butt-kicking.  Though I pride myself on having a sesquipedalian vocabulary, I had never heard the term “brekki” used  as slang for breakfast” until watching the Irish television series “Jack Taylor.”  My research revealed “brekki” is not an Irish term for breakfast, but is in Iceland.  Yes, Iceland.  Jack Taylor’s backstory didn’t involve a stint in Iceland.  So, where did the Irish detective pick up the term.  Closer to home, why would a Duke City restaurant specializing in breakfast name itself “Brekki Brekki?” Paula,…