Month: August 2012

BurgersClosed in 2015Diners Drive-Ins and DivesFood Network Eats New MexicoGone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoNew Mexico Culinary Treasures TrailNew Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2009New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail: 2011Santa Fe

Bert’s Burger Bowl – Santa Fe, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

The tee shirts worn by a nattily attired and enthusiastic wait staff at Bert’s Burger Bowl say it all: “Since 1954: One Location Worldwide.” Celebrating its golden anniversary in 2004, Bert’s seems to transcend time with a winning formula: great burgers, terrific service and reasonable prices. Generations of New Mexicans and visitors have made Bert’s a beloved Santa Fe dining…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2012Gone But Not ForgottenItalian

Ravioli Italian Kitchen – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

The older I get, the more my favorite part of the Academy Awards every year is the teary-eyed tribute to all the famous screen legends who passed away during the preceding twelve months.  The montage of glitterati greatness on the “In Memoriam” segment not only provides a much-needed respite from self-absorbed acceptance speeches and tedious dance numbers, it  evokes a…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2013Gone But Not ForgottenSandwich

Christy’s Food Factory – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

A few years ago at the urging of an obviously taste-deprived, chain restaurant loving colleague, I had breakfast at a misnomer of a restaurant named Goody’s, a now defunct restaurant on Yale. He bragged about Goody’s breakfast burrito being as good as Milton’s Family Restaurant, sacrilege if it was ever uttered. A business trip provided the opportune time to debunk…

Food Network Eats New MexicoNew MexicanNew MexicoRated 23Taos County

Orlando’s New Mexican Cafe – Taos, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

During his 2005 visit to Taos for the taping of the Food Network’s Food Nation program, über-celebrity chef Bobby Flay, likely the best known grill chef in the world, probably didn’t do as much to put Orlando’s New Mexican restaurant on the culinary map as you might think. Ditto for all the many first place awards hanging on the restaurant’s…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2018Gone But Not ForgottenSteak

The Town House Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

America’s highway system expansion which began in the 1930s not only “shrank” America, it introduced the entertaining, educational–some might say bizarre–phenomenon of the roadside attraction.  Entrepreneurs competed with each other to create gawk-inspiring, curiosity motivating, must-see-to-believe attractions to snare the attention of motorists and motivate them to part with some of their money.  Neon lights festooned Route 66 while fiberglass…

AlbuquerqueChickenClosed in 2014Gone But Not ForgottenSpecialty

El Pollo Picante – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Pollo asado, marinated grilled chicken, has been a staple in Mexico for years, but save for those pockets within metropolitan areas heavily populated by scions of Mexico, it hasn’t made significant inroads throughout the fruited plain. Mexican grilled chicken restaurants seem to fly under the radar, unbeknownst to much of the local populace outside the Mexican neighborhoods in which they’re…