Category: Closed in 2020

AmericanBakeryBreakfastBrunchClosed in 2020Gone But Not Forgotten

Hartford Square – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

“The discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the discovery of a star.” ~ Anthelme Brillat-Savarin Dante Alighieri’s 14th century poem Divine Comedy postulated the existence of nine circles of Hell, each circle appropriate to the sins of the damned. The fourth circle, for example, is reserved for hoarders and wasters whose punishment is to spend eternal life rolling giant boulders at one another. While gastronomy is a virtue and not a sin, were there to have been a circle in Hell for gastronomes, there’s no doubt it would have been to spend eternity eating in chain restaurants where we would be subjected to the tedium and monotony of forevermore eating homogeneous foods. It would certainly…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2020Gone But Not ForgottenSandwichVietnamese

Sai Gon Sandwich – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

If ever there was a culinary Kobayashi Maru (for the non-Trekkies among you, that’s a no-win scenario), it might well be naming the best sandwich (or best food of any kind) in the world. Imagine the challenge. There are potentially hundreds of thousands of delicious candidates, many worthy of acclaim as the very best in their block, city, state or province…but the world’s an awfully big place. A lifetime might not be enough to sample but a few thousand sandwiches. Any sandwich you select would undoubtedly be disputed vehemently. Surely, you say, no authoritative source exists which would possibly have the temerity, much less breadth of knowledge, to name just one sandwich as the very best in the planet. Such hubris…

Closed in 2020Gone But Not ForgottenItalianNew MexicoRated 24Santa Fe

Il Piatto Italian Farmhouse Kitchen – Santa Fe, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

As an independent observer of the New Mexico culinary condition, I used to think the most prominent delta in quality between restaurants in the Land of Enchantment and those in large metropolitan cities are in the areas of seafood, barbecue and Italian food. It’s easy to understand the dearth in outstanding seafood restaurants. We are, after all, a landlocked state some 800 miles or so from the nearest ocean. While many New Mexican restaurants have fresh seafood flown in frequently, it’s not quite the same as having seafood literally off the boat and onto your plate. In recent years, the launch of several very good to excellent barbecue joints has done much to narrow the gap in the barbecue arena:…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2020Gone But Not ForgottenMariscosMexican

El Sarape – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Before the advent of political correctness, the unchecked use of controversial stereotypes was rampant throughout America.  Starting in the 1930s, for example,  ethnic caricatures in the guise of tchotchkes (salt shakers, cookie jars, plant pots and the like) could be seen in households throughout the fruited plain. Neon-spangled roadside five-and-tens  dotting the motorways and byways were primary culprits in the sale of kitschy, tacky knickknacks propagating such stereotypes as mammies, cigar-store Indians and the Mexican peasant taking a siesta while reclining against a saguaro.  The sleeping Mexican, often called Pancho, was particularly prominent throughout the Southwest.  Generally attired in huaraches, pantaloons, a sash which doubled as a belt, a massive sombrero that hid his face and a colorful sarape, that…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2020Gone But Not ForgottenKoreanRated 23

Fu Yuang – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

“I’ve eaten a river of liver and an ocean of fish! I’ve eaten so much fish, I’m ready to grow gills! I’ve eaten so much liver, I can only make love if I’m smothered in bacon and onions” ~ Hawkeye Pierce MASH 4077, Korea FROM THE FU YUANG FACEBOOK PAGE: Our Dear Fu Yuang friends, we closed the doors for business on Saturday, November 21st, 2020. 😢 Mia is no longer able to meet the physical demands of operating the restaurant. We tried to sell the restaurant to many prospective buyers, with no luck due to COVID-19. We want to thank everyone for their kindness, dedication, & support over the past 26 1/2 years. We will truly miss you all.…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2020Gone But Not ForgottenMexicanNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011

