Month: June 2006

AlbuquerqueItalian

Trombino’s Bistro Italiano – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

In describing George Lindsay’s character Goober on his self-titled show, Andy Griffith said Goober was the type of person who would sit down at a table and say, “Hey, this is great salt.”  Had he dined at Trombino’s Bistro Italiano, I believe Goober might have limited his compliments to the salt (okay, maybe he would have added the bread). Our three experiences at this venerable Northeast Heights Italian bistro have us shaking our head in wonder at how this very popular dining destination continues to thrive–and more amazingly how its loyal patrons invariably send me e-mail questioning my parentage after I write something disparaging about Trombino’s.  We feel like Bob Newhart as the only sane diners in an assemblage of…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2014Gone But Not ForgottenNew Mexican

La Esquina Restaurante – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

It’s pretty common knowledge that several years ago, a state legislator submitted a resolution to declare “red or green chile” the official “state question“. On April 8, 1999, Governor Gary Johnson signed the bill making the resolution law. Less known is the fact that the New Mexico state legislature also passed a resolution approving an official state answer.  It’s no surprise that “red and green” or “Christmas” has been adopted as the official answer of the great state of New Mexico? Why red or green? In the hundreds of restaurants throughout the Land of Enchantment in which chile is served, you’ll invariably be asked to state your preference–red or green.  The fact that the state legislature approved resolutions for both a…

BarbecueClosed in 2010Gone But Not ForgottenLas Vegas, Nevada

Buckingham Smokehouse Bar-B-Q – Las Vegas, Nevada (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Las Vegas has established itself as one of America’s, if not the world’s, preeminent dining destinations. Many of the world’s most famous and successful chefs have launched flamboyant restaurants that celebrate their self-aggrandizing greatness in magnificent pantheons of gustatory grandeur. Fortunately for true gastronomes who don’t worship exclusively at the tables of gastronomic glitterati, Las Vegas has also attracted its share of chefs with whom those of us of the common clay can identify–chefs who didn’t refine their skills at a snooty culinary institute but in the backyard on the family grill. With a recent influx of pit masters migrating to Las Vegas from America’s heartlands, Sin City may someday compete with Memphis, Kansas City, Texas and South Carolina as…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2009Gone But Not ForgottenNew Mexican

505 Southwestern – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Area code 505 was one of the original area codes established in 1947 and for nearly 60 years, that sole area code sufficed to serve all of New Mexico.  With the state’s surging population, however, numbers available with the 505 prefix were eventually exhausted.  The Federal Communication Commission provided area code relief in the form of a second area code (575).     A new area code for the Albuquerque area wasn’t in the makings, but it would not have had implications for 505 Southwestern which would not have changed its name even had the area code changed.  575 Southwestern Chile Factory & Cool Stuff To Eat just wouldn’t have the same poetic lilt. In the mid 1990s, 505 Southwestern was one of our favorite dining…

Closed in 2008Gone But Not ForgottenLas Vegas, NevadaSandwich

Windy City Pizza & Subs – Las Vegas, Nevada (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Ask any Chicago transplant to list the five things they miss most about the Windy City and it’s a good bet the list will include Italian beef sandwiches, a staple in Chicago. Chicagoans grow up worshipping at the tables of Italian beef sandwich shops and are almost as passionate about this sloppy sandwich as they are Da Bears. After my several first two experiences with Italian beef, my reaction was “okay, so what’s so great about these” then we visited Johnnie’s Italian Beef and I had an epiphany. Now my nights are (Italian) spiced with dreams of gravy running down my arms and the sounds of giardinaire crunching in my mouth. Italian beef sandwiches are an absolute “must have” during…

Las Vegas, NevadaMalaysian

Satay Malaysian Grille – Las Vegas, Nevada

Gil Garduno

While Albuquerque has come a long way toward becoming a cultural melting pot, a dramatic dearth still exists when it comes to a pot of another sort–the pot in which enculturated diners might find simmering some of the world’s most flavorful cuisine: Ethiopian, Basque, Russian, Hawaiian and Malaysian, for example.  Fortunately, more cosmopolitan dining destinations such as Las Vegas are only a short flight away. Las Vegas diners have embraced the Satay Malaysian Grille, the first Chinatown area restaurant to feature the fragrant spices, pungent curries and distinctive flavor combinations that have long made Malaysian cuisine a favorite of savvy diners.  Talk about a melting pot.  The population of Malaysia is comprised heavily of ethnic Chinese and Indians so it…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2008Gone But Not ForgottenJapaneseSushi

Taka Sushi – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Just as you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, you shouldn’t judge a restaurant by its exterior facade…or even its interior for that matter A good example of this is Taka Sushi, a venerable Japanese restaurant on the city’s southeast quadrant. From the outside, Taka Sushi lacks the polish and veneer of its competitors, appearing more like a remnant of the 1960s with dated paint and austere signage. It isn’t much better when you step inside. Clutter (or “casual and homey” as Scott Sharot called it in his terrific tome New Mexico Chow), not feng shui, seems to define the restaurant’s decorating style. Leave the spit and polish to trend followers who are impressed with over-the-top flamboyance (can you…