Prime – Los Ranchos De Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

What kind of foods and food-related activities do white people like? According to New York Times best-selling author Christian Lander, white people like picking their own fruit, sea salt, hummus, dinner parties, bottles of water, kitchen gadgets, Whole Foods and grocery co-ops, Asian fusion food, sushi, breakfast places, vegan or vegetarianism, wine, micro-breweries, tea, organic food, farmer’s markets, coffee and expensive sandwiches. Lander compiled a list, wrote a book and created a blog listing 134 things (and not just food) white people like. So, what constitutes an expensive sandwich? According to Lander, the expensive sandwiches liked by white people start at $8.99, but you’re looking at at least a $15 outlay after tip and drink. The shops which serve the…

Friends of Gil (FOG) Dinner: A Great Time Had By All

If you really want to make a friend, go to someone’s house and eat with him… the people who give you their food give you their heart. ~ Cesar Chavez “There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven’t yet met.” For the fifteen foodies who gathered at Joe’s Pasta House on Saturday evening, February 22nd, the inaugural “Friends of Gil” dinner started off as a foodie summit, but would up as a celebration among new friends. it was a night of rich laughter, convivial gaiety and great food. It was a night we ended long after the restaurant’s closing hours and only after we noticed we were the only ones left at the restaurant. Joe and Kassie Guzzardi were…

Asian Noodle Bar – Albuquerque, New Mexico

In the United States, as in many western cultures, the art of slurping one’s food in public has long been an etiquette taboo. In terms of culinary faux pas, slurping falls somewhere between talking with your mouth open and belching loudly. Conversely, in Japan and other Asian countries, slurping noodles at restaurants is not only perfectly acceptable, it’s often considered a sign of appreciation being conveyed to the chef. Visit a traditional noodle bar in Japan and you’ll be surrounded by an asynchronous symphony of slurping, the audible inhalation of noodles being heartily enjoyed. If slurping noodles was an Olympic sport, the Japanese would earn gold medals (irrespective of the Russian judges) and America would place below Jamaica. Slurping among…

Taste of Rio Rancho Showcases City of Vision’s Best

Great things are happening in New Mexico’s third most populous city. Rio Rancho has developed an impressive culinary culture, boasting a number of bona fide award-winning destination restaurants. Not only are more and more of the City of Vision’s citizens frequenting restaurants in their hometown, discerning Duke City diners are making the trek “up the hill” to dine in Rio Rancho restaurants. So are residents of Placitas, Corrales, Bernalillo and beyond. Credit the increased popularity and success of Rio Rancho’s restaurants to the city’s many dedicated restaurateurs and their staffs who go the extra mile to keep their guests coming back for more. Many of those restaurateurs and their staffs live in Rio Rancho. They’re friends and neighbors to many…

Farm & Table – Albuquerque, New Mexico

For the past quarter century or so, American chefs and the dining public have increasingly embraced the concept of farm-to- table cooking. It makes great sense from an environmental and an economical standpoint and as the Smithsonian Magazine wrote, “the farm-to-table movement is at once hip and historic.” Its historical aspects are especially relevant in agrarian New Mexican villages where farm-to-table hasn’t always been a “movement,” “concept” or “trend.” It’s been a way of life, especially in the state’s frontier days when food wasn’t nearly as plentiful as it is today. Enchanting as it may be, New Mexico is a land which can be harsh and unforgiving as Native American pueblos and early settlers found out when, for centuries, they…