Category: Closed in 2011

AlbuquerqueBuffetChineseClosed in 2011Gone But Not Forgotten

Evergreen Buffet – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno4:18 PM

America held hostage!  That was the aptly named title of an ABC late-night news program anchored by Ted Koppel from November, 1979 through January 20, 2001.  For 444 days, the mighty United States of America was indeed paralyzed while 52 Americans were held hostage–tied and blindfolded–in the U.S. Embassy in Iran.  The captors were student revolutionaries incensed at the United States decision to admit Iran’s deposed Shah for medical treatment. The moment Ronald Reagan took the oath of office, those hostages were released.  An adoring nation welcomed the returning heroes, lavishing them with gifts and accolades.  Among the gifts was a tiny box from Major League Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn.  Within that box was a lifetime pass to any major or minor league baseball game. Upon hearing of this, then ABC college football analyst and avowed baseball hater, the irascible Beano Cook remarked, “haven’t they suffered enough?” Beano’s sentiment is my first reaction whenever I hear of a new Chinese buffet restaurant launching in Albuquerque.  In truth, however, Chinese buffet restaurants are so well patronized in the Duke City that the only suffering that occurs is after the meal.  That’s when gastroenterological distress sets in which prompts diners to lament…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2011Gone But Not Forgotten

Cafe Choroni – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno9:53 PM

In the late 1970s before political correctness taught us how racist we all are, it seems every man born to the last name Gonzalez, whether or not they liked it, sported the nickname “Speedy.”  Speedy was, of course, the “fastest mouse in all of Mexico” in the popular Looney Tunes animated series.  The premise of the cartoon was that Sylvester, a tuxedo cat with an exaggerated lisp, terrorized a horde of mice trying to abscond with cheese from the cheese factory under his charge.  Only the intrepid Speedy, a sombrero wearing machismo mouse on perpetual hyper-drive could deter the “gringo pussy gato.”  Amid cries of “¡Ándale! ¡Ándale! ¡Arriba! ¡Arriba!” (colloquial Mexican Spanish for Come on! Hurry up!), the excessively energetic Speedy usually gave Sylvester a painful comeuppance. My Air Force buddy Vladamir Gonzalez wasn’t spared the sobriquet of Speedy, never mind that he was Puerto Rican and lived life as if conserving energy.  A gregarious, self-deprecating madcap, Speedy good-naturedly took liberties with his cartoon namesake’s trademark cry.  In his version, it was “¡Ándale! ¡Ándale! ¡Arepa! ¡Arepa!”  My friend, a man of many appetites loved the culinary standards of his beloved Puerto Rico: sofrito, black beans, yuca, plantains and especially arepas, fried rounds of…

Closed in 2011Gone But Not ForgottenMexicanSanta Fe

Los Mayas – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno8:35 PM

Diego de Landa Calderón, the former Bishop of Yucatán, is a dichotomous figure in the history of the new world.  On one hand, he is recognized as an invaluable source of information on pre-Columbian Mayan civilizations, but on the other, he was directly responsible for destroying much of that civilization’s history, literature and traditions. Given the responsibility of converting the indigenous Maya to Roman Catholicism, he instituted an Inquisition that ultimately ended with the notorious auto de fé, a ritual of public penance for condemned heretics.  Mayas who continued to practice “idol worship” after having been “converted” to Catholicism were the recipients of this torturous rite.  During one ceremony, he also burned more than 5,000 Maya cult images and a significant number of Maya codices which would have filled in many blanks as to Maya history and culture. In 1566 upon his return to Spain, Landa authored a book in which he catalogued the Maya language, culture, religion and system of writing.  From his writings, we now know just how much the ancient Maya diet contributed to our own modern foodstuffs.  While some of the foods of the Maya (and frankly of their modern-day descendants) are unfamiliar to many Americans, other foods are commonplace at the supermarket.  These include…

AmericanClosed in 2011Gone But Not ForgottenNevadaRating: OutstandingUnited States

Rosemary’s Restaurant – Las Vegas, Nevada (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno3:58 AM

