July 2011 - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog

New Mexico Rating: Good Rio Rancho Vietnamese

Viet Rice – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil GardunoJuly 29, 2011April 5, 20263:41 PM

In Vietnamese, “an com”‘ translates as “eating rice,” but it’s a phrase that more accurately implies the act of partaking of food. At Viet Rice, they know rice and they make the act of partaking of food a memorable one! The motto “We Know Rice” is declared on the menu and it’s part of the restaurant’s logo. It’s even on the restaurant’s entrance. More importantly, it’s obvious in the way Rio Rancho’s very first Vietnamese restaurant operates. True to its name, well crafted rice dishes are a specialty, but there’s so much more than rice at this small gem operating out of a sprawling shopping center. Viet Rice is one of the more visually appealing Vietnamese restaurants in the Duke…

Albuquerque Closed in 2012 Gone But Not Forgotten Mexican

Jo’s Place – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoJuly 27, 2011July 18, 201811:16 AM

By their fruits ye shall know them. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? -Matthew 7:16 As Americans are often prone to judge fruit by the pleasingness of its appearance, the fragrance of its bouquet and the sweetness of its flavor, huitlacoche may not stand a chance. A fungus which forms on the ears of corns, huitlacoche resembles a malignant tumor with postulous black secretions Worse, its name translates from Nahuatl, the ancient language of the Aztecs, to raven shi…er, excrement. In more pleasant company it’s called corn smut. As if that isn’t bad enough, it’s created from a disease formed by a pathogenic plant fungus. Is it any wonder persnickety Americans have been…

American Breakfast New Mexico Rating: Good Rio Rancho

Weck’s – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil GardunoJuly 22, 2011April 5, 20263:53 PM

Arguably the very best programming all year long on KNME, Albuquerque’s Public Broadcasting Station (PBS) comes during its four annual fund-raising campaigns. For sandwich lovers all over New Mexico, no PBS feature is more greatly appreciated than Sandwiches That You Will Like, a documentary by Rick Sebak of television station WQED in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The documentary showcases unique sandwich offerings from throughout America. Voracious viewers like me practically salivate at the scrumptious sandwiches on display and lament the fact that most of them can’t be found within the borders of the Land of Enchantment. Watching the documentary is torture of the most delicious sort, no doubt prompting a rush to the refrigerator for even the least tortured among us. One…

New Mexican New Mexico New Mexico Culinary Treasures Trail New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2009 New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011 Rating: Very Good

El Farolito – El Rito, New Mexico

Gil GardunoJuly 16, 2011April 5, 20263:59 AM

The most contentious seasonal difference of opinion between Northern and Southern New Mexico residents isn’t whether Chimayo produces better chile than Hatch (though this will forever be in dispute). The great civil debate dividing the Land of Enchantment has all to do with semantics. More specifically, it has all to do with the appropriate name for the little paper bag lanterns which house a votive candle and light the way for the Holy Family on Christmas Eve. Misguided citizens of New Mexico’s lower half (just about anywhere south of and including Albuquerque) mistakenly call those lanterns luminarias while their more enlightened Northern brethren call them farolitos. Luminarias–stacked and crossed piñon boughs ignited on Christmas Eve to light the Holy Family’s…

New Mexican New Mexico New Mexico Culinary Treasures Trail Rating: Good Santa Fe Travel Channel Eats New Mexico

Maria’s New Mexican Kitchen – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil GardunoJuly 4, 2011April 5, 20261:00 PM

In 1712, the provincial governor for the kingdom of New Mexico decreed that henceforth, an annual reenactment of Diego De Vargas’ triumphant reentry into Santa Fe would be celebrated every year. Santa Feans have dutifully obeyed the proclamation ever since, making the Fiesta de Santa Fe the oldest civic celebration of its kind in North America. Approaching its 400th year, the Fiesta is renown not only for its pageantry and pomp, but for its respectful reflection on a significant historical event. By 1951, however, the Fiesta as we know it today, had degenerated into a parody of its former self, a victim of crass commercialism which Santa Fe’s Pulitzer Prize winning writer Oliver La Farge called “a shabby commercial carnival.” …