Category: Rating: N/R (Not Rated)

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…

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…

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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…

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…

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…

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;…

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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…

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…

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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…

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Steam Q – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:02 AM

“I don’t know why men like to barbecue so much. Maybe its the only thing they can cook. Or maybe they’re just closet pyromaniacs.” ~Cecelia Ahern, P.S. I Love You >Whether or not the dubious and persistent stereotype about men and their grills has any veracity is a topic oft debated.  It’s been discussed anecdotally and it’s been analyzed scientifically.  In a 2010 article for Forbes, Meghan Casserly explained why men love grilling: “Grilling is sort of dangerous (there’s fire!), it lets dudes hang out together while also providing some sort of neutral entertainment (getting to watch one guy do stuff and possibly also criticizing him while he does it), and requires minimal cleaning (self-explanatory).” >In his 1993 essay “Why…

New MexicanNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)Rio Rancho

Burrito Express – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno8:32 PM

In an article entitled “Ode to the Handheld” in the April, 2020 edition of New Mexico Magazine, writer Alicia Inez Guzman noted that when her dad was growing up in the sixties, “the idea of plating a burrito for a sit-down meal was unheard of, laughable even.  That’s because the humble tortilla-as-envelope filled with protein and starch was tailor-made for eating in the fields and long the companion of the farm worker.” Google “burrito” and the results returned will almost invariably ascribe the same adjective used by Alicia Inez Guzman to describe the burrito–humble.  That’s fitting considering burrito translates from Spanish to “little donkey,” also a companion of the farm worker and perhaps the most humble and hard-working of all…