You might think that a chef and proprietor whose restaurant has garnered almost every conceivable accolade might be almost unapproachable, perhaps even haughty and aloof…that being among the gastronomic glitterati, he wouldn’t make time for admirers of his culinary craft. We learned during a June, 2006 visit that THE Michael Jordan (the other one was a pretty fair basketball player) is one of the nicest, most unassuming and genuinely endearing celebrity chefs we’ve ever met. We had the great fortune of running into Jordan at his restaurant and he wasn’t solely concerned with what we thought of our meal (we loved it, of course). He engaged us in conversation about New Mexico, Chicago, restaurant critics and Chowhound, a Web site he admits to visiting when he wants to take the pulse of his diners. He was genuinely appreciative of our having driven nearly 600 miles to dine at the fêted restaurant he and wife Wendy launched in 1999 after being fixtures at Emeril Lagasse’s New Orleans Fish House, the MGM Grand Hotel’s trendy restaurant. With the launch of Rosemary’s (a drawing of a sprig of the popular spice graces the to-go menu) in a fashionable west-side Sahara location, the Jordans…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2011Gone But Not ForgottenNew Mexican

Las Mañanitas – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:45 AM

Estas son las mañanitas, que cantaba el Rey David, Hoy por ser día de tu santo, te las cantamos a ti, Despierta, mi bien, despierta, mira que ya amaneció, Ya los pajarillos cantan, la luna ya se metió. This is the morning song that King David sang Because today is your saint’s day we’re singing it for you Wake up, my dear, wake up, look it is already dawn The birds are already singing and the moon has set Las Mañanitas, the traditional Mexican birthday song often sung in Catholic churches and birthday parties is one of my very favorite songs of any genre.  It offers the recipient a good-morning wish just as King David himself might have. During early summer days when Duke City diners feel like serenading their taste buds with New Mexican food, many head to Las Mañanitas just north of Old Town.  There they dine on a brick patio under towering cottonwoods and a canvas of blue provided by New Mexico’s incomparable skies. The sprawling adobe restaurant is a historic landmark with a colorful history.  Parts of the structure date back more than 300 years.  It has served as a stagecoach stop, saloon and brothel as…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2011Gone But Not ForgottenSouthwestern

Casa Chaco – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno7:52 PM

In A.D. 850, the ancient Anasazi began building the pueblos archaeologists posit were the hub of an ancient culture inhabited in its heyday by more than 5,000 people. By A.D. 1000, Chaco Canyon was the flourishing heart of religious and governmental life for an advanced culture that has since been assimilated by Native American pueblos dotting the Rio Grande valley. Using remote sensing technology, archaeologists discovered roads radiating from Chaco Canyon like the spokes of the wheel, connecting the canyon with almost 100 Chacoan outliers. In modern-day Albuquerque, the rambling Hilton hotel has also become a hub of activity (more than 27,000 square feet of flexible meeting space) and like Chaco, is on the intersection of heavily traversed thoroughfares. It’s perhaps only fitting that one of its two signature restaurants is named for the “ancient ones.” Casa Chaco is tastefully decorated with Native American art, including the full regalia of Indian women and children. On some nights, the dining experience at Casa Chaco is further enhanced by the mellifluous presence of Hector Pimental and the soothing stylings of his guitar. Similar to the Rancher’s Club, its sister Hilton restaurant, Casa Chaco places you in the lap of luxury with attentive…

Closed in 2011EspañolaGone But Not ForgottenNew MexicanNew Mexico

Matilda’s Restaurant – Espanola, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno5:45 PM

In Asi Es Nuevo Mexico, the official state song of New Mexico, former Lieutenant Governor Roberto Mondragon extols in a rich timbre, the incomparably beauteous flowers of The Land of Enchantment–its women. When the verse “lindas mujeras que no tiene igual” (beautiful women without equal) was written, the composer must certainly have had Matilda Guillen in mind. At 81 years young, there is no surcease to Matilda’s boundless energy. She has owned and operated her eponymous restaurant for fifty years and has no plans to retire. On Sunday, September 24th, 2006, throngs of friends, family and admirers gathered together to celebrate her 81st birthday. Surrounded by hundreds of people who know and love her, she was practically showered in flowers, all of which paled in comparison to her inner and outer beauty. Although we had known about her and her restaurant for years, we met Matilda just five days after she had been feted by her family and friends. She was still aglow in happiness and basking in the presence of the flowers and family which remained behind. Though we had never met her before, she treated us the way she treats all her customers–like old friends. She is obviously…

