Month: September 2006

AmericanClosed in 2008Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoTaos County

Altitudes Restaurant & Wine Bar – Red River, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

No place is so dear to my childhood, As the little brown church in the vale. Step out of Altitudes Restaurant & Wine Bar on a dark moonlit night and the first thing you see is a large, illuminated alabaster cross atop a wooden church steeple. Directly beneath the cross is a colorful stained glass window depicting Christ, the Good Sheppard. It’s no wonder the popular gospel standard “The Church In The Wildwoods” is on our mind after each and every wonderful meal at what has long been the site of one of Red River’s dining treasures. Before the blue, two-story edifice housed Altitudes Restaurant & Wine Bar, it was the site for years of Brett’s Homestead, one of our…

Closed in 2011EspañolaGone But Not ForgottenNew MexicanNew Mexico

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

Gil Garduno

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,…

AmericanClosed in 2008Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoSanta Fe

Dave’s Not Here – Santa Fe, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Dave’s not here. You really can’t blame him. After all, a Santa Fe district court judge issued (and later rescinded) a temporary restraining order alleging Dave (Letterman) had been tormenting a city resident for more than ten years by using coded words and signals to woo her on his television program. A better theory than mine is posited by David “Whochacha” Pederson, who points out that the line “Dave’s not year” is used repeatedly in a hilarious Cheech and Chong routine you’ve got to listen to. Wrong Daves? Maybe or maybe not. No one really seems to know for sure whom this quaint restaurant is named for. Theories abound, most speculating that the uniquely named neighborhood diner is whimsically named…

BernalilloClosed in 2008Gone But Not ForgottenItalianNew Mexico

Capo’s Bottega Ristorante Italiano – Bernalillo, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Fifty years ago when Frank Venaglia opened the first of his family of Capo’s restaurants in Albuquerque, the Italian term “capo” didn’thave quite the notoriety it does today thanks to countless Mafia movies and the Sopranos television series. In the Mafia, capo is a shortened term for “caporegime” or “capodecina” which essentially translate to a high-ranking family member of a crime family who is in charge of a crew of soldiers–a captain so to speak. Today the Venaglia family owns and operates a family of four Italian restaurants-Capo’s Piazza (722 Lomas, N.E.) and Villa Di Capo (722 central, S.W.) in Albuquerque, Capo’s Corner (110 Pioneer Road) in Red River and the latest addition, Capo’s Bottega in Bernalillo. Another family venture,…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2007Fine DiningGone But Not ForgottenNew Mexico

Ambrozia – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

theophany: an encounter with a visible manifestation of a deity. Greek mythology chronicles the adventures of the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus whose primary sustenance was ambrosia, a magical repast which bestowed immortality upon those who consumed it, including humans. The word ambrosia literally means “sweet smelling or delicious,” an appropriate description of the wonderful meals proffered at Ambrozia, an Old Town fine-dining establishment launched in 2003. While dining at Ambrozia probably won’t confer immortality, diners might feel they’ve partaken of divine gastronomy. The gods certainly conferred many culinary talents on Ambrozia’s proprietor and chef savant Sam Ethridge, one of the most creative, talented and inspired restaurateurs in the Duke City. Etheridge has the rare ability to take any…