Month: October 2009

AlbuquerqueItalianPizza

JC’s New York Pizza Department – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

Gil’s immutable law of thermodynamics posits that the enjoyment of even the best pizza is correlative with the length of time which has expired since it was removed from the oven.  Pizza tastes best right out of the oven when it is steaming hot and the aromas waft upwards to provide an almost sensual olfactory massage.  That flavor and olfactory appreciation diminishes as the pizza grows colder and your belly fuller.  This law is absolutely immutable, but it also has an equally immutable corollary: the flavor of a great pizza actually improves after it’s been refrigerated overnight.  It helps, of course, if you wake up ravenously hungry and that the pizza was fabulous to begin with. I developed this theory…

New MexicanRated 23Santa Fe

Tabla De Los Santos – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

Professor Larry Torres, the brilliant historian, linguist and writer From Arroyo Seco is incomparable at spinning a yarn, especially when doing so in “Spanglish,” the without-a-pause blending of Spanish and English so prevalent among Latinos in the Land of Enchantment.  A few years ago in the Taos News, he told the story of a little South American boy staying with a family in Northern New Mexico who called home rather frantically begging to return home.  The little boy explained that New Mexicans are barbaric after overhearing that they cook and eat “chicos. Obviously the little boy didn’t know that chicos is not only the literal translation of little boys, but a delicious favorite food of Latinos throughout Northern New Mexico…

AlbuquerqueBarbecueClosed in 2010

Porky’s Pride Real Pit BBQ – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

The genesis of America’s popular music–country, jazz and even rock and roll–is rooted in the soul and sounds of Mississippi Delta blues–sounds born in the disgraceful shadow of slavery and lyrics which echoed the grievous plight and painful lament of workers in plantations and fields.  It is a tribute to the resilience of a people that the music of their lament evolved over the centuries to bring succor, alacrity and pride to generations. Given poor quality meat, those plantation workers dug pits in the ground in which they cooked the poor cuts of pigs or meat they were allowed to raise. When emancipated, the pit masters introduced their prowess over the barbecue pit throughout the United States. The American epicenters…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2012Gone But Not ForgottenMexican

Salsas Grill – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Salsas Grill features outstanding cuisine served with a Guatemalan flair, style, grace and hospitality. Affable proprietors Olga and Sigfrido Paz and their daughter Angie have decorated the restaurant with colorful nick knacks (mostly bowls and plates adorned with fruits and vegetables) from their native Guatemala. They have decorated the menu with Mexican, Guatemalan and New Mexican favorites prepared exceptionally well and served with class. Sigrido attends to his customers with a polite demeanor and genuine warmth while Olga crafts her culinary creations. Salsas Grill is nestled on the west mesa, offering a spectacular romantic view overlooking the city of Albuquerque and the spectacular Sandia Mountain range to the east.  Its address is Coors, N.W., but that’s only because it’s most…