Category: Closed in 2015

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2015Gone But Not ForgottenMariscosMexicanRating: Excellent

El Norteño – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno3:33 PM

No Mexican restaurant in Albuquerque has a pedigree that approaches that of El Norteño, a venerable elder statesperson in the Duke City’s burgeoning and constantly evolving Mexican restaurant scene. El Norteño has been pleasing local diners for more than a quarter of a century as evinced by its perennial selection as the city’s “Best Mexican” restaurant. Respondents to the Alibi’s annual “best of” poll accorded El Norteño that coveted accolade against increasingly more formidable competition every year for seven consecutive years. Launched in 1986 by Leo and Martha Nuñez, El Norteño is an Albuquerque institution, a Mexican restaurant which can’t be pigeonholed for serving the cuisine of one Mexican state or another. That’s because El Norteño offers traditional Mexican specialties while staying true to the Land of Enchantment, using only peppers grown in New Mexico. In 1993, Monica Manoochehri and her husband Kamran took over the restaurant, maintaining the exceptional standards established by her parents. As consistently excellent as it has been, El Norteño became one of those restaurants even its most loyal patrons may have begun to take for granted. We all knew it was in a class by itself with incomparable cuisine; warm, friendly service and a homey…

AmericanClosed in 2015CorralesGone But Not ForgottenNew Mexico

The Spot Cafe – Corrales, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno6:56 AM

Big Bang Theory wunderkind Sheldon Cooper has a spot he describes as the “singular location in space around which revolves my entire universe.” That spot is the left side of his couch, a location he has placed “in a state of eternal dibs.” In scientific terms, Sheldon relates his spot as “a single point of consistency in an ever-changing world.” His attachment to that one spot borders on obsession, but he’s not the only television character that possessive of his spot. In television comedies, characters have always had their favorite spots and show little tolerance for anybody who tries to sit in them. Cheers barflies Norm Peterson and Cliff Claivin had their favorite bar stools. Jerry Seinfeld, George Costanza and Cosmo Kramer always sat at their favorite table at Monk’s Diner. Heaven help anyone who sat on Archie Bunker’s favorite chair, the most famous and only one of the aforementioned spots on display at the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. Television personalities are often based on and mimic real life characters. As such, it will be interesting to see what Corrales resident will develop an attachment to a favorite spot at its newest eatery (as of May,…

BuffetClosed in 2015Gone But Not ForgottenJapaneseNew MexicoRio RanchoSushi

Ahh! Sushi – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED: 2015)

Gil Garduno6:08 PM

The year was 1997. Recently thawed from a thirty year cryogenic state, Dr. Evil addressed the United Nations about his diabolical scheme to hold the world ransom: “ In a little while you’ll notice that the Kreplachistani warhead has gone missing. If you want it back, you’re going to have to pay me…one million dollars.” After the United Nations officials erupted in laughter, Dr. Evil quickly corrected himself “sorry…one hundred billion dollars.” When our mere pittance of a bill arrived after my friends Paul, Bill, Fred and I had polished off a boatload of all-you-can-eat sushi at Ahh! Sushi, the 1997 movie Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, quickly came to mind. Considering all we had eaten, we half expected an evil sushi chef to come out from behind the curtain and say “sorry…one thousand dollars.” We didn’t add up what the sushi would have cost had we not availed ourselves of the all-you-can-eat offering, but suffice to say, we ate our money’s worth and then some. The only sticker shock visitors to Ahh Sushi in Rio Rancho receive is shock (and maybe a little bit of awe, too) at how inexpensive all you can eat can be. I won’t…

BreakfastBurgersClosed in 2015Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2009New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011

Badlands Burgers & Tortas – Grants, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:00 PM

Out through the back door of Rosa’s I ran, Out where the horses were tied. I caught a good one. It looked like it could run. Up on its back and away I did ride, Just as fast as I could from the West Texas town of El Paso Out to the badlands of New Mexico. ~El Paso by Marty Robbins From the Texas cowboy immortalized in the Marty Robbins ballad to Walter White, Albuquerque’s favorite meth maker, through time immemorial whenever circumstances in the wild and rugged west have been at their most grim and perilous, even the most intrepid of heroes have escaped to the badlands of New Mexico. The badlands of New Mexico are an other-worldly expanse of naturally occurring topographical anomalies: undulating mounds, hulking hoodoos, elaborately eroding landscapes, precipitously balanced rocks of different forms and shapes in surreal color palettes. Ostensibly, the badlands make for a good hiding place. Perhaps the baddest of New Mexico’s badlands is El Malpais, a term which translates from Spanish to “the bad lands,” but which has been defined in science as an extensive area of rough, barren lava flows. El Malpais hearkens back to the geologic era in which volcanoes…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2015Gone But Not ForgottenIce CreamSpecialty

