Category: Rating: N/R (Not Rated)

2023 James Beard Foundation "Best Chef - Southwest" SemifinalistAlbuquerqueFood TruckIndianJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)

Tikka Spice – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno6:51 PM

“Fly once more like you did before, Sing a new song chicken tikka!” ~Chiquitita Misheard Lyrics You might think by virtue of my name and then gangling gait, school mates at St. Anthony’s in Penasco would have tagged me with the nickname “Gilligan.”  Instead, because I was considered a bit of a brainiac prone to sesquipedalian lexicon, my nickname was “The Professor.”  It was a sobriquet worn like a badge of honor.  Professor Roy Hinkley was my hero, a brilliant scientist marooned on an uncharted desert isle with six other stranded castaways.  The Professor built such cool gadgets as a Geiger counter, lie detector, battery charger and much more…usually with coconut shells, wire and papaya seeds.   The Professor, in fact, built almost everything the castaways needed to ensure their comfort and safety (including phones, lights and rudimentary pedal-powered motor cars).  The only thing he couldn’t figure out was a way to patch the U.S.S. Minnow to effect an escape from the tropical island nest.  Considering my frustrations at not being able to prepare Indian food, I wonder if The Professor would have been able to master that confoundingly complex art.  Scratch that!  Anyone who’s able to make nitroglycerine from…

BurgersDog FriendlyNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)

Arrey Cafe – Arrey, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:42 PM

About halfway between Truth or Consequences and Hatch on I-25, you may have espied a billboard audaciously proclaiming “world’s finest green chile cheeseburger.”  That billboard has always piqued my curiosity and prompted such questions as “where the heck is Arrey?”  Though signage directs motorists to Exit 59, all there is to see beyond the exit are verdant fields to the right and more high desert expanse to the left.  Then, of course, there’s the obvious question “if it’s so darn good, why isn’t it on the New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail?” As one of the quadrumvirate–along with the scintillating James Beard award-winning author Cheryl Jamison;  Kate Manchester, founder of Edible Santa Fe; and former New Mexico Tourism Department Advertising manager Martin Leger–who came up with the hallowed list of restaurants, drive-ins, diners, dives, joints, cafes, roadside stands and bowling alleys who serve up the very best green chile cheeseburgers in the world, we should have known about the Arrey Cafe.  Shouldn’t we have?   It didn’t come up during any of our lengthy discussion as to what burgers were “trail worthy.” Gustavo Arellano, the brilliant and hilarious author of Ask a Mexican and currently columnist for the Los Angeles Times,…

AlbuquerqueFood TruckMexicanNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)Tacos

Changos – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:13 PM

Darn that Google! Even though I used very specific Boolean operands to target my search for “Changos” in “Albuquerque,” Google returned results for Changos in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico. It wasn’t until studying the photos for Changos that it dawned on me “this can’t possibly be South Broadway in Albuquerque.” The Changos in Puerto Peñasco has a thatched roof, a swimming pool bar you can swim up to and features a menu replete with fresh mariscos plucked out of the Sea of Cortez.  South Broadway is a heavily industrial area replete with as many salvage yards and junked cars as you might see in an episode of Breaking Bad. When we turned south off Rio Bravo and began wending our way southward toward Isleta Puebo, my Kim remarked “it had better be worth it.”  I had asked her to be on the look-out for “Changos Food Plaza”  (from its Messenger handle), picturing a small shopping center with a restaurant at its cynosure.  Instead, we passed one gated compound after another, most of them fenced and industrial in nature.  After overshooting the “Plaza” twice,  Kim espied another gated compound, this one with a food truck parked up front  We had arrived. Changos…

Food TruckNew MexicanNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)

Stuffed Lust Sopaipilla Company – Bernalillo, New Mexico

Gil Garduno10:07 AM

“Of the seven deadly sins, lust is definitely the pick of the litter.” ~Tom Robbins, Skinny Legs and All “Why,” my Kim wondered aloud “would a food truck call itself Sopaipilla Lust.” Obviously reflecting on one of Father Simeon’s fiery sermons on the seven deadly sins, my naive bride was serious.  It got me thinking…also out loud.  “Sopaipilla Gluttony would conjure images of buffet-goers gorging themselves from a trough.  Sopaipilla Greed calls to mind diners hoarding more sopaipillas than they could possibly eat.  You can’t call it Sopaipilla Anger because, well, who could possibly be angry when eating sopaipillas.  Sopaipilla Sloth?  Nah, no one would be too lazy to work for their daily bread…er, sopaipilla.“ “Sopaipilla Envy?  Well, maybe that would work.  Many a time have I envied diners at another table for whom a stuffed sopaipilla plate was being delivered.  Sopaipilla Pride?  That might work, too.  A food truck or restaurant excelling in the preparation of outstanding sopaipillas would have reason to be proud of their culinary fare.  Lust, of course, is the carnal craving for the pleasures of the flesh and few things are as pleasurable as eating stuffed sopaipillas.  As you can see, “Sopaipilla Lust” makes the…

AlbuquerqueHawaiianNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)

Kimo’s Hawaiian BBQ – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno6:05 PM

For over a quarter century, the most popular section in New Mexico Magazine (the nation’s oldest state magazine, by the way) has been a humorous column entitled “One of Our Fifty is Missing.” The column features anecdotes submitted by readers worldwide recounting their experiences with fellow American citizens and ill-informed bureaucrats who don’t realize that New Mexico is part of the United States. Some travelers from other states actually believe they’re leaving their nation’s borders when they cross into New Mexico. Others think they need a passport to visit (not that they’d visit considering they’re wary of drinking our water.) Merchants and banks throughout America have been known to reject as “foreign credit cards” American Express and Visa cards issued by New Mexico banking institutions. As the 47th state to join the Union, New Mexico has nothing on Hawaii, the 50th state.  Denizens of the mainland blithely cling to stereotypes about The Aloha State.  That is, if they even recognize that Hawaii is actually a state.  Among the most ludicrous of the fallacious stereotypes (and maybe this one is based on wishful thinking) is that women wear leis, grass skirts and coconut bras.  Men, of course, wear Hawaiian shirts and…

Dog FriendlyNew MexicoPizzaRating: N/R (Not Rated)

Mamacita’s Pizza – Abiquiu, New Mexico

Gil Garduno10:58 AM

If you’re up north in the Abiquiu area perusing Yelp because you’re jonesing for New Mexican food, would you heed the recommendations–good or bad–of someone from Mississippi or Delaware or Texas?  No way!  You’d look at reviews written by savvy New Mexicans.  They’ll steer you right, probably to El Farolito in El Rito (15 miles away) or Angelina’s in Espanola (27 miles away). With all due apologies to my fellow New Mexicans, when we visited Abiquiu and were curious about a rather famous pizzeria, we didn’t put much stock in Yelp reviews written by denizens of the Land of Enchantment.  We were blown away by the sheer volume of reviews from out-of-staters (and not just Texans, Arizonans and Coloradans).  Mamacita’s Pizza has five star reviews from Toronto, Canada; Madison, Wisconsin; Brooklyn, New York; San Francisco, California and North Tonawanda, New York. The five-star review from North Tonawanda was especially significant because this western New York city is just a stone’s throw from the Buffalo home of Bocce Club Pizza, one of the very best pizzas I’ve ever had.  My dear friend Becky Mercuri had one shipped to me for my most recent 39th birthday.  It may have been the best…

AlbuquerqueBarbecueFood TruckNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)

Abq Grill n Que – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno6:44 PM

6 October 2020: From the Abq Grill n Que Facebook page – These unique times have forced us to make the very difficult decision to shut down our operations for the foreseeable future. We did not make this decision lightly, and it’s in the best interest of our family and our company’s future.  We will be using the next few months to evaluate our options, as well as augment our business so that we can offer some of our products in alternative ways. Please keep up with our website and social media for more information. “Low and slow.”  That’s not usually a term ascribed to the picturesque village of Corrales, New Mexico.  Well, at least not the “Low” part of the term.  “Slow,” however, is a way of life in Corrales.  Drive through the village at virtually any time of day or night and you can expect to go five, ten and even fifteen miles below the posted speed limit.  Driving through his hometown is the bane of my friend Sr. Plata’s existence.  He assures me the citizenry aren’t cowed by the police; they drive slow to take in all the sights.  Okay, that’s understandable, but not when Abq Grill…

AlbuquerqueAsianFood TruckNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)

