Category: Rating: N/R (Not Rated)

CaliforniaFine DiningMichelin PlateRating: N/R (Not Rated)Restaurants Which Have Earned Michelin HonorsUnited States

Nine-Ten Restaurant and Bar – La Jolla, California

Gil Garduno12:08 PM

My baby sister Anita paid me the ultimate compliment, not as a brother, but as a savvy restaurant essayist. When we ran into her at the Nine-Ten Restaurant and Bar in picturesque La Jolla, she told me “I knew you’d find this place,” acknowledgement that she recognizes my prowess in finding the very best restaurants everywhere I travel. Born nine years apart with four siblings in between, Anita and I are anomalies in our family in that we’re passionate gastronomes in a brood which suffers the same dull palate deficiency which afflicts many Americans who prefer chain restaurants. Unbeknownst to us, Anita, her hunky husband Andy and their precocious, beautiful Emily were staying in La Jolla’s Grande Colonial Hotel, just a few miles from our rental home. Leave it to Anita to stay in the hotel housing the Nine-Ten Restaurant and Bar which was accorded the 2013 Gold Medallion Award as California’s best hotel restaurant in the fine dining category. Our other siblings would have been just as happy staying in a hotel adjacent to the Olive Garden. 2013 marks the Grande Colonial centennial anniversary as the oldest hotel in La Jolla. The opulent grand damme, within strolling distance of…

BarbecueCaliforniaRating: N/R (Not Rated)United States

Phil’s BBQ Restaurant – San Diego, California

Gil Garduno9:39 AM

A few decades ago, the culinary cognoscenti anointed the best bastions of bodacious barbecue–Kansas City, Memphis, Texas and the Carolinas…and there was much rejoicing. Since then, it’s been widely accepted that this exclusive quadrumvirate is where the very best barbecue in America is to be found. Much of this acceptance is because the four regions have deployed their marketing machines to continue reenforcing the notion–some would say myth–that their barbecue is sacrosanct and evermore defines barbecue greatness. There were a number of reasons these four regions were anointed as America’s barbecue capitals. For one, barbecue is more than just another important part of the culture at these regions; it’s as close to a religion as you’ll find. Secondly, restaurants specializing in barbecue are plentiful and they seem to be clustered in close proximity to one another. The recognition that these four regions do barbecue especially well is in no way an indictment of other regions. It’s well known that there’s some superb smoking going on across the entire fruited plain, from sea to shining sea. Visit any state in the union and you’ll find eager diners queuing up for their local ‘cue. There’s often as much pride in local barbecue…

CaliforniaMexicanRating: N/R (Not Rated)United States

El Agave Restaurante and Tequileria – San Diego, California

Gil Garduno11:02 AM

Tequila has long endured a legacy of scorn, derision and misinformation.  It’s  been a proving ground for manhood among frat boys downing shooters to show their mettle.  Urban myths and legends have long been believed of hallucinogenic worms at the bottom of the bottle.  Because of “ta-kill-ya” induced hangovers (usually the result of poor quality tequila), men with iron-cast constitutions have been known to swear off hard liquor.  With such a reputation, it’s no wonder tequila hasn’t been thought of as an adult beverage of choice for discerning drinkers.   Times have changed.  In recent years, tequila has become a viable option for drinkers of sophisticated taste.  Credit this evolution of thinking to the Mexican government which–similar to what the French government did to bolster the image of Champagne and Cognac–has worked diligently to improve the image of its native beverage.  Stringent regulations have been instituted to ensure the authenticity and quality of tequila and it has been designated an “appellation of origin” which means true tequila can only be produced in a specific region of Mexico.  Premium tequilas, identified by the duration of the aging process, have entered the market, providing excellent choices for discerning drinkers. The spiritual Mecca to which…

CaliforniaItalianRating: N/R (Not Rated)United States

Piatti Ristorante & Bar – La Jolla, California

Gil Garduno9:31 AM

A tavola non si invecchia. Translation: At the table with good friends and family you do not become old. ~ Italian Proverb While this timeless Italian dictum which our friend Sandy Driscoll shared with us resounds with sagacity, a little editing might make it even more accurate for Americans.  Perhaps the proverb should read “At the table with good friends and family, you do not become thin.”  That’s especially true if you’re eating at American Italian restaurants whose profligate portions also ring true with the aphorism “the trouble with eating Italian food is that five or six days later you’re hungry again.” In Italy you won’t find the stereotypically large, rich meals served in Italian restaurants throughout the fruited plain.  Instead, portion sizes are reasonable and strike a healthy balance from among the food groups.  In Italy, meals are an unrushed social and familial event in which portions are “right-sized” and few sweets are served.  That’s why Italians rank statistically among the world’s slimmest people, with a mere ten percent of the population in the obese range (compared to more than a third of the American population).   Focus on the “family” part of the proverb and there are few restaurants that excel.  Each…

