Category: Mexican

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2025Gone But Not ForgottenMexicanNew Mexico

Rusty Taco – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno8:18 PM

In 2015, food critic Mike Sutter embarked on a quest Don Quixote would envy when he ate at a different taco joint in Austin, Texas every day for an entire year. During his 365-day adventure, he consumed a whopping 1,600 tacos. When he moved from Austin to San Antonio, he embarked on a similar venture and not even life-altering thyroid cancer and its associated treatments and surgery could stay this critic from his appointed quest. He had surgery on a Tuesday and was back on the taco trail on Friday. Asked what his favorite taco was, he singled out a simple carnitas taco with a balance of lean, fatty and crispy bits and salsa–not some elegant or complicated creation of…

AlbuquerqueMexicanNew Mexico

Juanita’s Comida Mexicana – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno8:36 PM

When writer Jeffrey Steingarten was named food critic for Vogue in 1998, he made it his quest to overcome any distaste he may have had for certain foods.  Chief among the foods he disliked were kimchi, lard, Greek cuisine, and blue food. Over time, he overcame his aversion toward all those foods, save for those with a bluish hue.  His reasoning, “I‘m fairly sure that God meant the color blue mainly for food that has gone bad.”  It could then be argued that his best-selling tome The Man Who Ate Everything is somewhat of a misnomer.  Steingarten, whom you might recognize as a frequent judge on the Food Network’s Iron Chef America competition, is a very discriminating diner, but by…

AlbuquerqueBrunchClosed in 2019Dog FriendlyGone But Not ForgottenMexicanNew MexicanNew Mexico

Cantina Nueva – Garduños – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno6:34 PM

Garduños just can’t seem to keep up with the Joneses, at least in terms of familial propagation. The 2010 United States Census indicates more than a million instances (1,425,470 to be precise) of the surname Jones, making it the fifth most common among the 6.3 million surnames recorded. In comparison, the surname Garduño belonged to only 6,912 individuals, ranking it as the 5073rd most common surname under the spacious skies. Almost 93 percent of the individuals answering to the surname Garduño listed their ethnicity as Hispanic or Latino. It’s inherent in possessing a relatively scarce name that my Kim and I are often asked if we’re related to other people sporting that mellifluous patronym, usually Dave Garduño and his family…

Closed in 2019Gone But Not ForgottenMariscosMexicanNew Mexico

El Agave – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:13 AM

“Why, this here sauce is made in New York City!” “New York City? Git a rope!” No matter how broad-minded we may perceive ourselves to be, most of us are burdened by covert biases and prejudices that reveal themselves at inopportune times. One of mine was divulged during my inaugural visit to El Agave Mexican Restaurant in Rio Rancho. After being greeted warmly by effusive hostess Lilly Venegas (who could not possibly have been nicer), I began my usual “twenty questions” routine to learn everything I could about the restaurant. Beaming with pride, she told me her brother-in-law had owned and operated two Mexican restaurants for more than twenty years in Raleigh, North Carolina. North Carolina! North Carolina! My mind…

MexicanNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)

Barbacoa El Primo – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno6:43 PM

“I went down Nagolitos looking for some barbacoa and Big Red. I went down to Nagolitos for some barbacoa and Big Red. Well, I could’ve had menudo but I got some cabeza instead. Give me two pounds of regular, cause I like a little fat. You may like la puro carne, but for me fat is where it’s at.” ~Randy Garibay, Barbacoa Blues As chief of nonresident training for my career field, one of my favorite duties was working with other subject matter experts to develop “psychometrics” (specialty knowledge tests to measure promotion fitness) for the United States Air Force.  It meant an annual trip to San Antonio, Texas, one of my very favorite cities under the spacious skies.  In…

AlbuquerqueBreakfastMexicanRating: Very Good

Acapulco Tacos & Burritos – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno1:09 PM