Umami Moto – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno6:02 PM

In the vernacular of the cannabis culture–as I learned growing up in Northern New Mexico–the term “moto” translates from Spanish to “someone who enjoys “mota,” a slang term for marijuana.”  Visitors to the Duke City from Española, Peñasco, Chimayo and other villages up North would probably giggle if they espied the mobile kitchen (that’s food truck to you, Bob) named Umami Moto.  Though Umami Moto won’t be able to sate the cannabis cravings of any weed wanters, it would certainly take care of their munchies after they’ve scored a lid or two. With all due respect to hippie-lettuce-lovers everywhere, the term “moto” for which the aforementioned mobile kitchen is named is a Japanese term which means: “the cause; the foundation; the basis.”  Umami is also a Japanese term, but it’s one that’s not so easy to define.  You might even say it’s the je ne sais quoi of culinary terms.  At its essence, umami is the “fifth taste,” after salty, sweet, sour, and bitter, but it’s so much more. Writing for New Yorker, Hannah Goldfield defined umami as “that other thing, the thing you didn’t even know needed a concept or a name until someone pointed it out. That deep,…

AmericanBakeryDog FriendlyNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)

Cornerstone Bakery & Cafe – Ruidoso, New Mexico

Gil Garduno10:09 AM

Texas, the Lone Star State slogan tells us, is “like a whole other country.”  Everywhere we turned during our weekend in Ruidoso, we espied oversized pickup trucks sporting Texas license plates.  It almost made us wonder if the “village of the noisy river” had been annexed into that whole other country.  The trend continued at the unholy hour of 8AM on a cool Sunday morning when the license plate for almost every vehicle in The Cornerstone Bakery & Cafe’s parking lot flaunted the familiar “Lone Star State” logo.   Ironically, when we had asked where locals went for breakfast, the answer was almost invariably The Cornerstone Bakery & Cafe. Lest you think I may be a bit xenophobic or paranoid about Texas,  nothing can be further from the truth.  Being around Texans is an opportunity to discuss two of my favorite things in the world–the Dallas Cowboys and Texas barbecue.  Not surprisingly, diners at two of the socially distanced tables under the large tent where we dined were happy to oblige.  In addition to discussing our mutual passions, we discussed the attraction of Ruidoso to denizens of Dallas, Denton, Dalhart and other Texas cities.  “There’s nothing like Ruidoso anywhere in…

New MexicoPizzaRating: N/R (Not Rated)

Cafe Rio Pizza – Ruidoso, New Mexico

Gil Garduno6:57 AM

You might think that a beautiful town whose very name translates from Spanish to “noisy” would be boisterous and braggadocious abut all there is to see and do in that town.  Not so according to writer Tania Casselle.  Penning a piece for New Mexico Magazine Tania contends that “Ruidoso flies under a lot of people’s radar, even though regular vacationers are intensely loyal—and probably don’t want too many people to know about it.” Whether or not it truly it truly flies under a lot of people’s radar, Ruidoso is indeed an idyllic location, an enchanted mountain oasis of incomparable beauty.  It’s an year-round mountain playground in which deer, elk, turkey, quail, bear and lots of Texans roam the golf courses and streets.  Those are the qualities for which Ruidoso is known…at least by vacationers who probably don’t want too many people to know about it.  What Ruidoso hasn’t been widely known for–at least until rather recently–is its culinary scene. Denizens of the Land of Enchantment know the best green chile cheeseburgers in the universe can only be found within our state’s borders. We esteem our green chile cheeseburgers with such high regard that our state’s Department of Tourism promotes a…

BurgersNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)

Oso Grill – Capitan, New Mexico

Gil Garduno6:57 PM

When we pulled up to the order window at the Oso Grill’s drive-through lane, Misty, our sweet server handed us a menu and contritely explained that the restaurant had run out of shrimp.  “Why,” I asked “would anyone visit the Oso Grill for shrimp when they can have one of the very best green chile cheeseburgers in the Land of Enchantment.”  With apologies to Smokey Bear, that green chile cheeseburger is the reason many of us drive to Capitan, New Mexico.  Since, however, most New Mexicans consider Smokey one of our state’s upstanding citizens, we can enjoy a fantastic burger at Oso Grill then cross the street to pay our respects to the living symbol of fire protection.  Smokey is buried in the Smokey Bear Historical Park about one-tenth of a mile from the Oso Grill. The Oso Grill might have remained one of those secrets only denizens of the Lincoln county area know about.  Then came an invitation in 2017 from the New Mexico State Fair soliciting “ten established (brick and mortar) restaurants” to participate its annual New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Challenge which “pits restaurant against restaurant to vie for the prestigious title of “green chile cheeseburger champion.” …