CaliforniaMichelin: Bib GourmandPizzaRating: N/R (Not Rated)Restaurants Which Have Earned Michelin HonorsUnited States

Pizzeria Mozza – Newport Beach, California

Gil Garduno11:25 AM

“Breadmaking is one of those almost hypnotic businesses, like a dance from some ancient ceremony. It leaves you filled with one of the world’s sweetest smells –there is no chiropractic treatment, no Yoga exercise, no hour of meditation in a music throbbing chapel that will leave you emptier of bad thoughts than this homely ceremony of making bread.” ~M.F.K. Fisher, The Art of Eating For those of us geriatrically advanced enough to have had moms who actually baked bread in their ovens, the singular joy of those incredible yeasty bouquets wafting toward us is a treasured memory, one we relive when we visit old-fashioned bakeries. The sense of smell, more than any of our other senses, influences our ability to recall past events and experience. It’s very well established that fragrance is one of the most potent mediums for conjuring up a memory and for tugging at the heart strings.   At most pizzerias, it’s the aroma of garlic and sauce simmering on the stove that greet you, sometimes even before you walk in.  Step into Pizzeria Mozza in Newport Beach, California and your sense of smell might go into overdrive as your nose seeks out the incomparable fragrance of baking bread.…

BurgersNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)

The Patio – Deming, New Mexico

Gil Garduno9:33 AM

Drive past Deming on the interstate and you’ll be bypassing one of New Mexico’s little known gems, a city once bestowed the nickname “New Chicago” in anticipation of its burgeoning growth with the surge of railroad usage.  Although the population boom never happened, there is still much about Deming to enjoy as rock hunters, history buffs and anthropologists will attest.  One of its charms are the duck crossings on the main street through the city.  Deming is home to the great American duck race, an annual event for more than three decades. One thing for which Deming has not been known is its burgers.  In fact, other than the ubiquitous LotaBurger,  there wasn’t a single burger joint representative on the New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail in either 2009 or 2011.  Perhaps…no perhaps about it…there should have been.  The Patio, just east of downtown Deming, serves one of the very best green chile cheeseburgers in New Mexico.  The green chile cheeseburger is just one of fourteen burgers on the menu, not counting the innovative burger of the month.  May’s monthly honoree was a Salisbury steak burger complete with your choice of white or brown gravy and sauteed onions. The Patio…

ItalianRating: N/R (Not Rated)Santa Fe

Pranzo Italian Grill – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:41 PM

Can you imagine New Mexico Magazine‘s scintillating culinary liaison Cheryl Alters Jamison declaring to the world that Texas chili, that cumin-laden “con carne” bowl of red (insert your favorite epithet here), is superior to New Mexico’s red and green and that our chefs are shamelessly usurping Texas culinary traditions? Not even as an April Fool’s Day joke would she do that…and if she did, her husband Bill would probably have her committed. In May, 2013, an Italian culture minister committed a near treasonous act in declaring that “In Italy we haven’t eaten well for a long time, unfortunately. We have chased after the trends, the French, moving away from our idea of cooking.” The latter portion of that comment was especially perfidious to proud Italians, whose cuisine the international culinary community (and especially French propaganda) have long decried as inferior to the haute (and haughty) French cuisine. It would certainly be understandable if the cultural minister had bad-mouthed the Olive Garden, but certainly not the authentic and incomparable cuisine prepared in ristorantes, trattorias, osterias, pizzerias, paninotecas, caffes, saladates and gelaterias across Lo Stivale (the boot). If the emissary of eating doesn’t like the Italian food prepared in its country of…