Acapulco–just the name evokes images of pristine sandy beaches, translucent blue waters, a comfortable climate, luxury hotels, and world-class gourmet cuisine. There are many reasons Acapulco has earned its nickname of the “Mexican Riviera,” after the famous French resort area. It’s unlikely Albuquerque’s three Acapulco Tacos & Burritos restaurant will ever be mistaken for one of Acapulco’s pricey and sometimes pretentious three- and four-star restaurants. There’s absolutely nothing pretentious about Acapulco Tacos & Burritos. To the contrary, this humble denizen of deliciousness seem to symbolize the wonderful simplicity of Mexican food in the finest and most complimentary sense of the term. Okay, maybe the crossed palm trees and bright sun painted on the restaurant’s colorful facade might be a bit…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2019Dog FriendlyGone But Not ForgottenMexicanNew Mexico

Krazy Lizard – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno5:41 PM

I count in almost equal measure, friends, family members and colleagues who label themselves as either militant liberals or staunch conservatives. Despite what they may think, they have more in common than they’d ever admit. Passionate ideologues, they all regurgitate political dialogue in talking point format. They’re uncompromising in towing their respective party line. They would never see merit in counterpoints from “the other side,” ergo, they never compromise. They’re all are passionate, almost to a fault. You could say they’ve all been been fully assimilated and they’re not going to change. It sure makes it difficult to share a meal with people when their disparate principles, ethics and beliefs make them incompatible with those of opposite perspectives. Despite the…

AlbuquerqueMariscosMexicanNew MexicoRating: Very Good

Taqueria El Paisa – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno8:47 PM

“The immediacy of a taco, handed to you hot from grill and comal, can’t be equaled. You can stand there and eat yourself silly with one taco after another, each made fresh for you and consumed within seconds. A great taco rocks with distinct tastes that roll on and on, like a little party on your tongue, with layers of flavor and textures: juicy, delicious fillings, perfectly seasoned; the taste of the soft corn tortilla; a morsel of salty cheese and finally, best of all, the bright explosion of a freshly-made salsa that suddenly ignites and unites everything on your palate. At the end of our two or three-bite taco you just want to repeat the experience until you are…

AlbuquerqueMexicanRating: Good

El Taco Tote – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno4:12 PM

As we perused the colorful menu hanging on the wall at El Taco Tote, my friends Captain Tuttle, Bob of the Village Of Los Ranchos and I pondered the veracity of images depicting gargantuan tacos brimming with glistening meat and sundry toppings. Could these super-sized behemoths possibly be as large as pictured? Perhaps, as in “objects in the mirror may appear closer than they are,” these tacos only appear large in photos. Captain Tuttle, a semi-regular at Taco Tote, confirmed that the truth is somewhere between the perfectly posed tacos portrayed on the menu and those actually served. He recalled from previous visits, being served tacos with as much as four ounces of meat. That’s as much as McDonald’s vaunted…

AlbuquerqueMexican

Los Compadres Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:32 AM

In the vernacular and tradition of Hispanic Northern New Mexico, few–if any–titles were held in such esteem and reverence by elder generations as “compadre” (male) and “comadre” (female). In his Dictionary of New Mexico & Southern Colorado Spanish, Ruben Cobos defines a compadre as a “ritual co-parent; a term by which godparents address the father of their godchild and by which the child’s parents address the godfather.” With the societal dissolution of the family entity, the term compadre doesn’t hold the same bonding connotation as it once did–at least in terms of raising one another’s families should the need arise. Today the term compadre is frequently used almost interchangeably with “paiser,” a derivative of “paisano” or countryman. Paiser is a…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2019Gone But Not ForgottenLatin AmericanMexicanNew MexicoRating: Outstanding

Maya – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno1:09 PM

My precocious niece doesn’t miss a beat. Ever attentive to adult conversation, she often stumps my brother and me with her surprisingly deep and thought-provoking questions. Case in point, when she overheard me telling my brother Mario about the Mesoamerican-inspired cuisine at Maya, she asked what I have against Americans. Perplexed by her assertion, I gently asked what she was talking about. “First you said Americans are ugly (obviously remembering a discussion Mario and I once had about the “ugly American syndrome”) and now you’re calling them messy, too.” From the mouth of babes… Her comment got me thinking about the last time we saw a great chef who wasn’t a bit on the “messy” side. No, not like the…