Chillz Frozen Custard – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno2:13 AM

“Custard: A detestable substance produced by a malevolent conspiracy of the hen, the cow, and the cook.” Ambrose Bierce, American writer (1842-1914) The Devil’s Dictionary (1906) Ambrose Bierce’s scathing definition of custard is not necessarily an expression of his disdain for the popular frozen dessert, but an example of his lampooning of American culture and especially its lexicon. Starting in 1881, the American satirist began writing The Devil’s Dictionary in which he published alternate and usually quite acerbic definitions of common words. His biting wit and sardonic views earned him the nicknames “cackling king of cynics” and “Bitter Bierce.” There are parts of the Midwest (the Milwaukee and St. Louis areas in particular) in which Bierce’s definition of custard would be considered sacrilege. Midwesterners feel so strongly about their custard, that an utterance of such blasphemy would be an occasion for a noose, a tall tree and a short drop. Their passion for frozen custard is akin to the love New Mexicans have for chile and never mind that winter temperatures throughout the Midwest can drop to near Arctic levels, custard is an year-round obsession. Just as most New Mexicans have a strong antipathy toward “chili” from Texas, Midwesterners abhor…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2015Food TruckGone But Not ForgottenNew Mexico

El Chicken 100% Carbon – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno8:13 AM

My environmentally conscious friend Bruce “Sr. Plata” Silver doesn’t have a large carbon footprint.  No environmental activist would ever condemn him for fouling the air and water with a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions. Instead, Sr. Plata leaves large “carbon fingerprints,” the finger-licking kind you get from frequenting restaurants which specialize in pollo al carbon, chicken prepared over charcoal.  Pollo al carbon has spoiled Sr. Plata.  He craves those juicy, golden-skinned birds speckled with black char, chicken so meaty and delicious it makes store-bought rotisserie chickens look positively anorexic in comparison.  Who can blame Sr. Plata?   Pollo al carbon is absolutely addictive.  It’s truly finger-licking good, much better (by legions) than you’ll find at the Colonel’s place. Fortunately the Duke City has several outstanding purveyors of pollo al carbon. Sr. Plata’s current favorite is El Pollo Real Colombiano, but when it comes to great chicken, he’s hardly monogamous.  When the cleverly sobriqueted O-U-8-1-2 responded to Sr. Plata’s plea for more pollo places to try, we knew we’d have to visit El Chicken, a food truck stationed on the southwest corner of San Pedro and Central.  You can tell you’re getting close by the mouth-watering aroma emanating from the large…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2015Gone But Not ForgottenRating: ExcellentVietnamese

Kim Long Asian Cuisine – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED 1 JULY 2015)

Gil Garduno11:24 AM

Growing up on a relatively unsophisticated Northern New Mexican diet featuring such staples as beans, tortillas and chile could hardly be considered a training ground for gastronomic appreciation. Though I thoroughly enjoyed my mom’s cooking it was hardly with the realization that I was feasting on one of America’s very best regional cuisines. Frankly, in the 1960s, only someone with prescience would have thought New Mexican cuisine could eventually garner worldwide acclaim. My siblings and I actually thought we were deprived because we weren’t eating Wonder bread sandwiches, pizza and Big Macs. Similarly, my friend and Intel colleague Huu Vu who grew up in Vietnam had no realization that the simple foods on which he was raised would someday be considered part of the world’s most delicious, artfully composed and healthy cuisines. To him and other citizens of impoverished Vietnam, food was sustenance, fuel to keep them going. Huu related to me that in Vietnam, you ate to live. You learned to stretch your meals with fillers such as rice. The vegetables and herbs (typically fresh mint, basil, cilantro, bean sprouts) which accompany pho (the superb Vietnamese beef noodle soup) weren’t just flavor additives. They were added to pho to…

AlbuquerqueBurgersClosed in 2015Gone But Not ForgottenNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2009

Route 66 Malt Shop – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno3:21 AM