Sandiago’s Mexican Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

You don’t have to go out of town to dine to feel like you’re dining out of town.  A drive to Sandiago’s Mexican Grill on the base of the Sandia Tramway will do that for you.  This colorful restaurant in which everything but the ceiling appears tiled in multi-hued splendor evokes images of coastal Mexico Lindo Y Querido in all its glory. If you’re an atheist, the spectacular view of the city lights, particularly on a cold winter night, might just convince you that there is a God.  The summer view of the entire city bathed in light under Albuquerque’s cerulean skies is equally awe inspiring. Sandiago’s is part of the sprawling, multi-story complex which houses the boarding station to…

Closed in 2020EspañolaGone But Not ForgottenNew MexicanNew Mexico

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

Gil Garduno

“I get no respect.”  Comedian Rodney Dangerfield parlayed that catch-phrase into a lengthy and lucrative career.  With his uniquely self-deprecating sense of humor, Rodney invariably made himself the butt of his own brilliant one-liners: “I could tell my parents hated me.  My bath toys were a toaster and a radio.”  Despite his schtick as a perpetual loser, Dangerfield was a beloved comedic icon about whom Jim Carrey once wrote, “Rodney is, without a doubt, as funny as a carbon-based life-form can be.”  True to the formula which made him a success in life, his tombstone is engraved, “there goes the neighborhood.” The citizenry of the beautiful Española valley can certainly empathize with Rodney Dangerfield.  Inexplicably, Española has, for decades, been…

ArizonaBurgersClosed in 2020Gone But Not ForgottenUnited States

Delux Burger – Phoenix, Arizona (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

“I ordered a cheeseburger at lunch the other day. I had never eaten at this particular restaurant before, and whenever I am unsure about the quality of the food at a place, I always order a cheeseburger. How many ways can you foul up something as simple as a cheeseburger? The bread can be too hard, or the meat might not be cooked to your liking, but that can be fixed quite easily. After I ordered my cheeseburger – medium well with a soft bun – the waiter asked me, “Do you want a plain cheeseburger or one of our specialties?” There is such a thing as a specialty cheeseburger? A cheeseburger is a piece of hamburger meat with some cheese on top of…

AlbuquerqueBuffetClosed in 2020Gone But Not ForgottenSalad

Sweet Tomatoes – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

In the early 1980s, Albuquerque native and Tokyo Olympian Buster Quist (whose brother Terry I worked for at the time) launched within the Coronado mall, one of the Duke City’s very first salad bars.  The salad bar concept was a few years ahead of its time and the restaurant venture went belly up—a condition portly Americans have, not coincidentally, experienced en masse (no pun intended) over the years. Salad has been a popular dietary staple for a long time, but only in recent years have creative cuisine crafters added imagination, flair and flavor to what used to be bland and unimaginative greenery.  The lack of imagination in crafting salads has always reminded dieters that the word “diet” is simply “die”…

Closed in 2020Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoPizzaRio Rancho

Sal-E-Boy’s Pizzeria – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

For decades Rio Rancho has been called “Little New York” and indeed, for decades New Yorkers made up a large percentage of the population. It wasn’t the proverbial “swamp land in Florida” marketing scheme that brought sophisticated New Yorkers to the barren western wasteland that was Rio Rancho. It was the promise of sunshine and outdoor activities in a bustling, vibrant community that attracted them. It should stand to reason therefore that there would be at least one pizzeria in Rio Rancho that would serve real (or as real as you could possibly get in the Land of Enchantment) New York style pizza.  Frankly, considering the differences in water quality (reputed to be the secret ingredient in authentic New York…

Closed in 2020Gone But Not ForgottenLas Vegas, NevadaSandwich

Carnegie Deli (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Father Mark Schultz, the charismatic priest at the San Antonio De Padua church in Penasco, jokes that the reason Catholics are required to abstain from eating meat on Fridays is not because there’s a shortage of cows. That’s certainly true. There is more beef on the hoof in America than there are tax-paying citizens. That’s why it’s always puzzled me that sandwich restaurants in New Mexico are so chintzy with their meat portions. You’d think there really was a beef shortage (and an excess of bread and lettuce) considering the the typical Albuquerque restaurant sandwich is comprised of thin shards of beef buried under half a head of lettuce and enough bread to choke a mule. In the American megalopolises…