New MexicanRating: N/R (Not Rated)San Antonio

San Antonio Crane Mexican Restaurant – San Antonio, New Mexican

Gil Garduno5:28 PM

Though I’m widely credited as being the “godfather of Albuquerque food blogging“(or the “Yoda of food” as the great Jenn Wolhetz once called me), before there was a Gil’s Thrilling (And Filling) Web, there was another voice calling in the wilderness to alert diners to the Land of Enchantment’s culinary offerings.  Before there was a Gil’s Thrilling (And Filling) Web, there was John W. Shipman food page and it was the most prominent and highly respected online source of independent restaurant reviews in New Mexico. John Shipman, a software engineer at the New Mexico Institute of Technology, called himself a “gourmand in the dessert.”  His reviews were very well written and highly descriptive, reflecting the culinary savvy of a diner who understands food very well: its composition, its provenance, its flavor profiles.  To say John was an inspiration to me is a vast understatement.  He was the “everyman critic” whose prose and style I emulated (though he was much more successful than I at getting right to the point).  Some of his reviews can still be found online though he doesn’t update them very often. To me John W. Shipman commands the type of respect given E. F. Hutton on…

AlbuquerqueRating: N/R (Not Rated)Steak

High Noon Restaurant & Saloon – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno8:53 PM

“Oh, to be torn twixt love and duty Supposin’ I love my fair haired beauty Look at that big hand movin’ round Nearin’ high noon.” ~ Tex Ritter The 1952 Academy Award winning movie High Noon follows taciturn marshal Will Kane as he single-handedly prepares to face a posse of murderers hellbent on revenge when the clock strikes twelve. Though the memorable showdown between Marshal Kane and the villainous scourges lasts only a few minutes, viewers are held spellbound by the movie’s black-and-white cinematography and hauntingly relentless soundtrack which accentuate the clock’s inexorable ticking down toward the confrontation at high noon. The minute hand on the wooden clock facade at the foyer of the High Noon Restaurant & Saloon is on its upward trajectory, scant seconds away from high noon. Instead of tension, your mood will be one of eager anticipation to discover for yourself whether the flavors of the restaurant’s dishes are as welcoming as the aromas which greet you at the door. Since the restaurant was launched in 1974, locals and tourists alike have been beckoned by those alluring aromas to enter and dine at the popular Old Town restaurant. The timeworn adobe edifice which houses The High…

AlbuquerqueRating: N/R (Not Rated)Sandwich

Al’s Big Dipper – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:45 AM

Raj: “Actually, in India, the names of constellations are different. Where you have the Big Dipper, we have the Big Curry Pot.” Summer: “You’re making that up.” Raj: “You got me. Now what are you going to do with me?” ~The Big Bang Theory On a clear night, rural northern New Mexico’s ebony night skies are punctuated with a magnificent display of heavenly beauty uninterrupted by light pollution.   Star gazers stand in reverent awe and wonder at the clarity of a celestial sphere in which the jewels of the night sky are arrayed in the fixed patterns which inspired ancient Greeks to name these constellations for mythological beings.  Back-dropped by the stellar Milky Way in the winter skies is the spectacular Big Dipper, a distinct asterism of seven stars recognized from time immemorial.  Al’s Big Dipper, a gourmet soup and sandwich shop in Albuquerque’s Downtown district isn’t named for the most famous of constellations, but for its familiar ladle (or dipper) shape.  The shop’s marquee is festooned with an orange ladle, denoting the availability of steaming hot soups ready to be poured.  Located on historic Route 66 between Fifth and Sixth Streets, the soup and sandwich shop is named for…

JapaneseRating: N/R (Not Rated)Sushi

Sushi Xuan Asian Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno10:29 AM

Nay-saying economic analysts who perpetuate the notion that even neighborhood monopolies would take advantage of a captive market don’t know Carter, chef-owner of Sushi Xuan Asian Grill. Rather than taking an oligopolous stance as owner of the only restaurant in the entire West Mesa to serve sushi, Carter knows he’s serving his friends and neighbors. As a West Mesa area resident for more than ten years, he wants to serve them only the very best and would never remotely conceive the notion of gouging them. Having been trained by a master sushi chef, Carter plied his knowledge and training in a number of sushi restaurants throughout the Duke City before launching Sushi Xuan. He prides himself on the high quality, freshness and creativity of the cuisine proffered at his restaurant, having fresh fish flown in three times a day. He filets it himself to ensure it meets his exacting standards then to ensure the fish is coupled with the freshest produce, he goes shopping every morning. This is certainly the kind of benevolent businessman we all want in our neighborhoods. Sushi Xuan is situated in the timeworn Sequoia Shopping Center. Despite a storefront obfuscated from the high volume of traffic…