In a May, 2009 edition of New Mexico Magazine feature celebrating “20 reasons Rail is Cool Now,” the magazine’s staff and contributors shared the best things to experience via the New Mexico Railrunner Express.”  A Duke City notable was root beer at the Route 66 Malt Shop and Grill, then about three miles from the nearest Railrunner depot.  The magazine encouraged readers to “order a frosty mug of homemade award-winning root beer, or make it a float.”  While you’re at it, the magazine suggested “sinking your teeth into the signature Blue Cheese Green Chile Burger.  Dee-lish.” Ironically just as the magazine was hitting the newsstands, the Route 66 Malt Shop’s west-facing windows were scrawled with the alarming words “Lost Our Lease, Being Evicted.”  To the consternation of hundreds of loyal patrons who  signed petitions on the restaurant’s behalf, the developer who owns the building in which the restaurant was housed apparently had other plans for it.  Owners Diane Avila and Eric Szeman were unable to reach an accord with their landlord and had to close the beloved institution they operated for so long. To call an 845 square foot hole-in-the-wall an institution is a testament to how firmly entrenched and highly regarded this…

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Bert’s Burger Bowl – Santa Fe, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:57 AM

The tee shirts worn by a nattily attired and enthusiastic wait staff at Bert’s Burger Bowl say it all: “Since 1954: One Location Worldwide.” Celebrating its golden anniversary in 2004, Bert’s seems to transcend time with a winning formula: great burgers, terrific service and reasonable prices. Generations of New Mexicans and visitors have made Bert’s a beloved Santa Fe dining destination.  It is such a beloved local institution that then-Representative Tom Udall entered it into the Congressional Record in September, 2004 to commemorate its 50th anniversary. It’s easy to believe Bert’s popularity is an anomaly. It’s open only until 7PM six days a week and until 5PM on Sundays. There’s nowhere to sit inside the restaurant and if you’re in a hurry, you’re out of luck because every burger is prepared to order. So why do generations of burgerphiles make Bert’s Burger Bowl a popular indulgence? World famous chef Martin Rios of the Anasazi may have said it best in the May, 2007 edition of Santa Fean magazine, “no one beats these burgers.” That’s high praise indeed from a culinary artiste who has been named Chef of the Year by both the city of Santa Fe and the State of…

AmericanClosed in 2015Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoTruth or Consequences

Happy Belly Deli – Truth or Consequences, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno8:35 PM

One of the inevitable truths about life is that the sins of our youth will revisit us in our middle age and beyond. We feel it especially in the morning when every bone in our bodies aches as we struggle to get out of bed. That’s also when we’re most reminded that what doesn’t hurt no longer works, that the spring in our step has been replaced by a creak in our knees and that our backs go out more often than we do. It’s then that we regret our youthful impetuousness and perceived immortality. My friend Larry McGoldrick, the professor with the perspicacious palate and the most energetic septuagenarian I know, gave me this advice: “go south, young man.” More precisely, he advised going to Truth or Consequences to luxuriate in the healing waters of the city’s hot springs. For some 12,000 years, the city’s geothermal hot mineral waters have been frequented for their restorative powers. Even Apache warrior Geronimo brought his wounded men to the waters so they could heal from battle. Truth or Consequences (“T or C” to most New Mexicans) has long been a popular destination for snowbirds, tourists and those of us who love its…

AlbuquerqueAmericanClosed in 2015Gone But Not Forgotten

Cafe Bleu – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno7:32 PM

Today Huyen Wylie might smile a little when she describes herself as having been one of the Vietnamese “boat people,” but it’s not because she finds anything evenly mildly amusing about the term.  She was but ten years old when her family braved the choppy waters of the South China Sea in their quest for freedom.  It was their third attempt.  As with many families, fleeing their homeland was an act of desperation undertaken by people persecuted by an oppressive communist government.  It was a perilous journey fraught with uncertainty and danger.  Still, risking death on the open seas was preferable to the certain imprisonment or execution many citizens  faced at the hands of a retaliatory government.  Many of the boats used to flee Vietnam were crude and makeshift watercraft–often converted fishing boats–not built for the open waters.  Dangerously overcrowded, many sunk shortly after leaving the shore.  Making it out to the open sea was no guarantee of freedom, but  often the beginning of other dangers such as unfriendly neighboring countries who turned the refugees away and pirates who murdered many and sold others into prostitution or slavery. Huyen’s family made it to Hong Kong where they remained in a…