Month: June 2015

Fine DiningNew MexicoSanta Fe

Santacafe – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

Is there anything as pure and simple as the innocence of a child, especially during the most magical time of the year? When my then six-year-old niece penned a heartfelt letter to Santa Claus, there was no doubt in her mind that her letter would be delivered and her wish would be granted. After all, she had been extra good all year long and what she wanted for Christmas was so reasonable. My niece’s fondest Christmas wish was that her family dine at Santacafe—not because of its reputation for inspired cuisine, but because she was sure she would meet jolly old Saint Nick at his restaurant “Santa Café.” It’s entirely possible my niece may have been the only person ever…

AlbuquerqueNew MexicoPizza

Amadeo’s Pizza And Subs – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

One of the most exciting times in America’s history was during its Westward expansion when young, unattached men of the time followed the advice of newspaper magnate Horace Greeley and went west in search of opportunity and adventure. Able-bodied young men forged a path through the wilderness to conquer the untamed west and build another pillar in the manifest destiny inspired foundation upon which America now stands. We felt that sense of adventure when we trekked Westward in search of Amadeo’s Pizza And Subs, a pizzeria heretofore unbeknown to us until we read the comments of “a voice crying out of the wilderness” on the long defunct Albuquerque Tribune’s Food City. Responding to a call to all pizza paramours, that…

AlbuquerqueBreakfastNew Mexican

Perea’s New Mexican Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

Note: In the twenty years or so in which Gil’s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog has worked hard to earn your trust, I’ve shared with you my impression of many different dishes. One that hadn’t crossed my lips until rather recently is a rather foul-tasting, hard-to-swallow dish called crow, an odious carrion that no chef can transform into a palatable dish. Several years ago on my review of Perea’s New Mexican Restaurant, I whined with my usual rancor about the foul demon spice cumin on the restaurant’s red chile. Suffering from severe nasal congestion at the time, my usually trustworthy olfactory palate thought it had discerned the repellent cumin. It was a false read that led to a denouncement of Perea’s…

AlbuquerqueAsianNew MexicoThai

Bangkok Bite – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

Several years ago during an ice-breaker introduction at project team meeting, we were all asked to introduce ourselves and explain where we were from. Introducing myself as being from Massaman Curry, New Mexico drew absolutely no reaction, leading me to conclude two things: (1) my colleagues knew absolutely nothing about the Land of Enchantment and probably wondered if I needed a passport to get to Phoenix; and (2) despite one of our corporate values being “risk-taking,” none of them had ever dined at a Thai restaurant. These conclusions were reaffirmed during a break when one colleague commented about all the strangely named places in “Mexico,” citing Tacos (Taos?), Captain (Capitan?) and Lost Curses. When an introductory situation calls for giving…