Reclusive American poet Emily Dickinson insisted a light exists in spring that’s not present at any other time of year. If you’ve ever spent a winter in the Northern Hemisphere at a latitude of 42° or more, you know what it’s like to long for that light. You can relate to the irritability and restlessness of having only eight hours…
Month: March 2019
The Last Call – Albuquerque, New Mexico
“Ah, but after the sunset, the dusk and the twilight, when shadows of night start to fall. They roll back the sidewalk precisely at ten and people who live there are not seen again.” ~John Denver: Saturday Night In Toledo Albuquerque has a reputation of being a town which “rolls up the sidewalk,” an expression used to describe towns where…
Ana’s Kitchen – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Several ominous scenarios went through my mind when Ana told me, “I’m sorry. We don’t accept credit cards.” Would I be asked to wash dishes for a couple of hours to pay for my meal? Would Ana ask me to leave my iPhone as collateral while I dashed to an automated teller machine? Worse, would I be jailed? Lest you…
ABQ BBQ – Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)
“It was Kansas City but it was North Carolina I wanted; whole hog smoked low and slow over fruit woods and doused liberally with a vinegar-based sauce. It was North Carolina but it was Texas I wanted; king beef sliced into juicy brisket prepared over post oak and glistening with a sweet tomato-molasses based sauce. It was Texas but it…
Juanita’s Comida Mexicana – Albuquerque, New Mexico
When writer Jeffrey Steingarten was named food critic for Vogue in 1998, he made it his quest to overcome any distaste he may have had for certain foods. Chief among the foods he disliked were kimchi, lard, Greek cuisine, and blue food. Over time, he overcame his aversion toward all those foods, save for those with a bluish hue. His…
Duke City Kitchen – Albuquerque, New Mexico
In the 1970s and 1980s, Reese’s Peanut Butter cups commercials consisted of a series of vignettes. Each vignette depicted the collision of two daydreamers–one eating peanut butter and the other eating chocolate. The peanut butter eater would exclaim “you got chocolate on my peanut butter.” The one eating chocolate would retort “you got peanut butter on my chocolate.” The two would…
Mad Jack’s Mountaintop Barbecue – Cloudcroft, New Mexico
Whether it’s movies, Uber drivers or restaurants, human beings seem to predisposed to take stock in rankings and ratings. Be it a one- to four-star rating method or any other numerical or graphical rating system, many of us won’t even read what a reviewer has to say. We go straight to the rating. Of course, for visitors to Gil’s Thrilling…
Henry’s Barbecue – Artesia, New Mexico
“Texas. It’s Like A Whole Other Country.” That slogan, conceived by the Texas Tourism Department, appeared on television commercials, billboards, advertisements and even license plates. It was such a hit that the Texas Department of Transportation obtained seven federal trademark registrations to protect it on everything from stickers to shot glasses. In 2014, USA Today readers declared it the “best…
Chef Toddzilla’s Gourmet Burgers – Roswell, New Mexico
Roswell, New Mexico is a stodgy conservative town where sidewalks are rolled up early. Change comes to the state’s fifth largest city as slowly as the twangy, lazy cadence of a Texas drawl. So does embracing opportunity. Consider the so-called Roswell Incident of 1947. It took 55 years before Roswell opened its UFO museum and another three years before its…