AlbuquerqueAmericanClosed in 2011Gone But Not Forgotten

McGrath’s – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno2:46 AM

At the turn of the 19th century, “Sex and the City” in Albuquerque may have meant a trip to the area near the bustling train station in which nearby “hospitality houses” catered to rail-riding clientele. The heart of the Duke City’s red light district was the area around Third and Copper where ladies of the evening entertained their guests in red light cottages, the most famous (and infamous) of which was Lizzie McGrath’s Vine Cottage. Today the heart of the burgeoning area which once housed Albuquerque’s red light district is the posh Hyatt Regency hotel, a 21-story high rise with two distinctive pyramidal roofs that help make it the city’s second tallest building. The Hyatt’s signature restaurant, McGrath’s is named for the most famous madam in the city’s long-gone red light district. Set in a contemporary atmosphere, McGrath’s is one of the city’s fine dining treasures even though it appears to be frequented more by visiting guests than locals (most of us don’t want to wait for a parking spot to become available and don’t want to pay to park). The lunch and dinner menus offer a wide assortment of seafood and USDA prime entrees as well as delectable desserts.…

AlbuquerqueBuffetChineseClosed in 2011Gone But Not Forgotten

Yen Ching – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno5:54 AM

Have a yen for Chinese or Korean cuisine? Can your appetite be sated only by the nasal-clearing, smoldering heat of Szechwan style cooking? Are the cravings that consume you affixed on succulent sushi and eye-watering wasabi. If all four of these options sound good but you can’t make up your mind, there’s only one dining destination that–under one roof–can satisfy your appetite for all these palate-pleasing Asian cuisines. Yen Ching, a popular Northeast Heights restaurant named for a city in Northern China, specializes in Chinese, Korean and Szechwan cuisine and has an all-you-can-eat (AYCE) Japanese sushi bar to boot. Yen Ching is a veteran in Albuquerque’s cramped competition for Chinese food customers, launching nearly 20 years ago in the venerable Trade Winds hotel on Central Avenue. Years later, Kathy Chao and her husband Joe moved their restaurant to the Montgomery Crossing shopping center on the southeast corner of the Montgomery and Wyoming intersection, a location in which business has thrived. Long-timers might remember a second Yen Ching on Fourth Street. That restaurant didn’t last long after the Chaos sold it. Like many Chinese restaurants in the city, Yen Ching features an AYCE Chinese buffet for lunch and like most, this…

Closed in 2011Gone But Not ForgottenIllinoisRating: ExcellentSandwichUnited States

Siegelman’s Restaurant Deli – Arlington Heights, Illinois (CLOSED: 2011)

Gil Garduno4:27 AM

Who would have thought that a nondescript restaurant in a nondescript shopping center would feature food beyond description–food for which you run out of adjectives and synonyms for delicious (let’s see: savory, scrumptious, yummy, tasty, mouth-watering, appetizing, delectable, luscious)? In Siegelman’s, the quintessential Jewish deli, we found some of the very best pastrami (and it’s no surprise that it carries the Vienna Beef label) in America–perfectly marbled to bring out its dramatically captivating (not nearly sufficient to describe it) flavor and in such huge proportions that your mouth is agape (and watering) at first sight. There’s a Yiddish word that perfectly describes Siegelman’s sandwiches–“farshtopt,” a word which means “stuffed” as in crammed full of meat. An even better word might be “overstuffed” because that’s what you receive with every sandwich order. The thin-sliced, piled-high pastrami sandwich on fresh baked rye bread includes enough meat (a full 8.5 ounces per jumbo sandwich and 6.5 ounces on the standard offering) to make four pastrami sandwiches in Albuquerque’s chintzy sandwich shops. Jars of gourmet mustard are available for slathering on the pastrami. A perfect prelude to the perfect pastrami sandwich is the complementary soup sweet and sour cabbage soup which tastes even better…

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…