Category: New Mexico Culinary Treasures Trail

AlbuquerqueAmericanBreakfastClosed in 2017Gone But Not ForgottenNew Mexico Culinary Treasures Trail

Murphy’s Mule Barn – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno5:09 AM

A mule is an animal with long funny ears he kicks up at anything he hears His back is brawny but his brain is weak he’s just plain stupid with a stubborn streak and by the way if you hate to go to school You may grow up to be a mule. – Bing Crosby Murphy’s law, a popular adage in Western culture is commonly formulated as “if anything can go wrong, it will.”  Murphy’s Mule Barn, a popular North Valley restaurant, hasn’t posited any law that I know of, but if it did, the law might read something like “friendly folks, great food, huge portions, small check.” Named for Murphy’s Mule Barn in Salina, Kansas, the restaurant celebrates all things mule in a cutesy sort of way with an ambience that includes barn implements such as stirrups, harnesses and other mule driving tools, many of the antique variety. Pictures of mules and ceramic statues of burros add rustic charm while posters by prominent New Mexico artist B.C. Nowlin give no indication that Nowlin, one of the restaurant’s most famous “local” patrons starts many a day with breakfast at Murphy’s before heading to his studio (and it’s a good bet…

EspañolaNew MexicanNew MexicoNew Mexico Culinary Treasures TrailRating: Very Good

El Paragua – Española, New Mexico

Gil Garduno4:05 AM

If small businesses are the backbone of American commerce, then the good old-fashioned lemonade stand is the spinal cord.”  That sagacious metaphor (for which I unfortunately cannot take credit) is an apt description for how El Paragua transcended its humble beginnings to become one of the culinary crown jewels of Northern New Mexico. In 1958, the Atencio brothers, two precocious entrepreneurs growing up in the enchanting Española valley did the old-fashioned lemonade stand one better.  They built a stand in which they sold their mother’s tacos and tamales.  The stand’s overhanging roof provided respite from the rain, hence the name “El Paragua” or “the umbrella.”  By 1965, the Atencio boys’ business was booming and the family home was transformed into a sit-down restaurant in which hungry patrons could partake of all of Mama Atencio’s culinary magic. Today El Paragua is a dining destination that has achieved worldwide acclaim.  Dr. N Scott Momaday, the UNM educated (Bachelor’s degree) Pulitzer Prize winner wrote a glowing review for the New York Times.  The restaurant’s walls are papered with reviews from such industry standard publications as Gourmet, Bon Appetit and Sunset magazine as well as numerous newspapers. El Paragua’s decor combines the varying influences…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2021Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicanNew Mexico Culinary Treasures Trail

La Placita Dining Rooms – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:35 AM

For convenience, if not for fiery New Mexico authenticity, you can’t beat La Placita, a yawning restaurant housed in the historic Casa de Armijo hacienda on Old Town Plaza. The Casa de Armijo was built in 1706 and occupied for many generations by the prominent Armijo family. Over the course of its three hundred year existence, the three foot thick adobe walled structure also served as a fort and a refuge before housing Armijo’s mercantile store in which gentlemen’s linen underwear could be purchased for $1 and dainty ladies’ lace gloves sold for 10 cents a pair. The Casa de Armijo was restored to its present condition in 1930 when it was remodeled in conformity to its venerable character. Serving as the La Placita dining Rooms since 1931, it is one of the oldest continuous serving restaurants in New Mexico. Today, the sprawling edifice houses several dining rooms, each replete with excellent examples of Southwestern art. La Placita also plays host to interesting paranormal phenomena. In the foyer is a magnificent staircase imported from Spain by the family patriarch for his daughter’s wedding in 1872. The daughter’s wedding dress had a 30-foot train which must have draped from top to…

New MexicoNew Mexico Culinary Treasures TrailRating: Very GoodSteak

Texas Reds – Red River, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:09 PM

Note: On Wednesday, November 3rd, 2004 Texas Reds burnt to the ground, but like a Phoenix, it has been rebuilt, albeit no longer as a two story monolith on Red River’s main street. In 2006, Texas Red’s also launched a second Colfax county restaurant, this one in Eagle Nest. What does the alpine village of Red River in the picturesque Moreno Valley have in common with San Marcos, Texas, the beautiful gateway to the Texas Hill Country? Aside from both being heavily populated by Texans, they both can boast of a Texas Reds restaurant. The original Texas Reds has been a Red River dining destination serving generous portions of friendly service and old west ambience since Thanksgiving, 1967. With an overdone touristy atmosphere that includes checkerboard tablecloths, wooden planked floors and the perfunctory peanuts you can toss on the floor, Texas Reds is a carnivore’s paradise. Its old west saloon is at ground level while the dining rooms are upstairs. While it’s true that dining at nearly 9,000 feet makes the food seem to taste better and your appetite more robust, it’s also true that Texas Reds proffers one of the very best steaks in New Mexico. Charbroiled in butter,…

BreakfastNew MexicoNew Mexico Culinary Treasures TrailRating: ExcellentSanta FeSouthwestern

Plaza Cafe – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno2:20 PM

Just as with people, a city is best defined by its heart. For Santa Fe, that would be its historic Plaza which has been, for much of four centuries, the city’s hub of commerce, culture and government. The Plaza is at the confluence of El Camino Real (the Spanish Royal Road from Mexico City), The Old Pecos Trail and the Santa Fe Trail. These historic transportation routes made settlement possible and facilitated trade and commerce. Today the Plaza is comprised of numerous shops, museums and restaurants surrounding a central park lined with towering shade trees. Because many of its buildings have changed little since Spanish colonial times, the Plaza is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. The city’s oldest restaurant, the Plaza Cafe which has been serving Santa Fe since 1918, is on the southwestern side of the quadrant which comprises the Plaza. As it approaches its centennial, the Plaza Cafe remains one of the city’s most popular dining destinations, sought out by locals and tourists alike. The 2006 edition of the New Mexico Blue Book published by the Secretary of State’s office documents that in 1947, the Plaza Cafe was purchased by Dionysi Razatos, a Greek immigrant…

BurgersClosed in 2011Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoNew Mexico Culinary Treasures TrailNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2009New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011

Outpost Bar & Grill – Carrizozo, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:13 AM

Much of the seemingly desolate 60 miles of desert topography separating San Antonio, New Mexico and Carrizozo, New Mexico is steeped in history–more specifically the history of “the bomb.” The Trinity site on which was tested America’s first atom bomb lies somewhere between the two relatively nondescript Old West towns. It stands to reason, therefore, that the brilliant scientists who built the forerunner of the nuclear age at least occasionally found recreation and sustenance in or near those towns. True enough, San Antonio’s tie to fame is the Owl Cafe, claimant of the most famous green chile cheeseburger in the world. Detractors downplay the Owl’s hype, often touting other restaurants’ green chile cheeseburger, sometimes with vehemence. Among the competitors for New Mexico’s (and therefore, the world’s) best green chile cheeseburger is the Outpost Bar and Grill on the eastern corridor of the aforementioned 60 mile stretch of barren terrain. There are (gasp at the irreverence) those who say the Outpost outdistances the Owl for green chile cheeseburger supremacy. Count me among them. You won’t be impressed by the restaurant’s (if you can call it that) ambience–wood planked ceilings, wooden floors, and paneled walls on which are mounted what a New…